A wonderful, heartwarming story of love and friendship, both old and new, and the power of forgiving.----ourselves as well as others.

Pillowtalk was everything I've come to expect from a Cassie Mae book. It was romantic and sweet with great characters and a bit of humor sprinkled in, while still pulling on my heartstrings. Mae writes in a way that makes it easy to fall into the story and get lost for a few hours.

Pillowtalk is a sweet, heartrending story. Kennedy is still grieving her lost boyfriend a year after his death. But, it's come time for her to let him go by spreading his ashes at the lake in his hometown that he loved so much. Once in Jared's hometown, she meets his former best friend, Aaron, and is instantly attracted to him. He's a sweet guy, and obviously knew Jared really well, and that makes her even more attracted to him. But, she's still grieving, and has a hard time feeling anything for a man who isn't Jared. Just being attracted to Aaron makes her feel guilty, but when she starts falling for Aaron, her guilt only intensifies.

As she and Aaron navigate their shared grief (and guilt) and deal with their growing feelings for each other, Kennedy is still grieving, and hasn't been able to let Jared go. She hasn't been able to sprinkle his ashes in the lake, because it means truly letting him go. Compounding her hesitance to let go are her feelings for Aaron. When they finally come together, Aaron feels lighter and falls even harder for her. But, when he discovers she's fled Lyra, his heart is broken, and it just makes him feel even more guilty, and angry at Jared.

I really, really felt for Kennedy and Aaron, especially for Aaron. His guilt had eaten at him for so long, only to find his once best friend was dying, then died before he had a chance to make it right with him. Then, to add to that, he fell for Jared's true love, and it was déjà vu all over again. Poor guy! Kennedy is a study in grief and moving on after loss. So many people who lose their love feel as if they can't ever love again, that it would be a betrayal to the one they lost. Thankfully Kennedy realized Jared had wanted her to move on, to find someone to take care of her heart, because if anyone was made to be together, it was Aaron and Kennedy.

Kudos to Cassie Mae for this moving, touching story.

I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

I liked the story, I really like all the books that I read from Cassie Mae. The truth she always brings us very real characters and with their flaws, with very real stories and I like that.
This is a sweet and emotional story where both characters carry their luggage, Kennedy and Aaaron are so beautiful, both carrying so much pain, betrayal and above all, I feel sorry for them, the guilt that eat them alive.
Kennedy is a girl who returns to her village to spread the ashes of her dead boyfriend, and the truth in a way I identified with her, poor, go through death leaves people very upset, the truth is that not all overcome In the same way and she struggles a lot with her loss, but sometimes it gets complicated.
As he returns she encounters Aaron, a hot, sweet boy and is attracted to him and him to her. But despite the attraction there, are various situations that do not allow them to act based on what they feel, because guilt does not leave them.
In spite of everything you can perceive their connection, the link to feel the same loss, and although it was a little insta-love the author manages to handle the situations so that it becomes credible.
A nice story of struggle, pain and loss.

Pillow talk was phenomenal! Cassie Mae is one heck of a writer. I loved the characters and didn't want the book to end.

No review left as I didn't find this to be a very good book.

A sweet, heartfelt romance; letting one life go while opening yourself up to another. A light and somewhat predictable read, it entertained nonetheless and kept my attention.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars
M/F Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

Kennedy is mourning the loss of her would-be fiancé. He decided not to propose because he knew that it wouldn't be fair to Kennedy; however, he also said some things closer to his death that made her think that she was supposed to love him forever... I'm not really sure with that one.

Then you have Aaron. Their first meeting is comical. I loved that he was a twin and that his twin was supportive, fun, flirty, and a great friend.

Both Kennedy and Aaron are mourning, but they are doing so in different ways. Kennedy is trying to complete the dying wish, but Aaron is trying to find forgiveness.

This story was just okay for me. There was a lot of angst, guilt, and overly-dramatic loss issues. I think that this was a cute story about finding that you can have a love that will stay with you, but love again for life.

Overall, this was a good story with well-developed characters. I wish we would have moved past the guilt earlier on and gotten more of a story out of Kennedy and Aaron.

3.5 stars

Pillowtalk by Cassie Mae was a well written, heartfelt read.

I enjoyed the storyline, it was emotional, interesting and kept me turning the pages.
The characters Aaron and Kennedy were easy to connect with, they had an instant attraction that with time grew to more.
Their story touched my heart and I highly recommend it.

Get your copy here...
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JEMR01G/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=sl1&tag=casmae0a-20&linkId=0b9e80835100e2de6cd741e7715e8230
B&N - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pillowtalk-cassie-mae/1124232347?ean=9781101968314
iBooks - https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1155890232

*Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Loveswept via Netgalley for the advance copy.*

Nicely written romance with two sad people finding happiness. Kennedy and Aaron are believable characters as is their dance toward love. I liked this more than I expected I would, largely because of the smooth way it progresses. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I mostly loved this story, but still wanted to smack Kennedy and the author at times. If you miss the the love of your life, why on earth would you not talk WITH HIS SISTER about him growing up while you're staying in the B&B she manages? Seriously, that was the most annoying part of the plot: that not only does Kennedy not ever talk to a therapist, but doesn't seem to have talked with another woman - friend or family - at any point in the year since her beloved died. I know grief can make you do weird things, but this one stood out as a really contrived plot device as Kennedy keeps getting thrown together with Aaron, and Chelsea becomes more like a NPC in a video game who provides a setting and some absolution, but no emotional connection. Seriously, if Kennedy doesn't have any female friends or family to talk to, she is more messed-up than just her confused grieving over her lover's death from cancer! Has she spent the past year not interacting with anyone outside of her work-from-home editing job? Not normal, and not healthy, and it definitely doesn't pass the Bechdel test, either. I really wish Chelsea got some emotional connection time with Kennedy. I won't demand that Lissa gets lines (although it's weird that she is more of an object than a person), but Chelsea and Kennedy needed more together.

That said, I love almost everything else in this book. It's reminiscent in the heartstring-tugging of many of her previous novels. The relationship between Kennedy and Aaron, and also the look back at the relationship between Kennedy and Jared, are believable and organic. I wouldn't call this romance a sex-fest, but it's definitely not a clean romance, either.

Honestly, if there had been some other fully-realized female characters in this novel and some genuine relationship between them, it would have been five stars.

The plot was interesting. A still grieving girl comes home to her dead boyfriend's hometown to fulfill a promise she made to him, to scatter his ashes there. She meets an ex-best friend of his, dug up some ugly secrets and promptly fell for him. But the execution, or the story-telling, was inadequate in effectively maintaining interest for the book. The pacing of the story was too slow and too dragging. There were too many unnecessary words, characters' monologues and introspection which repeatedly did not yield favorable results in bringing their thoughts and emotions to light, which should have. It made the book such a pain to finish reading. The book gave me the impression that it wasn't really about the love story of Kennedy and Aaron. Rather, it was really about Jared, the dead boyfriend - even up to the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Loveswept for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There’s nothing wrong with this book, the writing is good and there’s a small town setting that I usually like, but a lot of it didn’t click with me: the characters, particularly the heroine, Kennedy, and the plotline about the late fiancé (Jared) and spreading his ashes.
I really didn’t connect with the heroine, I couldn’t understand how she was carrying Jared’s ashes around, like she was a grieving widow, and, at the same time, throwing herself at the first handsome man she encounters. I’m not making a moralistic judgment here, I’m just stating that it seems incongruous in terms of her character development (and there are a lot of similar inconsistencies that make Kennedy seem not very genuine, at least for me).
Now, about the urn: it’s really odd that you´re carrying the urn with your beloved fiancé’s ashes everywhere, showing it, turning your pain into a public issue, when pain, sorrow, grieve, are such private and intimate feelings. It created some pretty weird moments in the story and a phony feeling. And it was way too juvenile for me.
And Aaron’s guilt about Jared, well, it didn’t move me. As a matter of fact, I felt rather indifferent to it all.

I tend to love Cassie Mae books. This was NOT the exception. So cute.

Kennedy am sure loved her late boyfriend. Lots. Early death do a number on survivors I know. Maybe Kennedy should have stayed away from people close to her late boyfriend as love interest. Maybe. The thing is love cannot be ordered to size, people, or anything for that matter. There was too much guilt about being together by both Aaron and Kennedy. Too much introspection. If these is edited out the book might be more memorable. It is very touchy and emotional, but too wordy for me(for lack of a better word to use).

It is a feel good book though. Very nice.

I like Cassie Mae, but the entire time I was reading this I wanted to shake Aaron. I mean, the ex-boyfriend has been dead for over a year. It's not the same as sleeping with a buddy's girlfriend. The twin thing at the beginning was funny, and the side characters were interesting. Overall, an enjoyable, quick read.

This author has a fab way of bringing you amazing characters, lots of emotions and a fantastic story. This is a great tragic love story that will hook you from the first page. I just couldn't put this book down till I'd finished it. I can't wait to read more from this author in the future.
Highly recommended
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book

Very sweet and emotional story. I really enjoyed the majority of this book. The cover is super cute too.

Kennedy is visiting her deceased boyfriend, Jared's hometown to scatter his ashes. She has held on to his ashes for about a year and a half. Now she feels she's ready to let go.
She works up the nerve to hit on this super hot guy on the train. But he tells her he's not interested because he's gay.
Once she arrives at Jareds sisters house she sees super hot train guy kissing some girl in the driveway. So she lays into him about lying to her only to find out that it was the guy's twin she rode with on the train.
So now she is attracted to this super hot straight guy, Aaron. And she feels super guilty for being attracted to Aaron esp when she finds out he used to be best friends with Jared.
Aaron falls head over heels for Kennedy but fights it because she's Jared's.
So the two of them go back and forth with the guilt of them betraying Jared.

This is a very emotional charged book. I felt like I was on a roller coaster. It had a good story with emotional depth. It deals with a very difficult subject, but Cassie Mae handled it well. The characters were very well developed and you really felt like you knew them by the end of the book! This is the first book of hers that I have read, but will not be my last!

I received an advance copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

APRIL 10, 2017 BY JOLIE
Pillowtalk by Cassie Mae
Pillowtalk

Title: Pillowtalk

Author: Cassie Mae

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Loveswept

Date of publication: April 4th, 2017

Genre: Romance

Number of pages: 191

POV: 3rd person

Where you can find this book: Amazon

Book synopsis (from Goodreads):

In this heartfelt romance from the author of the All About Love series, two people who thought they’d given up on passion turn to each other for emotional support—and maybe something a little more physical.

Kennedy Walters has had a tough year. Now she’s come to the lakeside town of Lyra Valley to finally say goodbye to the memory of her first love. But while she’s staying at his sister’s B&B, Kennedy is shocked to find herself undeniably drawn to a handsome local heartthrob—especially since she isn’t sure if she’s ready to move on.

Aaron Sheppard returned to Lyra Valley because he was fed up with the big city and everything it didn’t have to offer—like the beautiful, down-to-earth girl staying at the B&B. Aaron’s enjoying a little flirtation until he realizes that she’s Kennedy Walters, the girl who was dating his best friend. But after a power outage strands them together, Aaron and Kennedy wind up sharing some intimate conversation. And over the course of a night that neither will ever forget, they learn just how compatible they could be—if only they knew how to let go and fall into each other’s arms.

Look for Cassie Mae’s charming All About Love novels:
DOING IT FOR LOVE | NO INTEREST IN LOVE | CRAZY ABOUT LOVE

My review:

If you are looking for a book that focuses mainly on sex, then pass on this book because while sex is had in the book, it is not the main focus. Don’t let the title fool you like it did me. I really thought that there was going to be no plotline, one-dimensional characters and people having sex at least once a chapter. Instead, this is a beautifully written book about first love, grief, forgiveness, letting go and moving on.

Kennedy’s boyfriend, Jared, died a year earlier from cancer. Destroyed by grief, as any normal person would be, she put off spreading his ashes until she felt that she could handle it. Which I thought was great that the author did that. I have read too many books where the heroine is grieving and then the hero comes along and everything is forgotten and/or is made miraculously better. Not in this case. Kennedy is still raw from losing Jared and she doesn’t want anything to do with romance or men. And that is what made this book so bittersweet to me.

Aaron was Jared’s ex-best friend. Their friendship ended shortly after they graduated high school. I am not going to say why it ended only this: teenage boys are stupid and make stupid mistakes. He knew who Kennedy was and felt awful that he was so attracted to her. In his mind, it would be betraying Jared again. I was heartbroken for him because he hurt so bad. I kinda wanted to reach through the book and give him a huge hug. I also cried when Chelsea (Jared’s sister) talked to Aaron and basically gave him the go-ahead to go after Kennedy.

There were a few touches of humor in the book. Like when Kennedy hit on Austin, who is Aaron’s gay twin brother, and then went off on Aaron, assuming it was Austin when she saw him kissing his “friend” (use your imagination for the meaning) about two hours afterward. I was giggling my fool head off. She was so mad and then that turned into being beyond embarrassed. Charlie the husky puppy was another point of humor. He was comic relief for a couple of scenes when it was needed.

The sex scenes were hot. While there were only two sex scenes, I felt that the build up to them was awesome. There was so much sexual tension between Kennedy and Aaron, it wasn’t even funny.

I loved the end of the book and the epilogue. Talk about a perfect ending for a great book!!

How many stars will I give Pillowtalk: 4

Why: A great book with relatable characters. I felt that the author did a great job portraying how hard it is to let go of a loved one and she also did a great job portraying how hard it is to get over losing a loved one.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes

Age range: Adult

Why: Sex and language

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**