A Beta Reader Review: For You to Love Me by C. Haynes

I enjoy dissecting a story, exploring the characters, and discussing what happened. That's why I became a beta reader. So, I also write reviews of books when reading published literature for pleasure, and I post them here!

For You to Love Me by C. Haynes is a Christian YA romance that centers on two young believers who fall for each other hard and fast. Shire has had her heart broken before, but begins to trust that Jess, her friend’s brother, will never hurt her. However, Jess has a secret that he us holding close to himself, and that secret could destroy the relationship.

Haynes spins a realistic tale of the temptations and trials of young love. I had no problem believing that the two protagonists could end up in the situation that they found themselves. The reveal of the secret left me genuinely shocked and equally terrified as to how it would affect Shire. The author does an amazing job, though, of tying up the story into a cute “happily ever after.”

I absolutely loved the writing style that Haynes uses. Her dialogue is on-point for how young adults converse, and her descriptive language is beautiful, with lines like, “His crystal eyes competed with the sky for its color.”

From a proofreading perspective, the book is a bit less than polished, which prevents me from giving it five stars. There are several typographical errors that pulled me out of the story repeatedly, and I would advise the author seek professional proofreading before publishing future stories.