From New York Times Bestselling author Penelope Douglas comes a new forbidden love story?JORDANHe took me in when I had nowhere else to go.He doesn’t use me, hurt me, or forget about me. He doesn’t treat me like I’m nothing, take me for granted, or make me feel unsafe.He remembers me, laughs with me, and looks at me. He listens to me, protects me, and sees me. I can feel his eyes on me over the … the breakfast table, and my heart pumps so hard when I hear him pull in the driveway after work.I have to stop this. It can’t happen.My sister once told me there are no good men, and if you find one, he’s probably unavailable.Only Pike Lawson isn’t the unavailable one.I am.PIKEI took her in, because I thought I was helping.She’d cook a few meals and clean up a little. It was an easy arrangement.As the days go by, though, it’s becoming anything but easy. I have to stop my mind from drifting to her and stop holding my breath every time I bump into her in the house. I can’t touch her, and I shouldn’t want to.The more I find my path crossing hers, though, the more she’s becoming a part of me.But we’re not free to give into this. She’s nineteen, and I’m thirty-eight.And her boyfriend’s father.Unfortunately, they both just moved into my house.*BIRTHDAY GIRL is a stand-alone, contemporary romance suitable for ages 18+.
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4,5 stars
So… This book was a surprise from the author ( she o only announced it closer to the release date) and OMG what a surprise!!! When I read the blurb I got REALLY excited because I like a controversial subject, that makes people really uncomfortable and you have lots and lots of different opinions about it. This book could get so many different directions. But Penelope wrote it slow, presenting us the characters, really showing us how they are, why they were like that. She wrote a really mature story. I didn’t think I would choose a side, I thought I would be devastated about all of them but I actually understood why Jordan insisted so much in things she shouldn’t. I was in her shoes once. So is not that easy.
You know when you are in the part of life that you feel like it’s not good but it’s not bad either. So you just keep doing the same things because you think things will eventually become better? That was the beginning of the book and I felt really close to Jordan cause that hit too close to home. I don’t know if this was Penelope’s idea, ya know, to make the reader take this as a message from the book. But it was for me. We should preoccupied more with what we think of ourselves or what we want rather than what others want. Sometimes we do need to remember that.
It’s not just about a love story or a taboo one. It’s about the characters journey, about who they were and want to become. You will connect with Jordan, Pike, Cole and also Cam (Is to much to ask for a book about Cam? lol I loved her!) It’s a big book, so the author took her time telling this story. The characters are real. It’s not like they will go and throw everything, give up everything, to be with the ones they love. They do make mistakes – oh they do – they do feel lost and make stupid decisions but above all they just want to be loved and try not to hurt others on the way.
I don’t want to give anything of it so I’ll stop here. Just know this IS a love story. Probably not the one you think you will get. But it was so much better. It was slow, true, with a lil bit of angst, but I loved every second of it. Penelope totally did it again.
Someone asked me if this book was a dark romance. So, no. It’s not. It was actually more lighter than probably everyone is expecting. BIRTHDAY GIRL has drama, a lot, but it also has a bit of fun and sexy scenes. For real, I didn’t think much of how it would be I just wished for an amazing book and I’m happy my wish was granted.
“I mean, how wrong is what we’re doing? She’s single, I’m single. We’re both adults.“
Wow!!! I love this book. I love Pike and Jordan! I love Pike!! I LOVE PIKE!!! Birthday Girl made me laugh, cry and squirm in my seat. The chemistry between Pike and Jordan cannot be ignored. Another amazing story from Penelope Douglas.
“Let tomorrow be better than today.”
3.5 Stars
May/December Romance
Jordan and Cole are struggling financially, romantically, and well every which way. They move to Cole’s dad’s house, Pike Lawson. Jordan takes on the responsibility of both her and Cole. While going to school and working at a local bar. Pike is the one that helps her with the car and takes an interest in her. He shows her that not all men are selfish pricks.
Pike is glad to have his son home. Jordan is an added bonus, but he can’t get to close. She belongs to Cole. Or does she? As the days go Cole is around less and less until everyone realizes the dirty little secret. Cole moved on without Jordan. Pike can’t let her go, he enjoys her company, her cooking, and her. He’d be lost without her. They agree that she can stay, but one thing leads to another and the dam breaks. Causing an epic flood that could drown them all. Can this be saved?
I liked it, but what I had to keep reminding myself is that yes Jordan has been around the block she is still a child who sulks and throws temper tantrums. Her character is spot on. Pike is a man, I’m not sure why he deals with so much of her childish bull$hit. Yet, there is something about her that keeps drawing him back. Is he reliving the youth he missed? Or is he simply just loving another human being?
Birthday Girl was just what I needed to pull myself out of my reading funk. It’s the kind of book you want to sit down and devour in one sitting. Angsty, romantic, and addictive are all words I’d use to describe Penelope’s latest.
As always Penelope Douglas sucks you right into her wonderful world and fall in love with her story. You can immediately feel the connection between the characters, and Jordan and Pike were no different. I loved Jordan’s sassiness and how strong her character was. The way she interacted with the other characters made me smile. I adored the way Pike wanted to protect what was his and his selflessness.
Great story!
See my review in French here
This review as a little story…
I “almost” didn’t read this book.
I had several huge disappointment in the last months, picking up books with “sensitive” blurbs that felt so cliché, rushed, and poorly written… I mean, the issue with those previous books wasn’t their blurb per se. When you read a synopsis and know the book is about something you don’t usually read, you have two choices: skip the book or go beyond your “comfort zone”, give the story a try. Because what makes a GOOD book work is not the blurb, it’s the way the author deals with it. And lately I got very frustrated and disappointed with “taboo” stories or with some kind of “triggers”.
But then I did some thinking and told myself “This is Penelope Douglas, I have to give her a chance”. So, I did it.
I gave her my hand and she led me through Jordan and Pike’s story.
And I’m so glad I did!
Birthday Girl is the proof that what makes a book a good one isn’t the plot, it’s the writing.
And Birthday Girl is so much more than a “forbidden love”!
It’s beautiful, romantic, raw and so realistic.
All the characters (main ad supporting) are consistent.
The pace is just perfect.
And this story is full of so many little things and quotes that make you swoon or / and want to cry…
It’s not about the age, it’s about the cards we were dealt with, that made us more mature, grow up sooner that we should have.
Like Spike, when his life drastically changed forever at 19
Like Jordan, who had to grow up way before reaching 19.
So yes, there is a big age difference.
But life isn’t about the “age digits”, it’s about souls going through experiences that made them who they are in the present, chasing dreams, having expectations.
So when you meet someone you can’t help but feel a deep connection with, when you share the same dreams, when you feel this is so much more than lust, when you feel you don’t have many thing in common with young adult your age because, in a way, you’re an “old soul” and exes you age never treat you right, when you feel like you skipped so many years of your life because you had to parenting and now you’re left with only work, random hookups, loneliness and a house that feels empty, when you meet someone that finally makes you feel whole, happy, why should you give up?
Well, let it to Penelope Douglas to show you all the facets of this.
Father and son strained relationship, small town’s gossiping and judging, money struggling, aspirations, simple little things or attentions that mean so much, 80’s references, dreams jar…
The author did an amazing job dealing with such difficult topic, giving us amazing an consistent characters… With their flaws, their dreams, their doubts.
Because, of course this wouldn’t be an easy story to tell…
I had a very difficult time closing the book and leaving Jordan and Pikes behind.
Because their story felt so real. You won’t find cheesy stuff, no clichés.
It’s not perfect, it’s life, and I’m so grateful for this story.
One of my favorite books this year!
Thank you Penelope Douglas, for giving me this chance.
***ARC kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review***
Visit my French blog: https://isalacroqueusedelivres.wordpress.com
This book’s slightly different than the usual Pen Douglas’ books; for once the Hero’s not ‘bullying’ the heroine. It’s refreshing but it popped my balloon of giddiness. I enjoyed this book but at the same time a wee bit disappointing, simply because the Hero’s acting childish despite his age. Like seriously, it’s frustrating! But overall I liked this book just fine.
5 “Hit The Ground Running ” stars
With the Booklandia filled with forbidden “Daddy” books, this book comes as a breath of fresh air.
We need lies to survive sometimes, because the truth hurts too much.
But this is one of the most truthful stories I’ve read this year!
Emotions are zipping around speedily as particles in an atomic field of sexual tension and pulsating passion. A small touch, a heated stare, makes your hair stand on end. Highly charged story, the electricity just buzzing through the pages and words that keep you spellbound. It’s not a safe subject and it’s not a safe story. No unicorns and rainbows, but your heart will burn slowly, like on the rotisserie
“A ship at harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are for. ”
I couldn’t move away and was invested in it from the first page. The characters are so magnetic, my eyes were stuck on them. I’ve never felt such overwhelming love for a hero, like I felt for Pike Lawson. He is a perfect amalgam of masculinity and vulnerability. Life hasn’t dealt him a fair hand but he’s shuffling his cards and stepping up to the plate. Forced to go from Teenage, straight to Adulthood, he missed out on his youthful years of being abandonly gay and irresponsibly happy. He’s worked his ass off to be there for his reluctant family.
“Pike is proof that we learn when we’re forced to and maturity is more the result of experience than age,It takes conviction to do what you know you’re supposed to do regardless of what you want.”
A solitary man who opens up his heart and home to his son, Cole & his girlfriend, Jordan Hadley. They’re stuck on a hamster wheel of bills and paychecks, so Daddy steps in to tide them over a bit.
There’s Jordan, an innocent bird ready to take flight, even though her wings are clipped by her harsh circumstances.
I’m back in the trailer park with my dad and stepmom. They don’t see me. Cole doesn’t see me. I could be anyone right now.
Take note here- she’s innocent, but without the Naivétè. She’s giving and gracious but tough and independent. Very strong values and morals make her a stubborn force to reckon with.
“You know the thing about men?”
“They think they can treat you badly, because you’ll take it. But you win when you never let them do it again.”
“You can kiss my ass.”
Here’s the thing, you’d think such character would want to be dazzled by luxuries of life, she surprises you by aspiring for very simple things, that mean something. Pen has made a wonderful heroine that dazzled me with her aptitude to be sensibile and sultry, all in the same span. She cuts through the frills and I’m enamoured by her. The scene where she FaceTimes him, is so eye opening…wow! Every time she blows a candle, she wishes….
“I just want the life.”
From the very first scene on, you can feel the connection between Jordan and Pike. They just drive themselves mad with the feelings stuck in their throat.
“Like the two of you have your own language.”
They are in denial and rightly so, because they are stuck in the most unusual of forbidden relationship.
A son who survives by doing bare minimum.
A girl with dreams and aspirations but her wings clipped.
A father who loves unconditionally and selflessly.
“I knew you were out there somewhere,”
“The girlfriends, women I dated, Cole’s mother…. I never wanted to marry anyone, because they weren’t what I was looking for. I had started to think I had my sights set too high, and you didn’t exist.”
“Turns out my dream girl belongs to the one person it would kill me to hurt.”
Their love triangle has very sharp corners and slippery slopes. It hurt just to read about their remorseful love. There’s so much regret involved in simple pleasures, guilt weighed heavily on all three. The dilemma Pen highlights is very true and real and the heartache that followed just ripped me to shred. I seriously cried fat, hefty tears for PIKE!!! the scene when Cole comes back after two months, it’s so sensitive and crushing. My fave scene
I thought the story would veer towards theatrics and drama and some hefty dialogues. But pen surprised me, seriously the ending left me in awe. No hysterical drama, no OTT dialogues. Just acceptance and gratitude that is such a novelty.
Cole, I was most disappointed as a person(not as a character). His mind has been poisoned by his greedy mom and he carries a huge chip on his shoulder throughout. But the culmination of his character growth graph just won me over. I so related with him, it’s eerie. Jay belongs in jail, simple. Cam was the best sister ever. The voice of reason and pillar of support. Dutch was adorable funny.
I’ve read Pen before, Bully series & Misconduct. She writes angst and hurting hearts extremely well. But this book just takes the cake. Pink and white, covered with roses !!
I had the utmost pleasure if meeting her in DC and she’s a very classy lady with acute insight. Her personal touch is evident in the book. It written with a lot of elegance, even though there’s abundance of explicit sex, she doesn’t let it get cheesy or clichéd at any point.
Even though my Heart went through a wringer, my tears drained my eyes, I’d re-read it in a heartbeat. It’ll break me again but Pen will put me back
We don’t need food to survive this life as much as we need our hearts broken at least once. But the best part is, the first break is always the worst. It’ll never feel this bad again.” And for that, I’m glad. But it also makes me wonder…. If my heart will never break this badly again, then will I love anyone like I loved Pike Lawson?
Nope, not happening anytime soon. I have Pike in my soul and my mind..He’s there to stay!
I loved EVERYTHING about this story, the tapes, 80’s music, halfsies pizzas,garden, almond milk,dirty trucks and pool talks
So to end my ramblings. Pick up this book, written with so much honesty and fervor, it’s a tough combination, but Pen does it with élan. I was and still am just subsumed by the story.
Go pick this book, it’s Free on KU
Loved It!