Review: “You Know it’s Love” by Jen Morris

Series: Love in the City, #2

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Steam: 🔥🔥🔥

Release Date: February 23rd, 2021

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“Because when something works out, it’s worth every past hurt you’ve endured.”

Honestly, I did not think it was possible for me to love any two of Jen Morris’ characters more than I loved Alexis and Michael. But then she wrote Cat and Myles and now I am a sucker for them too. And so effortlessly she sucked me into their love and their story and so effortlessly I let myself just fall in love with these two characters.

In You Know It’s Love, we’ve got Cat (who you will remember as Alex’s roommate in Love in the City) and she runs a vintage clothing store, where she sometimes adds her own designs. But she keeps it in the back, where someone might stumble across it. Cat’s got trust and relationship issues and rightly so. If you haven’t read LitC, this might be a bit of a spoiler – but Cat’s ex-husband is now dating her ex-friend – and they’re rubbing it in Cat’s face and basically making her life a little bit of a living hell.

“There’s something so disarming about the way he doesn’t take himself too seriously. Somehow, I can’t see Myles making me eat snails at La Bouffe or listen to whatever that was back at that speakeasy, and that makes me smile.”

Then we’ve got Myles. He’s the new bartender at Bounce (which is owned by Cat’s brother, Cory) and he’s all kinds of delicious, charming, sexy and just plain hot. I mean, he’s got tattoos, mixes drinks and flirts easily. He’s just perfect. But bartending is not his passion, let’s get that out of the way. He wants to be a web developer and designer and he’s also a photographer, so basically Myles can do whatever he wants with all the talent and skills that he possesses. Also, this is such a cool part of who is he – Myles meditates and does yoga! It’s so rare for the male lead in a romance to do that without being forced into it, or doing it because someone said it’s cool.

After her ex hurt her (I hate you, Mark!) Cat’s been keeping it light and simple. She’s doing the usual dating apps and trying to meet interesting people, using Bounce as a meeting point so her brother can step in whenever she feels threatened or uncertain about one of the guys there. Which is how she meets Myles. He comes on a little strong, she’s wary of him and it’s all kinds of adorable flirting, with a lot of uncertain looks and feelings from Cat. But it just works. The two of them together, the two of them not necessarily getting along – it just works!

I love when in romances, the author takes you on these Tinder adventures. Because it’s good to see that sometimes you’re going to meet the man of your dreams and other times, you’re meeting the worst of the worst. And Cat’s dating app adventures are truly entertaining, cringe-worthy and so relatable. It adds a little something to the story and the relationship Cat has with men in general.

“Cat, you couldn’t possibly disappoint me. All I want is to be with you. I’m already so unbelievably not disappointed, you have no idea.”

Cat’s got trust issues, and rightfully so, so she’s not going to jump into something right off the bat. Myles might seem like the perfect guy on paper, but she’s not entirely sure she can trust him. But that’s not going to stop Myles. He takes his time, he lets Cat get comfortable around him and slowly becomes her friend. I mean, Myles can be my friend ANYTIME. I love how it’s obvious he likes her, but Myles is being a decent guy – he offers to help Cat with her store and help her boost sales and make a name for herself. He doesn’t expect anything in return, he just wants to help her and he does.

Cat and Myles’ relationship is just great, guys. It’s a slow burn, and a bit of a grump/sunshine situation since Cat is just not having it while Myles is definitely ready for anything and everything. With a hero like Myles and a heroine like Cat, and their explosive chemistry, you’re bound to get a steamy scene or two. And it truly is beautiful. You’ll see what I mean when you get there, because it’s not like every other sex scene, it’s filled with feelings and emotions and desires and something else that just propels the scene forward. It’s not sex for the sake of sex, it means something. And that’s the kind of steam I am always ready for.

“I don’t ever want to let you go.”

Jen Morris writes in a single POV, so you only see Cat’s side of things. And yet, you can almost feel what Myles is going through. That’s something that I’m always wary of with single POV romances, because how do you ever really know what the other person is dealing with? But Jen shows you and tells you every step of the way. Which makes you love and appreciate Myles more, and it makes you see just how good he is and how deserving he is of Cat and her love.

We get to see Alex, Michael and Geoff again! Which made me so happy because I love continuing friendships in books. It’s always good to see a character you’ve met before, through someone else’s eyes and seeing Alex and Michael together again was beautiful.

Like the first book, You Know it’s Love is a story about trusting yourself, about giving yourself a second chance to find that kind of happiness. The happiness that you’re looking for doesn’t necessarily exist in a loving relationship, but in a place where you can find your own joy. And that’s what it is for Cat – between her store, her designs, her friends and Myles, she finds that kind of love for herself that makes every other relationship so much stronger.

Ugh, Jen, you slay me. You continue to inspire me to tell my stories too. This book, like LitC, has my heart, my soul…well, let’s be honest, it has all of me.

Thanks to Jen Morris for generously providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.