Review: Penelope Douglas's "Birthday Girl."

Amazon.com:     https://amzn.to/2JGGOTG

Amazon UK:      https://amzn.to/2LJwif1

Synopsis:

From New York Times Bestselling author Penelope Douglascomes a new forbidden love story…

JORDAN

He 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 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. 

PIKE

I 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.

Review: Surj

Not every lie is meant to hurt someone. 

Penelope Douglas's "Birthday Girl" was a book that I took a chance on. The author is new to me and I just so happen to be flicking through Amazon's kindle unlimted section when this popped up with a gazillion 5 stars. I had a quick scan of the synopsis and thought hell why not give it a go. To be honest, in my head I did think (based on the synopsis) the story could have gone one of two ways: sordid, sleazy and kinda icky or swoon worthy and tastefully done and thank god it was the latter. Seriously this author had me eating out of the palm of her hands right from the first chapter and very quickly I became a part of the cheerleading squad for Pike and Jordan. I felt no guilt, no shame, no remorse, just sheer giddiness at all the possibilities. 

A ship at harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are for. 

If you're looking for a fast paced romance then this just isn't that at all. Instead "Birthday Girl" was a slow burner of a forbidden love story that I savoured every bit of. I loved the anticipation that built up the more pages I read. I couldn't get enough of the sexual tension that had my stomach in knots with excitement. And I adored the characters, oh the characters... where do I even begin? 

Pike Laswon... even now the very thought of that man send me weak at the knees. He was just so freakin' swoon worthy. I love the older guy but not the older guy because hell, 38 is not old!!! 38 is just all kinds of experience and sexiness and hotness ladies and Pike was just all of those things and so much more. I loved his character. He was a hard grafter who enjoyed a quiet life But that wasn't it. Maybe it was the fact that he didn't give much away or maybe it was the fact that he'd been pooped on from a great height in a previous life and he hadn't deserved a single ounce of it. Or maybe it's just the natural born fixer in me who wanted to make everything better for this man. Either way, I fell for Pike Lawson hook, line and sinker. 

"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."

Jordan had been let down by people all her life. Her parents, her partners, you name it, they'd treated her badly and this saddened me. It really did because I saw a woman trying to better herself, working her ass off to get an education so she could make something of her life but it seemed that at every turn, luck just wasn't on her side. She always saw the good in people. She always gave people the benefit of the doubt and unfortunately this didn't work in her favour. I rooted for Jordan because she was the underdog and she deserved so much more that what she was getting. She deserved love and happiness but I feared that wouldn't happen until she woke up and smelled the coffee. 

“Birthday wishes don’t always come true, 

so I don’t waste a chance when I blow out a candle.”

"Birthday Girl" was easily a ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ read from me. The angst, the heart ache, the hope for happiness. The hero, the heroine, the villains and the good guys. The writing, the plot and the pace of the story and the way everything seemed to fit just seamlessly together. All of these things really helped to make this one of my favourites of this year. I have a feeling I'll be reading more from this author, especially if she writes her heroes like Pike Laswon. Did I tell you how much I loved him???? Lol. If you haven't read "Birthday Girl," I couldn't recommend it enough (and if you're on kindle unlimited, you have no excuse because it's on there!!!).