cover image Come to Me Recklessly

Come to Me Recklessly

A.L. Jackson. NAL, $14 trade paper (448p) ISBN 978-0-451-47201-4

Jackson (Come to Me Softly) pours all-consuming passion, devastating loss, and second-chance love into the third and largely satisfying Closer to You new adult contemporary. As teenagers, Samantha Schultz and Christopher Moore found in each other an intense connection, until each of them was led to believe the other had cheated. Seven years later, a random encounter throws the long-ago loves together again. But just as Samantha and Christopher tentatively reclaim what they once had, tragedy strikes, and the reunion they've longed for is critically threatened. Jackson steadily builds the sexual tension between the protagonists as she delves into the past to slowly reveal what tore them apart in the first place, a device that ratchets up the overall suspense. Side plots involving Samantha's cancer-stricken younger brother and disturbingly possessive boyfriend are woven in as taut ribbons of foreboding. New adult fans will not be disappointed. Agent: Kevan Lyon, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. (Apr.)