Review: Nice job!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 19, 2014
I get tired of New Adult books rather easily, and one of my biggest turn-offs is the orphan angle.  It seems like a device that is used to death by authors who don’t want to mess with the family dynamic, which can be difficult to write, so they skip it, making the main character an orphan.  I thought that’s where this one was going, but the orphan on social services angle played a major part in the plot of this story and ended up being a major thematic element that was very well done.  Also a portion of the proceeds of the work go to causes that help troubled teens.  That was pretty awesome.The characters are all deliciously flawed, and Jake is totally drool worthy.  Of course, he’s half my age, which makes me a total perv, but whatevs.  The plot unfolded smoothly, with barely any issues, and I caught myself getting invested in the story, making few notes for my review.  I had a hard time rooting for Jules, but I think I’m just a little too hard on my female characters and need to get over that.  She has a hard time letting people in, with all of her trust issues, and she seemed a little fickle to me.  Again, I’m hard on the female characters, probably because I have such a hard time making them likeable in my own writing, so I’m quick to point out flaws with others.Overall, a very good NA romance with some heavy thematic elements.  Well done, Ms. Holland.  I received this book in exchange for a review.