Friday, September 21, 2012

TAG TEAM: BOOK REVIEW "On Dublin Street" by Samantha Young


SUMMARY:
Four years ago, Jocelyn Butler left her tragic past behind in the States and started over in Edinburgh. Burying the grief, ignoring her demons, and forging ahead without any real attachments has worked well for her so far but when Joss moves into a fantastic apartment on Dublin Street, her carefully guarded world is shaken to its core by her new roommate's sexy older brother.

Braden Carmichael is a man who always gets what he wants. And what he wants is Jocelyn in his bed. Knowing how skittish Joss is concerning any kind of relationship, Braden proposes a sexual arrangement that should satisfy the intense attraction between them without it developing into anything 'more'. An intrigued Jocelyn agrees, completely unprepared for the Scotsman and his single-minded determination to strip the stubborn young woman bare... to the very soul


REVIEW:

Q: So...did you enjoy the book?
Sunny: Yes, I liked the book.  On the sweet meter, it was between those Love Swept books and Kristen Ashley
Susan: I loved it. Something about it resonated with me. I probably couldn't even tell you why exactly, but I just really loved it.

Q; What did you think of the main characters, Joss & Braden?

Sunny: Together, I thought they balanced on another very well.  Separately, I don't know if I could be friends with her.  She was really high maintenance.  She hurt a lot of people with her emotional distance.  If you want to be her friend, you will really have to be prepared for that. 
Susan: Joss is typically the kind of female character I can't stand...too "broken" to love anyone...waaa, waaa, waaa.  BUT, I actually didn't find her as annoying as others. Maybe because she owned up to it and called herself out on it. Braden, well, DREAM MAN...'nuff said.

Q: I've read Braden being compared to some of Kristen Ashley's alpha male leads.  Would you agree with this?

Sunny: I actually didn't think of any of KA's boys.  Excuse my pun, but to me he had shade of Christian Gray - successful businessman, controlling caveman tendencies, and looks hot in a suit, and oh yeah, let to text naughty things. 
Susan: I don't know that I'd even describe Braden as a typical alpha.  In the end, he's just a big pushover and loves his woman fiercely. I think his caveman tendencies read more as a joke in reality...almost endearing (yeah, clearly I'm smitten)

Q: How did you feel about Joss continuously pushing Braden away? 

Sunny: I could see how that would annoy some people, but it seemed perfectly in character to me.  As a teenager, she loses every one she loves and that makes her absolutely paranoid, waiting constantly for the other shoe to drop.  We should be surprised that she keeps pushing him away.  The change comes when she does it from her selfish motive of not wanting to get hurt to not wanting to saddle him with her unpredictable behavior.  If you try to get into her brain, you can have some sympathy for her behavior. 
Susan: The one thing that bugged me was the whole "go away" "no, come back", "no, go away"...game.  That gets old.

Q: Was there anything exceptional/original about the book?  

Sunny: When I learned this was the author's first adult contemporary book, having successfully written only YA before, I was impressed. However, you can tell her YA background - the teenage prologue (which I thought was completely unnecessary) to the fact that it was her teenage trauma with death and loss (isn't that a common YA theme?). It didn't detract, in fact, I thought it was insightful. 
Susan: One line - "I never kid about blowjobs"

Q: Would you recommend it?

Sunny: Wholeheartedly
Susan: Without a doubt. I might even read it again.

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