Follow Me Back

Fight for Me, Book 2

By: A. L. Jackson

Narrated by: Joe Arden, Andi Arndt

Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's Summary

The next seductive, unforgettable stand-alone romance in the Fight for Me series from New York Times & USA Today best-selling author A. L. Jackson....

Kale Bryant. Arrogant. Gorgeous. Commanding. 

This ER doctor is married to his job. His only vice is one-night stands and short-lived flings. He learned a long time ago loving someone isn't worth the risk. 

Harley Hope Masterson. Beautiful. Brave. Sweet. 

The owner of a small coffee shop knows what it's like to struggle. Embroiled in a bitter divorce, she's threatened with losing everything. 

When Kale accepts a new position down the street from Hope's shop, he begins to question every wall he's built around his heart. 

He wants her in a way he hasn't wanted anyone. One touch is fire. One kiss, and he's spinning out of control. 

But taking her won't come without consequences. Hope is in for the fight of her life. One neither of them saw coming. 

Now Kale must decide if loving her is worth risking it all. She will fight with everything she has. But sometimes even hope needs a hero....

©2018 A. L. Jackson Books Inc. (P)2018 A. L. Jackson Books Inc.

Critic Reviews

"This is why I read romance." (Lauren Rowe, USA Today and internationally best-selling author)

Another Hit

I fell in love with A L Jackson’s books from the beginning. This one did not disappoint. The story and it’s characters will tug at your heart. You’ll laugh, smile, cry and get really angry.
As always her narrators brought everything to life.
I highly recommend this and any of Jackson’s other books.

🌟🌟 5 Stars 🌟🌟

Another great book by A.L. Jackson, she never disappoints! This book hit lots of emotion for me but in the end I was left smiling. Kale is a hot pediatric doctor with a past he hasn't quite moved past. Hope is doing everything she can to survive and protect what is important to her. She is a really strong powerful character. Together they have great banter and serious chemistry. Loved their story and without giving away any details all I can say is this book belongs at the top of your list if you haven't read it yet.

Andi Arndt and Joe Arden did a great job as always with this book!

Predictable

Andi Arndt was good, as always. Joe Arden used a sing-song cadence when speaking as Hope. Got on my nerves.

Hope and Evan were sweet, especially Evan. Kale was so predictable it was boring. The sex scenes were ridiculously forced and almost gross at times and far too lengthy. Author tried too hard to elicit an emotion from the reader, boring.......

This is a book that I will not be in my "have to hear it again" books. My first A. L. Jackson and my last.

and don't get me started on the 5 star ratings, I don't even read them anymore. Never trust the 5 stars

A Maddening, Heartbreak To Heart Mend Love

PHEW! It's going to be a rambling, long-winded review- you've been warned!
So, this one had me all over the place- I had to remind myself a few times you don't have to "like" the characters in a story for the for it to be a good one.- And, if a story and its characters personas evoke that strong emotional response from me one way or another, it means I have become invested- boy was I ever!
Many times I caught myself saying out loud " just freaking tell her already " " get your self together for love of" seriously! I loved the male protagonist, because he was so amazing to everyone else first but not so great with himself just as much as I wanted to shake him! Then my absolute frustration with the female protagonist's portrayal as 'strong' while I saw it occasionally, she just always seemed to be on the run instead of standing strong, and the fight scenes bothered me. Why was the child ( 1st one ) more in control than her? Second one why the hell didn't she get her crap together and fight?--> SEE I'm still invested 24 hours later! *( Secretly I love that I am still reeling a bit over this, I am glutton for punishment, aha! virtual high five to the author!)*

The back and forth is the maddening part for me; these two were their own worst enemies. Watching them was a trainwreck at times, and a sweet beautiful sexy as hell love fest at other times! I wanted a middle ground so severely- but did not get it, I know not good for drama in a book.

All in all this one was a cyclone of " I need you," but I am not allowed to have you that had me twisted in knots. Bawling my eyes out at the beautifully heartbreaking labyrinth walkthrough guilt, fear, and bleakness to come together at the of their journeys whole, better than before sexified with plenty of love to go around!
I am happy to say my view on the characters personalities did change. Loved the storyline, twists making me bawl like a damned baby and the descriptiveness overall. Well worth the credit and keeping myself awake till 3 AM to finish.
A.L Jackson is becoming one of my absolute favorite authors to get lost in the fictional worlds they create -- even if they raise my blood pressure a little!
I am READY for Oliie's story! Bring it on!
The narration was spectacular!
It did seem like Frankie Lee's part was uncomfortable?! Other than that it was a delight to my ears! I enjoy listening to them both!

A COMPELLING COCKTAIL OF FEELS

Every time I listen to one of A.L.Jackson’s books I’m in awe.. blown away by the beauty, the sentiments, the emotional highs and lows, the romantic angsty plots, the multilayered strong heroes and heroines and their deep dual POV love stories. Their rollercoaster relationships are honed out of attraction, chemistry, desire, heartache, conflict, pain and passion. The build, the spark, the sizzle, the heat, the drama and the romance are always well balanced and perfectly paced.

And yes, this story delivers all that.. but it adds a lot more too.. because behind Kale the carefree womanizer, the dedicated Paediatric Cardiologist, the cocky arrogant facade, the sexy droolworthy good looks is a haunted shattered heart no-one can reach.. and no-one can mend. However, from the moment their eyes meet, Hope and Kale are drawn to each other and their push/pull relationship starts.. but Hope has a very good reason for resisting Kale’s many many charms. Because Hope has a complex life already with little room for more.. there’s a messy divorce, a privileged douchbag of an ex who just won’t quit and a busy Coffee Shop to run. And Hope’s number one priority is being a Mom.. a devoted selfless Mom to her loveable precious 8 yr old special needs son Evan who is her whole world. Evan’s heart has already been replaced and he may just be living on borrowed time.. nevertheless Hope is determined to give him a full life.. and slowly that life will include a hero called Kale too. But there are secrets, demons to slay and their relationship will be hit by an unbelievably devastating and tragic twist.

Worth a credit? Oh YES YES YES.. ALJ has such a powerful and unique way with words.. her picking and placing of them results in some wonderfully lyrical writing. This is a beautifully crafted, gut-wrenching, very emotional, steamy love story that’ll pull at your heartstrings because there’s definitely a courageous heroine, a caring broken man who doesn’t believe he’s any sort of a hero.. and a loveable little boy who shines shines shines. And the narration by Andi Arndt and Joe Arden made it a perfect 5 star listen.

an ok read

the story line and hero were great. the twists and turns were great to but this story is a very slow SLOW BURNER. I have been more excited to finish others, it really did lag some in the meat, lots of repeating and discussing inner feelings

Liked the first book in this series but.....

What did you love best about Follow Me Back?

I didn't find anything that was particularly outstanding about this book. I would give it a "good" not a "great" rating.

Have you listened to any of Joe Arden and Andi Arndt ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Never have an issue with Joe and Andi. They are always great.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

No.

Any additional comments?

For some reason this book seemed to drag for me. It was a little too long and not enough going on to completely hold my attention. I found myself fast forwarding a little to finish it up. Yes the story did tug at the heartstrings somewhat, and there were a couple of scenes that were noteworthy and attention-grabbing, but not enough. However, based on previous A.L. Jackson reads, I still think that she is a good writer.

Emotional and beautiful!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. This is a beautiful and emotional story that all my romance readers friends would totally love as much as I do.

Who was your favorite character and why?

This is a hard question to answer because I love them all. I love Kale and Hope with all my heart!! I felt an instant connection with both of them from the very beginning of the book and as the story was progressing, they literally owned my heart.
Kale is a combination of the sweetest guy in the world with the perfect amount of cockiness, making him the perfect book boyfriend.
Hope is loving, sweet and strong and she's determined to protect her beloved ones.
Kale and Hope together are just perfect.

Which character – as performed by Joe Arden and Andi Arndt – was your favorite?

I loved how Joe made Kale's character come to life with his southern accent, his strong voice, and sweet sexy talking. Obviously, Joe made a great voice for Hope and the secondary characters, his inflections and pace during the narration made this audiobook a great companion for the book.
I loved Andi's voice for Hope, so sweet and feminine, but also strong when she needed to be. But my favorite character narrated by Andi was the most important secondary character of the story. It was PERFECT!!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

OH. MY. GOD. I really wasn't prepared for this book. The whole story was so emotional that I was crying my eyes out at 20% of the book, and I won't say a word about because I'd be a huge spoiler, but I guarantee with my heart that this book is an emotional ride everyone should read and experience.

Can’t believe I actually paid for this book

I have read so many books from the Romance Package that were much better than this! What a disappointment! Waaaay too much super cheesy “inner talk” and not enough actual communication between the two main characters. I skipped entire chapters without missing much story. By the time they resolved things I had pretty much lost interest.

not as good as book 1

A little disappointing. I tried butcan't seem to get into it. The story is also slow.

Ok but not as good as other books by author

I’ve enjoyed other books by this author much more, and some of the storylines and strife seemed way too similar to other books (as if they’ve run out of plot lines). Was ok though and I don’t regret listening to it as it’s part of a series. Hopefully it picks up again for the next book!