By Christine Kersey Over You: (Romantic Suspense) (1st First Edition) [Paperback]

Over You #1

by Christine Kersey

When Jessica Stevens temporarily moves in with her elderly aunt to help care for her, she plans to use the time to heal from a recent break-up. But when her aunt decides to do some remodeling on the old house, Jessica is dismayed to discover that the contractor is her ex-fiancé, a man who dumped her several years before.

Helping distract her from her troubles are mysterious fifty-year-old letters she finds in her aunt's attic. The contents of the letters spur Jessica to do some digging, but as the truth of the past begins to be revealed, Jessica regrets ever finding the letters.

Over You does not contain any profanity or sexual content.

Genres: Romance, Mystery, Romantic Suspense, Ebooks, Fiction, Contemporary, Amazon

Unknown Binding

First published August 1, 2012

About the author

Christine loves to read, but also loves to write suspenseful stories. She enjoys camping and hiking with her family and watching movies. Check out her website: christinekersey.com

Reviews

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

So freaking frustrating! I had a hard time believing this book. I severely disliked the main character, she was childish. All the characters acted like teenagers. I couldn't believe Jess would give Alex the time of day after she broke up with him. And the other love interest Kyle was barely in the book. He and Jess never communicated and then I'm supposed to believe that they get back together (after 5 years!) and there is nothing to work through...everything is hunky-dory? The so called mystery was not very interesting. I didn't really believe that Douglas (the bad guy) could jump to all of the conclusions that he had to jump to in order to confront Jess.

[Kathy * Bookworm Nation · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, I can only imagine how much work goes into writing a book, so I hate writing negative reviews. I thought this one started off good, I got sucked in and wanted to see what would happen next. Seemed like it would have a decent plot and likable characters. Unfortunately, it went down hill for me. It seemed to be filled with pointless scenes, rehashing or overly detailed and the more I read the less I liked Jessica.

The book starts with Jessica dumping her boyfriend for cheating on her. It was great that she was strong and stood up for herself. She wants some time away so she goes to stay with her aunt. Right when she gets there the aunt hurts her foot and is conveniently out of the picture, forcing Jessica to have encounters with her ex-fiancé, who dumped her for no reason (seriously, NO reason) five years previously. I thought okay, Jessica was pretty tough on her ex Alex so she'll be strong around Kyle. Nope, she just gets pathetic and mopey about him. Thinking she still loves him and is bitter to see him engaged to another lady who has a daughter (who she thinks is his for the whole book). Okay, I get seeing him would bring up some old feelings. BUT, he dumped you for no reason, has clearly moved on and is in a committed relationship. Wouldn't seeing all that give you some closure and since it has been so long shouldn't you be able to get over it? Add to that the fact that he barely talks to you or treats you with any interest, when she does bring up their past he says he doesn't want to talk about it. GET OVER HIM already. Their relationship/romance just wasn't doing it for me. And this is coming from someone who LOVES a good lost-love story. And, I was frustrated when the ex Alex shows up and proposes and Jessica thinks she conflicted about her feelings for Kyle and seems to have forgotten that Alex had lied and cheated on her. She clearly just wanted to keep Alex around to get a reaction out of Kyle and really didn't have feelings for Alex, except he made her feel wanted.

The mystery was insane and pointless. Jessica finds some old "love" letters in her aunts attic. The previous owner had an affair with a married women who became pregnant and went back to her husband. Okay, am I supposed to buy into their romance? I'm sorry, but I have no sympathy for people who cheat. I don't feel bad for his love going back to her husband. They shouldn't have gotten into that situation in the first place. Anyway, why does Jessica care about discovering who the mistress was anyway? Aside from being the previous owner of the house she has no connection to him. So who cares? I guess she does, cause she starts snooping around trying to dig up who the lady was. Which obviously makes people mad and drama ensues. Which could have been avoided if she had just minded her own business. She's a computer programmer not Nancy Drew.

I had to do a lot of skimming and around 70% gave up and just skipped to the end to see how everything wraps up. I was mad that when Kyle finally comes clean about breaking up with her it really was for no reason. Some dumb reason about being scared and young. Oh brother, don't propose in the first place then. And be a man and admit it at the time. I was hoping for a little more. Oh, and I was totally annoyed when Kyle says he has totally ended things with Melanie, but still wants to be a part of her daughters life. You're not her real dad and as hard as it is, you have to end the relationship with the daughter too. She's young, she'll get over it. If you really want to be her dad, then you need to dump Jessica and marry Melanie, you cant have the little girl without the mom. I won't bother with the next book, I can already tell that plot will bother me to no end.

Overall, just not the book for me. The writing has promise, but just too much useless information and not enough character development. The mystery was weird and I wasn't sure why we should be invested in the "mystery". Could have been better.

Content
Clean, kissing and mild violence

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

omg - this was painful.

the writing - bad
the characters - unconvincing
i forced myself to finish it.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of my first reads when I got a Kindle (way before the Kindle Fire). I just reread it so I could read the sequel without being lost.
Jessica breaks up with her boyfriend, Alex, and wants to get away for a little while, so she moves in with an elderly aunt and ends up running into her ex-fiance, Kyle, who suddenly called off their engagement 5 years ago. Besides all the romance angst of dealing with Kyle on a daily basis and Alex suddenly showing up trying to win her back, Jessica finds a mystery in her aunt's attic. Love letters belonging to the house's former owner from a woman known only as "B". Jessica gets really interested in finding out who "B" is and finds herself in danger.
I enjoyed the mystery part of the book more than the romantic part. I found Jessica a little immature, and I thought Alex was too needy in the way he tracked Jessica down after she broke up with him. I did like Kyle and her aunt. I rated this book 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4).

[Valerie Waters · Rating 4 out of 5]

What?!?!? It can NOT end there!! Ugh! I actually really liked Kyle. I liked the mystery that unfolded. I did feel like the ending was a bit rushed. Alex was a tool! Why would she even consider going back with him!!?!? I actually think she needs to dump both boys, move home and meet a new guy. She obviously isn't in love with Alex and how could she EVER trust Kyle again?!?!

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

The circumstances of their romance was hardly original. I can't even begin to remember the amount of books I've read where the girl goes to visit an aunt after a nasty breakup only to run into an old flame/crush - whatever. But really, there is no romance.

The storyline of the letters was interesting & I wish the author had spent more time on that aspect of the story. The entire book felt drug on. If the mystery of the letters had been the focus of the book & not our MC mooning over her failed love life, we might have had a pretty decent story.

... maybe Ill do a more detailed review later. But as of now, 2.5 not so thrilling Stars

[Minie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The love is unconvincing between all the characters. I just don't see anything deep between any of them. Character development - nonexistent, major plot... Eh... No back ground on any of their relationships to see how they 'love' one another... The words are spoken, but no real substance. Don't bother with this. Such a waste of time. If Tia was supposed to be romance... It's horribly done. I don't feel the romance at all... Just very fake people proclaiming their love for one another without the action to back it up.

[T.K. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book drew me in right from the start and held my attention throughout. However, the plot began to feel forced, and the main character's behavior was too inconsistent. With a really good editor, Kersey's writing could be great; it's just not there yet. 2.5 stars

[Ailin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book reminded me of one of those Lifetime movies where there's a little bit of everything, drama, suspense and a twist. It all played pretty plain in my head. I must say it was very repetitive with her daily things I just skimmed most of the time to get to dialogues. The romance between her and her two boyfriends (past/present) did not capture me at all. In both cases there's nothing that bonds these relationships that one could feel closer to...It was not a terrible read but not one of the best ones I've read. Even though it has 32 chpts thankfully they are pretty short and I was able to read the entire book during a 4 day cruise. Also, I hate when this happens to me, there is a sequel to this that I did not know about but not interested.

[Parhelion · Rating 2 out of 5]

My feelings and rating of this book were a bit of the emotional rollercoaster that should typify the plot of a romance novel. Let me take you on that journey of how I got to two stars, when at one point it was as high as a four. Please note, spoilers.

Initially, this was a two to three star book in my eyes. The writing wasn't great but it was fairly typical of the indie clean romance genre, a little bit too much telling of feelings and rehashing details for my liking. It's not a literary masterpiece. But that's okay, because I wasn't reading it to be blown away by the words. I was reading it for the feels. And I was starting to get the feels.

The book starting well and truly creeping up to the three star mark when Jessica was confronted by the fact her boyfriend cheated on her and how that brought up her insecurities. I also liked that despite being quite insecure because of previous relationship problems, she was strong enough to ditch the dude, even though he was begging her to come back, despite admitting he was very much in love with the woman he cheated with. Good on her. You can't trust him, so get rid of him, and who wants to stay with someone knowing you aren't their first choice?

It bounced up to four stars when she escaped to her aunt's house and suddenly is faced with her ex-fiance (Kyle) doing the renos on the old lady's home. The writing wasn't the best but that didn't matter. The author did an excellent job making me feel the stress and distress this poor woman had over facing her ex who abandoned her, without a word, while they were planning their wedding. As he is clearly the love interest, I felt very committed to seeing how they would work through their issues to rebuild the trust and the broken relationship.

And then it went hugely downhill. I will summarise why and then provide more specific examples: this book is filled with immature people who engage in toxic relationship patterns. And it kind of glorifies that. Some examples (please note, this is note exhaustive):

1. Jessica, who has just broken up with her BOYFRIEND for cheating on her (he was caught kissing the person who he basically claimed is the love of his life, but unable to have her because she is married, now wants Jessica back), finds letters detailing an actual love affair between a MARRIED WOMAN and a single man, resulting in a child, and she completely backs the woman. Erm... when you get cheated on, you tend not to side with other cheaters, and this cheating was way worse. So... sigh. Not very believable or an admirable characteristic for a protagonist in a romance to have.

2. Jessica strings her ex-boyfriend on, even to the point of agreeing to marry him (and then dumping him the next day but still wearing his ring, just in case she changes her mind), and her major motive for this is making her ex-fiance Kyle jealous and also give the impression she is not single. That is very exploitative, deceitful, and immature. It would be fine for the main character to have these awful character traits if they grow through them, but she doesn't. Instead, the more important thing here is that it drives the plot and we see Kyle's jealousy. It also really sucks that she would do this because she is apparently so traumatised by the fact Kyle did a similar thing to her five years before, and she is basically now doing the same thing to her ex-boyfriend.

3. Kyle has a habit of dumping people, no warning. So, five years ago, things were going really well with Kyle and Jessica. They were in love. They were planning their wedding. And then he doesn't show up for a cake-tasting and later tells her over the phone or by text (can't remember which) that it's over between them with no other explanation. And now, in the present, Kyle is in a very committed relationship with another woman. She has a daughter who calls him Daddy. He is smooching her in the house. They are happy. They are touchy-feely. Things are great. Woman thinks he's gonna propose soon. And then, out of the blue, he dumps her because he realises he is still in love with Jessica. The dude gives no warnings. Things are good and then he dumps and runs. And Jessica is willing to take a risk with that? No thanks. (The only positive is that she does expect him to now prove herself). But really, the dude hasn't changed that much in five years if he's just gone and done a similar thing. I liked Kyle until then. Now I cannot honestly wish for him to be in a happy relationship until he goes and works on himself.

3. Alex is a bit of a stalker and just shows up, not respecting Jessica's boundaries, wanting to get back together. She said no. Piss off.

4. Her aunt and her mother also don't seem to respect boundaries. Despite her repeatedly telling her aunt how much seeing Kyle hurts her and she doesn't want to see him, her aunt encourages her to keep her options open with him and forces her to deal with him. Even worse is her mother, who personally visits with a message from her ex-boyfriend that she should reconsider him (erm... mind your own business!) and also gives him enough info that he can find out where she is and track her down. SIGH.

These were just a few of the issues that ruined the book for me and made me drop it down. I kept reading, hoping these flaws were things that would be confronted as the characters grew and became worthy of each other. And that would have made the book excellent. But they weren't confronted. And thus, we went from a four stars to a two.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was supposed to be a romance/mystery, however, I thought the romance was pretty trite and there wasn't much mystery. I guess it was an okay romance, but very predictable. I thought Jessica was very immature. Jessica drops her boyfriend, Alex, because he's stepping out on her. She goes to live with her aunt for a while and discovers the man she really loves (but who dumped her 5 years ago) is there. At least it was clean with no sex and no swearing.

[Misha Crews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am entranced by old houses, so I was immediately hooked by the idea of finding a set of old love letters in the attic and trying to unravel the mystery of who the lovers were and what happened to them. This book was a pleasant way to while away a few hours.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed. the love affair of the letters and the route it took. the wishy washy main character and the alex and kyle thing. and alex freaking cheated on her and shes all..wishy washy. whatever. theres a second book but im not so certain I will look into it.

[Anna Cisney Barclay · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book in my kindle library, and I didn't remember reading it so I decided to try it out. I'm writing this review in hopes that I will actually look up my prior goodreads reviews and won't accidentally read it again.

The "suspense" in this book is that Jessica finds old love letters between two people having an affair. They had a baby together, and she wants to figure out who the mysterious lady is. As she's solving that mystery, she's also trying to deal with her own personal life drama. She caught her ALMOST-fiance cheating on her, and she dumped him. Her EX-fiance keeps showing up in her life, and she realize she's still crazy for him. But she thinks he's almost engaged to his girlfriend. And her ALMOST comes back and begs here to take him back, and plans really nice dates, and she's flattered so she eventually agrees to marry him. The story is just hard to believe because she was apparently way into Mr. ALMOST before he broke her heart, but when he comes back she seems more flattered by his attention than anything- where's the heartbreak you're recovering from!? She's got plenty of heartache from Mr. EX even though they had been broken up for a while- to the point she is just constantly expressing her anger towards him. But they never DISCUSS like REASONABLE ADULTS all the hurt she is still holding on to. She just grumps and grumps at him outwardly while inwardly swooning at how much she's still in love with him. He doesn't do anything- ANYTHING- cute to try to win her back, or to communicate with her, or to even just spend more time with her than is absolutely necessary. Seriously, he storms off several times. And then comes back because he has been hired to do a job for her aunt so he needs to return. She doesn't do anything but snap at him and hide from him when she sees him around town. There is seriously ZERO romance there. But at the end, they FINALLY have their two minute conversation to clear the air- why it took that long to talk?!?!!- and then they kiss and make up. I hate to say it. I don't have hope for them as a couple. They can't even communicate. So that's a problem. Oh yeah, and the mystery got solved. The end. Except for is it?! Because she still hasn't technically all the way told Mr. ALMOST (/now also EX #2) fiance that they are *for sure for sure off*. To be continued in book #2 (which I am not reading). Uggh......

[Nancy Brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

A second chance romance, that is a breath of fresh air because it is not sexually explicit nor full of profanity.

Jessica, reeling from a recent breakup to Alex, decides to visit her aunt Ellen, who is dealing with an illness. Unfortunately, her aunt is planning on renovating her home, and has chosen Kyle, the man who broken off their engagement five years earlier. Frankly, Jess has never quite stopped loving him so when they meet again, the tension between the two is unmistakable as particularly Kyle appears to have moved on with a gorgeous woman, Melanie, with a daughter.

In addition to the continuing tension between the two, Jessica discovers a mysterious correspondence fifty years old. Her interest piqued, she begins to investigate, but her sleuthing may set her at odds with locals, who'd rather keep long buried secrets quiet.

Will she ever find out who wrote the letters? Will she ever find love? Will it be with Alex, who appears and wants to marry her, or will there be a rekindling of love with Kyle? Or will Kyle end up with Melanie? Is it all about being 'Over You'?

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun, interesting story with an intriquing plot, and I did enjoy reading it; however I felt the suspense plot was very under-developed. Police were involved on a couple of occasions, but very little investigation developed - nothing to show that the police investigated the happenings, dug into Teresa's suspicions or charged the criminal with the past or current murders. All we are told is that he was arrested and put in jail for an attempted murder. I was far more interested in the Theresa's detective work and what she discovered, then in her love life.

I also thought that the characters, Kyle, Teresa, Alex and Melanie all appeared to be very immature for their age, and their constant questioning of their emotional feelings and their indecisions i their relatationships got somewhat boring.

Having said all the above, I still want to continue reading the sequel and other books by this author.

[Rachael Dorronsoro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica temporarily moves in with her aunt to help are for her, she is hoping to heal from a recent break up, but when her aunt hires her ex-fiance, the man who dumped her 5 years before, she is finding life with her aunt difficult. To distract herself she finds some letters in her aunt’s attic and she decides to play detective, not knowing what the consequences will be.

This was a cute story, I loved the setting, I felt that Jessica was a great character and I felt for her loss, and the things she was going through. This book was quite the page turner and I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen, I stayed up way too late reading this one. I loved the style of writing.

This was a clean romantic read, I gave this book 4 stars.

[Crislee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet/clean romance. The word clean is rarely used to describe most Romance novels. This was a pleasant surprise because many seem to border on porn if you ask me.
Ok, so I'd have given it 5 stars had the main character not been so bull-headed stubborn. However, I guess it would have been a much shorter book had she not. I do also wish we had far more character development for Kyle. We know very little of where he's been and what he's been doing over the years. There's very little dialogue with him at all until the end. I'm sure the subsequent books get better. And this was a good short read and I certainly don't regret reading it.

[Victoria Simcox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jessica wishes that she’d never discovered the letters. Reading them edged her on to find out more about the past, however, the truth about the days gone by may have been better off kept concealed. She’d discovered the half a century old letters in her aunt’s attic, and at first, they were a great interference and part of her calamities. She’d come to help her aunt get better, but she may have gotten more than she’d bargained for. This is a good read, so if you're looking for a clean romance, this is an entertaining one. There's a lot of depth to the plot and the characters are well done. All in all, it is an enjoyable story.

[Jessica Liza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did really like this book! I'd read it again. My only issue was just the assumptions she lives by. I hate books where they assume something (like she assumes his proposal) and then that becomes a main premise of the book. If Melanie would have lied and said she got a ring or something, that would have been more believable. I don't know, that just bothers me. But I liked the rest of it. I also didn't like how she got back with Alex after he "cheated". But I can see how it would happen given her jealousy.

[Yuko Todo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was, I think, well-described that how the woman has felt, feels, and thinks. It was also fun to read the part that the woman found the letters in the garret. It brought an atmosphere that the woman and readers were allowed to go back to their childhood. It is actually a metaphor that the main character had to face what is still left in her mind from the painful past. It would be much better if feelings and thoughts of the guy, who broke the woman's heart, were also expressed.

[john taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first of a shelf,containing 13 kindle free romance novels.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book.The authors style of writing flows so easy.This one is a bit too lovey dovey in parts,but has a little side plot that keeps you interested.I am a fan of romance novels for their uncomplicated stories,which could happen to anyone.Will endeavour to purchase "second chances"which is the sequel to this feel good read.Recommended.

[Susana · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading some not very good reviews of this book, I'll be honest and say that my expectations were none. And I did well because this book is just average: simple plot, simple characters (the main character, Jessica, really got on my nerves most of the time), very flat writing.
Sorry but I could have lived without reading this.

[Rita B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not for lack of trying.

You come to town to help a sick aunt. Then she hurts her ankle. So has to stay somewhere else to get therapy. Oh yeah did I mention the contractor who was working on her house is also injured so he sends my ex fiance to do the job? What more can I tell you.

[Linda Saffold · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed

This book ended without an end. You have to purchase the second book
In the series at the same time. It seems to be a good story just caught me off guard with
No ending.

[Virginia L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the second time around.

A story with lots of interest. I enjoyed reading this story but thought Jessica was just a little over the edge with her treatment of Kyle. There's trama, curiosity and danger enough to hold your intrest.

[Jessie hastings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exactly what is should be

This book does exactly as it should. It provides a light weight mystery to “pass a good time” on a short break in outline. Good characters, plot is close to believable and it’s just about the right length to hold interest without becoming old.

[bevevrley ann watson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Booting

Surely other ways of saying I wemt to work on my computer could have been used instead of booting every time. It occurs 15 plus times

[Donna Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clean read.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who

A mystery to solve, a former fiance, and a broken romance, what is a go to do. Who and what are questions that need answers.