Trusting in You: In You Book 2, Sammi Cee

Childhood crushes rarely turn into the romance of our lives and this certainly seems to be the case for Chuck...or is it?  While unloading all his personal angst during an emotionally driven conversation Chuck reveals enough about himself to have Nathaniel taking a closer look at the man he's held just out of reach.  Neither man thinks they're good enough for the other and as they navigate the difficulties from Nathaniel's past bleeding into their present, both realize just who they are and open the other's eyes to the true worth of a person.  If they can survive the crazy they just might finally be on the same page, enough to reach for the future they never dreamed they deserved.

Chuck was endearing and quirky and had a huge, soft heart when we met him in Mixed Up in You.  Getting to know him a little better here was both enlightening as well as disappointing.  I liked that he never lost his sense of humor, the banter between him and Julian, and his tremendous capacity to love and forgive.  What didn't thrill me was how immature he seemed and his incredibly misplaced sense of personal value.  To consider himself blah because he doesn't have the stories or experiences of a recovering drug addict or a man with ties to a violent drug dealer?  I'm not buying it.  It cheapened who I felt Chuck was and that disconnect between those different sides of him was too much for me to believe.

Nathaniel was similarly conflicted.  I thought he was more even-keeled and his path to redemption and discovering his own worth was admirable as well as good, but it was a bit lackluster.  There was just no crescendo.  Many times there was a hint at more nefarious dealings of his past, but he was really just an innocent bystander in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Nothing he personally did was enough to warrant the angst and self-imposed separation from Chuck over the years.

Together I thought they were cute and sweet and had the drama supported their growth, this would have been a really great story.  As is, it was a nice story that introduced us to a new character that I'd like to see in a continuation as well as giving us more of Julian, the star of the series for me.

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