To Be Your Only Review

Hey guys,

Happy Review Thursday everybody! First one of the 2021 and I am actually reviewing my first read of the year, which is a nice coincidence. I read the one prior to this in the series in July last year (Review HERE) and loved it so when I saw this appear on Netgalley I just knew I had to grab it. Although it is part of a series with overlapping characters each book can definitely be read as a standalone. I haven’t read the first two in the series but I didn’t feel lost or like I was missing out on information which is always great.

Like I mentioned, I was very very kindly gifted this in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley. This did not sway my opinion on the book whatsoever, as always my thoughts are all my own.
Anyway, enough rambling from me, let’s jump into this review.

**Warning: This book contains a lot of 18+ sexual discussion and acts. Personally, I enjoyed it in the book but I always like to provide a warning in case that is something you are not a fan of in books.

Title: To Be Your Only (To Be Yours #4)
Author: Rae Kennedy
Genres: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Friends-to-lovers
Publisher: RAKE Publishing
Publication Date: November 19th 2020
Pages: 304 pages
When I Read It: January 3rd 2021
Goodreads Rating: 4.15 Stars

Goodreads Description:
I’ve been in love with Wes since I was in braces. Him—not so much. But this is the summer I’m finally going to get him to notice me. And fall madly in love with me so we can live happily ever after, obviously.
Unfortunately, my best friend and partner-in-crime decided to run off for the summer, so I’m stuck with her annoying older brother, Eric, as my wingman.
Did I mention he’s annoying? This would be much easier if I weren’t constantly rolling my eyes at his sarcastic remarks or wishing I could wipe that little smirk off his face. Want to know the most aggravating part? Now that things are finally starting to go my way with Wes, I can’t stop thinking about Eric and his dumb mouth.

My Goodreads Review: *aka my initial thoughts, straight after (and during) reading

January 2, 2021 – 8.0% “I have only just started it but I am already adoring it. I knew I’d enjoy the writing having read Rae Kennedy’s writing before but its so much better than I remember. The humour is so up my street, I had to stop already because of the stitches. Its brilliant and I can’t wait for the shenanigans to unfold.”

January 3, 2021 – Finished –
This was incredible.
The writing was perfection.
The humour was had me in stitches.
The romance was heart-warming.
I have read a novel by Rae Kennedy before so I knew I would love the writing but damn this was on a whole new level of greatness. Genuinely it was amazing. The characterization was so great. I adored Kyla as the main character, I actually related to her so much; especially her word vomit. Eric was perfection. He was so sweet and helpful and I felt sorry for him so much. I just couldn’t handle his cuteness. Plus, he sounds dreamy AF! Ginger and freckles are just too adorable.
Anywaaaayyy, the plot was so gripping. I read it in almost one sitting. Romances can sometimes sink in the middle but this didn’t have that at all. It was very well-paced.
I definitely have to mention the sex in this book is quite intense and does play a very large part in the plot. Personally, I really liked it. It was very well written but it was very graphic so I feel the need to mention that for others who might have issues with this although I thought it was great and really fit with the book.
So in summary, I highly recommend it. What a great book to start off the year with. If I had to pick one element about this book that blew me away it would be the humour. It was incredible. I cannot recommend it enough. 5 stars. I can’t wait to read what Rae Kennedy writes next.

My Favourite Quotes:

He’s too gentlemanly to blatantly ogle me, even though my boobs are right here. Like , they look amazing in this dress. Not going to lie.
“Wow. The accuracy. You’ve really got me pegged.”
“I didn’t take you for the type who’s into pegging.”
“Shit, Ky. You’re going to make me choke.”
“Now choking, that seems more like your kink.”
They’re dripping with mozzarella cheese and definitely the most amazing thing I’ve had in my mouth in at least the last three months. That sounds like an oddly specific timeframe, but it feels right.
His thighs are thick and his ass looks so good. Avert your eyes, Kyla. Now, goddammit. Back to the face. Much safer. Did I mention he’s wearing a cowboy hat? Well he is and it’s glorious.
He touched. My butt. Jesus Christ. Too bad it was while I was flailing around like an overturned turtle and had as much sexual suggestiveness as touching a potato.
There’s nothing to grab on to and nothing under me until there is. Spoiler: it’s the ground and it’s really fucking hard and it really fucking hurts.

*There were more quotes I loved but they either spoiled things, required too much context or just are more funny when you read it yourself. That was a serious theme of this book – I laughed A LOT!

Characters: The characterization was incredible. I adored Kyla as the main character. I loved her word vomiting tendencies and how she had what most people would view as negative traits but she turned them into positive things. I related to her a lot and I think that’s an element of why this was so successful because I felt like I was living it rather than just reading.
Like I said in my short Goodreads review – Eric was perfection. He was so sweet and helpful and I felt sorry for him so much (especially in the beginning chapters when Kyla is oblivious). I just couldn’t handle his cuteness. He was just the perfect guy character to balance out Kyla. He never once considered changing her. He just loved her for her. I always say Enemies to Lovers is my favourite romance trope…but this might have converted me to Friends to Lovers.
Characters = 10/10

Humour: Like I mentioned in my last review of Kennedy’s writing, the humour is one of the top draws of these books for me. It was witty and sarcastic which is exactly my sense of humour and also I think it fit the characters so well. As you can see in some of the quotes above – it is amazingly funny. If you want a book that is going to make you laugh out loud and nearly pee yourself then I recommend. Again, like I said last time I don’t tend to like drawing comparisons between books but the humour reminded me a lot of Fall From Grace by Christine Zolendz which is my all-time favourite book series…so you can get a sense of how much I loved this. If I could give more than 10/10 I would.
Humour = 10/10

Atmosphere: Not much I feel that I can say about this. It had sweet small town country vibes. I loved the farm and the diner scenes. It gave that all American kind of vibe. Felt very summery and warming so it was nice to read in winter. No gripes with it but also nothing stand-out or new either.
Atmosphere = 7/10

Writing Style: I have read a novel by Rae Kennedy before so I knew I would love the writing but damn this was on a whole new level of greatness. Genuinely it was amazing. Like I said last time about Rae Kennedy’s writing; I loved it. It’s a really interesting mix between the short sarcastic conversations between everyone, and then some longer and more heartfelt thoughts and paragraphs. It’s hard to make a flow between the two and it really worked here.
Writing Style = 10/10

Plot: I really enjoyed the plot. I think Kyla’s occasionally oblivious nature lended itself really well to the storyline. Sex played a massive part in the plot, which like I said – personally I loved this but I know it’s not for everyone. AND BOY! It is graphic sex, not just like tastefully written sex that makes you blush, but like makes you glad no-one is reading over your shoulder kind of sex. It had love triangle vibes but then also not…more like the characters attempted a love triangle because they wanted it to work but it didn’t; but the reader knows it would have never happened? It’s a hard one to explain without spoiling anything. All I know is that it was done beautifully. Most of the plots success was probably due to the pacing of the novel which I am about to touch on.
Plot = 10/10

Intrigue: I read this in almost a single sitting. I put it down at the 8% mark because I already knew even then that this was going to be a favourite of 2021 and it needed to be savoured. Even then, I really struggled to put it down because I was enamoured with it all. The beginnings of the plot, the blossoming characters and the humour that had already sent me into hysterics. Like I said in Goodreads review – usually there is a dip in romance novels plot’s in the centre of the book but this didn’t have that. It was paced beautifully and I never wanted it to end.
Intrigue = 10/10

Logic: This was a really logical read as far as I can think. Although, in all honesty, I was so enamoured with everything else that I didn’t pay much attention to the logics behind it all. But all that proves to me is that all the actions were seemed reasonable because I always pick up on them if they are not because they shatter the fantasy of the book. This book certainly was not shattered…if you couldn’t already tell from how many times I have said loved and perfection in this review already.
Logic = 9/10

Enjoyment: If you couldn’t already tell, I loved this. It was the perfect book to start of the year. So fun and flirty and I laughed so much. If you want a great romance that melts your heart and splits your sides then you need to pick this up!
Enjoyment = 10/10

Relationships: I feel like I have definitely mentioned this already and I am probably (nay definitely) sounding like a broken record but I loved their relationship. It was so well done. An incredible combination of the trust and bonds of friendship, paired with the sexual tension and bickering of an enemies to lovers and then the devotion to each other. And the slow-burn/build of it was just perfection. Seriously! If someone had to ask me a single word to describe this book it would probably be perfection…swiftly followed by side-splitting.
Relationships = 10/10

Overall Score = 86/90 or 9.5/10
Star Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

That’s all for today’s review folks. I am thinking of switching up the categories I review in 2021 because I am sensing a lot of overlap and repetition in some of my reviews so I think I need to make some changes. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and I will see you guys again tomorrow ❤