Review: Angst-Filled College Romance That Deals With Real World Issues
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 9, 2014
Rating: 4.5 starsI am sitting here with a huge smile on my face. This book is exactly the kind of book that I love – angst-filled, yet romantic. I adored this book. Audrey took two people who knew exactly what they didn’t want in their life and gave them exactly that. This is a book about taking risks and understanding that not everything is black and white.Hadley is the quintessential over-achiever – editor of the college newspaper with her eyes on a career in international combat journalism – with no time for anything else. Until her best friend and roommate forces her to try and have some fun during the last few months of their senior year. So with a little liquid courage, she finds herself in the arms of a handsome stranger in the middle of the rain. Swoon… Honestly I think any kiss that happens in the rain is guaranteed hotness – I think it should be a rule.Enter stranger. Jack Diamond. Him and his plaid shirts got me every time. You may be eye rolling when you read the word “plaid” but trust me…this man is hot but not in an in-you-face type of way. He’s more of an undercover hottie. Anyways Jack is the complete opposite of Hadley. He is lazy, he doesn’t give much thought to his future. He isn’t career-driven nor does he even know what type of career he wants. Before you judge him, know that he is extremely intelligent and well read. He just laid back.Hadley was a unique one. After watching her mother fall in love so many times she lost count, she’s decided she doesn’t have time for love nor does she even want it. So when her and Jack share this mutual attraction, she sets rules. No dinner, no dates, no pet names, no sleep overs, no falling in love – friends with benefits. And Jack, being the laid back guy that he is, agrees.Until feelings get involved. I think you can see where I’m going with this. As predictable as it may sound, the turn of events actually surprised me. Hadley and Jack fall deeper and deeper into whatever it is they have. I would’ve predicted that Hadley would put up all these walls and there’d be no communication, but I was wrong. I actually loved how these two actually communicated with one another and were brutally honest as well. I also loved how Hadley let herself start feeling for Jack (even though she was in denial about it). From an outsider they were a couple. I loved when they were together. Jack brought her out of her shell. She laughed, she took risks, she had fun. And Hadley centered Jack. She gave him something to focus on something to want. She gave him purpose.And then things got interesting. Remember I said she was career-driven and wanted to go into combat journalism?!? Well that is a huge plot point and this is where their pasts start creeping in and affecting their relationship. This is where the book started getting real – meaning that real life issues started presenting themselves and testing them. There was heartbreak. There were tears. There was sadness. But it was all so very necessary.I love books that make me fall in love with the main characters, yet make me want to fight for them to be together. I love books that focus on realistic relationship problems rather than outside trivial factors. This is the second book of Audrey’s that I’ve read and I am officially a huge fan of hers! If I could change anything in this book, I think the only thing I would want is an epilogue. But that’s because I’m greedy. Shrugs…at least I’m being honest. But seriously, I highly recommend you read this book – I LOVED it!