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A review by jackiehorne
Be Mine Forever by Kennedy Ryan
4.0
Trigger warnings:
Two of the secondary characters from books 1 & 2 in Ryan's The Bennetts' series get their own love story in this third installment. Shifting from third to first person narration, Ryan gives us Cameron Mitchell, whom we've only seen from the outside as the now third wheel in love triangle from those previous books. For those who haven't read them, Cam is a former foster child, one who experienced major trauma before entering the system. Unlike the Bennett family, who informally adopted him, he's not solely white: "he was an ethnic enigma. Folks speculated—was he Italian, Puerto Rican, Cuban?... And when they gave up on staring and asked, well, how the hell was he supposed to know? His father was some john his mother probably fucked for twenty bucks" (354).
Despite the difficulty of having his best friend marry his ex, Cam is trying to bridge the gap between himself and Walsh Bennet and Bennet's extended family. An extended family which includes Walsh's cousin, Jo, who has known Cam since the Bennett foster child charity became involved in his life. Jo has been quietly crushing on Cam for years, trying to get his attention, even openly asking him to take her to the Sadie Hawkins dance and to prom, only to be refused by a Cam who spends his social life sleeping around. Ever since, Jo has taken care to hide her feelings. She's still remained his friend, though, and has supported Cam through his wreck of a marriage.
But it turns out that Jo's not the only one who's been hiding feelings. Cam has always felt something for Jo, but knew he was too emotionally messed up when they were teens to risk her friendship by sleeping with her. Now, though, in the wake of his divorce, his feelings are especially raw, and he finds himself teetering between imagining what it could be like with Jo and pushing her away, fearing that his "special talent for ruining beautiful things" will harm her.
Jo, a rich white fashionista, has wedded her privilege to a determined work ethic, supporting the Bennett family's charitable organization. And now, after the death of the charity's founder, her beloved aunt, Jo is completely in charge. And she's feeling overworked and unworthy, not coming close to living up to her aunt's model.
For the first time, Cam feels he might have something to offer a newly vulnerable Jo, and finally gives in to his feelings. But his own past traumas, and his refusal to seek help for himself, jeopardize both of them.
Though this book contains as much backstory trauma as the previous two, it doesn't veer off into melodrama; the two characters are portrayed with sympathy and care.
Spoiler
childhood sexual abuse; parental abandonment; drug abuseTwo of the secondary characters from books 1 & 2 in Ryan's The Bennetts' series get their own love story in this third installment. Shifting from third to first person narration, Ryan gives us Cameron Mitchell, whom we've only seen from the outside as the now third wheel in love triangle from those previous books. For those who haven't read them, Cam is a former foster child, one who experienced major trauma before entering the system. Unlike the Bennett family, who informally adopted him, he's not solely white: "he was an ethnic enigma. Folks speculated—was he Italian, Puerto Rican, Cuban?... And when they gave up on staring and asked, well, how the hell was he supposed to know? His father was some john his mother probably fucked for twenty bucks" (354).
Despite the difficulty of having his best friend marry his ex, Cam is trying to bridge the gap between himself and Walsh Bennet and Bennet's extended family. An extended family which includes Walsh's cousin, Jo, who has known Cam since the Bennett foster child charity became involved in his life. Jo has been quietly crushing on Cam for years, trying to get his attention, even openly asking him to take her to the Sadie Hawkins dance and to prom, only to be refused by a Cam who spends his social life sleeping around. Ever since, Jo has taken care to hide her feelings. She's still remained his friend, though, and has supported Cam through his wreck of a marriage.
But it turns out that Jo's not the only one who's been hiding feelings. Cam has always felt something for Jo, but knew he was too emotionally messed up when they were teens to risk her friendship by sleeping with her. Now, though, in the wake of his divorce, his feelings are especially raw, and he finds himself teetering between imagining what it could be like with Jo and pushing her away, fearing that his "special talent for ruining beautiful things" will harm her.
Jo, a rich white fashionista, has wedded her privilege to a determined work ethic, supporting the Bennett family's charitable organization. And now, after the death of the charity's founder, her beloved aunt, Jo is completely in charge. And she's feeling overworked and unworthy, not coming close to living up to her aunt's model.
For the first time, Cam feels he might have something to offer a newly vulnerable Jo, and finally gives in to his feelings. But his own past traumas, and his refusal to seek help for himself, jeopardize both of them.
Though this book contains as much backstory trauma as the previous two, it doesn't veer off into melodrama; the two characters are portrayed with sympathy and care.