Guest Review - - FOREPLAY

FOREPLAY: The Ivy Chronicles
By Sophie Jordan
Publisher:  William Morrow - HarperCollins Publishers
Release Date:  November 5, 2013

Sophie Jordan's FOREPLAY was my first foray into the new - to me - world of New Adult romances. I have to say I really enjoyed a book about how one young girl learns what true love is all about. Just my kind of story.

I think it 's a classic tale of a girl wanting to learn all she can in order to make the boy of her dreams step up and take notice. I love that - those stories of unrequited love. But this one is slightly different. She finally gets someone to step up and take notice - it's just not the guy she thought it was going to be. What's also brilliant is that the teacher also gets his own lessons in love. A win win situation in my eyes.

Pepper - our heroine - is madly in love with Hunter, her best friend's older brother but he doesn't see her that way - at least not in the beginning. Enter Reese -the hot bartender at the local  bar. He's dark, handsome with his own issues but he agrees to teach Pepper all she needs to know to attract Hunter. He teaches her the art of foreplay.

Pepper and Reese need one another. They are not just student and teacher - they both have serious heartache in their lives. Whether they know it or not, they need each other on a level that transcends a friendship they start. 

Watching that love blossom is what makes Sophie Jordan's FOREPLAY a page turner for me. Hunter learns a little too late what a treasure has always been there for him. I have faith in Hunter finding his own HEA, but I am glad he helped lead the way to Pepper and Reese finding their's.

~Santa Byrnes

New Adult romance is a booming new sub-genre, focusing on the years between YA and Adult Contemporary or Women's Fiction.  Think, romance for the college set.  Have you read any of the New Adult titles yet?  Have any books or authors to recommend?  

FOREPLAY Winner

The winner of a copy of FOREPLAY by Sophie Jordan is:

Sarah

Congratulations, Sarah!  Please send your full name and mailing address to us at

theromancedish (at) gmail (dot) com

Today's Special - - Sophie Jordan

We're delighted to welcome Sophie Jordan today!  A former high school English teacher, Sophie is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who writes historical, Young Adult and New Adult romance. Firelight, one of her YA books, has also been optioned for film. Sophie also writes paranormal romances under the name Sharie Kohler.  You can find more information about Sophie and her books at her website and connect with her at facebook and twitter.

Please give Sophie a warm welcome!

TOP 10 Things FOREPLAY Can Teach You (because I will never get tired of FOREPLAY puns…)

 
 
1) Engaging in no-strings attached make-out sessions with a hot bartender can get

complicated.

2) Always have good friends at your back.

3) Chemistry. Chemistry. Chemistry. Every relationship needs it. 

4) The best laid plans usually go awry ... at least in Pepper's case. Usually in Pepper's case.

5) It's about more than making out.

6) It's okay to admit you're wrong.

7) When you're making out with a hot guy, turn your phone to silent. Or better yet. OFF!

8) Bartenders make excellent lovers ... at least if the bartender is yummy Reece.

9) Sometimes love hurts.

And ..... *drumroll* ...... 10) Love makes everything better.

So tell us, readers, what have the books you've been reading taught you?  We have a copy of FOREPLAY to give away to a randomly chosen person leaving a comment today.  (U.S./Canada only)

FOREPLAY

The Ivy Chronicles - Book #1

(Contemporary New Adult)

By Sophie Jordan

William Morrow (HarperCollins Publishers)

November 5, 2013

Before she goes after the life she’s always wanted,
she’s about to find the one she needs.

Pepper has been hopelessly in love with her best friend’s brother, Hunter, for like ever. He’s the key to everything she’s always craved: security, stability, family. But she needs Hunter to notice her as more than just a friend. Even though she’s kissed exactly one guy, she has just the plan to go from novice to rock star in the bedroom—take a few pointers from someone who knows what he’s doing.

Her college roommates have the perfect teacher in mind. But bartender Reece is nothing like the player Pepper expects. Yes, he’s beyond gorgeous, but he’s also dangerous, deep—with a troubled past. Soon what started as lessons in attraction are turning both their worlds around, and showing just what can happen when you go past foreplay and get to what’s real…