Review: Did I Mention I Need You by Estelle Maskame

Series: Did I Mention I Love You? #2
Release date: March 1st 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Love has no rules.

It's been a year since Eden Munro last saw Tyler Bruce: her stepbrother...and secret love. Although they swore to ignore their feelings and put their family first, Eden can't help but feel excited when Tyler invites her to join him in New York City for the summer.

But it's not like anything is going to happen. Eden is happy with her boyfriend Dean, and she knows gorgeous, green-eyed Tyler must have moved on as well. But as they spend the long, hot summer in the city that never sleeps, it becomes obvious that those old feelings are still there...simmering beneath the surface. Will Tyler and Eden be able to resist temptation?

Did I Mention I Need You? is book two in Wattpad sensation Estelle Maskame's DIMILY trilogy: three unforgettable summers of secrets, heartbreak and forbidden romance.

*Publisher approved request via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the first book and with the way it ended, I was beyond eager to read Did I Mention I Need You? Now while the love and intensity between Eden and Tyler still came through as believable between the pages, the story was mostly frustrating for me. I found some of Eden's behavior throughout rather naive and couldn't make sense of some of the things she'd say, and while I liked Tyler for the majority of the book, I hated what he did in the end because it came so abrupt and out of nowhere. 

Let's start with Eden. I totally understood her decision in the previous book to try and end what was going on between them because, well, the situation was sticky since they were in the same family. But I really didn't get why she went on to date someone else, specifically Tyler's friend, in hopes of trying to move on and get over her feelings for her stepbrother. I mean, she basically strung Dean along all that time when she truly loved someone else. And I never liked when people did that, you're not only being dishonest with them, you're also being unfair and selfish. Because while Eden was clearly in love with Tyler, Dean was a nice guy with great qualities and she wanted to hold on to him while pining for Tyler. So not cool. And I hated how she'd get all jealous when Tyler was around other girls when she was the one in a relationship with another guy. Like she expected him to still be strung up on her while she carried on with Dean. My gosh, she pissed me off a lot in this one. Even when Rachael and Tiffany showed up in New York, I wanted her to just come clean and stand up to Tyler's ex, but no, she was quick to give the psycho what she wanted and risk her relationship with Tyler. Not to mention she was all crawled up in bed with Dean while crying over another guy. Come on, Eden. 

I could go on and on about how irritating her actions were for me, but then I'd give too much away. I can say though that I'm glad they finally told the truth about their love for each other. I mean, keeping that kind of secret was just too exhausting. But then in the end Tyler did something I totally didn't see coming, but you know what, I kind of understand because he did have a lot of pent up anger he needed to deal with. And even though he explained to Eden that he needed that space and PROMISED to return, she was still caught up on what he was doing in that moment. Gosh. I'm not even sure I want to read the third and final book because after reading the blurb, I saw that she's going to start dating another guy again. Like why can't this girl learn? When you're not over someone, don't bring that mess into another relationship. How about stay single for a while, Eden? Work on yourself first? Just a suggestion. 

Aside from those annoying things, I did like that they were in New York, and that the setting came through very vivid as I read. Also, I liked Emily, but not so much Stephen (Snake). It would have been nice if the author brought Emily back in the third book. While I do want the main characters to be together, I wouldn't mind Tyler being with Emily if things just can't work out with Eden. Emily just seemed like such a nice person and I would have liked to know more about her character.

Anyway, like I said this one was way more frustrating from start to finish. Never a dull moment though, and I still liked it in the sense that Eden and Tyler's love felt so real and I always found myself rooting for them, no matter if they were stepsiblings. I just hope things will finally work out for these two and they can be together. 

About the Author
Estelle Maskame is a novelist from Peterhead in Scotland. After gaining universal acclaim online during her teenage years, she signed a print contract with the Edinburgh-based publisher Black & White Publishing at the age of seventeen. She left school and now writes full-time. Did I Mention I Love You? is her first novel.

www.estellemaskame.com

http://twitter.com/estellemaskame 

http://facebook.com/estellemaskameauthor

Review: Did I Mention I Love You? by Estelle Maskame

Series: The DIMILY Trilogy #1
Release date: December 1st 2015
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Purchase: Amazon

Synopsis via Goodreads:

When sixteen-year-old Eden Munro agrees to spend the summer with her estranged father in the beachfront city of Santa Monica, California, she has no idea what she’s letting herself in for. Eden's parents are divorced and have gone their separate ways, and now her father has a brand new family. For Eden, this means she's about to meet three new step-brothers. The eldest of the three is Tyler Bruce, a troubled teenager with a short temper and a huge ego. Complete polar opposites, Eden quickly finds herself thrust into a world full of new experiences as Tyler's group of friends take her under their wing. But the one thing she just can't understand is Tyler, and the more she presses to figure out the truth about him, the more she finds herself falling for the one person she shouldn't – her step-brother.

Throw in Tyler's clingy girlfriend and a guy who has his eyes set on Eden, and there's secrets, lies and a whole lot of drama. But how can Eden keep her feelings under control? And can she ever work out the truth about Tyler? 

Did I Mention I Love You is the first book in the phenomenal DIMILY trilogy, following the lives of Eden Munro and Tyler Bruce as they try to find their way in an increasingly confusing world.

*Publisher approved request via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the blurb, I knew going into the story there would be romantic feelings between the step-siblings, I just wasn't expecting it to be so intense and that I wouldn't be uncomfortable at all. In fact, I rooted for Tyler and Eden in spite of the situation, and I think that has a lot to do with their characters and how much they pulled me in. The author created these two teenagers with their own individual issues, on top of being drawn into a new family structure they didn't want to deal with.

Eden came to Santa Monica for the summer after her father's "invite", but really she just wanted to escape her life in Portland for a while, no matter if she hadn't forgiven her father for walking out on her mother. There was a lot of tension and awkwardness that Eden's father wouldn't address, instead he did his best to sweep his past issues under the rug and pretend like everything was all merry, but he was all too high and mighty when it came to handling Tyler. I didn't like him at all, and it got worse when it turned out who really wanted Eden to visit Santa Monica. 

Eden felt like her father traded her in for his new family, only she came to realize that his new family had problems of their own. One step-brother in particular kept stirring up trouble: Tyler.

At first she was put off by Tyler and his rebellious behavior. She all but written him off as a lost cause until she discovered that his issues were deeper than she thought. Tyler's activities began to worry Eden, and no matter how hard he tried to put up a facade and pushed her concerns away, Eden continued trying to help Tyler. For reasons beyond her understanding, she found herself wanting to understand him and the pain he was suppressing with those terrible methods. 

In no time both discovered their intense feelings for each other and things became even more complicated. They tried real hard to put an end to it but their hearts just wouldn't comply. And what I liked a lot about the story was that while their feelings were growing, there were other things going on. Like the way both characters were unraveling and I was learning a lot more about them as the story moved along. There were things addressed towards the end that answered questions I had, and of course, Tyler's lunatic girlfriend kept things exciting on the crazy side when some parts were getting too serious for me. 

To conclude, it was an intriguing story with likable characters. The writing's great and I loved the summery setting. I could feel the warmth seeping from the pages. No lie. Santa Monica is now on my bucket list as one of the places I want to visit. 

However, in regards to the supporting characters, I would have liked to get to know the other friend more, Meghan. Was that her name? She often seemed distracted with her crush but it would have been nice to have her spend more time with Eden without Rachel or Tiffany. I wish I could have felt the presence of Tyler's little brothers more as well. But those things didn't really take away from me enjoying the story anyway, because my focus was mainly on how Eden and Tyler's relationship would play out. 

I must say, Did I Mention I Love You? turned out to be quite an interesting surprise. To be honest, at first I really didn't think I'd like it so much because the opening was a little off for me, but as it progressed these characters had me seriously seeing things from their perspective and it made me wonder what I would have done if I were in the same situation. I look forward to reading the next book and I cannot wait to see how Eden and Tyler cope while being alone in the big apple. 

About the Author

Estelle Maskame is a novelist from Peterhead in Scotland. After gaining universal acclaim online during her teenage years, she signed a print contract with the Edinburgh-based publisher Black & White Publishing at the age of seventeen. She left school and now writes full-time from the comfort of her bed. Did I Mention I Love You? is her first novel.

www.estellemaskame.com

facebook.com/estellemaskameauthor

twitter.com/EstelleMaskame