Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Tease (The Ivy Chronicles #2) by Sophie Jordan

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Content for readers ages 17 years+



A young college woman gets schooled in life, sex, and love in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's sizzling New Adult romance series--where three Ivy League suite-mates testing their boundaries as they seek higher knowledge of just how far they can go.

A born flirt and good-time party girl, Emerson has never had a problem finding a willing guy. She's always chosen her hook-ups carefully, and she's never broken her three cardinal rules:

Never let them see the real you.
Never fall in love.
Always leave them begging for more.

Then comes Shaw. A hotty from the wrong side of the tracks, he's immune to her flirtatious banter and come-hither smile. After rescuing her from a disastrous night at a biker bar, he doesn't even try to take her to bed--he calls her a tease and sends her home instead. Unable to resist a challenge, or forget the sexy dark-eyed bad-boy biker, she vows to bring him to his knees.

But instead of making Shaw beg, she finds herself craving him. For the first time in her life, she's throwing out her rulebook. Suddenly, she's the one panting for a guy she can't control. A guy who won't settle for anything less than the real Emerson, who forces her to do things she's never imagined, including facing a past she thought she'd buried.

A guy who just might leave her wanting more . . .


Sophie Jordan’s first book in this series, Foreplay, was so freaking good, like so good I was a grinning idiot rereading all my favourite passages. Now she gives us Tease with its own special vibe that could stand apart from its predecessor.

Having met Emerson previously, who lives through the droll school week to let loose on the weekends. This one weekend in particular does not go well and she needs to be rescued. Much to her chagrin, rescue comes in the form of a hot biker guy, who also happens to be a Marine. Yowza! He thinks she's a spoiled princess and she thinks he's trouble that she doesn't need in her life. Of course Emerson won’t admit her attraction to him and of course Shaw is going to give her the business because this is how it works.

Now while some elements may seem familiar or predictable, I do like how their story progressed. Emerson is a far more complicated person than anyone has realized and it’s startling that people know very little about her, including her suitemates Pepper and Georgia.  She has deliberately carved out an image for herself to stay in control. Lately though, she’s questioning what this is doing to her. Upholding this image is one thing but now with Shaw busting through the picture, she’s tempted to fight that image. Shaw comes off as very bossy and domineering which annoyed me a few times, not to mention Emerson, but his reasoning becomes clear as the story moves on.  

I loved their interaction. They’re both stubborn people unwilling to give in though Shaw does bend a little when he figures out what Emerson is really doing. There is most definitely a lot of heat between the two which brings me to another reason why I enjoy this series. What goes on in these pages is much more mature in nature, some instances being slightly graphic, however, it’s not done for shock value. Their intensity is described beautifully without being crude which works very well here.

I’ll repeat: I love this series.  Foreplay had me from the start and Tease kept me going. I won’t lie – the many mentions of Pepper and Reese from Foreplay made me very happy because those two as a couple are awesome, and yeah, I'll have to go back and read their story... again. Emerson's and Shaw's chemistry is different from that of the previous two making it a nice change. And Tease has a different tone than Foreplay. Emerson's experience is also opposite of Pepper's which I liked very much. In all honesty, it was that surprise truth of hers that revealed itself during a very heightened and intimate moment, in the most delicate and emotional way, that completely won me over.  It was one of those "excuse me, did I read that right?" moments.

Oh yeah, Sophie Jordan, you’re good! I'm looking forward to Wild (featuring the third friend, Georgia) coming out later this year. In the meantime folks, do yourselves a favour and read these books. You'll be glad ... also slightly hot and bothered.

~ Bel 


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