Sunday, March 4, 2018

The Studying Hours by Sara Ney | a Fun Contemporary!

How to Date a Douchebag #1
Date Read: Jan 26 to 27, 2018
First Published: 2016
Kindle
New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Rating:
Re-Readability:
CRUDE. ARROGANT. A**HOLE.
No doubt about it, Sebastian ‘Oz’ Osborne is the university’s most celebrated student athlete—and possibly the biggest douchebag. A walking, talking cliché, he has a filthy mouth, a fantastic body, and doesn’t give a sh*t about what you or anyone else thinks.

SMART. CLASSY. CONSERVATIVE.
Make no mistake, Jameson Clarke may be the university’s most diligent student—but she is no prude. Spending most of her time in the hallowed halls of the library, James is wary of pervs, jocks, and douchebags—and Oz Osborne is all three.

She’s smart, sarcastic—and not what he expected.

…EVERY DOUCHBAG HAS HIS WEAKNESS.

He wants to be friends.
He wants to spend time with her.
He wants to drive her crazy.

He wants…

Her.
If you're looking for a quick, fun contemporary romance with little angst that focuses on two people getting to know each other and growing closer while bantering constantly, THE STUDYING HOURS is the right read for you. 

I think I read THE STUDYING HOURS at exactly the right time for it; I needed something light and easy to pick me up and it did just that! 

I loved that our main female character, James, was studious and serious, but that by no mean made her a prude. I loved that she was not cowed or intimidated by the assholes that make the wrestling team, including our hero Oz.

Fair warning - there is a lot of crude talk, courtesy of Oz's filthy mouth and no filter policy. I really didn't connect with this part of him, and just wished he'd stop. It fits with who he is as a person, so I don't fault the author for making him like this, but I sure wasn't a fan.

I was a fan of the chemistry between the two of them. It really was sizzling and it's the type that just kind of makes you shout in frustration that it's time to stop being just friends and give in to the temptation to make out!

And this relationship does take it's sweet ass time to get started. Unfortunately, there were a lot of things I wanted to see with our mains that seem to have happened off page, frustratingly enough, despite how deliciously long they take about getting romantic.

Like Oz sharing his sister's story with James, or James telling Oz about her family (which I literally know zero about. That's unfair--why does only Oz get to know??) or James and his sister texting... Those are all things that would've added a lot of depth to their relationship, on a non-sexual level. And they would have made great conversations to include! So why waste all these great things we didn't know in two random paragraphs at the end like an afterthought?

Although, I probably shouldn't be surprised, since I did feel like Ney wasn't quite sure how to end this book, so instead, we got an ending that felt really rushed, which is not something I usually say about standalone ish contemporary romance novels. Especially not ones I would classify as "slow burn" like this one is. But, like, there were things they had just started exploring or things that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and it gave me whiplash.

Take for example Zeke. I felt like that was such a sloppy way to set up his story. Dear author, I would've been immensely interested in Zeke's story even without the sudden fights with Oz and the cryptic, uncalled for messages like "you don't know her" and "don't let her get into your head". Especially since there is absolutely zero payout for these, or basis, which makes this part absolutely meaningless to this story. And, in general, I'm not a fan of unnecessary shit being thrown into any form of storytelling (movies included) just to set up the next installment, unless it's the after credit scene in a Marvel movie. Hey, just keeping it real.

So, yeah, there were a few things that stopped it from being a full 4 star, but if what I said in the first paragraph hold true to you, definitely check this one out! You're bound to enjoy it :)

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