* * * 1/2
Sometimes it takes crossing an ocean to figure out where you belong.
It's been two years since twenty-year-old Jordan had a boyfriend—which means it's been forever since she, well, you know. But now she’s off to spend her junior year in Aberdeen, Scotland, the perfect place to stop waiting for Mr. Right and just enjoy Mr. Right Now.
Sexy, sweet (and possible player) Griffin may be her perfect, no-strings-attached match. He’s fun, gorgeous, and makes her laugh. So why can’t she stop thinking about Noah who, minutes after being trapped together outside the train’s loo, kisses Jordan like she’s never been kissed before? Never mind his impossible blue eyes, his weathered, annotated copy of The Great Gatsby (total English-major porn)…oh, and his girlfriend.
Jordan knows everything this year has an expiration date. Aberdeen is supposed to be about fun rather than waiting for life to happen. But E. M. Forster, Shakespeare, and mistletoe on Valentine’s Day make her reconsider what love is and how far she’s willing to go for the right guy.
Review:
Jordan is on the last leg of the trip that is taking her to Aberdeen University. The nine hour train ride from London to northern Scotland should be fairly uneventful, right? Well, apparently, the fates have decided that this train ride and her subsequent stay in Aberdeen will everything BUT uneventful. Jordan strikes up an instant friendship (and attraction) with they guy sitting next to her. Griffon, another American student attending Aberdeen, is a self professed serial monogamist. He’s fun and easy to be around and all the girls love him – as Jordan learns when another female passenger writes her unsolicited phone number on Griffon’s hand. But on the trip to the loo, Jordan runs into Noah. Or should I say he runs into her when he trips out of the toilet. When Jordan exits the bathroom, she finds Noah still standing in the vestibule because the doors are stuck. Their close proximity and Noah’s growing anxiety over being trapped leads to a discussion learning their shared love of literature which THEN leads to a fabulous first kiss that made my romantic heart go all a flutter.
But when they arrive in Aberdeen, Jordan finds that Noah has a girlfriend that is also attending the University. No big deal. They just met. Their kiss couldn’t have really meant anything. And besides, this is supposed be Jordan’s big year of experiencing flings and being someone completely different. So she continues a relationship with serial monogamist, Griffon. But things get sticky when Griffon starts to fall for Jordan and Jordan and Noah can’t be in the same vicinity without sparks flying. Instead of the fun care-free time expected of her first semester in Aberdeen, Jordan experiences months of emotional turmoil that she doesn’t know how to fix.
Griffon and many of the secondary characters were absolutely lovely. With the exception of Griffon, many of the secondary characters seemed to lack depth. Fortunately, it was not a major issue for me as they were still enjoyable to read and they played their part in furthering the story. As for our main characters, Jordan and Noah? I found myself disliking them just as much as I found myself liking them. Much like their relationship with each other, my relationship with them was tumultuous. You know me. I love a good angsty romance. But these two seemed hell bent on being martyrs. It takes them entirely too long to start fighting for the relationship they each want to have. But in the end they do fight and the chemistry between the two is just so well written that I couldn’t put it down. Seriously. I got 3 hours of sleep because I had to know what happened next. So, yeah, these two may have driven me a bit batty but I still wanted to see them make it in the end.
If you enjoy a good angsty romance (with plenty of hilarious awkward moments to lighten the mood) and you are a fan of New Adult then this will be a great title for you.
Nat
