Resist Me is the next book following Unfix Me. The story features West Densmore and his rival Lincoln Porter. West is Kai's somewhat crazy and wild best friend. West has plenty of his own demons, which he pushes aside in favor of taking care of those he loves.
From the blurb:
Whoever claimed that opposites attract was smoking something. West and Lincoln couldn't be more different. The only thing they have in common is their position on the football team, which will soon belong to West. He doesn't need to fight for it, but he wants to. From the moment he met Lincoln, he wanted to challenge him, to prove himself worthy of taking his crown. Rivalry really was bitter and it could prove to be a dangerous game.
When the last game of the season concludes, West isn't sure what to think of his former teammate. He assumed they wouldn't see each other anymore, but they just keep running into each other- at his apartment, on campus, and in coffee shops. And when he really stops to think about it, he wonders if there's more to Lincoln than his star quarterback status. The question is: how much does he care?
West is a firm believer in the fluidity of attraction, but when he finds himself grappling with whatever is growing between them, he has to confront more than just his sexuality. Between school, Lincoln, and the arrival of his sister in Seattle, there are too many variables at play, too many things that can go wrong, and ways for him to fail. If he can't find balance, he might just let his greatest fears consume him.
GreenwingReads review:
Resist Me is the next book following Unfix Me. The story features West Densmore and his rival Lincoln Porter. West is Kai's somewhat crazy and wild best friend. West has plenty of his own demons, which he pushes aside in favor of taking care of those he loves.
I thought West was an interesting character. He has been through a lot, and as I learned more about him, his chaotic and self-sabatoging behavior made sense. West isn't afraid to love, he does so fiercely. He is terrified to allow someone to love him. His character arc is centered around a fear of abandonment.
Lincoln is older than West (22 to West's 18). He is more mature, settled, and stable. He's the anchor that West needed and West grows a lot during the evolution of his relationship with Lincoln. I really liked Lincoln. He is compassionate, but not a doormat. I thought he was the perfect counterpoint for West. It was surprising how willing he was to put up with West's nonsense before he knew the reason behind it, but his patience and steadiness are Lincoln's defining characteristics. Where West is hot, Lincoln is cool.
Another thing I liked about the relationship between West and Lincoln is that this wasn't an "I say I hate you but I've always secretly wanted you" enemies-to-lovers story. These two legitimately disliked each other. It isn't until they come to get to know one another better that their feelings began to change.
Emory's writing is deeply emotional and the stories they tell are raw and real and sometimes hard, but always beautiful. There were plenty of lighthearted moments with West's antics to provide breaks from the heaviness. The dialogue is witty and entertaining.
All that said, I wish I could have seen more of West's feelings. Even to himself, he didn't often think about how he was feeling or what he was afraid of, especially in terms of his relationship with Lincoln. There was a lot of longing for something similar when he watched Kai and Sen together, but I didn't feel the evolution of his affection for Lincoln the way I felt Lincoln's for him. I did love seeing the connection West and Sen shared.
I found West's twin sister Willow a bit frustrating. She had her own share of trauma and was hiding something that was eating away at her. However, I didn't fully buy the reason why she kept it to herself. She could be deeply intuitive about West and knew him so well, but that didn't stop her from behaving in ways that were, frankly, sometimes cruel because she knew her behavior was triggering him. She seemed sometimes to downplay everything West did for her and what he endured himself to justify her own behavior, which made her seem selfish to me. I won't say what West went through was worse than what Willow did because the traumas they experienced were horrific and also very different. But West lived through so much and endured it for ten years. I felt like Willow could have been more cognizant of that. If someone treated my brother the way West was, I don't care who they are or how differently they treated me, I wouldn't want anything to do with them. Full stop.
Finally, I think the story could have done with some more thorough editing for punctuation and grammar. As this is only their second book, I expect Emory's already talented style will only improve from here. I look forward to more from these characters!
Resist Me is currently available as an e-book and paperback and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription
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