Never Doubt Me by S.R. Grey
Book #2: Judge Me Not Series
Source: Author
Rating: 5/5 stars

Dear reader, I would like to introduce to the reigning Queen of All Things Angsty, Dramatic and, Heavy. Her name is S.R. Grey and she is damn good at all things angsty, dramatic and, heavy! Never Doubt Me is round two of The Judge Me Not series and it picks up exactly where book one left off, with an angsty teenager and his girlfriend standing on Chase’s front porch after having run away from home. Yep, that’s just what Chase and Kay need in their lives right now.

To be completely fair to Will (aka the angsty teen) the running away from home was justified. His girlfriend’s step-father is creeptastic and in an effort to keep her away from him, she and Will hopped in her car and drove to Chase. Unwilling to turn away his younger brother, Chase allows the two come in as long as all parents are notified and agree to the unexpected visit. Not surprisingly, Will and Chase’s lousy mother instantly agrees and Cassie’s mother, now aware of what her daughter has been enduring is aware and agrees to the arrangement as well. Kay, in an effort to support Chase and see his relationship with his brother improve, agrees to the arrangement as well.

On the surface, both Chase and Kay are totally ready to take on the challenge of Will and Cassie but underneath, each is completely uncertain. Chase sees some early signs of drug use in Will and is willing to go to any length to keep his brother from such a life. Cassie is traumatized and only with prodding is willing to talk to Kay about her situation. Additionally, Will and Cassie are totally hormonal teenagers away from home and unsupervised for much of the day while Kay and Chase are at work. Yep, nothing bad can happen there 

Though Kay understands Chase is doing the best he can she also knows he is hiding things from her and though she has asked about it, he refuses to open up. Obviously, the deceit is weighing on her and though she desperately wants to trust Chase, his past is working against him and causing Kay to doubt nearly everything about them. Additionally, Kay fully appreciates that both Will and Cassie need help but their presence is causing problems and causing the normally delightful Kay to become anxious and upset. Kay desperately wants Chase to be happy but the presence of his brother is causing the exact opposite and before all is said and done, the situation will get totally and completely out of control!

The Bottom Line: I normally run far, far away from angst in books but S.R. Grey has a way of making even me love the angst. As with book one, Never Doubt Me is a heavy and dramatic read shot through with moments of happiness, laughter and, tenderness. Oh, and Chase is a sexy, tattooed, dynamo in bed so those naughty bits are steamy and gooood  At its core, Never Doubt Me is really two reads woven into one with Will and Cassie’s story overlapping with Chase and Kay’s evolving story. The weaving is excellent and the merging of the two stories flows beautifully from start to finish. Since I mentioned the plot, you should know that even though the plot is quite fine, it really plays second fiddle to the impressively written characters. Good or bad, Grey’s characters are big, vivid and, completely consuming. It takes about a minute to get wrapped up in their lives and you just can’t ever untangle yourself nor do you care too. Oh, and then there is the matter of that dirty rotten ending that has absolutely left me desperate for book three. Happy reading and kudos to you S.R. Grey for wrapping me around your little literary finger :) ( )

Never Doubt Me picks up right where I Stand Before You left off. With Chase's brother Will and his girlfriend, Cassie, showing up on his doorstep. I was glad we got to see the relationship between Chase and Will. Even though it was clearly strained over Chase's drug abuse and prison time, you are still able to see the love between them. That doesn't mean things are easy. Their relationship is messy but underneath it all you can tell they both are just scared. I loved seeing the big brother side of Chase. He really fills those shoes well. Will doesn't make it easy. He starts making friends and bad decisions, I was glad Chase didn't sit back. It really shows just how much he has learned from his mistakes and it was just great to see how much he cares for Will and how he wants him to be better than what he was.
Anyways- Kay and Chase's relationship is not without struggles but I don't feel like their problems were major, which is a good thing! These two have been through so much in the past that I am glad their relationship isn't one bad thing after another. The struggles they face are realistic. That.That being said after that ending I am looking forward to the next book! I was not glad with the way things ended but thank goodness for that Epilogue! Without it I would not have been happy! ;) I have to say this was a great follow up to ISBY!

***ARC provided by the Author and Publisher in exchange for an honest review*** ( )