Birthday Girl

Author: Penelope Douglas
Pages: 349
Overall: 3/5
Setting: 3/5
Characters: 3/5
Plot and Themes: 3/5
Cheers Factor: 3/5
Pairing: Young Summer
I know this book doesn’t really take place during the summer, but I like the vibe of reading it during the summer so here we are.


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Ingredients
-1 ½ oz vodka
-½ oz agave nectar
-3 slices of a fresh nectarine
-about a glass of white wine (or more it’s a choose your own adventure)
-ice (enough for a slushie)

Instructions
-Combine vodka, agave, nectarine, wine and ice in a blender
-Blend baby blend
-Pour into glass of choice and optional garnish with a slice of nectarine

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“People have worked to make you think you’re not worthy of their attention.”


Take a Shot: Jordan is alone on her nineteenth birthday in a movie theatre when by happenstance she ends up meeting this sweet and sexy older man. However, things get turned upside down when she realizes he is her boyfriend’s dad and they both have to move in with him. Cue the sexual tension when Jordan’s boyfriend starts to distance himself because he doesn’t have the best relationship with his dad. Then the real fun begins in this age gap, spicy romance.


Setting
It was pretty bland in its descriptors. Also we never really see the characters anywhere else besides the house and their respective locations of work. I kind of wish we had gotten to see Jordan interact in some sense in her college classes or with more kids her own age besides her really creepy ex boyfriend.


Characters
I really didn’t feel connected to any of these characters to be honest. There wasn’t inherently anything wrong with them, I just didn’t feel like they were that believable as real people to be quite honest. 


Plot and Themes
This is the part I have been waiting to talk about because truthfully there was 350 some odd pages of little to no plot. Now, I am a huge fan of a good sexy spicy romance where there isn’t much plot, but I didn’t get that either. I found myself feeling like I was halfway done with the book and had nothing to show for it in terms of events that had happened and that to me was my first inclination that I shouldn’t finish the book. For the record, I did, but I sort of didn’t want to.


Overall
I had really high hopes for this one because I had heard amazing things about Penelope Douglas and had seen a lot of people post about this book in general across my socials, but it really fell flat for me personally. I’m not sure whether it was that I had a lot going on personally so I didn’t invest as much emotionally as I would have if I had been less distracted. However, it is what it is. The way I feel after reading this is a little how I felt after reading The Cruel Prince series where I’m not overwhelmed with passion for it, but can understand why others are.


“I should thank you, actually. I’ve been trying for years, it seems, to be the kind of woman I admire and all of a sudden I feel like I am that woman now. I know I’m worth it. You’re just not.”


Warning spoilers ahead if you click read more. Proceed at your own risk.

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