From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward, comes a new standalone novel.The beginning of my sophomore year in college was off to a rough start. On the first day of orientation, I had an altercation with an infuriating British dude in a campus bathroom. (The ladies’ room was out of order. So, I used the men’s room. Don’t judge.)I got home later that night and realized that the foreign … realized that the foreign student we were expecting to rent a room in my parents’ house was allergic to our cat.
So, the spare room went to someone else: Caleb—the British guy from the men’s room.
And so it began…my love-hate story with Caleb Yates. Or was it hate-love in that order?
The guy knew how to push every one of my buttons.
Sometimes I’d email him to express my aggravation and disdain.
He’d actually rewrite my own words and send them back to me.
That was the type of infuriating person Caleb was.
So frustrating.
And…
Sometimes incredibly funny and endearingly sweet.
And hot.
He eventually grew on me, and Caleb soon became one of my best friends that year.
Too bad he was headed back to England soon, so nothing could happen between us—for so many reasons.
I definitely couldn’t fall in love with him, especially since all we had was just one year.
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A British hero from Penelope Ward is always a good idea!
A wonderful heartwarming story of a girl named Teagan who stays pretty much to herself in her own little world. Caleb comes to America as an exchange student. Right off the bat he has an incident with Teagan in the men’s room at university. They don’t know each other but they have an instant dislike. Later that night at home, Teagan discovers he is the foreign exchange student that will be living with her and her family for this college semester. She doesn’t like him and texts him her displeasure. He has the nerve to text her back from upstairs, revising her text as he sees it should have been written. Now he’s done it! He’s an ass and a thorn in her side. It’s a hilarious story that will make you laugh out loud one minute and cry the next. The perfect combination of all emotions. I was really looking forward to reading this book and it did not disappoint. Penelope Ward has a way of mixing angst and attraction, love and hate and hopelessness and desire, winding all these feelings into a story that wraps around your heart and leaves you with deep emotions for days and days. It is the perfect read. I highly recommend this wonderful book. *****
* A review copy was provided by the author *
Whether Penelope Ward is giving us YA, New Adult or true Adult characters, she always gives us a wonderful story!!!
Just One Year is no different. I loved every word of this book. I also loved that it was set in College but not your typical college angst and drama we normally see in a New Adult novel. Caleb and Teagan were complex characters both trying to find their way and figure out who they are.
Penelope Ward is and will always be an auto buy author for me. I have loved her books from the very beginning and I love every new release she has.
Just One Year is her latest standalone novel and it is probably one of my favorite books by her. This story is told in Dual POV. I thought the flow and pace worked well for this cast of characters. This is a slow burn with some angst and little drama. The sexual tension between Caleb and Teagan is over the charts, but when they finally do come together the chemistry is explosive!!! I loved that she had Caleb and Teagan build a strong friendship before moving into something more. That just made their growth so much stronger.
In this story we follow the journey of Caleb and Teagan. Caleb is an exchange student from the UK. He is only in the states for One Year. He is placed in Teagan’s home when their original student had to move out due to allergies. What Teagan didn’t know was that Caleb had gotten the room and after an awkward meeting in a men’s bathroom, Teagan his horrified to find out Caleb will be living with her family for the next year. Caleb and Teagan eventually forge on and form an amazing friendship, but can this be more if he is leaving in a year?? Find out when you read this book.
As I said earlier, I loved Caleb and Teagan, but I also loved all the secondary characters that come into play in this story. Each person we meet has an important part to play in Caleb and Teagan’s journey.
As always, I would 100% recommend this book to all romance fans. If you are a fan of Penelope’s books, then you will WANT to read this book. This is just another favorite of mine that will also make my Best of 2020 list 🙂
5 Stars!
Teagan Carroll is a 19 yr. old marine biology major starting her sophomore year at Northern University in Boston. On her first day of orientation things don’t go as planned when she has an altercation with a hot British guy. Her day goes from bad to worse when she arrives home and learns the exchange student her parents were renting a room to didn’t work out. Now they were welcoming a different international student that was British. Turns out the infuriating guy she met earlier in the day would be staying with them.
Caleb Yates is a 22 yr. old exchange student from England who arrives in Boston for a year of college. Boston quickly feels like home, and his time there is going by way too fast. He feels very welcomed by the family he’s staying with, except for the oldest daughter. Teagan is an introvert genius who hides out in the basement. She seems guarded, a little strange, but gorgeous. He enjoyed annoying her and pushing her buttons. He finds their banter and love/hate relationship extremely entertaining. He’s intrigued by her quirky personality and wants to get to know her better. He realizes he wants her, but can’t act on it since he’s leaving at the end of the year.
Teagan had always felt like an outsider in her own family. Caleb becomes like a part of the family, and helps her come out of her shell. He appreciated all the things in her life she took for granted. He grows on her, and she comes to value his friendship. She couldn’t help her attraction and the way he flustered her. He was painfully handsome, and her feelings became complicated. As their control is slipping away, and lines get crossed, they can’t let themselves get attached. With him leaving at the end of the year, she can’t allow herself to fall for him.
Just One Year by Penelope Ward is a standalone enemies to lovers college romance packed with angst, comedy, chemistry, and beautiful connections. It’s a slow burn emotional love story with all the feels that will steal your heart. I really loved this book and these characters! This was an easy five stars for me, and I couldn’t put it down!
NO SPOILERS!
Just One Year was a unique, sweet, sexy, charming, emotional, and swoon-worthy romance that I couldn’t put down, and I absolutely LOVED Caleb and Teagan’s story!
The intriguing storyline, beyond lovely characters, and the author’s beautiful and simplistic writing style made Just One Year another MUST READ standalone contemporary romance from Penelope Ward. I fell head over heels in love with Caleb, Teagan, and their incredible story, and was ecstatic with the conclusion.
Penelope Ward created a sweet, sexy, emotional, and swoon-worthy romance with Just One Year, and I would highly recommend it!
If you are familiar with this authors work, this one is slightly different than what you may be accustomed to. This is a YA romance. The couple in question are young college aged kids. They both have things from their past that are haunting them, like in many books, but the overall feel is a little less ‘mature’ than what you might be used to. It’s not juvenile or immature by any means, but it’s not quite as adultish. A lot of the things the characters deal with or their thoughts/feelings remind you they are still so young. It has a enemies to lovers vibe while at the same time has that insta-love feel. Their stories are quite touching and heart breaking. The characters are likable and relate-able (to a degree… though their personal struggles are somewhat unique.) There aren’t any evil villains. There are one or two characters who at first may come across as such, but in the end, are actually pretty good. There are parts of the story that kinda jump ahead in time, some reasonable, some felt like you were missing out on what coulda been. The ending, while a happy one, was left without a firm resolution. Kinda an open ending. This is an easy read, and reads quickly. It holds your interest… thus being a rather quick read. There is some sexual content. Nothing too wild or out there.
The beginning of my sophomore year in college was off to a rough start.
On the first day of orientation, I had an altercation with an infuriating British dude in a campus bathroom.
(The ladies’ room was out of order. So, I used the men’s room. Don’t judge.)
I got home later that night and realized that the foreign student we were expecting to rent a room in my parents’ house was allergic to our cat.
So, the spare room went to someone else: Caleb—the British guy from the men’s room.
And so it began…my love-hate story with Caleb Yates. Or was it hate-love in that order?
The guy knew how to push every one of my buttons.
Sometimes I’d email him to express my aggravation and disdain.
He’d actually rewrite my own words and send them back to me.
That was the type of infuriating person Caleb was.
So frustrating.
And…
Sometimes incredibly funny and endearingly sweet.
And hot.
He eventually grew on me, and Caleb soon became one of my best friends that year.
Too bad he was headed back to England soon, so nothing could happen between us—for so many reasons.
I definitely couldn’t fall in love with him, especially since all we had was just one year.
Loved every page of Caleb & Teagan’s story! Their story was flawlessly written and heartfelt! They both had some baggage from their pasts which were heartbreaking and made them the people that they are. I laughed several times while reading their story! This is a book you must read this year!
Let me start by saying that I devoured this book! I just love Penelope’s stories and characters and Just One Year did not disappoint.
I hosted foreign exchange students growing up and could relate to Caleb and Teagan’s story. I also lived overseas with my then boyfriend to be husband.
Caleb is attending Northern University for a year from England. After a chance encounter with a girl in the men’s bathroom, Teagan and Caleb’s story begins. It was filled with laughter, friendship, healing and love. There were so many layers woven into this story. The touching moments between Caleb and Teagan will warm your heart. I couldn’t put it down as I fell in love with these characters and understood the obstacles of having a long distance love.
Caleb has some issues from his past. Teagan was left by her mom. Together they find trust and love and most importantly the ability to lean on someone and heal. They learn from each other in ways they never expected.
Penelope has an ease with her writing that no matter the story I just can’t get enough. I definitely this book and all her books.