Suncoast University, Book #2
Review of Suncoast University, Book 1
Heat Factor: Watch your glasses folks, because this one’s steamy.
Character Chemistry: Drop of a hat, turn on a dime, didn’t know I had a one-track-mind type chemistry
Plot: Scrappy/independent Samantha has to scramble to find a living situation when she’s stuck on her own the summer before college starts. When she finds a room with Levi and his cousin, her problems may be solved – but he’s a barista/songwriter who cooks decadent Italian meals from scratch and he has a healthy relationship with his mom, so you tell ME if this stays platonic. (Nope!)
Overall: Believe me when I tell you that Allie Winters is going to be your new favorite.
I’m so blissfully obsessed with Allie Winters. I am going to christen this author the Secretary of Slow Burns. Or perhaps the Field Marshall of Foxy Times. The High Priestess of Hotness. The Bishop of Boom-Boom.
The Basics – Samantha has to fend for herself when her mother chooses drugs and an abusive boyfriend over her daughter. Samantha’s no slouch, though, and despite her positive, can-do attitude she’s incredibly scrappy. She gets some help from her cousin (we meet him in Book 1 of this series) and ends up rooming with Levi, a moody barista/songwriter who cooks and cleans and is just generally respectful and kind, and his sultry, straight-shooting, bartending lesbian cousin. It’s a sexy set up from the word go.
Why it Works – These characters have their own faults and shadows, but they’re just impossibly likeable. A child from a really dangerously rocky home life isn’t going to get to adulthood without having had to develop some unhealthy coping skills, and it certainly emerges that Samantha fits that pattern. The way Allie Winters handles that situation is done with such grace and dignity…I was so impressed. And just like in Book 1, her characters have a chill level-headedness that was just like a big, cool breath of fresh air. They just feel like people I would have wanted to be friends with.
Who Should Read it – I don’t want to preach here, and not everyone is going to feel comfortable handing someone else a romance novel, but I’m going to say it – young people should read books like this. Young people should read books where women like sex and explore their own sexuality in healthy ways. Young people should read books where women aren’t prone to wild leaps of illogical jealousy or inexplicable helplessness. Young people should read books where men clearly ask for consent and it’s done so well it’s like a match to gasoline. Young people should read books where men are sensitive and are comfortable expressing boundaries and needs.
Also, it’s just a good book. You get sucked right in and by the time it’s over, you feel a little sad because now you’re emotionally invested. You can almost taste that gnocchi Levi made and you were looking forward to the leftovers. Are they going over to Levi’s parents’ house for dinner next weekend, because you were kind of hoping on tagging along…
I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.
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