New Adult Romance – Reviews.

Today’s post is going to be a little different, I decided to group together 3 books which I have recently read and pool them together to make a short review post about each of them. The books I have read are 3:AM Kisses by Addison Moore, Before Hadley by J.Nathan and Tempting The Best Man by J.Lynn.

Each of these books have mixed reviews, but I find that’s always the case with New Adult Romance books. At the end of the day you’re either going to love it or hate it and whilst some people find some aspects of the dialogue too cringey I find them great. I managed to get through each of these books within a night or an afternoon therefore they were perfect light hearted easy –breezy reads, books which didn’t require too many emotions but I would feel great having picked it up. There’s nothing like finishing a day off with a light romance novel after spending hours working on numerous essays and reading books on hard subject matters such as sexual abuse and murder.

A common criticism for new adult romance novels is that they don’t follow an actual storyline, its just focused on the sexual element of it but each of these books actually have a purpose in their stories. There is tension between the two protagonists and a problem to be solved in order for there to be a happily ever after (if there is one).

Each of these books are similar in the sense that they alternate between the male and female characters point of view, therefore allowing for a well-balanced story as we can experience the thoughts and emotions of each side of the blossoming relationship. We can see the tension developing further on either end and we can also see a reasoning behind an action.

3:AM Kisses – Addison Moore

Goodreads – 3:AM Kisses| Goodreads – Addison Moore

3:AM Kisses is my first experience with Addison Moore and similarly to my experience reading J.Nathan’s Before Hadley. I had no trouble slipping into the setting of the book and Addison’s writing style itself is perfectly descriptive to set the scene without becoming overboard on mundane description. My only real issue with my reading of 3:AM Kisses is that I wish it had been longer.

One thing which I really enjoyed about 3:AM kisses as well as its story content/theme of the brothers best friend falling for his friends little sister was the twist ending. WOW, boy did that hit me out of nowhere, I loved this element to the story as it was really unpredictable however this is also one thing which I didn’t really like about the book. The Twist ending features a character who just pops up every now and again throughout the book, she isn’t really that prominent and with the ending being wholly focused on her I think it would have been really interesting if the book delved into this character a little more by having her partake in a few more ‘stalkerish’ activities, things that would of elicited a sense of fear, mystery and further tension to the book.

In terms of characters, I really liked Bryson and Baya. Although I can understand some people may dislike Bryson’s character as he keeps a tally chart of how many women he has slept with as sort of a competition with Baya’s brother. Whilst this may make some readers hate Bryson, Addison Moore incorporates why Bryson has acted like this into the novel. She explains his past and history which have resulted in him acting like a man whore which was a great addition to the book.

 

Tempting The Best Man – J. Lynn

Goodreads – Tempting The Best Man| Goodreads- Jennifer Armentrout

J. Lynn is the pseudonym of Jennifer. L. Armentrout, author of the amazing Young Adult Book series LUX. I am familiar with her work and have read a number of her New Adult Romance books in the past such as Frigid. I find her writing style to be really easy to get into and she has the ability to keep me hooked throughout whilst transporting me to which ever world she has created whether it be one of a fantasy nature for her LUX series or a setting focused on reality for her romance novels.

Unlike her other romance books such as Frigid, I didn’t enjoy Tempting the Best Man as much as I thought I would. I liked it but I didn’t love it. Hence the 3 star rating… this is because everything moved a little too fast for me, the moments which Chase and Madison were sprung together such as getting lock in the wine cellar moved really fast and in turn the sexual relationship was introduced to the novel really quickly. I would of liked for the book to be of a slower pace, allowing for more moments to build between Madison and Chase. Ultimately creating tension between the two whilst simultaneously creating a will they – wont they dynamic to the book.

Whilst the fast pace was slightly off for me, one aspect which I really enjoyed was the theme of the book.The theme of the brothers best friend and friends little sister as this automatically creates feelings of tension as you wonder if the brother will be accepting or not. It was evident throughout what the feelings were of Chase and Madison and the book follows their journey to finally act upon their feelings, the consequences revolving their actions and the moments in which they are too proud to admit their true feelings.

Before Hadley – J. Nathan

Goodreads – Before Hadley| Goodreads – J. Nathan

Before Hadley was my first experience with J.Nathan as an author and I had no trouble getting into the setting in which he has created. In-fact the high school environment is easy to relate to as it features the standard social clique groups, although I have to say I did find the book to be somewhat predictable.

Before Hadley applies a different outlook into the standard romance genre through it’s incorporation of the criminal aspect. Caynan is a thief, but this is what his father has molded him into, therefore the story offers more than just the romantic journey which Hadley and Caynan embark on. It also offers Caynan’s own journey to get off the path he has been set, whether that path lands him in jail or takes him to college.

One aspect I really enjoyed about Before Hadley was being able to see the difference in the family structure of the two protagonists, Hadley’s parents are very much present and have her best interests at heart whereas Caynan’s father creates him to be a criminal. This was really interesting to see the direct contrasts in the characters backgrounds.

One aspect of this book which I didn’t enjoy was the ending where we experience a 3 year time shift, I found this to be rather abrupt. Now I realise this may be more realistic in terms of the law but I felt like this shift meant we missed out on something, an interaction perhaps between Caynan and Hadley. It would of been nice to experience some of their lives directly after what happened that night (I’m not going to be a spoiler sue and ruin a big reveal), whereas the event happened then suddenly 3 years had passed and ultimately the characters whole lives had changed.

 

 

Well that’s it folks!

Let me know in the comments What your favourite New Adult Romance book is, I appreciate any recommendations you may have as i’m always looking for a new book to check out!