REMEMBER WHEN #2 by T.TORREST – REVIEW & GIVEAWAY!

Jenny:  Well Gitte, after falling deeply in love with this authors work in Remember When Book One how much were we looking forward to this one?  We really were left hanging  in Remember When and I really had missed Trip, Layla and the gang, so catching up with them again put a huge smile on my face.

Remember When 2 had a different to feel to book one and so it should. Lisa, Layla, Trip and co are adults now and as such they don’t live the carefree lives they did in Remember when and T Torrest has done such a good job of conveying the struggles facing Trip and Layla, but it’s still told with this authors trademark humor and love.

“And when your plans don’t work out, when your choices turn out to be all wrong… You find yourself alone and defeated, not knowing where to turn.”

I just adore this author’s storytelling. She injects much warmth, humor and lots of love in her books and it shows in the way her characters interact, in the way the scenes play out.

Do you ever get over your first love? Is there still a place reserved just for that person in your heart? Do we lose our way somewhat and ideals and expectations weren’t quite what we expected them to be? Do we ever really grow up?

“…..that teenager still lives inside you. That person you were before the world started telling you how to be, what to say, who you should be with”

Gitte: Love, Love, Love Tina Torrest; after all she gave us Layla and Trip. But not only that, she wrote a story that crept completely under my skin and into my heart. Her writing is flawless, her stories written with humour and heart; Tina Torrest writes with love.  I was dying to get stuck into RW2 and pretty much inhaled it in one sitting.

RW2 was indeed very different, not only in tone and subject but also in the emotional sense. It needed to be though as we re-join them in adulthood as opposed to when they stood on the cusp of entering this new phase in their life.

If you can’t have what you really want; what you desire most, do you settle for second best or do you fight tooth and nail to get what you truly crave and yearn for? Do you run the gauntlet knowing it will expose everything; your heart and your inner most thoughts and feelings? The battle is on for both Layla and Trip to realise and possibly act upon just these. They face the memories of their past, their time apart and have to deal with the obstacles of the present. This can ultimately make their future uncertain or even change everything. Such a huge risk to both Layla and Trip, their hearts and what could possibly be….

Jenny: Layla is a young woman who has grown up and moved, though she has lost her way somewhat.  Layla has forgotten her first love. Well, let’s face it. You don’t get over someone like Trip Wiley in a hurry. Especially when he’s on his way to becoming Hollywood hottest heartthrob and he was your first and deepest love.

“Knew I missed him, but I didn’t realize I was missing him so much.”

Layla is quite different to the girl we met in Remember When and we are taken through her feelings and through processes as she deals with life as an adult, as she questions her choices, decisions and where she is in life.  I adore Layla.  This authors timing is perfect. She knows when to diffuse a situation with humor and she knows how to have your heart aching with want and because of this you really do go through the emotions with Layla.  There’s no doubt about it, I felt for her and my heart ached for her. I identified with her and I empathized with her so much over her feelings for Trip, how guarded she was of her heart and how she questioned her life.  We’ve all been there and you will relate to Layla in RW2.

Trip, Trip, Trip. Be still my beating heart!  Well it’s no secret that Trip Wiley completely stole my heart in RW and I have to say that my love affair with this man is still in full bloom and getting bigger by the second…if that’s even possible!

“Sweetheart, you keep looking at me like that, and I can forgive you almost anything.”

Trip is just gorgeous. He’s a little clueless at times and although oozing confidence, he also has that vulnerability which endears me to him that much more. His self-doubt enabled us see a different Trip but his trademark cheekiness and cockiness is still there.

“Out there,” he went on, pointing to California as if it were around the corner, “it’s all anyone cares about. Appearance is like a religion to those people.”

He’s witty, charming, and sexy as all hell and there were times this man broke my heart.  We see so many sides to Chester in this installment and I can’t wait to see how everything pans out for him.

Gitte: Our Layla has definitely lost her way. She’s settled for second best veering of course as she went for the goals she strove to achieve. There’s no surprise that we find her questioning where she gotten to and how. She even admits to “floating through the relationship” with her current man.

Has she forgotten Trip… no, how could she forget her first love. How could you forget Trip?! Layla may not necessarily realise how much she’s missing him but she’s reminded often that she does. He is constantly there in the background as her life continues down the road she ultimately chose. Is she truly living or just ‘existing’ following an easy path where her heart is safe?

Layla is still focussed on achieving her dreams, yet she is finding that one can be at the expense of another. This is life and grown up stuff. I loved Layla in book #1 and I still love Layla. I completely connected with her; her sense of humour is still there but this story finds her at an important crossroads that can act as a catalyst; have a domino effect if you like. My heart hurt for her and at times her actions and reasoning frustrated me.

As for Trip, sigh….I utterly and completely love this guy. Even more so, having just finished RW2.

“Trip Wilmington had been a gorgeous teenaged boy, no question. But Trip Wiley was a gorgeous young man exuding raw, unabashed sex at every turn. It was only slightly impossible to remember how to breathe.” 

Trip showed so many sides in this book. He’s still cocky, funny and passionate but this time we saw a real raw vulnerability that had me in tears at times. Trip is not happy; in fact he’s so very lonely. Though he hides it well, under all that Trip ‘swagger’.

Trip is the brave one; he too is at a cross roads and the way he feels about his life, himself and love, well, he put his heart right out there despite the possibility of it being crushed.

When Layla and Trip re-connect; the tension, the chemistry, the friendship, the love…it all returns and the emotion is so intense I felt it completely!

“My God…I almost forgot…” (yeah I hadn’t Trip!!!)

Trip and Layla….a lot of firsts together, not all of them good, but when they are they shine and light the world up! These two are soul mates…they see right into each other’s hearts; they see the real people underneath. 

“I’m sorry about….ever letting you go. I’m sorry for all the time we wasted. I’m sorry for being here with you right now when we can’t do a damned thing about it.” 

Timings can suck….misunderstandings can suck….both suck because they break hearts and they MADE ME CRY!!!!! So much pain and passion, so much love and laughter. Tina Torrest I salute you for taking RW2 to the next stage of life with such emotion and making this change real and heartfelt.

Jenny:  This was a perfect second book.  It adapted to the changes in Trip and Layla’s lives. The trademark references and humor we adored in RW1 is still there, the passion and sexual chemistry is there….is it ever. These two practically combust!

“I mean, what was I supposed to say? “Sorry, pal. Just trying to avoid climbing you like a scratching post”?

Yet this is also a different book as the characters have evolved.   They are at a different stage in their lives when life isn’t carefree.  When becoming an adult and guarding your heart isn’t easy. It’s all captured so beautifully in this book.

I loved catching up with Trip and Layla again.  Sharing their pasts, living their present and exploring their futures.

“I was so totally into you, dummy. If I wasn’t, I’d have jumped your bones long before I did, but I wanted you to see I was an honorable guy.”

Yes I cried. Oh boy did I cry! Yes I laughed. Yes I loved and ached with these characters. Yes I felt warm and fuzzy and YES I NEED MORE!   T Torrest is an author I will 1Click EVERYTIME! I adore her writing. It completely captivates me and I can’t wait for BOOK #3! Once again T Torrest you left us hanging! Curse you woman!