Synopsis:
Pepper has been hopelessly in love with her best friend’s brother, Hunter, since she was twelve. She thinks he’s the key to everything she’s always craved: security, stability and family. But Hunter’s never seen her as anything more than a ‘sister’, so she decides she needs an education in seduction and her roommates have the perfect teacher in mind… But bartender Reece is nothing like the player Pepper expects as her teacher.
Review:
4/5 Stars – A quick and compulsive read.
This storyline sounds all sorts of clichéd but the truth is a little left of centre and very enjoyable! At no point during this novel did I think ‘that’s just like a scene from…’ which surprised me immensely.
Pepper thinks she knows what she wants (Hunter) and at times this makes her seem rather hard headed, but I forgave her by the final page. We never get Reece’s p.o.v. which is sort of unusual these days in NA; we only just saw enough of him, although I liked what I saw. He’s hard working, tough, caring, and observant – probably more observant than most of the men I’ve met in real life! Which of course was very sexy…
I loved Pepper’s roommates, they were a riot and had attitude (they weren’t just wallpaper), so I am very happy that Ms Jordan is currently penning companion novels for both of them. This story wasn’t just about romance, it was also about Pepper herself; she had to face reality and let go of her ‘safe’ dream in order to realise an even better one, a major turning point for her character. So expect similar depth in the upcoming additions to this series…
If you’re looking for fun NA Romance that doesn’t involve cage fighting – that’s just a bit original – then this deserves to be on your shortlist.
Book Blather 
I haven’t tried New Adult yet but I really want to!
Gosh, there are so many places to start! And 2014 would be so much better if you dipped your toe in, promise. 😀
I have to ask — judging the book by its cover (who doesn’t?) as well as the title, and even the synopsis, I’d tend to lump this in with erotica (a la 50 Shades) — but I find myself confused about the NA definition in general. But, from your review, it sounds like this book has an actual (and interesting) plot and some great characters — so are my first impressions way off base?
Umm… it’s a romance, mostly! 🙂
New Adult is about college-age characters and is a bridge between YA and Adult – so it can be quite steamy! You can have NA Thrillers, NA Contemporaries, NA Romance, NA Sci-Fi etc.
I really enjoyed this! I’m not usually a fan of NA, but this is definitely one of my favorites. I agree with you that Reece was amazing, and I think it’d be cool to see a chapter or two from his pov. Great review 🙂
If we keep and eye on Sophie’s website she might just do a novella for us one day – these things aren’t unheard of. 🙂
Oh I have been looking forward to reading this one for ages and finally purchased it today! I’m so happy to hear that it’s a bit different to all the other NAs there (although I’m a huge fan of NAs in general)! 🙂
Me too! I only discovered NA at the start of last year, but it must have been 50% of my reading. 🙂
I’ve never heard of Sophie Jordan until I read her Uninvited book. Though it wasn’t that mindblowing, it certainly entertained me.
I am always happy to discover really unique books that particularly belong to an overdone and quite discriminated genre. As for me, I still have high hopes for New Adult and I am in a constant search for “that” special book. Just a month ago, I actually discovered one which entitled Addicted To You.
And thank you for finding me another one. I will definitely give Foreplay a try. it never fail to amaze me when NA books rise from the usual expectations.
Lovely review, Annie!
Addicted To You is one of those books I keep hearing a lot about, but the synopsis is just not… me. So I’m still thinking about it! 🙂