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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
This was a story about more than love. It was a soul deep connection and someone coming into their gifts despite their reticence. Sharla has been told since she was a child that she has the gift of foresight and she fights it. But when new Romey U artist in residence Jovani appears she knows him from her dreams and she's already in love with him. Their connection is DNA deep. I don't know how Ms. House sucks me into every book of hers I've read so far but I don't want it to ever stop. Because her characters feel so real to me like I know them. And not many authors can make me feel that kind of connection. It means Ms. House's books are special to me. This book hit me right in the feels for more than one reason (still working to unpack all the parental manipulation) and the narration once again pushed it over the edge for me. TW: Emotional abuse/manipulation from a parent, panic attacks, depression, sleep paralysis, slavery, violence/beating, medically induced coma/hospital stay
She did it again!!!!!!!!!! She creates such realistic Characters that makes you feel like you know them personally. I am a house fan and can’t wait until her next book in this series!!
Love this book! Sharla and Jovani❤️ their love is kinda different than what I usually read because of the “premonition” part but aside from that I love them. Sherla’s family and friends are everything! Jovani’s mom so toxic omg
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
TW: Emotional abuse/manipulation from a parent, panic attacks, depression, sleep paralysis, slavery, violence/beating, medically induced coma/hospital stay
Oh my gosh, this book hit me right in the heart! I’m feeling so many emotions, I’m not sure how to write this review!
Let’s just start with the chemistry between our love interests and how this has like a fated mates trope and our female MC Sharla has some powers of premonition!! That aspect of the book was simply amazing! Sharla has been running from this gift her whole life but it brought her to her true love and brought her closer to her mother for help understanding and embracing this power with whom she had been estranged. Her family is just so peaceful and loving and their faith is strong!
Jovanni is just too precious of this world! He has put up with so much emotional trauma at the hands of his mother: not only name calling him but also bad mouthing his father, who left when he was very young, and used him to get more money from his father, trying to set emotional boundaries and not having them respected and constantly crossed. He suffers from panic attacks and depression and sleep paralysis due to this emotional trauma and when he tries to find closure with his father, his mother emotional manipulates him saying his father is trying to steal him away and that he doesn’t care about her now that he has his father.
This book is so much more than our MCs relationship but everything flows together so beautifully and their love is so powerful. I know this will be a book that stays with me for a long time and I will get something new out of it every time I reread it.
Oh my gosh, this book hit me right in the heart! I’m feeling so many emotions, I’m not sure how to write this review!
Let’s just start with the chemistry between our love interests and how this has like a fated mates trope and our female MC Sharla has some powers of premonition!! That aspect of the book was simply amazing! Sharla has been running from this gift her whole life but it brought her to her true love and brought her closer to her mother for help understanding and embracing this power with whom she had been estranged. Her family is just so peaceful and loving and their faith is strong!
Jovanni is just too precious of this world! He has put up with so much emotional trauma at the hands of his mother: not only name calling him but also bad mouthing his father, who left when he was very young, and used him to get more money from his father, trying to set emotional boundaries and not having them respected and constantly crossed. He suffers from panic attacks and depression and sleep paralysis due to this emotional trauma and when he tries to find closure with his father, his mother emotional manipulates him saying his father is trying to steal him away and that he doesn’t care about her now that he has his father.
This book is so much more than our MCs relationship but everything flows together so beautifully and their love is so powerful. I know this will be a book that stays with me for a long time and I will get something new out of it every time I reread it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Medical content
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I’m a huge fan of this author’s work, especially her longer form romances. I enjoyed the first Romey University book, and I enjoyed this second installment featuring some spiritual, other-worldly themes.
The premise is that Sharla, an African-American Studies professor at Romey U is a prophetic dreamer in denial. Coming from a long line of root women with various spiritual gifts, she’s alarmed when she begins to dream vividly of her soulmate, a man she knows she’s never met until she runs into Jovani, photographer and new artist-in-residence at the university. It’s an insane connection at first sight but Sharla doesn’t trust the connection, traumatized by her experiences as a child of a root woman, and Jovani is still healing from a toxic childhood.
This novel was great at handling issues around childhood trauma and really positive in dealing with mental health. I enjoyed the story and the conflict. It was INCREDIBLY spicy, high heat level as you can expect from this author. I loved the exploration of boundaries and closure and family and friendship in this. There is some humour but on the balance, it was a reflective and healing sort of novel. Enjoyed this a lot and hopeful that there will be a book for Brooklyn.
The premise is that Sharla, an African-American Studies professor at Romey U is a prophetic dreamer in denial. Coming from a long line of root women with various spiritual gifts, she’s alarmed when she begins to dream vividly of her soulmate, a man she knows she’s never met until she runs into Jovani, photographer and new artist-in-residence at the university. It’s an insane connection at first sight but Sharla doesn’t trust the connection, traumatized by her experiences as a child of a root woman, and Jovani is still healing from a toxic childhood.
This novel was great at handling issues around childhood trauma and really positive in dealing with mental health. I enjoyed the story and the conflict. It was INCREDIBLY spicy, high heat level as you can expect from this author. I loved the exploration of boundaries and closure and family and friendship in this. There is some humour but on the balance, it was a reflective and healing sort of novel. Enjoyed this a lot and hopeful that there will be a book for Brooklyn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
More than a romance.
The thing that I love most about Alexandria House, particularly this Romy U series is that the book is more than a romance (although let's acknowledge the quality of romance and put a pin in that). There's highly dramatic conflict that exists outside of the couple's union because each character has their own emotional arc and motivation which adds strong subplots that blend back into the major one in a seamless support. Touch Me is a romance. It's also a mystery. It's also a bit suspenseful in some parts that are heavily inflected by mental health (as someone who's suffered from sleep paralysis I cannot overstate how much I appreciate the rep here; it's terrifying every time irregardless of you knowing what it is). Ms. House gives us full characters joining their stories together in satisfying ways against considerable obstacle-- even internal ones.
Now, the romance that it is. We all know Ms. House can write a sexy scene, but if that were all she were doing, I'd only be in the mood for her when the moon is full. Not the case. What makes her couples compelling for me is how they complement and challenge each other. Jovani was as much an enigma to Sharla as she was to him and their personalities intrigued each other. THEY were compelled by each other first and THEN I was too. It wasn't just compulsion either but a whole psychic connection. I love those more spiritual elements and am always excited when Ms. House treats me to some. Ultimately, if you're looking for a story that gives you love on multiple levels (self, family, partner), then Touch Me will be a delight.
The thing that I love most about Alexandria House, particularly this Romy U series is that the book is more than a romance (although let's acknowledge the quality of romance and put a pin in that). There's highly dramatic conflict that exists outside of the couple's union because each character has their own emotional arc and motivation which adds strong subplots that blend back into the major one in a seamless support. Touch Me is a romance. It's also a mystery. It's also a bit suspenseful in some parts that are heavily inflected by mental health (as someone who's suffered from sleep paralysis I cannot overstate how much I appreciate the rep here; it's terrifying every time irregardless of you knowing what it is). Ms. House gives us full characters joining their stories together in satisfying ways against considerable obstacle-- even internal ones.
Now, the romance that it is. We all know Ms. House can write a sexy scene, but if that were all she were doing, I'd only be in the mood for her when the moon is full. Not the case. What makes her couples compelling for me is how they complement and challenge each other. Jovani was as much an enigma to Sharla as she was to him and their personalities intrigued each other. THEY were compelled by each other first and THEN I was too. It wasn't just compulsion either but a whole psychic connection. I love those more spiritual elements and am always excited when Ms. House treats me to some. Ultimately, if you're looking for a story that gives you love on multiple levels (self, family, partner), then Touch Me will be a delight.
Wow...just...wow. The ancestors and I need to have a conversation.