Be with Me

Strickland Sisters #3

by Alexandria House

Former career student, Nicole Strickland, is smart, spoiled, loud, irreverent, and flagrantly promiscuous. Her greatest desire is to live a life of leisure, and Attorney Travis McClure is just the man to make her dreams come true. Entrepreneur Damon Davis is Nicole's best friend, has been since they crossed paths in second grade, and has loved her for as long as he’s known her. And the truth of the matter is, Nicole cares for him, too. There's not much Damon doesn't know about Nicole and he accepts her, all of her, as is. The only thing keeping these two apart is a past hurt Nicole can't seem to let go of. Oh, and her engagement to Travis. Damon wants his rightful place in her heart. Nicole wants to protect her heart from the only man with the power to break it. In the end, will Nicole give Damon what he's craved his whole life, the chance to be with her?

***Note: Be with Me is an unconventional romance with an atypical hero and heroine. It contains acts of infidelity, profanity, and strong sexual content. If you do not like these elements included in your romantic reads, this is not the book for you.***

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Friends To Lovers, African American Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, African American

307 pages, Paperback

First published September 27, 2017

About the author

About the author
A true southern girl, Alexandria House has an affinity for a good banana pudding, Neo Soul music, and tall black men in suits. When this music-loving fashionista is not shopping, she's writing steamy stories about real black love.

Verve Romance: @msalexhouse

Instagram: @msalexhouse

TikTok: @msalexhouse

Facebook: Alexandria House

Reviews

[Lacey (laceybooklovers)]

This was QUITE the messy romance lol. Not even Alexandria House could make me love two cheating main characters.

[Annette Williams]

I absolutely detested Nikki. She was a horrible heroine! Nikki was every bad adjective you cold think of to describe an ungrateful, immature, whiny, jealous, clingy female. In the beginning, I honestly did not get why Damon was so enamored with her. But, after understanding their history, I see why he put up with so much from her. Nikki and Damon's story is a straight emotional roller coaster. You will feel every single possible emotion with this book. Be prepared to laugh, cry, cuss, and yell. It's packed with a whole lot drama and an unexpected plot twist.

[Rashawnda]

As the baby of the Strickland sisters, Nicki was a spoiled, entitled selfish thorn in everybody’s side but that was their sister and they’re going to stick beside her🫠 I knew Nicki was going to take us on a journey of foolishness and she did not disappoint. After getting her heart broken in high school, Nic swore off love and decided belonging to the streets was a much safer place to dwell.

Now she’s set to marry a judges son and while this may look as if it’s cleaning up her image, bess believe Nicki is still pop lockin and dropping that 🐱 🎶all through the town 🎶

Mr Heartbreaker himself returns into Nic’s life and while they are still the best of friends, he wants more while Nic is hollering from the highest hill 🗣️not over my dead body!!

Chyyyyy this woman worked my nerves and Dame had the patience of Job as he proved himself worthy when it came to Nicki. The man should’ve cut his losses and moved on but I guess he saw something in Nicki that even she didn’t see in herself. I know we most certainly didn’t see it 🥴

I thoroughly enjoyed the Strickland sister and enjoyed the audio even more. If you have not indulged in these ladies and the men that love them yet, then get into it!!

[Wobilba]

Whew! This was messier than messy lol. Damon really deserves a sainthood for loving and putting up with Nikki’s rude, jealous, whiny, petty, insecure, annoying, crying ass. She really was a lot to handle even after getting insight into why she is the way she is.
But even with all those very unattractive qualities of the heroine, AH still found a way to make me love this story.

[Naomi'sBookNook]

Loved the series, loved Damon, but I couldn't stand Nikki. She got on my nerves so bad, I had to write a review. Nikki was a horrible heroine but, I guess you can't help who you fall in love with. Good luck to Damon because, he's going to need it with her. I hate my time with the Strickland Sisters have come to an end. I really enjoyed these ladies.

[Ezi Chinny]

Too much sex; insecurity and bitterness

I didn’t like this book. I truly disliked Nicole and I didn’t like that the author tried to villainize Travis her fiancée because he wasn’t into sex like She was. Nicole was an angry bitter and insecure person and she used men like crazy. I liked Damon but this story was too bogged down with sex to address the real familial issues that plagued the Strickland family.

I also hated that Nicole was with Travis for his money but was mad that she was “chosen” by his dad. She cheated on him constantly and broke up with him in a heinous way but justified it because his sex was boring.

It was too long; almost all the characters were one-dimensional and it just didnt show much growth by Nicole. I suspected the parents would end up how they did.

[Dionne Wilson]

Whew! Nikki tap danced on my last never but, she got her ish together. You alright with me Nicole!

[Tamara]

Unhealthy Love

I wasn't expecting this book to be sooooooo much!!! It was way too much going on with these characters, but not enough happening with the storyline. I was really looking forward to Nicole and Damon's story and now that I've read it, I wished I would have left them in the last book.

This may be the first time that I genuinely did not like a book bae and actually thought he was a turnoff. The more the author boasted about him being attractive and strong, his mannerisms displayed that of a weak, insecure and unattractive man.

Even the supporting characters were confusing and all over the place! I'm not sure what happened in the development phase of the book, but this one was a lot more far fetched and outrageous than the previous two books.

I enjoyed the other Strickland sisters stories and really wanted to enjoy this one, but maybe it was over my head! I finished this book thinking that I wasn't sure that Nicole and Damon would actually make it.... there were too many unresolved, but serious issues with them. Most importantly their need for each other was extremely unhealthy!

[K2]

I had a better appreciate for this book with the second read.

[Lacey]

I enjoyed every thing about this book, except the love story. Nicky, who had started off as my favorite of the Strickland Sisters, soon became my most disliked romance heroine ever. Unlike her sisters, she had no ambition or real personality beyond sex fiend. Her main goal is finding a man to take care of her. That is until Damon shows up and they start their suffocating relationship. It's such a switch from how fun and self-assured she was in the previous books.

I also had a hard time respecting her or Damon after they ran around cheating. And Damon was a boring hero besides that.

That said, I liked everything else. I liked the whole drama with Travis and his family. I liked reading about the Strickland parents' relationship. I would have loved more scenes focusing on Damon's relationship with his parents, because the ones we got were great. And I really loved the Aaron McGruder expy, even if she never got a real scene. 😂

So my final ranking goes:

Angela and Ryan, who remain my favorite. "I want Ryan to wash my hair. 💇🏿‍♀️" Their book was damn near perfect.

Renee and Zo, who are okay. I still think they were both too old for the games they played.

And at the very bottom, Nicky and Damon. I started skipping scenes they had together, 'cause I was over it!

All-around, a strong series and I'm excited to read more by Alexandria House.

[Lesa Divine]

Nicole story. She's engaged to Travis but in love with her best friend Damon.

Damon loves her so much but something he done in the past got Nicky holding out from giving him her all.
Travis is the man with money and a job. But that's all.

Damon wants Nicky bad.
Enjoyed their story. Got tried og her jealousy though.

[Tiffany]

Both of these characters needed some therapy. She was my least favorite sister.

[Mo 'S]

Redemption

I want to start off saying, in my opinion, this book read a little differently than the previous ones. I knew from book one I did. Not. Like Nicole Strickland. She's not the first ho turned housewife. And what I hate was the character has NO.....I MEAN, NONE, zero, zilch, nada redeeming qualities.

I didn't care she was a ho, live your life, just don't be careless. But what disturbed me the most is fckn your "best friend" whilst in a relationship. And being OK with giving your soul to him but unable to forgive? Being engaged yet terrorital and jealous when your "best friend" gets attention from the opposite sex. Then proposition said friend and proclaimed "love of your life" to be your side dude if she were to get married. 🤔🤔🤔 No lie, I felt homeboy was weak to tolerate the shenanigans she displayed. I hate the main heroine, there's nothing likeable about her ****SPOILER ALERT**** acpect when she had her boys. I was happy all the Strickland women had healthy boys.

Dame could've done better, but I don't feel like he had self respect or a back bone when it came to Nicole. I have it a fair chance through the end, but even then I didn't care for either character. Although, I would say Dameon (probably spelled his name wrong 🤷) was more redeemed and showed more character growth than Nicole. Nevertheless, I am still a major fan of Alexandria House. Onto the next read. My preference maybe different than yours, don't let my review stop you from reading this ✌

[Shamekia]

I'm so annoyed with the book. It was (ironically) the best one in the series, even though I liked it the least. Basically, I hated Nicki and didn't care much for Damon either. They were both super messy and I kept rolling my eyes every time they would hook up behind her fiance's back. The first two books in this series were pretty boring-not much happened with the characters and the plot was very flat overall.

This book had a much better plot (not great but still better), but the characters were not likable. Nicole was so immature, selfish, jealous, and manipulative. It's hard for me to root for a character that I wouldn't trust as far as I could throw a sack of potatoes.

Not to mention, that Nicki and Damon were so co-dependent. It was annoying to read, especially when she would punish him for a wrongdoing (or assumed wrongdoing). Their love story went from being sweet, to sexy, to just plain unhealthy.

[SassyMama]

WHOA! Definitely the HOTTEST of the Strickland Sisters Series...Nicole and Damon's journey from 2nd grade 'til present day is quite a THRILLING and emotional roller coaster ride...Dame's purpose was to give Nicky her every happiness...and Nick despite her "ho-ish" ways took care of all Damon's needs...NOT just physically...they feed each other's souls w/what was missing...at times their love for each other seemed unhealthy/OBSESSIVE...but somehow they FINALLY got it right and made it work...EXTREMELY happy that they were able to find their HEA...and once again I enjoyed the ENGAGING and COLORFUL cast of family/friends/enemies...Poppa Strickland was quite a character...sad to see this series come to an end! Well DONE, Ms. House!

[Nikki Sims]

Gotta love the creativity of a good A.House main character. As the saying goes, There is someone for everyone.

[A Rush Of Emotions]

Omg this book was something else! Did I like it or not, I don't know! Half the time I was actually liking the cheating trope because I thought it was a believable storyline. But then it just got a little too messy and I didn't know what to think. Perhaps she pushed it a little too far? I don't know. Overall I did enjoy this book, I just wish it had been edited a little bit more to help the story be a little bit more fluid.

[Simply_YoYo]

Nicole, Nicole, Nicole… what are you doing?
I was saying this halfway through the book—then Damon finally put some respect on his name!

Cue the song: 🎶 Tell me again… can we be lovers and friends? 🥰😍❤️👌🏾

This was such a perfect friends-to-lovers story. They really were each other’s other half. I completely understood why Nicole was so hurt—Damon truly disappointed her. But he showed that people can grow, change, and step up. I loved that Damon appreciated her exactly as she was and never tried to change her, and that Nicole always saw Damon for who he really was.

This story was a little heavier than I expected—full of healing, sprinkled with funny moments, and plenty of spice. I’ll also agree with Renee and Angela- their parents are freaky. 🤣😩🌶️🥵

[Lily]

Disclaimer: This has serial cheating (for those that hate this trope)

Surprisingly this my favorite from the whole series - despite all the cheating.

There was so much to this story. A lot of hurt, trauma, toxicity, but there was true love. Nicky was a bad FMC, but Damon had known all parts of her, and accepted her for who she was.

When the secret was revealed, I almost wanted to cry, but it was needed for us to understand Nicky, and why she was so hurt.

Good book.

[Byron Washington]

Surprisingly Good Read!!

I always say that there is a direct correlation between how much crazy & drama a dude will accept, with how fine the woman is. Nicky HAD TO BE fine as a mutha*****!!!! Just sayin'!!!😁😁😁😁

Buy it, read it and enjoy!!!👍🏾🔥👍🏾🔥👍🏾🔥👍🏾🔥

[Wind]

This is a second chance romance and I can’t quite tell if I like the book or not.
Nikki got on my last nerves. If it was not for the other characters I would’ve DNF this that’s how much I couldn’t stand Nikki.
And I don’t know if this type of love healthy…

[J]

Nicky was on my nerves. Her severe jealousy got old. Once they got together I lost interest. Also there were some cringy moments

[Pearline]

Nicky is a self proclaimed hoe with no shame. Throughout this series she has stayed consistent in her hoe activities. She beautiful, smart, selfish and loyal to her family but wants no part of love. She just want a rich man to take care of her so she doesn't have to work. Nicky's dream of a rich man is met when she becomes engaged to Travis, a high profile lawyer with political ambitions.

In the first book we're introduced to Damon, Nicky's life long best friend and adopted little brother of the two older Strickland sisters. Damon has been in love with Nicky since he was seven years old. In flashbacks we learn that Nicky and Damon had a secret sexual relationship from middle through high school. Damon breaks Nicky's heart which causes Nicky to act out and reject love. Damon moves back to their home town in hopes of Nicky forgiving him for the past and ending her engagement.

Ms. House has gotten in my top writers list for her realistic portrayal of relationships and Black families. Nicky will frustrate you but once you find out why. you understand why she has such a hard time forgiving Damon. The chemistry is off the chains between the couple, they openly love each other and tell each other repeatedly that they will never love another.

What makes a good writer is the writer's ability to create realistic and flawed characters and Ms. House does an excellent job at creating great characters.

This was a great ending to the Strickland series. I look forward to reading Ms. House's next story.

[Ryan - Sweet Red Reader]

I have very mixed feelings about this book. I ended up liking it (and Nicky) way more than I thought I would. I also just realized that I’m reading these series backwards but oh well! On to the next...

[Goddess’ Smut Library 🩷]

This was the best book of the series. I liked the chemistry between both of the main characters. It was friends-to-lovers/second-chance romance tropes. Very funny and realistic, with lots of drama and a twist that I did not expect, except for everything else I could mostly predict.

[Tazja Lewis]

Nicole is ANNOYING!! She wasn’t emotionally ready for the relationship that started in the 8th grade and she’s still trying to mature. While I love that she’s down to fight for hers, she does a lot.

[IslandGirl Reads]

M.e.s.s.y! All the relationships in this book are messy! Be back with a thorough review!

[Bobbieshiann]

this review will definitely be all over the place.

i really did not like nicky's gold digging character at all, and once i found out the secret that kept her from being with damon, i was even more pissed. what happened was terrible and i get both sides but nicky didn’t learn from it. she was selfish and she used sex as a scapegoat. the worse part was that she could still fuck damon after he “abounded” her when he found she was pregnant. being this terrible thing, how could she use his body but ignore her heart. if she was done with damon then be done. don’t string him along to be a side piece so you can have your cake and eat it too. UGH! and of course she gets damon in the end. damon character was decent and i think that was because you can see him be vulnerable and grow throughout the book.


i think the lack of true independence drove me away from this series. the whole i need a man to function. i get it is just a book but damn! the ladies barley tried to find theirselves for about 5 minutes before they gave all of theirselves to a man and of course the whole advertisement of being a “hoe” was overly annoying

[Angel]

Nicole Strickland is an unbearable, immature asshole. She’s also a coward. She has 4 mysterious degrees apparently.... She's lowkey a deadbeat with no direction. Nikki should be in therapy at least twice a week but instead she makes bad decisions. Damon should’ve stayed away from her ridiculous ass. What does Damon even see in her? He can do so much better. The story was okay but her character and the dialogue was so awful. All she does is whine and overreact. Nicole doesn't think anything through. Most importantly, she has no friends. Not one. It’s glossed over and explained by her being promiscuous. That’s bullshit. Nicole is a jealous, selfish narcissist. She has no friends because she’s a shitty person. She’s also super self conscious and her jealousy is nuts and poor Damon ignores ALL the red flags.
The part about the judge, wanting to have sex with Nikki. Once she married Travis, if they had actually gotten married, was very left field, and odd. Not sure why that was tossed into the story.


Also, the word 'yoni' is cringe af.

[Chrystal]

The first 60% was toxic, but I like reading drama. Lol.
The next 40% of the book was cringey! Nicole was manipulative and almost unbearable. While Nicole was with Travis, she constantly brought up the fact that she was with him for his money. Once Nicole & Damon got together, Damon became a provider and more financially stable. Of course that involved more hours spent working. After a while, she had a problem with that. Talk about never happy 🙄