Working On It

NEW ADULT ROMANCE

Title: Working On It
Author: Cass Alexander
Publication date: 09/23/2016
Publisher: Cass Alexander
Kindle Unlimited: Yes
Cliffhanger: No
Rating: 4 out of 5

Blurb (from Amazon.com):
Meet Rebecca Banks. Intelligent. Inexperienced. In trouble. She wants someone who already has the perfect girlfriend. But when Evan decides to end his long-term relationship, will Rebecca be brave enough to take a chance on him? Can he see past her shortcomings? Can she? Rebecca's got a long list of flaws. But she's working on it.

My review
I’m pretty sure I’ve said before that I approach new-to-me authors tentatively and regard them with the same trepidation a little bunny might have toward a hungry wolf. I’ve been let down too many times to go into a new book with too much hope. But I was super-impressed with this author and her short-but-engaging book blurb (which is not an easy thing to write, folks), so I thought, what the hell? I’ll give this one a read. And overall, I’m really glad I did.

Rebecca is my favorite kind of new adult heroine. She’s spunky (but not bitchy), completely filterless (she’ll say anything), and open (well, cautiously optimistic) to the possibility of love without being a desperate doormat. She’s likeable, the type of person you’d want to know in real life. Evan is a decent hero as well, if a bit generic when compared to Rebecca. He’s smart and funny and sexy enough to get the job done in romance land, and at the end of the day, who can really ask for more than that?    

The best part about the characters is that they’re realistic college students. They do stupid things and make wrong choices. In other words, they act their age, which is refreshing. Often times when you read college romances you can tell they were written by a 40-something mom who barely remembers what it was like to be a dumb 20-year-old. This story had an authenticity to it that I really appreciated.

All in all, this was an engaging, fun, light read that I’d recommend to all fans of new adult romance. It’ll help you remember the days when you were young and stupid and angsty (and allow you to be thankful that you outgrew it all). And Cass Alexander is most definitely an author you should keep an eye on. I know I will be...  

Full disclosure: The author offered a free copy in exchange for an honest review, but I didn’t take it. I downloaded via Kindle Unlimited.   

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
I’d say it strongly discourages (if not crushes) the romance stigma. No rehab needed.  

Other reading suggestions
For additional well-done college romances, try the Off Campus series by Elle Kennedy, Dirty English by Ilsa Madden-Mills or Easy by Tammara Webber.

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