{Book Review} Stir Me Up by Sabrina Elkins

Synopsis:

Cami Broussard has her future all figured out. She'll finish her senior year of high school, then go to work full-time as an apprentice chef in her father's French restaurant, alongside her boyfriend, Luke. But then twenty-year-old ex-Marine Julian Wyatt comes to live with Cami's family while recovering from serious injuries. And suddenly Cami finds herself questioning everything she thought she wanted.

Julian's all attitude, challenges and intense green-brown eyes. But beneath that abrasive exterior is a man who just might be as lost as Cami's starting to feel. And Cami can't stop thinking about him. Talking to him. Wanting to kiss him. He's got her seriously stirred up. Her senior year has just gotten a lot more complicated….

Stir Me Up is one of those angsty, romantic, fluffy reads that you will fly through if you’re looking for a fun and easy New Adult contemporary romance for a vacation or a beach read. The narration is extremely readable, and it goes down like candy. Cami is a truly likable protagonist, and her specialty, cooking, makes for a nice addition to the main plot. It was fun to read about all the meals she was cooking and all her plans for her future as a chef. Julian, as a wounded marine, definitely had the tortured hero thing going for him, and while he starts off the book as a complete jerk, as he heals, he becomes extremely likable.

Cami and Julian’s romance is obviously the main plot of this book, and it’s adorable and sweet. Once we really get into their relationship, we get to see Cami helping Julian re-acclimate to civilian life, deal with a little PTSD, and learn to love himself again-even though he lost a leg to the war. There’s also quite a bit of relationship growth within Cami’s entire family, which adds another nice layer to the story, as Cami works to keep a good relationship with her chef father and her stepmom.

It’s really a sweet story, and a quick read, one that fans of NA Contemporary Romance will enjoy.

Content: Somewhat graphic sex, heavy though infrequent language. Recommended for 18+.