Anna Jones, fierce philosophy major, and Drew Baylor, star quarterback, meet in class and it’s lust at first sight. She hates that she wants him. He just wants her. And well, you know the drill.
The Good, The Bad and Everything In Between
-Easy on the wallet: It’s currently available for $2.99 at Amazon - a bargain IMO.
-Insanely hot chemistry: Anna and Drew’s chemistry fairly leapt off the page. Ms. Callihan really managed to convey their intense sexual attraction, scene by scene, through their actions, their thoughts, and their dialogue….a real “showing vs telling” in the best sense of the phrase. I loved that you could almost feel it right alongside them.
This is a pretty steamy read, but the sex progresses naturally and wasn’t overdone for the sake of upping the cock count. I liked that while Anna and Drew have no shortage of sexy love scenes, it was more about their emotional connection - the afterglow and their talks, not just the hot sex. There’s even a bit of a Pretty Woman-like rule at first (no kissing, too personal) that just upped the angst and the anticipation. When they finally kiss, that was possibly the hottest scene of the entire book.
-Drew’s love for Anna is so incredibly attractive: Drew’s love for Anna was a highlight of the book for me. I love when the hero actually does the pursuing, instead of just telling the heroine that she’s his. He’s a gamma kind of hero, alpha qualities with a beta’s sensitivity. He's benefitted from seeing a true, loving relationship from his parents, so he doesn't shy away from his feelings for Anna and the intensity of them. He knows from the moment he sees her that he wants Anna, and while I normally turn a jaundiced eye at that, Drew (and Ms. Callihan's writing) completely sold it for me. He’s not perfect, and his struggles towards the end of the book just made me want to comfort him, but through it all, I never doubted in his love for Anna - not once.
-Anna’s a well-developed heroine...in more ways than one: Much is made at first of Anna’s curves, but I loved that she’s well-rounded emotionally. She smart and funny, loyal and caring, confident and insecure and at times, defensive and angry. She’s not perfect but she’s completely relatable. I’ve read many books with insecure heroines, but there really is an art to writing an insecure heroine that doesn’t cross the line into needy and cloying. Her struggles are believable and painful and completely understandable - to be involved with a star athlete, to have everything about you held up to intense scrutiny by people more than willing to tear you down? That would be difficult for most women to deal with. She screws up, but she recognizes her faults and by the end of it all, her really steps out of her shell and she is more than a match for Drew.
-Excellent writing: I was really impressed at the way Ms. Callihan painted a vivid picture of college life, especially for a star athlete. In my opinion, the true test of a well-written story are the supporting players - if the characterizations are shallow, it’s like seeing a play performed with really shoddy sets. The higher quality of secondary characters, the stronger the story will be overall. Here, I could easily see myself reading a book featuring any of the supporting characters, from Drew’s teammates to Anna’s friends, they were all done well, with distinct personalities and little idiosyncrasies that made them feel real...even the ones that drove me a bit nutty (yes Iris, I may side-eyeing you hard, but I kinda get you too).
-That cover...oy: On a shallow note, I’ll admit, the Scribd cover doesn’t bring to mind a hunky quarterback. The Amazon one’s vague but works so much better. But that’s pretty much my only complaint.
The Bottom Line
I loved it. January 2015 has been a good reading month for me - having several four and five star reads is a fantastic way to start the year. This is my second five star read so far in 2015 and I just regret not reading it sooner. I highly recommend this, and I would happily read more from this author.
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Top reviews from other countries
Sonja Corterier
to my immense surprise a truly GOOD BOOK
Reviewed in Germany on June 23, 2020
