Review: Excellent Read!!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 15, 2013
I received this book as part of a giveaway on a book blog.Ok, I will be honest that sometimes I am wary of reading books that are set in other countries (in this case the UK) because the dialogue can be tedious to follow.  Often times I find myself having to google phrases to find out what in the world they are talking about!  This was not the case with this book!  But maybe I've just read enough to know my stuff now. LOLI was a bit confused by the title, because through the beginning of the book I was like "Who in the world is Lucy and what in the world does she have to do with these two characters?"  And, you do find out there is indeed a Lucy, but who she is kept a bit of a mystery until about halfway through.So, quick synopsis.....Ness (Vanessa) decides to forego enrolling in University to live her own life.  She's tired of her parents pushing her and telling her what she should do, when she should do, and plan every aspect of her life for her.  So, she's going to live her own life.  Instead of going to school to become a doctor (like her dad) she moves to Leeds and takes a job in a call center (the "Battery Farm") that she hates and rents a house with her best friend Abby.  Abby is going to University and definitely living the life of a first time college student... partying hard!  Abby is dating Matt (at least at the beginning).  Evan is Matt's friend from back home and part of the party crowd that often makes their way to Ness and Abby's home after the pubs and clubs close on the weekends.We start out with Ness coming home from her shift on a weekend to find a messy house, drunk or stoned people passed out everywhere and an unknown guy in her bed!  Needless to say she's not happy.  And who could blame her.  While in the kitchen she meets Evan.  During their first exchange he proceeds to peg her as being stupid because she's not enrolled in university and tells her she sounds like the Queen!  Not really a great start Evan.  He offers to get the guy out of her bed.... by replacing him.  Yea, not really what Ness is looking for.  Their banter is witty and enjoyable.  She gives as good as she takes and so does Evan (even if he is drunk!).  The following day has them sparring again, but unfortunately he doesn't remember their exchange from the previous night.  But he gives her a ride to work because Abby forgot to fill up Ness' car with gas.  Again, their banter flows back and forth with natural ease.  It's refreshing when it just flows and it doesn't seem like it's forced from either side.The book is told from both Ness and Evan's points of view.  They gravitate to each other.  He enjoys being with her and she enjoys being with him and they just gravitate towards each other.  They hook up... well, at least they start to hook up... and then there's Lucy!  Evan avoids the calls, the messages and texts from her, but leaves Ness wanting (like really hot and bothered on the couch!) to deal with whatever is going on.  Ness lets it go because she thinks that Evan is a player (even though we learn later he's not really anything like she pegged him to be).  But it always seems to get in the way and finally Ness has enough, checks the phone and finds that Lucy is hunting Evan down.  Evan has to go home to diffuse a situation and Ness feels like she's being blown off.  She doesn't know who Lucy is and Evan doesn't seem to want to fill her in.Eventually he feels he has to tell her, because he's falling in love with Ness (whether he realizes it or not at this point he is).  Unfortunately the meeting didn't go as he planned for it to go.  But we learn who Lucy is and why Evan wants to keep his past exactly there... in the past!Evan and Ness are both running from things.  Ness wants to be her own person... she doesn't want her parents to dictate who she is... and Evan is running from his past and what he feels like are his responsibilities because no one else in his family wants to shoulder that responsibility.In the end "because of Lucy" Ness finds that what her parents want and what she wants aren't really such different things.  She just needed to find that out on her own.  And Evan realizes that Lucy isn't his responsibility completely.  He has to learn to let go.I loved the ending and hope there was a "Happily Ever After" in there :)