Apr 2, 20232 min read

If This Is Love by Jewel E. Ann

If This Is Love

by Jewel E. Ann

Self-Published

He's mine ... don't ever forget that.

Milo lives in the barn, a cowboy through and through.

I live in a castle, but I'm not a princess.

When the only person who loves me dies, Milo's there.

As I get older, I no longer look at Milo like a big brother. I look at him like the man God made just for me.

With the first glimpse of freedom from my pathetic excuse for a father, I imagine a future with Milo. I dream of the day when we won't have to hide our feelings.

But Milo has a secret. He is not free.

The man I love is marrying the woman I hate.

Genre:

#ContemporaryRomance

Trigger Warnings: Alcoholism, Abuse, Cheating, Age Gap, Trauma from Sexual Assault

Before I begin, I would like to thank Valentine PR and Jewel E. Ann for sending me an arc of If This Is Love, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I swear ... every book so far that I have applied for an arc for and have been sent by Valentine PR and Literary Management has been a hit, and If This Is Love is no exception. Despite some darker themes, and what might be a slightly uncomfortable age gap, I LOVED this book.

It's angsty.

It's intriguing.

It's intense.

It's sexy.

These things on top of some of my favorite tropes - forbidden love, and age gap - with a bad boy hero, I was very quickly hooked. By hooked, I mean HOOKED. I read the first 50% of this book in a night. Forced myself to go to bed at 2:30 in the morning, and I couldn't wait to get home the next day to finish the book.

Jewel E. Ann gives us a deeply emotional romance, with flawed, but realistic characters you can't help but root for. I was immediately immersed in Indiana's character. Her memories of her childhood, and her reaction to those events, felt realistic. Naive. I couldn't help but fall in love with Milo, a kid himself when he stepped up to help Indiana, and despite the circumstances of his life, falls in love, and feels it deeply. The chemistry between Milo and Indiana when they are older is felt, not told, not something easy to put to page. The secrets that bind these two together, yet keeps them apart, draws you into this story even more, and makes If This is Love even more intense and bittersweet.

If This is Love is definitely an emotional ride. Prepare to cry your eyes out, but I promise you won't be able to put this book down. If This is Love comes out April 6th, 2023!