Review: Let Me In – Callie Croix

Let Me In by Callie Croix
Series:
Release Date:  May 21, 2012
Publisher:  Carina Press
Source: NetGalley
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On leave for Thanksgiving, the last thing marine lieutenant Talia Barnett expects to find is Liam Brodie waiting for her at the airport. He’s had a starring role in her fantasies for the past two years, and although she’d love to make them a reality, she has a dark secret that prevents her from taking things further.

A former marine, Liam’s specialty is planning tactical operations, and that’s just what he plans to do to win Talia. The woman has kept him at arm’s length for too long, and this time he’s finally going to claim her—body and heart.

What begins as comfort quickly turns hot. When Liam shows Talia a hint of the dominant nature inside him, the submissive part of her flares to life. Though she desires him, she’s going back on deployment and doesn’t want to dump all her drama on him. Will he find a way to break through the protective walls around her heart and convince her they have a future that goes far beyond the bedroom? 

Reviewer’s Thoughts:

Talia Barnett finds herself flying home to Colorado over Thanksgiving with no idea what awaits her.  She and her mother, her only remaining blood relative, have a tenuous relationship due to her mother’s mental illness.  But when she exits security at the airport, she find her best friend, Angie, and her older brother, Liam waiting for her.

Talia has always envied Angie and Liam for their close knit family, wishing she could have a sliver of what they have together.  It’s that wish that caused Talia to inform Liam, in the past, that despite their attraction, nothing would happen between them.  Talia really does want Liam and she’s denying herself a chance with the man because of her embarrassment over her mother’s mental illness.  But something happens to Talia once Liam starts pushing her.  She finds herself giving into him.

Liam has had a thing for Talia for as long as he’s known her.  While he’s let her push him away, he’s decided that this Thanksgiving it’s going to be the time he makes his move.  He soon comes face to face with the ugliness Talia has been dealing with on her own and vows to be there to support her and prove that she can rely on him. 

As the book blurb says Liam sees Talia’s submissive side and shows her small portion of what he would like to do with her.  While their sexual chemistry was hot, Liam (in my opinion) was more a tender lover who likes to be a little pushy than a Dom.  And Talia didn’t come off as being a submissive, instead she let Liam take the lead.

I enjoyed the storyline and the characters.  It was refreshing to actually have the heroine needing to suck it up and crawl back to the hero after screwing things up colossally.  If you want a read where a “broken” lead manages to turn their life around and get a HEA, give this one a try.