Thank you so much for the opportunity to review this book and to be an early reader via NetGalley! However, I will not be writing a review for this title at this time, as my reading preferences have since changed somewhat. In the event that I decide to review the book in the future, I will make sure to purchase a copy for myself or borrow it from a library. Once again, thank you so much for providing me with early access to this title. I truly appreciate it. Please feel free to contact me with any follow-up questions or concerns.

Nicole Helm’s Need You Now, first in the “Mile High Romance” series, at first appeared to be run-of-the-mill, contemporary, small-town romance, but proved more complex and interesting. Nevertheless, its opening wasn’t auspicious, with a scene of rugged he-men ribbing each other and indulging in scared-of-deep-communication man-talk. Ugh. Usually, in contemporary romance, these bros are, well, bros, or best friends, or business partners. In Need You Now, they are bearded, handsome “lumbersexuals”. Two are brothers, the hero Brandon, and his twin, Will, and their friend and business partner, Sam. They operate an “outdoor adventure excursion company,” Mile High, in the Colorado mountains, near the fictional town of Gracely. With much manly teasing, the jokester Will informs his austere, a polite way of saying “grumpy”, brother Brandon that they’ve hired a PR consultant to help promote their business, cue one cute heroine, Lilly Preston, freshly arrived from Denver. Lilly shows up, sparks fly, angst follows, much banter, and yet care, affection, and friendship grow, one glorious sexy time follows, then, a terrible sundering of the relationship and, the rest, as we say in the genre, is HEA.

Helm atypically stays away from introducing our heroine first and making her the narrative centre. She’s an equal opportunity writer and we’re introduced to a hero of some complexity, even if this isn’t initially obvious. Brandon is consumed by the need to atone for his father’s sins. As the owner of a local mining company, his father’s business and personal practices were dishonest, illegal, and dishonorable. Brandon put an end to them and, rather than earning the town’s respect and gratitude, is condemned for bringing about its economic demise. Since, his life has been dedicated to addressing “the destruction he’d wrought while trying to do the right thing,” by bringing business opportunities to the town via “Mile High … his baby, his penance, his hope of offering Gracely some healing in the wake of his father’s mess.” Brandon is a moral man, gripped by guilt, and constantly working to atone for his father’s sins. He neither has time nor patience for Lilly’s PR whimsy; her beauty and his attraction to and desire for her are reminders why he can’t have nice things. Brandon grunts and scowls with what seems stereotypical masculinity; he turns out to be a sensitive man who struggles with doing the right thing and comes to reconsider his tendency to ride roughshod over others, even when he’s trying to do right by them.

The novel’s first half is fun and its second half, profound. Brandon and Lilly appear to be classic opposites-attract, but turn out to be alike in their need for control, fear of loving and depending on another, and tendency to martyrdom. First, Helm draws us in because, together Brandon and Lilly, make for funny, snipe-y banter. Brandon gives Lilly a hard time and has to eat humble pie; Lilly isn’t gentle: ” ‘I apologize if I’ve come off …’ ‘Harsh. Douchey. Asshole spectacular.’ ” Miss Bates must say she especially liked that “Asshole spectacular.” Another instance, Brandon’s response to Lilly’s beauty: “Lilly Preston was gorgeous. Brandon hated it. Hated. It.” Helm’s droll ability to show how Brandon is both exasperated and fascinated by Lilly: ” ‘Brandon?’ If he didn’t think she’d hear him, he would have said, ‘For fuck’s sake,’ or roared, or pounded his head against the logs of the woodshed. Instead, he glanced her way. Warily. She made him constantly wary.” Lilly enters Brandon’s ordered, purposeful, solitary life and makes him roil and moil with volatile feelings of attraction and affection: “He looked at her, hovering over his desk like some evil fairy. Beautiful evil fairy.” Helm’s penchant for amusing repetition is a hoot.

Helm makes Brandon a canvas to paint a man with the trappings of toxic masculinity and none of the behaviours, or sentiments. That does not mean she shirks her writerly obligations to Lilly. Lilly is prim, put-together, exemplary at her work, warm, kind, and funny to boot. Brandon, however, brings out the worst in her and that’s fun. He also reminds her, on a more serious note, that she wasn’t made for love and commitment. She’s devoted to caring for a needy sister and nephew, vulnerable after escaping an abusive relationship. Moreover, Lilly’s scarred from her mother’s abandonment and bringing up her sister, though still a child herself, on her own. Other than being needed, Lilly can’t see her way to how she deserves to be loved … and neither does Brandon. Hence, why Miss Bates says that Helm has written a romance about two people who are too much alike.

When Brandon and Lilly are trapped by a storm and do the deed that has been tempting and plaguing them for months, their lives are touched and transformed by this culmination in such a profound way that, being the control and martyr freaks they are, they can’t respond in any other way but to run scared and throw up barriers. What Miss Bates loved most about the romance was how Helm didn’t have Lilly and Brandon continue to desire each other (though they do), but make their yearning to care for the other what needs to be resisted. Their urges are physical, sexual yes, but the scary stuff is about wanting to comfort and be tender.

Given their knee-jerk inclination to uphold quixotic personal codes, for Brandon, to never be like his father and Lilly, to never see herself as more than her ability to give and be needed, watching them fight the tenderness, friendship, and care that are the core of their relationship, is exhilarating and maddening. They are so very likeable, deserving, and honorable, friends-with-benefits isn’t emotionally feasible. They have codes to uphold, causes to sacrifice to. What Miss Bates most liked about them, and there was much to like, they’re emotionally brave and the unfolding of their HEA is believable, possible, and beautiful. With Miss Austen, Miss Bates says that Nicole Helm’s Need You Now is “a mind lively and at ease,” Emma.

Nicole Helm’s Need You Now is published by Zebra Books/Kensington Publishing. It was released in May 2017 and may be procured from your preferred vendor. Miss Bates received an e-ARC from Zebra/Kensington, via Netgalley.

I truly enjoyed Ms. Helm's Big Sky Cowboys series, so I was eager to read this first novel in her new series, and while it took me quite some time to warm up to this novel because not much happens in the first half of the book, which gets off to a very slow start, in the end, I enjoyed it marginally more than I thought I would and I give it 3 stars.

Brandon Evans and his twin brother, Will, are the sons of a disgraced, despised and despicable scion of the family mining business, whose greed and disregard of safety rules caused Brandon, the eldest son and heir to the mining business to expose his father's wrongdoing and lies. Five years later, the town of Gracely and it's people hate the Evans brothers and blame them for the loss of their jobs and the break-up of the town, as people left when other jobs were nonexistent. The fact that their father's womanizing, cheating and lying have been overlooked left Brandon with the feeling that his turning in his father let to the destruction of the town, and he desperately wants to undo the damage his honesty inadvertently caused. So Brandon and Will started a new company, Mile High Adventures, a hiking, canoeing, outdoor trekking business to bring tourists and jobs back to town, but so far, although they've been moderately successful, their success hasn't yet trickled down to the town in the valley below, and the Evans name is still mud.

Enter into the picture, Lilly Preston, a public relations specialist, already hired without Brandon's knowledge. She's supporting her wayward sister, Cora, and Cora's son, Micah, who live with and are supported by her after leaving Cora's abusive boyfriend Stephen behind. Lilly is a very take-charge woman, and beyond straitlaced about her new job and its duties. Her attitudes are hard to understand for the first two-thirds of the novel, because she's really given no backstory at the outset. We only know that she believes she's good at her job, that she's as attracted to Brandon as he is to her, that both parties are doing their utmost not to reveal that attraction, and that she spends way too much of the novel inside her own head, and Brandon does the same.

Brandon challenges her and her PR skills at every turn until he dares her to go on one of the hiking treks with him under the guise of "how can she write PR about something she's never experienced?" Granted, Lilly has been trying to prove herself to him too. He's convinced that she won't be able to keep up, but she's game to try, and although she's no mountaineer, she does have some grit, something Brandon reluctantly admires.

While I truly enjoyed watching their relationship develop, the author got bogged down by an overabundance of internal dialogue, and by the time I began to actually like these characters, something happens (no spoilers from me) that made me reassess everything I liked about Lilly for most of the novel, to the point where I actually wished I could slap her and tell her to snap out of it. Her actions were unexpected, deceitful, controlling and downright hurtful, and regardless of the HEA ending, by the time I got there, I truly couldn't stand her, which certainly took me by surprise and it was so unexpected a consequence that had I not been reading an advanced reader copy of this novel, I'd have stopped reading it because her actions were the antithesis of what I believe any woman would do in real life.

In addition, I was also bothered by the lack of knowledge the author displayed when it came to all the outdoor activities Lilly was involved in. Rather than delay the first hike because she couldn't find hiking boots in her size, she bought ones that were too small for her feet--a really bad idea. One their next excursion, a canoe trip, Brandon is paddling his canoe with two paddles--wrong! Anyone who's ever gone canoeing knows that each person in the canoe, or just the single person rowing uses a single paddle. Yes, these are minor points, but I'm including them in this review because I believe that an author should do his/her research and get their facts right. After Lilly jumps out of and then upends canoe when she sees a snake, she and Brandon are standing in icy cold water, Lilly halfway and Brandon totally submerged. Does he immediately get them back to the lodge to avoid hypothermia? Nope. They sit on the shore in soaking wet clothing and then he jokingly tosses Lilly back into the frigid water. Again, wrong! Since Brandon is a wilderness guide who regularly takes newbie tourists on these outdoor adventures, he should have known better, and so should the author.

While at the start, I thought I liked Lilly more than Brandon, by the end of the novel, I preferred Brandon, although not by much, and the fact is that even though they each redeem themselves to a degree when we finally learn why they behaved as they did, I didn't particularly like either character, which hindered my enjoyment of this book, and is the reason why I could only give it a 3-star rating.

I found this book to be well written but ultimately joyless. The characters were so mired down by their own baggage that it seemed that their relationship was more added stress rather than something that added happiness to their lives. To be honest I was never even sure what they liked about each other. Even their relationships with the secondary characters seemed filled with resentment. I have heard great things about other books from this author and will certainly give give them a try. This one just did not work for me.

The relationship between Brandon and Lilly was interesting and dynamic, and highly enjoyable. Lilly's relationship with her sister was one of co-dependency and enabling, and it made me crazy. Not enough attention was paid to the legend of the healing power of the land. This series and the town show promise, and I look forward to more.

He s mountain-tough. She s city-smart. The sparks are about to fly . . .
Only the most resilient of souls could breathe new life into an all-but-forgotten town nestled in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains but what they get in return might be worth the heartache it takes to make it happen . . .
Gracely, Colorado, was once a booming mining town. No one knows that better than Brandon Evans. His father s company kept the town thriving for years until Brandon threatened to expose his illegal practices and drove him away. Everyone blames Brandon and his brother for turning Gracely into a ghost town but the tenacious residents cling to a long-held legend about the land s healing powers. And Brandon has a plan to spin that legend into reality . . .
Lilly Preston took a leap of faith and moved to Gracely a year ago to save her nephew from an abusive situation. She would do anything for him, even sacrifice her glamorous job. Reluctantly, the former PR hot shot takes a job at the ruggedly handsome Evans brothers Mile High Adventures, a company offering restorative Rocky Mountain vacations.
Brandon thinks PR is pointless, and Lilly knows less than nothing about the outdoors. Which is exactly why they need each other in ways neither ever imagined . . .

Review:

I picked up this book because I was attracted to the blurb.

Once I started reading I liked it a lot more.

This is the first book in a new series about brothers who are trying to make up for the sins of their father and ancestor. The setting of an adventure vacation company I thought was a good backdrop and can really lead to some interesting stories and plot points. I had not read this Author and she did a good job of creating an interesting story. It felt like a lot of the story was back-story, but that is to be expected in the first book in the series. Both of the main characters, Lilly & Brandon, were likable and had good chemistry. The scenes were they were out doing adventure activities were my favorite. There is a plot twist that I will not give away, but I am interested to see where it leads the series and the characters.

This was a good set-up/beginning of series book and hope leads to more good books.

3.5Stars
*I voluntarily read an advance reader copy of this book provided by the publisher.*

Need You Now by Nicole Helm is the first in a new small-town series. Not your usual sweet, forgiving, supportive small-town but one that show how a family’s past can haunt the next generation. How true, how true I know since I live in a small-town, I have seen it happen to others like the Evan brothers.

Brandon Evans and Lily Preston have a lot on their plates as they fight their attraction while battling small-town prejudices and family worries. Theirs is a love hard won. The author gives the reader their story with the beautiful Rocky Mountains as the background. The vivid descriptions of the scenery are breath taking.

I personally could have done without the beard, not being a fan of the latest bearded fad among the current generation of males. However the characters were likable; making it a notable start to this series.

I’ve really enjoyed Nicole Helm books in the past – she writes really fun contemporary romances, sometimes featuring farmers (score!) and they make me smile. So I’m sorry to say Need You Now did not give me the smilies. I usually love a grumpy hero but Brandon was just so…depressing…it was hard to root for him. Brandon grew up in Gracely, Colorado and his family owned a mine that employed many people. But after some shady business dealing from his father, the mine fails, and unemployment sky rockets. Brandon, who assumed he would one day take over the mine, is angry at the devastation his father’s actions affected the town he loves. With the mountains, and the forests and the water, Brandon’s blood sings with the beautiful nature. Wanting to give something back to the town, Brandon, his brother Will, and their friend Sam open an adventure company, taking groups of people on hikes and other adventures in the mountains. While their company is successful, the town still gives them the stink-eye and local businesses refuse to work with them. Will and Sam outvote Brandon and decide to bring in a PR person to help their image.

Lilly really needs some work. Moving from Denver to Gracely with her sister and nephew (who were in an abusive relationship) Lilly finds herself in a small town and supporting several people. When she hears the adventure company wants to hire her, she is ecstatic, yet cautious. She knows those three guys are wealthy but also arrogant and does she really want to have to deal with three men, one (Brandon) who really doesn’t even want her there? But she needs the job so she takes it. She starts carefully repairing relationships with local townspeople and all the while, falls for Brandon.

As I said earlier, Brandon is grumpy – but super grumpy. He feels responsible for the town and how his family has let them down. He totally disagrees with hiring Lilly, who isn’t even from Gracely to help with their image. He rarely smiles, and is just in a bad mood. There is no “lusty grumpiness” – you know, the bad mood a hero is in when he won’t admit to himself how attracted he is to the heroine. This was just Brandon with a rain cloud hanging over him.

Lilly definitely has a more sunny personality but in my opinion she comes across as though she thinks she is better than everyone else. Maybe others will get a different impression of her, but to me that is how she felt. There are two twists to the story, one to set up a future book but there is one that directly affects Lilly and Brandon. This makes the HEA complicated, and it felt very rushed at the end. I would say it’s more of a HFN (happy for now) than a HEA.

The setting in this is beautiful, and Will, Brandon’s brother is the town flirt and Sam, their friend is mysterious (he doesn’t own a cell phone!) I hope to like their books better.

Grade: C-

I really enjoyed this book it held my attention and kept me flipping pages. The author does a great job bringing the readers into the story. I loved seeing Brandon and Lilly's story play out. I highly recommend this book. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book from publisher via NetGalley.

This was a new to me author, and I will definitely be looking for more books by her. This was a good small town romance and I am eager to read more about the other brothers.

So. Much. Angst. This book moves very slowly then suddenly it’s over.

Brandon Evans, his twin brother Will, and their friend Sam Goodall, opened Mile High Adventures in their hometown of Gracely, Colorado. It’s a former mining town in desperate need of rejuvenation due to the bad business decisions of the Evans brothers’ dad. Brandon has taken on the responsibility of trying to right the wrongs of his dad. He’s also determined to be nothing like his dad in his business and personal life.

Lilly Preston has always been the dependable one in her family. She took care of her sister, Cora, while her mom worked 3 jobs. Her sister got pregnant at 17 and mom left them. Cora’s boyfriend became abusive and Lilly relocated them all to Colorado. She is quite the enabler for her sister.

Lilly takes a PR job for Mile High Adventures. Brandon is completely against the idea and doesn’t hide the fact. These two begin a like/dislike relationship. We get both POVs. So much whining, push, and pull over responsibilities/problems no one asked them to take on or fix. Lots of inner turmoil. Some humor inserted here and there.

Loved the descriptions of the mountains and waterfall. Made me want to visit. I am also a big fan of the lumberjack look, which all three men had.

I wanted more information about the healing powers of the town. It was mentioned a couple of times but no background information or any details were given. Brandon and Lilly’s relationship needed more developed. We get all the angst then suddenly it’s over.

Despite this book driving me crazy with all the angst, the snippets of Will and Sam’s histories make me curious about their stories. Hopefully Brandon and Lilly’s relationship will continue to develop in the next in series.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC provided by NetGalley.

Need You Now is the story of Brandon Evans & Lilly Preston. Both characters are carrying a lot of excess emotional baggage from the past with them. This baggage affects every decision they make. Brandon, his brother Will & friend Sam are determined to make a success of their business to try to help their hometown. The town has been steadily going downhill since Brandon turned in his father for unethical practices & the mine closed. The town has unfairly blamed the brothers for everything instead of their father.

Lily carries baggage from her childhood & her mother/father. It has completely warped her view of love & relationships. She has an over developed sense of responsibility towards her sister & nephew. From the minute Lily & Brandon meet there is an intense chemistry between them. Can they move past their baggage or will it hold them back? When an event causes Lily to draw into herself, will Brandon abandon her or stick by her side?

I enjoyed the interactions between Lily & Brandon and between each of them & their siblings. They are trying to find a new stage of sibling relationship under the different circumstances. The way the author describes the scenery, the reader can create a picture in their mind. I enjoyed this one & cant wait for Sam's story!

This book was my second stab at reading Nicole Helm. The first book I read by her, So Wrong It Must Be Right, was entertaining but didn’t blow me away. While I still wasn’t floored by this book, I really enjoyed the story.

The concept behind the business Brandon and his brother Will run is great. Their father basically decimated the small town they grew up in because of his greed. Because of the way things went down, Brandon feels partially responsible for the hard times the town is having and most of the townspeople feel the same way. Although their feelings toward him are not justified, he never really explains to anyone the exact way things happened and so I almost can’t blame them for how they react to him.

Lilly is a tough nut to crack. She has great intentions and there are many things I can understand about her reaction to men in general. But even after (finally) getting the whole story of her upbringing it still annoyed me that she seemed to view all men as the same. Yet it broke my heart when she confessed to how she felt about love, being loved, and loving others. This is definitely a woman who can benefit from a bit of therapy! And I don’t say that to be glib…I mean that in the most honest and caring way.

I loved the interactions and the obvious attraction between Brandon and Lilly. What I didn’t love is how a few things were dragged out. Their first dalliance, so to speak, spanned multiple chapters. At first it was cute, the push/pull the two were having. Then we got in their heads a bit too much and I found myself skimming huge chunks of the scene.

The same thing happened when the climactic conflict was revealed. Lilly got far too deep in her head and, for me as the reader, it became a bit drawn out and repetitive. Plus, no matter what happened to Lilly or her family in the past, she was being a downright terrible person. She became super judgmental of both Brandon and Will about something they did before the big conflict (which honestly, she could have looked at it the other way and wondered if they had a right to privacy as much as she worried about the other person involved) and let that carry over into the other things happening between her and Brandon. It was all very frustrating. As I said, it became repetitive or it would have probably been okay.

I hesitate to mention a very big thing that bothered me only because the copy I read of this book was an ARC. I am going to bring it up only because this book has obviously already been through the first few steps in the publishing process and the chances it will be changed before publication are slim. Which, by the way, I don’t fully blame the author for. Someone…anyone…should have caught this! I even looked it up because I thought maybe I was wrong my whole life. You do not row a canoe with one person and two paddles. It just doesn’t work that way. The scene that numerous times mentions Brandon and Lilly being in a canoe is not a canoe by the way it is described…it is a rowboat. I have been in many rowboats, canoes, kayaks, paddleboats, etc. in my life. If I am wrong I apologize for bringing it up, but it was such a huge thing being that Brandon is a wilderness guide.

Although it may seem as though this book wasn’t enjoyed by me, it really was. I enjoyed the chemistry and the storyline and the setting. Sometimes I’m the most critical when I really enjoy a book but little things keep it from being great instead of just good. I think that’s what happened here. I will definitely be looking for the next book in this series. I cannot wait to see how thing play out.

3.5 stars

Review: Need You Now (A Mile High Romance) by Nicole Helm http://wp.me/p3d0RZ-8Q1
Publication Date: May 30, 2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Reviewed by: Reading in Pajamas/ Donna
Rated 4 Stars

A nice romance, more on the emotional side than physical. Brandon and Lilly had a lot of emotional baggage they needed to work through. Although I liked them each, they carried the “I can’t have this relationship” thing a bit too far for me. All in all, an enjoyable story. I look forward to the next Mile High story.

*Review copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

~*~*~*~

Need You Now, by Nicole Helm is a contemporary romance and the first book in A Mile High Romance series.

Mile High Adventures is run by Brandon Evans, along with his twin brother and their best friend, in Gracely, Colorado, which was once a booming mining town. Primarily due to the downfall of Evans Mining Corporation, the town of Gracely is falling apart and most of townspeople blame the Evans brothers.

In order to improve their struggling outdoor adventure company, Mile High Adventures decide (despite Brandon's objections) to hire a public relations consultant, Lilly Preston. She needs this job to stay in Gracely and continuing supporting her sister and nephew, yet Lilly has to deal with her gruff co-workers and the uncooperative townspeople.

This story has a high emphasis on Brandon's fears about repeating family history and becoming his father, as well as Lilly's insecurities about making the same mistakes as her mother and sister. As the story unfolds, Brandon and Lilly are forced to deal with business drama and family complications, including surprise family additions.

Need You Now is a delightful story, which is geared towards those who enjoy reading modern romances.


Note: I received this book from NetGalley, which is a program designed for bloggers to write book reviews in exchange for books, yet the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I LOVED this book!! The story and the characters grabbed my attention from the very first page and I didn't want it to end. Both the main characters and the secondary characters are well developed and fell like friends by the end of the book. I can't wait for more in this new series.

Brandon Evans is hard working and determined but not matter what he does he can seem to change the perception the town of Gracely, CO has about him and his brother. They are still being held accountable for all the wrong their father did and the ultimate decisions Brandon had to make. That's where feisty, sassy, and equally determined Lilly Preston comes in. She is a PR specialist that has been hired by his brother. To say these two headstrong individual clash is an understatement but they definitely need each other and before long....want each other.

This one is fun, sexy, and shouldn't be missed. I highly recommend it.

Brandon Evans and his brothers are trying to right the wrongs of the past and put life back into the little town that their father's shading dealings stole by opening an adventure park. Their hope is that the park and it's rumored healing powers will draw tourists in, and also boost the economy of their little town, problem is they are having trouble swaying the opinions of fellow townsfolk. So, they decide to hire someone to help them with their public relations, which brings Lilly Preston into their lives, and the moment she is there she begins to shake things up!! And catch the eye of one certain brooding brother!

When Lilly Preston takes a PR job at Mile High Adventures park she knows that she is getting in way over her head, especially since she knows virtually nothing about outdoor activities, but she needs a job and they were hiring! And once she meets the brooding, but very handsome, brothers she knows she has her work cut out for her, they need her expertise, but not all of them are on board with what she does or has to offer them. Brandon especially... he has doubts that she can convince the townsfolk to come around to their new business... but she intends to change his way of thinking!

I really enjoyed meeting Brandon and Lilly, their story was well written, heartwarming and very addictive! I had initially planned on reading a chapter before bedtime, but I ended up getting sucked into their world and stayed there until the wee hours of the morning. I loved watching "the little dance" between to these two blossom into something truly special, it of course took them sometime to get to where they needed to be, but every little bump along gave their relationship a very realistic feel. I can't wait to make a return visit to the series, and get better acquainted with the other Evans men... and the ladies who fall under their spell! Highly recommend this one, this charming little town and it's residents are sure to pull you into their world, and have you never wanting to leave!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this title.

I loved the first half of this book and then it went off the rails. I liked the Dynamics and the tension between the two and I loved the setup. I also really liked the settings in Colorado. But the whole sleep together once and get pregnant is one of my least favorite tropes. I thought they lost all their chemistry after that point and the whole talking to siblings enlightment moment was also ridiculous. I'm not sure if I want to continue this series after this book, especially if the next one is about Sam, who we never really got to know in this book

I loved this one by Nicole Helm, introducing three interesting and complex men who are partners but never talk about their hurts and insecurities, just keep moving further.
I really liked the romance between Brandon and Lily, the build-up of the relationship, the conflict, the dialogue, how the heroine cracked the hero’s armor; but the heroine’s stubbornness refusing her baby’s father the opportunity of speaking was irritating.
Despite always enjoying Helm's stories and writing style, I thought that both main characters display traits that were a bit annoying, both with a martyr complex, trying to be the hero/heroine for everyone and help everyone but themselves.
By the end, when both Brandon and Lily’s siblings turned into the wisest people on earth, I confess I was rolling my eyes.
“Need you now” has also a great setting and great secondary characters and I’m eagerly expecting Sam and Hailey’s story and very curious about Will’s.

Overall I really liked this one. Lily and Brandon make a great couple and we're fun to watch the sparks fly. I wish they would have gone on more trips though, as they made me laugh. The only thing that got a little tiresome was how both of then were so overwhelmed with guilt of others and how they tried to carry the world on their shoulders. Other than that, I highly recommend this book and author, and eagerly await the next book in the series.