BOOK REVIEW: Sawyer Says by Carey Heywood

 4 Stars

Sawyer Sterling was orphaned as a child, brushed aside by her only remaining grandparent, and essentially raised in boarding school with the exception of the summers she spent with Jared Keller and his mom. Now adults, Sawyer and Jared have become roommates after hers moved away to get married, and Jared went through an emotional divorce.

Although friendship is all Sawyer claims to want, at her roommate’s wedding she hooks up with Jared. And who can blame her? Holy cow, Jared is hot, sweet, and extremely patient and understanding. As in if you look up ‘patience’ and ‘understanding’ in the dictionary you’ll find this boy’s picture there. He’s the gem of the book. Having grown up with her he knows what Sawyer needs and when she needs it. And he’s exactly what Sawyer needs because she has a few issues she has to work through.

As a result, Sawyer is a bit cold at times and totally pessimistic. Yes, I understand she’s been dealt some blows in life that caused her to put up walls and have some feelings of insecurity; but sometimes she makes some uncool moves that she seems to feel is okay or justified but hurt Jared and others who care about her. So there were places were I almost agreed that she wasn’t good enough for Jared. Again the guy is just swoon-worthy.

The story is just as much romance as it is a story of self discovery. Though told via Sawyer and Jared’s alternating first person point of views, it’s largely about Sawyer’s journey—to accept the past, uncover some family secrets, and move on so that she can learn to love and be loved. There’s a touch of mystery in regards to her grandmother which kept the story engaging, and plenty of sexy encounters with Jared which amplified the heat factor. And though they start hitting it right from the beginning, there is no insta-lust or insta-love here as their friendship is still core to their relationship.

I was a little disappointed that the story didn’t end with Jared getting the one thing that he seemed to long for and would definitely have been good at. Perhaps the epilogue just didn’t go far enough into the future, but I just felt that he did so much for her that he should have gotten a little “extra” as part of their happy ever after.

Sawyer Says is a spin-off novel from Him and Her (Sawyer's previous roommate Sarah and her husband Will's story) that can easily be read as a stand-alone as Sarah and Will just make minor appearances in this one. 

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