Just One Year
New Adult Romance, Contemporary Romance
February 22, 2020
Kindle
321
https://amzn.to/32Ds2as
The beginning of my sophomore year in college was off to a rough start. On the first day of orientation, I had an altercation with an infuriating British dude in a campus bathroom. (The ladies’ room was out of order. So, I used the men’s room. Don’t judge.) I got home later that night and realized that the foreign student we were expecting to rent a room in my parents’ house was allergic to our cat. So, the spare room went to someone else: Caleb—the British guy from the men’s room. And so it began…my love-hate story with Caleb Yates. Or was it hate-love in that order? The guy knew how to push every one of my buttons. Sometimes I’d email him to express my aggravation and disdain. He’d actually rewrite my own words and send them back to me. That was the type of infuriating person Caleb was. So frustrating. And… Sometimes incredibly funny and endearingly sweet. And hot. He eventually grew on me, and Caleb soon became one of my best friends that year. Too bad he was headed back to England soon, so nothing could happen between us—for so many reasons. I definitely couldn't fall in love with him, especially since all we had was just one year.
Well, this is a book. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
That’s really all I got for you. It’s a pretty vanilla, plain Jane kind of book. To be honest, it was a tough book to finish. I always include this caveat in my reviews because I want people to know that I recognize there is a lot of vulnerability in writing. I could never do it, and if you read this blog, you understand that my writing is basically garbage. That being said, I like being honest in my reviews and this one is going to be AS HONEST AS IT GETS.
The Story
Teagan is a smart college student living at home with her dad, step-mom and half sister. They live in a prestigious neighborhood and have a huge house that allows for Teagan’s step-mom to house people passing through Boston.
They decided to house a foreign exchange student for a year and after some drama with the original student, they get Caleb, a 22 year-old Brit.
Teagan and Caleb become close friends and eventually give into their attraction to one another.
The Characters:
Teagan: In the beginning of the book, she’s a shy girl who hides herself behind boring clothes. She’s bookish and sweet but avoids developing close relationships with people as she’s constantly worried about what they think.
To me, there is NOTHING memorable or redeeming about her. I mean she’s a young girl who faces challenges, like most of us do, in our early 20’s trying to figure ourselves out. She’s so afraid of becoming her mom that she hides behind her academia and her clothing.
Caleb: He’s British. He’s dealing with some childhood trauma and escapes his family when he comes to the US. He becomes quite engrossed in Teagan’s family and they all seem to care about him.
Let’s Talk About (the) Sex, Baby!
There’s some sex in here. Some is talked about in the present and some is talked about after the fact. Here’s the sexiest sentence I could find.
You’re so sexy, Caleb. I’ve always wanted you. I’ve dreamed about that body. I feel so high right now.
The Writing
I REALLY wanted to like this book. I love all of Penelope Ward’s books and her co-author Titles with Vi Keeland. Those are some of the books that got me heavy into the romance genre, but this just was a “no” for me.
There were parts in this book where all I could think of was “Cringe”. Normally when I read a book, I’m highlighting well drafted sentences or makes notes about something in the book that strikes me. I have one sentence highlighted (above) and that’s it. I think this book can be treated as a good “pallet cleanser” after a particularly dark tale (See Bullseye by Monica James) or just a good, quick read when you need to check out for a bit.
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