Love, Me by Jessica Saunders is a book that is both enjoyable and thought provoking. The narration by Emily Ellet draws the reader in, is engaging, and helps us to feel for the characters. The story follows Rachel. We see her life go from simple to complex overnight. Thrown into the public fray due to the betrayal by her husband Rachel finds herself questioning her marriage, her choices, and her future.

I enjoy books that challenge the reader leading one to explore their beliefs and values. I could see this as a book club book as we could compare the characters actions in relation to our current social climate. Still, it is not always serious. There are funny, sweet, and loving, interactions between the characters. I would definitely recommend adding this book to your to be read list.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and the author for the opportunity to listen to this book for my honest review.

Really enjoyed this. Will most likely purchase for my library’s collection. The twists were not overly expected and kept the story interesting.

I really enjoyed this story! A deep dive into a 40-something’s not so perfect marriage and her journey of rediscovering herself. It was fast paced and explored marriage, betrayal, forgiveness and friendship in a way that makes you evaluate your own life a bit. I especially enjoyed the ending!! 🙌🏻
The narration was excellent and very enjoyable to listen to!

Thank you netgalley, dreamscape media and jessicasaunders for allowing me to listen to this lovely story ahead of release!

Summary: An entertaining and addictive debut novel. I devoured this audiobook in one day. It’s not your typical romance (or at least not for me) but I immediately became invested and couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed this in audiobook format.

Wow, this was a wild and messy ride. Even if I wanted to stop I just couldn’t. The characters were flawed in the most realistic way. It’s a story with a raw depiction of marriage, second chances, and the idea of the one that got away. There was betrayal, drama, and the chaos that ensued. I was audibly gasping on multiple occasions! Rachel had a lot of tough decisions to make and while I did not agree with all of her choices, I was invested in her journey and happiness.

Tropes + things
First loves
Second chance
Dual timeline
Celebrity Romance
Drama + betrayal

🎧 I’m familiar with Emily Ellet and felt like she did a fantastic job. I feel confident her performance pulled me even deeper into the story than if I had been eyeball reading.

Thank you Netgalley & Dreamscape Media for the advance copy of the audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for an arc audio-copy of Love, Me by Jessica Saunders in exchange of an honest review.
Love, Me" by Jessica Saunders is an incredibly compelling and addictive read that delves into the complexities of love and relationships. The story revolves around Rachel Miller, a married mother of two, whose life is upended when scandalous photos of her and her high school boyfriend, now a famous actor, are exposed to the public.
What makes this book so captivating is the way it explores the aftermath of the scandal and how it forces Rachel to reevaluate her entire life. As she questions her unhappy marriage, her role as a lawyer and mother, and where Jack fits in her life, readers are taken on a journey filled with emotional depth and introspection.
One of the book's strengths is its ability to offer a deep and meaningful exploration of marriage and motherhood. Through Rachel's perspective, readers gain insight into the complexities and challenges of balancing different roles and realizing that something, or someone, may be missing from their lives.

Overall, "Love, Me" is a riveting and thought-provoking read that offers both an engaging plot and a profound exploration of relationships and self-discovery.

I struggled with how I felt about the storyline the whole book, but I thought the writing was great and perfect length for this book.

This was an emotional ride. I was angry at a few points in the book, but then the ending came and I wanted more (but in a good way!)

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

I really enjoyed this audio book. Rachel is portrayed as a regular mom who does everything for her family, when all of the sudden she is on the front page of the paper and isn't sure what she wants in life anymore. She is very relatable. The Narrator did a great job!

It was a book that from the first page caught my attention I loved that we get to see flashbacks of the relationship, I read just like half of the description so it was a little confusing the things the main character would do, I didn't guess the person who started all the mess and it had me at the edge of my seat what this girl would do because we get to see both love stories, but I think Jack was kind of stupid for what he did in college when we get to see to read his letter I literally gasped.
The ending I liked it we can assume what happens but I really wanted to see a little more :(
I had the opportunity of hearing the audiobook of this book and the narrator was incredible you could tell who was talking when she changed her voice even when she talked really fast and even when people were gossiping you feel like someone else was talking, just a good story and audiobook overall.
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and this author for this audiobook in exchange of an honest review

Rachels marriage is on auto-pilot with a lot of issues bubbling beneath the surface not being addressed. She is quietly seething about the lack of support and effort from her husband. When she discovers that he has not only betrayed the family financially, but literally sold her out to the highest bidder she is stupefied. He saved himself, but literally pushed her in front of a speeding train and expects her to understand his actions and forgive him. That he has impacted her trust in him, his commitment to their family, her career (their major source of income as they now have zero savings), caused her so much emotional pain and embarrassment doesn’t register with him as he blames her for his feeling the way he did. She then learns that her friends weren’t really her friends, her parents are generally more supportive of her husband and her long term BFF also betrayed her to the very core. Rachel takes time to discover what she wants, who she wants to be, what she wants the rest of her life to look like and not look like and discovers she is a wealth of forgiveness and most importantly the beauty of second chance love. I really liked that this book had substance. didn’t wrap up with the typical HEA, but gave us a more somewhat more realistic’ish HEA laden with hope and possibility. I can’t wait for what comes next from this author.

I really enjoyed this unique book. I would categorize it as women's fiction, because despite the romantic elements... it was really about one woman's complicated journey toward finding herself and what she wanted. The author will have readers unsure about where the ending goes, although I think readers will be satisfied with the ending as well as the short epilogue to give a little bit of closure to the story.

The audiobook was well done. I wasn't a huge fan of the narrator's "male" voice but that is not something that keeps me from enjoying an audiobook like this one. If it was more romance and less women's fiction I personally would have not been as drawn to a male character.

FEEDBACK ON THE AUDIOBOOK NARRATION (2-3 stars): It seems some fellow reviewers enjoyed this book thanks to the narrator, but I felt that the narrator spoke in a very slow and sleepy pace. It was much better when I listened at a faster speed. At first, I thought the narrator was trying to portray the weariness of the main character but realized this was just their narration style. They also used too many different voices for Rachel, which killed the authenticity that I otherwise felt in the writing itself.

FEEDBACK ON THE WRITING ITSELF (4 stars): This book is about nostalgia, second chances with “the one who got away”, but most importantly, how to move forward. Considering that this book contains potentially heavy topics — including broken relationships and less-than-prudent choices during said relationships — the writer portrayed the complexity of these topics through a compassionate and authentic lens.

It's very easy to judge a lot of these characters for their choices — in fact, none of them are very likable for this reason — but the writing offers different perspectives and character growth.

Moreover, the time jumps are well utilized to develop nostalgia, suspense/tension, and the central relationship in a gradual and believable way.

⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Thank you to Dreamscape Media who provided this audiobook ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

💖 Love, Me was on my 2024 TBR pile so I am ✨thrilled✨ to have listened ahead of its publication day!

A well paced story told across dual timelines, it’s a really enjoyable listen! I devoured it in one sitting this weekend. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Jessica Saunders ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Audiobook narration. I’m off to find more audiobooks read by Emily Ellet ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley + Dreamscape Media for giving me the opportunity to listen to Love, Me before it publishes! Love, Me is out tomorrow, 16th January 2024 💖 #LoveMe #NetGalley

When a suburban mom and wife finds herself as the topic of an interesting story starring her past (and her first love), she is shocked to discover the betrayal behind it, and through her hurt, she has to make some big decisions.
I am a little torn with this one. I wanted to like the story, but the drama that came into play wasn’t really my style 🤷🏽‍♀️. I feel like if her marital status was different, I’d like the story better, but that’s like saying I’d like this book if it had a completely different plot 😂.
I can tell you already that my opinion will be an unpopular opinion and once this book hits the stores on Tuesday, others will love it, so take my review with a grain of salt.
I am not saying it is a terrible book. The narrator was wonderful and I can tell the book was written well. I feel like the plot itself wars with the things I value, though.

Rachel is in her mid-thirties, plugging along in her life as a hard-working lawyer, wife, and mom. Her world turns upside down when salacious photos of her and her high school boyfriend winds up on Page Six. Her high school boyfriend, Jack, is now a huge Hollywood star and suddenly Rachel is in the media spotlight. She also is seeing cracks in her marriage while also dealing with unresolved feelings from her relationship with Jack. Love, Me is not a romance, which is fine, but I don't think it went deep enough into the complexities of marriage. Many of the characters read as immature to me and weren't fleshed out very well. I did think this book handled one of my least favorite tropes (the big bad thing that broke a couple up in the past) in a fairly realistic way (i.e. being dumb in your late teens/early 20s). Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review.

BINGEABLE WOMEN'S FICTION

Was approved for the audiobook this morning and just finished. I listened to the audiobook and switched to ebook towards the end.

Rachel is kind of stuck in her marriage and routines. With her kids and job as a lawyer, she has a lot on her plate. Her world is upended when old pictures and love letters are published in a gossip magazines.


Through flashbacks we learn about Rachel's relationships.
Rachel's first boyfriend is now a famous actor and her husband, Dan, has a gambling problem. Dan also doesn't have the same work ethic as she does, and they need to figure things out.


This one is so fun! but there are heavy topics, so it's not just fluff.

Wow, what a story! Jessica Saunders' Love, Me is not your usual boy meets girl romance. This story is a modern tale about mature characters who lose sight of what's important, lose the focus about what's driving their lives, and dig deep to find their path again.

The story is centered around Rachel, who discovers her husband has betrayed her trust, and realizes that her current life isn't everything it could be.

The other characters get their stories told as well, but only through how they revolve around Rachel.

There's some time line jumping as well, which works nicely in the novel.

The audio version of Love, Me is performed by Emily Ellet who does a nice job creating a unique voice for each of this varied cast of characters.

The synopsis grabbed me and I was really curious about this one. The writing style was great and I felt that the pace was prefect. The FMC, Rachel, had some tough things thrown her way and had to make some hard choices. I found myself wondering if I would have done things the same in her shoes. The ending wrapped up nicely and I would certainly read more by this author in the future. This is a great weekend read.

Love, Me will surely be one of my top reads of 2024. I cannot wait for the official release date and I plan to recommend it as a book club choice to my friends. As a forty-year old, married mom with a career, I felt an instant connection to Rachel. Rachel is trying to juggle it all and just when she’s got things under control, pictures and letters from her high school boyfriend, now a famous movie star, are published online. Jack was Rachel’s first love and she worked hard to move past their relationship and thought she’d put the past behind her when she met her husband. While I found myself incredibly frustrated with the selfishness and horrible decisions that several characters made in this book, I was invested! I loved the second-chance romance and the nostalgia that the dual timelines helped develop. My favorite was that author, Jessica Saunders’, put Rachel’s relationship with herself as the top priority. The audiobook narration was fabulous and I was sad when Rachel’s story came to an end. I will be recommending Love, Me to all for the perfect way to start your 2024 reading goals!

A sincere thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a GREAT story to listen to! AWESOME narration! Great main characters. The plot was easy to find. The story was engaging and easy to follow. Will be purchasing this book. Shout out to Netgalley and publishing for allowing me to listen and review this story.

4 STARS!