Lovin' los libros

 

 

I really enjoyed this anthology! All four authors did an awesome job with the college setting and creating a really great atmosphere for these four girls to fall in love. Each story focuses on a different girl and I love how each author kept the stories interconnected but made each their own.

 

The first story is Misha's, and after being heartbroken and utterly humiliated, she has turned tail and run back home to get away from everything that went down. Her story begins with her return, but she is a shell of a person- hiding from everyone, shutting the world out because she's afraid of being hurt and vulnerable again. She feels shame over what happened, even though it wasn't her fault. Her new, sexy as sin next door neighbor Darryn makes her feel things she knows she shouldn't, because she won't let herself be played a fool again. Out of all the stories, this was probably my least favorite. I found myself irritated by how many times she referred to Darryn as a boy-man-god. I got that he was hot the first time. I didn't need to keep hearing it repeated. I also found Misha to be a difficult character to like. I get her hesitations and hangups, especially after what was done to her, but I just couldn't connect to her. Darryn wasn't my favorite either, as there was a scene that really bothered me, where he was going to follow through on something when Misha was upset and in a really vulnerable place and that rubbed me the wrong way.

 

I did like Indy and Kier though. Kier is a sweetheart who takes care of Indy night after night when she is too messed up to do so, and she never remembers who it is that is always taking care of her. Like Misha, Indy starts off her story walking into a rather awkward situation, which completely blindsides and hurts her deeply. Ever since, she has been losing herself in endless parties, wanting to numb the pain of not only what happened between her and her ex, but also the pain of her past as well. Kier has his own past that he finally reveals to Indy, explaining why he is so quiet and never the life of the party. He is a good guy and I like how sweet he is to Indy, wanting nothing more than to take care of and protect her from her own self-destruction.

 

Our third novella is about Courtney, who we don't see much of in the first two novels, as the girl works like crazy. If she's not in school, she works as a waitress at a popular bar near campus. Her love interest is the uber popular star athlete, Dalton, who she once shared a friendship with when they were younger. Forced to concentrate on basketball, he had to made some sacrifices and his friendship with Courtney was one of them. Now, seeing her again at the bar she works at, he finds he wishes she didn't treat him with such disdain. He wants to rekindle not only their friendship, but aim for something more. I love Tiffany's writing style. It is so fun and humorous! I loved that Courtney didn't just fall into bed with the hot basketball player. Instead, she made him work for it and prove she wasn't just another girl to him. Their sexual tension was so great and OMG- I was in full on swoon mode over some HAND HOLDING. Sigh. So great.

 

Finally, we have Chloe's story and she is another one we really don't see hardly at all up until this point. She is busy working as well and trying to make it through her final years at school so she can abandon ship and head to NYC to pursue a career in fashion. With an overbearing mother concerned about her future, Chloe doesn't have a lot of opportunities to just let her hair down and be spontaneous. She is less than thrilled when her new internship requires the help of Blake, her boss's nephew. There is no love lost between the two and working together is going to prove quite difficult with such underlying tension between them. Chloe and Blake have made a lot of assumptions about one another, so I liked seeing them realize they don't know the other person at all. Their games of Truth or Dare are so cute and fun to watch because it's their way of trying to make things right and get to know one another. Blake is another great guy, who has sacrificed his own dreams to take care of the people closest to him. He finds himself enjoying Chloe's company and looking forward to working together, as it is a welcome escape from what he has to deal with at home.

 

I really like when authors team up and use the same set of characters and setting to fuel their stories. We also got to see how the other couples were faring in the novellas that followed theirs, which was sweet to see. I did expect to see a stronger friendship between the girls, but for the most part, their romances were the primary focus of these novellas.