Ask Me Why: An Enemies to Lovers Standalone Romance Paperback – June 19, 2019

This book broke me, ripped out my heart, tore it to shreds and burned the leftover pieces to ash because some of it hit way too close to home. It’s almost like Rae cracked open the door of my heart and wrote what she saw there, so I was immediately all in. I felt my soul connecting with Braelyn and held her close in the deepest part of my numb, ruined heart. I lived every moment of her story with Brance and his son, Oliver, as if it were my own.Three years earlier, Braelyn suffered the most devastating tragedy that left her broken, empty and paralyzed, with frequent flashbacks and nightmares to keep her company. But she's surviving, day by day, with the help of a beautiful thicket out by the cliffs, her friend Sadie, and her store, the Thicket, which she opened not long after the tragedy. The thicket is a special place. It’s “a place to get lost for a while. Find purpose. Center yourself. Find true happiness,” and it’s the Thicket that a precious five-year-old stumbles across on his quest for candy.Adorable, energetic Ollie finds so much more than candy when he meets Braelyn at her store. It quickly becomes his favorite place to be, and little does he know, but Ollie brings the first ray of sunshine Braelyn's life has seen in three years. Thus begins the sweetest romance I’ve ever read between a heroine and child, but our hero, Brance, has a way of souring anything.With everything in me, I wanted to hate Brance. He's rude, arrogant, mean and calloused, with a heart of ice. He's the storm clouds that hide the sun and chase away any chance of a rainbow, but it’s possible there is a little justification for his attitude. His son is his top priority, and I found myself warming to him as I saw his love for Ollie throughout the book.Even wounded, Braelyn is far too kind, giving and loving to take on Brance, and I was certain it was only a matter of time before he would destroy her all over again. My mistake was underestimating the power of love and determination from a five-year-old matchmaker. But Brance and Braelyn also made the same mistake.Ah, this book! As heart breaking and devastating as it is, it filled my heart with hope and joy after flinging it around in an emotional hurricane. I adore all of these characters, but it's precious little Ollie who had me falling head over heels for him. He was the constant ray of light through the angsty ups and downs and he even managed to carve out a space in my heart for his broody father.Rae is definitely at the top of her game with this phenomenal read, and you need this book in your life. It will batter your heart but leave you ecstatic and singe your soul but leave you smiling, and these characters will remain a part of you long after the last page. Don’t miss this exquisite, spellbinding, evocative read!*I reviewed an advance copy of this book freely and voluntarily, having made no commitment to provide a review and receiving no compensation of any kind from any source for this review.

This was an intense enemy to lovers read.Brance and Braelyn both had tragic passed that letting anyone in was near impossible. Braelyn who owns the adorable shop Thicket befriends a taffy loving 4-year-old Oliver who becomes smitten with Braelyn. Brance Ollie's dad is not affected at all, he is a ruthless bumhole who is downright Mean, Aggrorant and Nasty to Braelyn this first time they meet. Ollie stills love the shop and make his Dad take him every free moment he can. Brance eventually lets a touch of his guard down when he sees how much Brae really loves Ollie.This was more of a 3.5 read for me but I round up. It was swoon-worthy and Ollie make up for a lot of his Dads mouth, but I just couldn't get passes how freaking mean he was, there is arrogant and then A$$hole and he was the later. Braelyn was so affected by her past and PTSD but then it went away for most of the second half of the read. The ending was sweet, but I needed more groveling from Brance.

Ask Me Why is ridiculously addicting. It's an extremely emotional romance that resonates, centered on an out-of-this-world connection between a father and his son, and the broken woman who may be the missing puzzle piece to complete them.Ask Me Why tells the story of a young, tragically broken woman, Braelyn--love her name--having stitched together a semblance of a life, who meets a cynical single dad with more layers than a sweet slice of Napoleon dessert. It’s a sizzlefest of slow burn sexual chemistry that lifts off the screen. This story will sear your heart. I thought of these lovers for days after finishing, and rereading and rereading.Brance! What a jerk. An amazing, clueless hyper-focused perfect jerk. He’s a wolf in wolf’s clothing. And thank god for his adorable son Ollie, who has the sense to immediately recognize what an angel Braelyn is.Braelyn, my heart. She has a devastating backstory and leads what appears to be a small sheltered life. She's only coping though. She has an amazing heart and huge soul that’s just begging for a connection.All of this is told with a beautiful, dreamy quality by Harloe Rae. Yes it’s raw, and their couplings leave you all gooey and restless. But it’s how she balances Brance’s wicked barbs—even though you know deep down he doesn’t mean them—with Braelyn’s loving patience. In many ways, Braelyn's healing not only herself but him as well.And the pacing and rising tension and stakes really got to me. There is a thrumming need to get them together, to have them figure it all out. I WANTED them together, like I had my own feverish craving to satisfy with every swipe. They needed each other so much. And the climax! GAH! Sooo emotional. Incredible, I felt it, I felt Braelyn’s and Brance’s conflicted traumas cracking them. All this. All this, and a totally—I’m not gonna spoil anything—clever artistic motif that Rae repeated throughout the story, that led to one whopper of a payoff. Ollie… I love you, and Harloe Rae. I think she’s just getting started.She’s already a GoTo writer for me. And Ask Me Why is her best yet. It’s easy to write to trends, and everyone wants to read about the next big alphaheel and how he’s going to suddenly become a good guy. But Rae doesn’t do that. She’s written a complicated man with a huge heart sequestered behind a lifetime of rejection from the women who are supposed to love him, love his son, the most. It’s fantastic that Rae conjured up Braelyn to sooth his broken heart, and in return, Brance heals hers.I LOVE THIS STORY! Harloe Rae is a romance habit I never want to break.

The male main character is a total lout. What a disappointment; I usually enjoy Harloe Rae’s stories, but I can’t with this one. How sad, emotional abuse being romanticized.

The man is cruel and mean. He didn’t really change because he wanted to or because he fell in love. No it was his best friend and kid who worked for the relationship

I was all in with this book from the first page to the last. I loved Braelyn, Brance and Oliver James. My only question is who gives a child that much sugar?

Braelyn has had heartbreak & devastation in her life . She has to fight the darkness daily . Then a little 5 year old whirlwind, called Ollie, comes into her shop & her darkness lifts & rainbows appear . Then she meets his father , an arrogant, rude, obnoxious man .... So why can't she stop thinking about this little boys Dad ? .Brance has been manipulated, betrayed , & hurt by women in his life . He doesn't need it want a woman full time in his life , all he needs is his son , Ollie. When his son insists that they go to a store his Nanny has taken him to , Brance is happy to comply. There he meets the shop owner, Braelyn. He takes an instant dislike to her ... So why can't he stop thinking about her .Ollie wants the two together. So with the help of Brance best friend , Jordan, & Braelyn's best friend, Sadie, they all set about to make it happen.Loved this story

Amazing read. Hooking from the beginning. A tale of two lost and broken soul trying to find solace in one another. Both are broken and in grief. Healing is a slow process but time mends all hole even the deepest one we thought could never be healed. Must read.