Why I read it: I bought this one on release day – I even broke my rules about not spending over $8 for an ebook for this one. And then I was kind of scared to read it – even though I’d been told it was great and has a HEA, I still put off reading it. But then when I was looking for a book to read this week, this one called to me.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Reid Alexander, Hollywood’s hottest young actor, is completely distracted. And this time it isn’t his latest co-star or a major new film role that’s demanding his attention but something far more life-changing…

The hotly anticipated fourth book in the irresistible Between the Lines series.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): I feel a little conflicted about this book. I lapped it up and slurped it down very quickly. I enjoyed the writing and I loved the characters. I cried and laughed and was moved in various ways by Brooke, Reid, River and Dori. But. But I wish it had been longer. I wish there had been more of all of it.

I wanted to know more about Brooke and how she fared with motherhood. I wanted to witness Reid being a hands-on parent to River and I wanted to see Dori interact with him too. I wanted to see much more of Dori and Reid together (not necessarily sex, not even particularly sex, just them interacting – their zing and zip is fun and engaging and I love the way their differences complement each other and how they can laugh over them together). I wanted to see how Dori handled the paparazzi and celebrity. I even wanted more of Reid and his mother and father. I read Good for You for the romance between Reid and Dori and that was my prime interest in this book, but I enjoyed all of it. I liked Brooke’s journey – I have a confession to make; the first two books in the series remain on my TBR. I wanted to read this one and I didn’t want to read the other two to get to it. I plan to at some point but I really really wanted to know what happened with Reid and Dori. Even not really knowing the history between Reid and Brooke, I could see that Brooke had undergone a major change and I enjoyed reading about it. I suppose I may have enjoyed it even more had I read the earlier books but I also expect that my only real complaint about the book – that there was not enough of all of them, would also only be exacerbated by having done so. And River broke my heart. I wanted very much to read more about him and see him happy. Not that I didn’t see the beginning of it – I did. But I wanted to see more of it.

It is a strange complaint to have. I wanted more of the characters because I enjoyed them so much but it was also not an entirely selfish response. There are some books I’ve read which objectively, are just right, but I want more because I’m greedy. There are other books where I wanted more and the book left me dissatisfied because I felt things were left unresolved or questions were left unanswered. Here, there was enough that the story was cohesive and the arc made sense – ie, where it started and where it ended. For greedy reasons, I did want a bit more on the end, but for entirely different reasons I wanted more throughout. But it wasn’t because things were unclear – it was more that I was just so invested in these characters. So, it’s a complaint but it’s also a compliment – because I really loved these characters.

I’m very glad that Brooke and Reid had an adult relationship (and I do not mean that in an R-rated way, I mean that they treated each other as adults and were good to one another and not skeevy) and didn’t sink to melodrama. I didn’t quite feel I had an exact handle on Dori’s reasoning – I thought she was more jealous and worried that she wouldn’t fit in to Reid’s world but it seems that both she and Reid thought differently. But, just like in the other Webber books I have read, the characters stayed with me and frankly, I’d like to hang out with them for a while.

I do feel that Good for You was a stronger book. I think it was trying to do less – with one main storyline and therefore, more time was devoted to it.

For all that I’ve harped on that I wanted more, I did like this story. Ms. Webber’s writing style appeals to me and I love the natural way conversations and texts are rendered in the book. They sound like real people having real conversations. I enjoyed the snippets which show Dori’s friendships with Claudia, Kayla and Aimee and also with roomate Shayma

‘I need to meet him. Wait. Two stipulations. Second stipulation: not on my bed, mmkay?’

My face goes sunburn-hot and my mouth falls open. ‘I – I would never –’ ‘

Wow.’ Her brows shoot up. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen somebody blush that hard. You’re like … maroon.’

…

We laugh, and then I take a deep breath. ‘So. My boyfriend. He’s …’ another breath, ‘Reid Alexander.’

She stares, blinks once and shakes her head a little, like she’s trying to clear water from her ears. ‘Did you just say Reid Alexander?’

I nod.

‘Well. Forget what I said about “not on my bed”.’

There were some lovely scenes between Reid and Dori and, again, their conversation felt authentic and natural. And I loved how Reid stood up. He took responsibility and it was sexy. And he got to say some really romantic intimate things too – some were sexy and some were sighworthy.

Fall into my arms, Dori. I’ll catch you, every time, and I won’t let go.’

What else? While this book didn’t feel quite as “complete” to me as Easy or Good for You, I did like it – very much. As I’m thinking back on it writing this review, I am smiling at memories of favourite moments and my heart is kind of clutching when I recall those parts which made me cry. And because of that, I’m going with a B+.