Smitten by Books

ON DUBLIN STREET
Author: Samantha Young 
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: August 30, 2012
Digital Price: $3.99
Print Price: $10.99
Pages: 441

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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.

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REVIEW

Gosh, I don’t even know where to start with this one. Soooo good doesn’t begin to express how I feel about ON DUBLIN STREET never mind the talents of Samantha Young.

My good friend, Jackie Barbosa–God bless her–turned me onto this book. Asked if I’d heard the buzz. Well I’m neck deep in my writing cave so thank you very much, I hadn’t. I immediately went to the amazon page, read the blurb and was instantly hooked when I saw, “..her carefully guarded world is shaken to its core by her new roommate’s sexy older brother.” Oh yeah, I’m so there. One of my favourite tropes ever. I sampled it and was instantly hooked so I bought it. And boy am I glad I did.

Jocelyn is this fabulous, young heroine whose world turned upside down at the age of 14 when she lost her parents and younger sister in a deadly car crash. Her world spirals after control after that. She’s in foster care, she’s a bit of a wild child and most of all, she doesn’t let anyone get close to her. At eighteen, she packs up and moves to Scotland–where her mom was from.

There she goes to university and lives with her best friend Rhian. When Rhian goes to London for her graduate studies, Jocelyn is forced to find a new flatmate. That’s when she meets Ellie and her sexy-as-all-get-up brother Braden. The attraction between them is immediate and pretty intense but Jocelyn is determined to keep him at arm’s length. Plus, the sexy Scotsman who rolls his “r” s so divinely has a girlfriend.

Fast forward a bit and that’s had a girlfriend. Once he loses her, the hunt, the chase is on. Talk about combustible, the heat between Jocelyn and Braden. *wipes brow with clammy hand* They finally decide to settle on a friends with benefits type of relationship but Braden from the beginning isn’t having any of that. After they have sex the first time, he’s spooning her, sleeping in her bed…the whole night. As much as Jocelyn tries to rein the too cozy thing they’ve got going, the more Braden pushes back.

OMG, I loved loved these two. Braden is your quintessential alpha male. Some may find him a bit overbearing but I so did not. I loved him exactly the way he was. Yes, he’s aggressive and knows what he wants–oh and he will not share Jocelyn–and he’ll do whatever he thinks necessary to get, most importantly, who he wants. I absolutely loved him to pieces.

Jocelyn is damaged. No doubt about it but Braden makes her feel like she hasn’t in a long time. She doesn’t want to become too involved but her heart is definitely at odds with what her brain is telling her. Then an event I saw coming a mile away tests her and Braden’s relationship–making her feel she needs to pull away forever. Of course this is a romance so they make it through all life’s hurdle with their poignant HEA. Loved it. Loved it. Loved it.

Also, there’s kind of a subplot about Ellie (Braden’s sister) and Braden’s best friend, Adam. I loved what I saw of them and their love story in this novel and I really hope Ms. Young will give them a book of their own. Pretty please with sugar on top, if you’re listening, Samantha. 🙂

Another note, this book is HOT! Yes, you got that right, it’s all caps. It’s not erotic but it’s scorching due to language and those wonderful sizzling hot love scenes. There’s a scene with Jocelyn and Braden in a restaurant… That’s all I’ll say about that.

Suffice it enough to say, this book is a definite keeper. I’ve been rereading since I finished. Comment today and enter to win a Kindle copy of ON DUBLIN STREET because I always like to share the books I completely and utterly fall in love with.