Here With Me (Adair Family #1) by Samantha Young

* * * 3/4

Settled in the tranquil remoteness of the Scottish Highlands, Ardnoch Estate caters to the rich and famous. It is as unattainable and as mysterious as its owner —ex-Hollywood leading man Lachlan Adair—and it's poised on the edge of a dark scandal.

After narrowly escaping death, police officer Robyn Penhaligon leaves behind her life in Boston in search of some answers. Starting with Mac Galbraith, the Scottish father who abandoned her to pursue his career in private security. To re-connect with Mac, Robyn will finally meet a man she’s long resented. Lachlan Adair. Hostility instantly brews between Robyn and Lachlan. She thinks the head of the Adair family is high-handed and self-important. And finding closure with Mac is proving more difficult than she ever imagined. Robyn would sooner leave Ardnoch, but when she discovers Mac is embroiled in a threat against the Adairs and the exclusive members of the estate, she finds she’s not yet ready to give up on her father.

Determined to ensure Mac’s safety, Robyn investigates the disturbing crimes at Ardnoch, forcing her and Lachlan to spend time together. Soon it becomes clear a searing attraction exists beneath their animosity, and temptation leads them down a perilous path.

While they discover they are connected by something far more addictive than passion, Lachlan cannot let go of his grip on a painful past: a past that will destroy his future … if the insidious presence of an enemy lurking in the shadows of Ardnoch doesn’t do the job first. 

*Source: ARC generously provided in exchange for an honest review

I'm a big Samantha Young fan, so of course, I had to read Here With Me, but this one actually threw me off a bit mostly because I wasn't expecting a mystery. That's because I didn't really bother to read the blurb because I saw Samantha Young's name and that was it for me. 

Robyn is an ex-cop from Boston who after recovering from an injury sustained on the job that almost cost her her life, decides that she's going to make things right with her estranged father who lives in Scotland. She hardly knows Mac who drifted out of her life in her early teens. He was a very young father and as far as she knew, he wasn't interested in being one anymore. She arrives at Ardnoch hoping to find answers and maybe reconnect. To be fair, she's not entirely sure what she wants. It's all just too emotional for her and it doesn't help that ex-Hollywood heartthrob Lachlan Adair is there. He is not only Mac's boss but also his best friend and she's cast him as the villain whom her father chose over her.  Also in the this-doesn't-help-anyone department is Lachlan's immediate animosity towards her. He means to protect Mac because he's aware of the real story behind Mac leaving Robyn, but he's going about it by being a broody, rude jerk. Anyway, Robyn and Lachlan are oil and water, and in the meantime, there's a stalker on the loose. When Mac ends up being attacked, Robyn insists on staying to help him find the perpetrator and put an end to the harassment.

This is an age-gap romance with Robyn being 28 and Lachlan being 10 years older but with the way they behave immaturely at the beginning you'd think they were 4 years old. Their tension had me feeling on edge. Obviously, there's building attraction and when they finally act upon their first kiss, it's in the heat of the moment, but then it's that way for the next few kisses and it felt so melodramatic to me. A thing I noticed this time that I don't normally notice is what kind of pov I'm reading. I don't usually have a preference, but I did happen to notice it here that Robin's POV was in 1st and Lachlan's in 3rd, and I didn't understand why. I liked that Robyn spent time off the estate, roaming the countryside. The descriptions and the mini-history lessons had me wanting to book a trip immediately! That's probably one of my favorite parts of the story. I did feel overwhelmed by the many characters and their subplots and mini subplots grappling for my attention in one book when I was most eager to get to Robyn and Mac's full reconciliation, and also find out who's been stalking Lachlan and attacked Mac. The mystery felt like it became so secondary to the plot at times because it seemed like it was only addressed when convenient so the characters could go be normal or something for a bit in between. The lack of urgency or caution felt off to me.

I liked Here With Me overall; it's just those few things that I found unsettling so I couldn't absolutely dive into it the way I have with Young's other books. Even though there was plenty of hostility between Robyn and Lachlan, I liked Robyn's defiance. She's so about self-reliance and strength, encouraging others to dig deep and find theirs. So yes, she has a massive chip on her shoulder but she also has your back in a major way once she's your friend. She's a complicated, emotional character who's tenacious but also has her vulnerabilities, just like the rest of us. Lachlan softens up later which makes him more attractive. As for the mystery, I was able to figure it out well before the end so it was anti-climactic for me. 

If there's one thing I admire about Samantha Young is that she does write stories that differ from whats she's previously written so there's always something interesting coming from her. Here With Me was good, and while not my favorite of all her books, I'm still very much in it to see where this series goes. Between Lachlan's large Adair family and Robyn's own family situation, Young has introduced a lot of personalities that are sure to be surprising, and going by the cliffhanger here, explosive!

~ Bel