More Than This (More Than #1) by Jay McLean

Available on
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Synopsis:

When Mikayla imagined her prom night, she envisioned a fairy-tale evening full of romance. So when betrayal and tragedy come in quick succession, Mikayla is completely destroyed. Suddenly, everything she loved and everyone she relied on are tragically, irrevocably gone.

Jake, a handsome boy she just met, happens to witness her loss. With no one to turn to, Mikayla is forced to depend on this near stranger and his family, and he in turn is determined to take care of her. But Mikayla—thrust into adulthood with no one to guide her—is desperate to contain her grief and hide what she considers to be her weakness. Mikayla and Jake both want more, but despite their growing closeness and intense chemistry, she tries to keep her distance and protect her heart. As he does everything in his power to win her trust, Mikayla must choose between remaining alone and safe or letting love in.

Review:

More Than This is the second book by this author I have read, and both of them I really enjoyed until the end. Then the ending had something that kind of ruined it for me. I was reading this one and loving it, then in literally the last pages something happened that I didn't really understand why it was included. Something that made the last moments with this story not as good as all the previous one. Something that made me think this story is just good instead of great like I had previously thought. I still enjoyed it, I am still going to read the next book to see what happens with Logan, but it was just frustrating. 

This is the story of Mikayla and Jake. Mikayla who lost pretty much everything in one night. That was a bit over the top at the time, but I just went with it. First she finds out her perfect boyfriend is cheating on her with her best/only friend right before prom. Luckily Jake sees this happen, sees her breaking down, and swoops in to help her. He and his friends noticed her before and really if not for his friend Logan she might not have found out about the cheating. He was drawn to her, so when she is hurting he just wants to help her. He takes her with him and his friends to go to their prom and have some fun times. Right from the beginning I loved all of these characters. Jake and his friends are wonderfully fun and kind people. They are a group of friends like you want in real life. People who will have your back no matter what, who are there for you when you need them and who are just awesome in general. I can't wait to read each of their stories to get to know them all a little more. 

So Mikayla doesn't just lose her boyfriend and best friend, but everyone she cares about in that same evening. When tragedy strikes she is kind of lost, but Jake is still there for her. He wants to take care of her and help her however he can. Sure he is this big shot baseball player, or will be huge when he goes pro, but he is one of the nicest guys. You can see the two of them falling for each other through all the tragedy. Man Jake was so sweet. He cares so much for Mikayla and was wonderful through everything. He definitely wants to be with her, but also knows that she has to be ready for that. I loved him. 

For her part Mikayla could be a bit annoying at times. She has this idea in her head that she has to be perfect before she can date Jake and she almost ruins a great thing. They are kind of together kind of not, but they never talk about anything significant regarding them. They never say what they are doing or where this is going, they just kind of make out at times (though no kissing which was very odd until late in the game when it was explained why) and...she could be a bit annoying. She was all I want to be whole and better to give myself to him, poor me, a bit of whining, and then suddenly she just figures everything out in an instant. Not really realistic, but I still was enjoying the read. Then in the last moments of the book something else was introduced and made me think why? Why did you have to go and ruin a perfectly good book in the last seconds? I won't spoil what it is, but it was out of left field for me. And it didn't make a lot of sense. 

Overall I really enjoyed the story. There were some annoying moments, some cheesy moments, and an annoying addition at the end, but it was still a good read. Now on to read Logan's story. I hope there is not another frustrating ending in store for me. 

Rating: ★ ★ ★