Drawn Together pulled me in from page one with its raw emotion and intense chemistry. Laina's journey to rebuild her life through art in Los Angeles felt so real, and when she met Adrian—a magnetic, rising star with his own struggles—their connection was impossible to ignore. The book isn’t just about love; it’s about survival, self-discovery, and the delicate balance between passion and control. What I loved most was how deeply it made me feel—the highs, the lows, the heartbreak, and hope. It’s the kind of book that stays with you long after you turn the last page.

Thank you, Djs Legacy Incorporated and NetGalley for providing me with a free e-copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

We’re following Laina Bennett, who came to LA to start anew. It’s her self discovery journey where she meets new people and reconnects with the old friends. It’s a debut novel, and there were certain things that didn’t hit the mark for me, but overall I enjoyed reading “Drawn Together”, watching Laina becoming happy, loved and fulfilled.

This book shows how one can build their life back together after leaving an abusive partner. You’ll be surprised how many people do actually care about you and are willing to help. When you go from an abuser, you realize that you were holding a breath all this time, it’s as if you can finally breathe,

The author did a good job writing Jax. He's a narcissist and a manipulator, he's obsessed with maintaining the order. A total control freak who's worried about his reputation and how people perceive him.

The scene when Laina learns of her partner’s betrayal was done well. When it feels like the worst moments of your life had engraved on your memory, the time seems to stop and you remember every detail.

I also liked how the author described the “before” and “after” Laina leaves her partner, the change we see in her life. When you leave abusers for good, the world shines of brighter colours, you see things you never seem to notice before. Abusive, toxic relationships make you feel so lonely and isolated, defeated even. We get a glimpse of Laina’s “after-Jax” life, how a bite of a sandwich or a kindness of strangers can brighten her day.

Now, to the things that didn’t quite work for me.

As a reader, you can’t help, but notice the attention to characters’ physical appearance. Which didn’t bother me too much in this book specifically, but I don’t think it will work for everyone. There are a lot of the interior, outfit, makeup descriptions. Oftentimes, I would found myself being distracted by the excessive brand mentions, ruining the reading flow. I can only hope it was not done to promote certain things, nor it was a product placement.

Despite Jax being an absolute rubbish of a man, he was the most well-written character. Everyone else seems to be too good or too bad to be true. I suspect it was done on purpose, so Laina wouldn’t have any flaws (except for financial irresponsibility maybe 🙂), because the author was worried readers wouldn’t be able to connect with the heroine otherwise.

The book requires more attention of an experienced editor. Some scenes were unnecessary long (e.g. a cooking scene was a few pages long; Laina talked to another character about him posing naked, as if they didn’t have the exact same conversation before). Also, each chapter had a title, and it was a nice touch, however these titles/names not always reflected the events of that chapter.

I don’t think it should be promoted as a fantasy novel, it’s probably a chick lit or a contemporary/urban romance novel. Unless it was an underlying message that things like that don’t happen in real life 🙂

And maybe the characters went from their first “hi” to “I love you” a bit too quickly for my liking, but I was happy for them anyway. Overall, I had a good time reading it, loved the friendship and how the side characters showed up for our girl, Laina. LA is described as a city where your dreams come true, a place where you can meet a celebrity anywhere you go. So, if you love LA and in a mood for a hopeful, inspirational, feel-good book, this one might be for you! 🎨🌴🥂💕✨

#DrawnTogether #NetGalley

Ohhhh, buckle up, book lovers, because Drawn Together is a ride you do NOT want to miss! 🚀 Laina? A badass artist trying to make it in LA. Adrian? A swoony actor with secrets. Their chemistry? Off-the-charts electric. But this ain't just some fluffy romance—oh no, this book grabs your heart, squeezes it, and doesn’t let go. Drama? Check. Tension? Yup. Emotional rollercoaster? Buckled in. I DEVOURED this in one sitting because it had me in a chokehold with every twist and turn. If you love books that make you feel everything, stop scrolling and grab this NOW. 🎭🔥

Drawn Together by Samantha Zamora is a masterpiece! I rated it 5 stars. So so soooo good omg! I couldn't put it down for a bit. I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can.