Title: As Long As You Love Me
Author: Ann Aguirre
Series: 2B Trilogy #2
Genre: New Adult Contemporary
Format: Paperback, 352 pages
Release Date: September 30th 201
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Source: eARC received from publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

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Most people dream about getting out of Sharon, Nebraska, but after three years away, Lauren Barrett is coming home. There are the justifications she gives to everyone else—missing her family, losing her college scholarship. And then there’s the reason Lauren can’t admit to anyone: Rob Conrad, her best friend’s older brother.

Football prowess and jaw-dropping good looks made Rob a star in high school. Out in the real world, his job and his relationships are going nowhere. He can’t pinpoint exactly what’s missing until Lauren comes back to town, bringing old feelings and new dreams with her. But he’s the guy that women love and leave—not the one who makes them think of forever.

Though she’s terrified of opening up, Lauren’s ready to take that chance. Because the only thing more important than figuring out where you truly belong is finding the person you were meant to be with.


I knew I had to read this book considering it was the second book in the New Adult series by Ann Aguirre. I loved the first book, and once I realized that this book had characters that we met previously, I knew I wanted to read it right away!

This book was different than many other new adult books that I have and one of the biggest was the fact that instead of the female character having doubts about herself and her worth, it was the guy. This was refreshing for me to read in the beginning because it gave the story more depth and I honestly just liked that for once the female character was strong and sure of herself. But I will admit that after a while the fact that the guy couldn't see his worth, even after she kept telling him he was everything she wanted, got a bit old. I kept getting very frustrated that he just couldn't get his shit together and man up, you know? It was great for a while but in the end I was just frustrated by his lack of self confidence. And as I write I am aware that there is a huge double standard about this but when I think about it, I would get annoyed at a girl who always complained about herself and her self-worth.

What I did really like was Lauren herself. She was a great narrator and I loved her characters. She was sure footed and self confident even when she wasn't supposed to be. She was sarcasm and outspoken which are great qualities for girls in novels. I also really liked her relationship with Rob, although he made me angry sometimes, I really liked how she dealt with Rob's insecurities and made him into someone who was worthy of his own self love. It was great to read. I really wish we could have seen more of Lauren's budding friendships. We get a glimpse of them near the end of the book but I would have liked for her to have more of that experience throughout the book.

There was one or two plot issues that I had, and if you read any further there may be a spoiler, so beware. When Rob gets offered the TV show in Toronto I found it very hard to believe that he would just be able to move there without any kind of permit of visa, and there was no mention of this by the author. It just seemed unauthentic to make it seem to easy. Also, at the end when Lauren decides to move there with him there was no issue, and that was VERY hard for me to believe, especially when she is not going there to work. She would have to go through a lot of government things in order to get into the country like that and I just wish the author would have made that part more authentic to readers.The other issue I had was when Lauren faked a miscarriage. I found this was very poor taste, especially since there was really no backlash for her and no emotional connection from Lauren herself. It was like she had no idea how serious it was. I just felt like it was brushed off like it was nothing when in reality, when something like that happens to a woman it is quite a bit more emotional and means a hell of a lot more to them then just a story to get out of something. I just found it was quite rude and a bit insensitive.

Overall I really enjoyed the book and the story itself. The characters were great and I loved their growth throughout the story, but ultimately there were some plot issues that made it hard for me to love it as much as I wanted to.