Review of Give in to Me by Elle Spencer

A namesake character who is also a book reviewer and blogger? Well, I couldn’t say no to this novel even if Elle Spencer wasn’t one of my go-to authors. Gabriela has a book blog and wears Joe Malone perfume, but that’s where the similarities with this humble reviewer stop, and I’m glad for it or it would have been a creepy story instead.

Whitney Ainsworth is a renowned author who has gone through a high-profile divorce from her actress ex-wife. To make things worse, her latest book bombed after a particularly harsh review went viral and now she’s suffering from writer’s block. After a case of mistaken identity, Whit gets involved with the attractive and captivating Gabriela Talbot to later discover that she’s her nemesis. Going any further with Gabriela is out of the question for Whit, if only she could forget her…

This was another entertaining book by Elle Spencer with an original premise of a romance between a book blogger and an author. Of course, this plot has the great potential to be an enemies to lovers story though the author obviously exaggerated the amount of power that a single reviewer can have over the success or failure of a book. However, Ms. Spencer makes the enemies to lovers trope work well in the context of this story.

I have said it before in my review of Casting Lacey and I’m going to repeat myself here. In my opinion, Ms. Spencer thrives when writing humourous parts. Having watched this author interacting with her peers in a Bold Strokes Books panel recently, I get why. Ms. Spencer is funny and charismatic and she should consider a career as a stand-up comedian. It’s no wonder that this book is full of hilarious one-liners, witty comments and full-on banter. Some parts made me laugh out loud.

Having said that, I admit that the relationship drama parts didn’t engage me as much. I warn you that I’m not a fan of drama so take my criticism with a pinch of salt. I found that this story had a lot of twists and turns that kept the drama going but not my interest in it. At least not as much as the funny parts did. The secondary characters were more engaging in those funny moments while in the middle of the drama they were sometimes downright unlikeable.

The main characters are good in the chemistry department, their meet cute was very promising though the sex scenes could have done with a bit more spice. But again, this is my personal taste and I’m sure that Ms. Spencer’s fans are gonna be mostly happy with her new book. If you like your romance served with a lot of drama and some funny moments, then this is for you. 4 stars.