Tuesday, July 2, 2019

The Me I Used to Be


In New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Ryan’s bold new novel, Evangeline Austen returns to her family’s sprawling Napa Valley ranch, determined to rebuild her life and expose the shocking truth about the past.

She’s not the naïve girl she used to be… 

After serving time for a crime she didn’t commit, Evangeline returns home to a cold welcome. Her mother blames her for her father’s death, and her brothers want her out of their way. When Evangeline learns she’s solely responsible for their failing ranch—putting her family’s future squarely on her shoulders—she’ll have to find a creative way to save their home before they lose it all.

She’ll have her reckoning...

Her only ally: the cop who sent her away. Chris Chambers is positive she went to prison to protect someone else. He strikes a deal: help him track down the real criminals in exchange for clearing her name. But the closer Evangeline and Chris get to exposing the truth—and to each other—the deeper Evangeline is drawn into a dangerous sting that could finally bring her justice…or put her dreams on hold permanently.

She’ll fight for the life she always wanted…

Everyone’s lives moved on while Evangeline’s stood still. Now she has a chance to rebuild her family ranch, her life, and expose the people who put her away, so she can become the woman she was always meant to be. 



The Me I Used to Be was a crazy intriguing story with a lot of heartfelt moments. The book follows Evangeline after she's released from prison where she served 4 years for a crime she didn't commit. There's no going back to her life from before she was in prison, so now she'll have to figure out how she's going to navigate this new life post-jail time. But with one major obstacle int he way - catching the real criminals. 

I have to say, there was a lot of frustration from seeing how Evangeline's family treated her, and many moments where I just wanted to reach into the book and slap them. But I liked that the book had me reacting that strongly to the characters. It had me fully captivated by everything going on that much. Especially the mystery surrounding Evangeline's arrest and her crime. I loved the suspense that it added and how the mystery was the thing pushing Evangeline and Chris together.

Honestly there wasn't anything major that I didn't like about the book but as an overall story I felt like it lacked a little something. It kept me intrigued, but also had me searching for more depth from the characters. Sometimes things were maybe just a little too easy to fall into place and that's what had me feeling as if the story was lacking. 

Bottom line, this was a easy and quick read that I found enjoyable. I liked Evangeline as our main character and I was definitely cheering her on as the book progressed. It gets a recommend from me and I think anyone that picks this book up will get sucked into it just like I did and hopefully enjoy it as much also. 

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