Before Jamaica Lane by Samantha Young | Book Review

Before Jamaica Lane by Samantha Young

On Dublin Street #3

First Published: 2014

Paperback

New Adult, Contemporary romance

Rating:

Re-Readability:

Despite her outgoing demeanor, Olivia is painfully insecure around the opposite sex—usually, she can’t get up the nerve to approach guys she’s interested in. But moving to Edinburgh has given her a new start, and, after she develops a crush on a sexy postgrad, she decides it’s time to push past her fears and go after what she wants.

Nate Sawyer is a gorgeous player who never commits, but to his close friends, he’s as loyal as they come. So when Olivia turns to him with her relationship woes, he offers to instruct her in the art of flirting and to help her become more sexually confident.

The friendly education in seduction soon grows into an intense and hot romance. But then Nate’s past and commitment issues rear their ugly heads, and Olivia is left brokenhearted. When Nate realizes he’s made the biggest mistake of his life, he will have to work harder than he ever has before to entice his best friend into falling back in love with him—or he may lose her forever….

This book was just so much fun, which is one of my favorite type of contemporary stories. So it comes as no surprise to me that this is probably my favorite book in the series. From page one, the characters jump out at you like they're real people. You can see them so clearly in your head, that it just might make you say "they're adorable" out loud. It sure did me.

This book made me laugh, because Olivia and Nate have the best conversations. The dialogues were flowing, fun, funny and sweet... the kind of conversations best friends have--because they are.

This is another selling point for this book - it does the friends to lovers trope to perfection. I've always believed that the best relationships out there are the ones where you marry your best friend, and this book is one of those books that prove me right.

If you've read one of Young's novels, you know how fantastic she is at writing smart, funny characters, which both Nate and Olivia are, and how she manages to build such a rich environment for her characters to exist in through their relationships with their friends and loved ones. Before Jamaica Lane is a prime example of that talent.

However, don't go into this story looking for innovation. In it's essence, the story is fairly predictable. I didn't read the synopsis before buying it, having loved this series before, but immediately knew upon hearing how inexperienced Olivia was and how experienced Nate is where this story was getting.

This didn't stop the story for being hella enjoyable for me, but I did feel it was worth mentioning. 

The Year we Fell Down by Sarina Bowen | Book Review

The Year we Fell Down by Sarina Bowen

The Ivy Years #1

First Published: 2014

Kindle

New Adult, Contemporary Romance

Rating:
Re-Readability:

The sport she loves is out of reach. The boy she loves has someone else.What now?
She expected to start Harkness College as a varsity ice hockey player. But a serious accident means that Corey Callahan will start school in a wheelchair instead.
Across the hall, in the other handicapped-accessible dorm room, lives the too-delicious-to-be real Adam Hartley, another would-be hockey star with his leg broken in two places. He’s way out of Corey’s league.
Also, he’s taken.
Nevertheless, an unlikely alliance blooms between Corey and Hartley in the “gimp ghetto” of McHerrin Hall. Over tequila, perilously balanced dining hall trays, and video games, the two cope with disappointments that nobody else understands.
They’re just friends, of course, until one night when things fall apart. Or fall together. All Corey knows is that she’s falling. Hard.
But will Hartley set aside his trophy girl to love someone as broken as Corey? If he won’t, she will need to find the courage to make a life for herself at Harkness — one which does not revolve around the sport she can no longer play, or the brown-eyed boy who’s afraid to love her back.

To be completely honest, I didn't really expect much of this novel. I had actually gotten it as a freebie some time back, but I didn't really know much about it and for some reason the cover screamed "typical romance story", and though I love those, I simply have too much of them on my kindle for this one to stand out to me.

Then, by some weird twist of fate, I reached a blog post by the author and found out the main character was in a wheelchair. This changed the whole picture for me, because I had been looking for some different romance to read, and a heroine struggling with disability was just what the doctor ordered. 

This book took me by complete surprise. 

First of all, the writing is great. Yes, this should be a given, but I've been burned by so many freebies that at this point I'm kind of cynical and disillusioned about the whole thing. So I was keeping my expectations low, and it far surpassed them. There was this easy, flowing quality to the story and dialogues that made it feel very effortless. I almost forgot that I was reading. 

Then there was the story itself. I kind of expected an avalanche of drama like a lot of those college romances throw at you. FYI - I hate over the top drama in novels. It makes me roll my eyes and feel exasperated. 

But once again, this novel surprised me. Instead of drama, we got real, believable conflicts that didn't relay on some miscommunication between two people. Conflicts that were resolved naturally, even if it took time. What could have been a tedious and aggravating journey for our mains to finally end together was handled with such care and maturity that it was simply delightful to read.

These people, Corey and Hartley, felt like real people, their romance flawed and yet wonderful and the progression and build of it natural and captivating (btw, slow burn!). You will 100% root for these two to get together. You will want them to get their happily ever after because they just fit so perfectly with their banter and humor. 

I never expected to like this so much, and yet I am so thrilled I did

Ink & Lies by S.L. Jennings | Book Review

Ink & Lies by S.L. Jennings

N/A
First Published: 2016
Kindle
Adult, Contemporary
Rating:

From International Best Selling Romance Novelist, Hope Hughes, comes a gripping, heartfelt tale of two lovers, fighting for the freedom to…
No. Scratch that. Too cheesy.
…two people, torn apart by the tumultuous tides of life, only to discover refuge in…WTF? What does that even mean? DELETE.
…two people, confused as shit as to where they should be and who they should love and none of this means a damn thing because it’s all lies!Lies.
I’m not Hope Hughes. I’m not some fierce woman romance machine. Hell, I’m not even a woman.
I’m a liar.
And while I refuse to believe my own BS, deceit masked in heartfelt phrases of love and devotion, I want to make herbelieve them. Because maybe—just maybe—if she can find the soul within my words, she’ll also be able to find the truth scribbled on my heart.
You see, I once lived for the perfect plot twist.
I just never expected to actually live it.
This is my story. Well, maybe her story. I just wish I could make it our story.
The one I’m still writing.

Ink & Lies is one of those books that had me dying to read it the moment I saw the cover. It's just so cute and has so many things I love (post it notes. coffee. pens. writing). And then I read the synopsis and I was like sign me up please!

August Rhys is a writer. More specifically, he's the Hope Hughes. You know, the Nora Roberts of this universe that has been bringing you to your knees for years with longing for all those fantastic book boyfriends?

Thing is, he doesn't believe in romance. He believes in two things: the Colonel, his hard ass grandfather, and his best friend Fiona Shaw. The shy, awkward girl who used to hide herself under clothes three times her size and cried while reading his books.

The love of his life. If he would just admit to it and stop acting like an idiot.

"I once told myself I wanted to write something that made Fi fall in love. And now that I see that it wasn't the words I wanted her to hold so dearly that she couldn't help but weep as she read. I wanted to write something to make Fiona fall in love with me. Not my pretty words or my pretty face or any of the other inconsequential bullshit I had deemed important. I just waned her to love me, her Rhys." 

So, yeah - friends to lovers type of story. Woot woot! This is one of my favorites troops in novels, and we had a pretty good version of it here. They were adorable together as friends, and they had incredible romantic potential. Everyone sees it! Even they do. If they would just admit it.

Now, before I move to the few issues I had with this book, I just want to tell you guys that I enjoyed it very much. It made me emotional and had me rooting for the main characters and going "JUST GET TOGETHER ALREADY" at the book. I thought it had a fantastic male voice and the first chapter? gold. So don't take my ranting to heart, because yes, I would recommend this book.

But... some things prevented this from being a full four star.

The main one is SPOILER that just when Rhys finally accepts his feelings towards Fi, she doesn't accept hers. I mean, c'mon! Drama is fine and dandy but seriously? Like, we have three seconds of Fiona and Rhys together as a couple, and that's it. For the whole book. Their whole couple potential is completely wasted! END SPOILER 

And couldn't you find a better source of drama than Fiona settling down for Dr. Creepy McCreepy over there? That "doctor" was fucked up. He's great to laugh at, but making him an actual romantic rival? Errr, how 'bout no?

And then, there's something that Fiona herself said in the book - Rhys lacks motivation for the way he is. He constantly knocks down love, writing it off as fictional dreams, but then reminisces about his grandparents true love and how they were soulmates. It adds up about as much as 1 plus 1 adds up to 5. Get it? Because it doesn't add up? I'll escort myself out, thank you....