Book Review | When We Met Anthology

Welcome to my tour stop. Today I have a review and excerpt for you all. Let me just say that this was perfection!


Title: When We Met

Author: A.L. Jackson, Molly McAdams, Tiffany King and Christina Lee

Series: Standalone

Age: New Adult

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Publication Date: November 4th, 2014

Publisher: NAL Trade

Page Numbers: 400

Format: E-Book

Source: NetGalley

Purchase: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | iBooks

Synopsis: 
Today’s premiere New Adult authors combine their talents to tell four original stories from inside one house. 

When four girls decide to live off campus together as juniors at a college in Michigan, they expect it to be their best year yet. Little do they know, it’s a year that will change the rest of their lives.

BEHIND HER EYES by A.L. Jackson
Unable to live down her ex-boyfriend’s deception, Misha is determined to avoid betrayal. When, the new guy next door, Darryn starts to get under her skin, her defenses start to crumble. But trusting Darryn seems impossible, especially if he’s not sure he can trust himself.

SAVING ME by Molly McAdams 
On the outside, Indy is always ready for a party—but inside she’s breaking. Kier makes a weekly routine of saving the girl next door from herself on Saturday nights… but when will she be ready to remember him on Sunday morning?

FOULING OUT by Tiffany King 
Working at a sports bar, Courtney has become a pro at sidestepping propositions from arrogant jocks—which makes her a more elusive catch for campus basketball star Dalton than he expected. But when he falls for the saucy waitress, Dalton will have to rethink his game plan to prove he’s not the jerk Courtney expects.

BENEATH YOUR LAYERS by Christina Lee 
In order to ace her fashion internship, Chloe must team up with local college dropout and set builder, Blake—much to her chagrin. But after some "hands-on" experience, Chloe will have to ask herself if Blake factors into her carefully laid plans…

Join the Facebook Party


My Rating: 

Excerpt

“I’m about to embarrass the hell out of myself, but I don’t care anymore. I feel like when I’m near you, I’m safe, and it makes no sense to me. It is the weirdest feeling to have with someone I only know three things about.”
My eyebrows rose at that and I turned to fully face her. “Three?”
“Yes. Three things. Your name is Kier, you’re extremely quiet, and you are the biggest puzzle I’ve ever tried to figure out.”
“I’m the puzzle?”
“Yes!” she said in exasperation.
That had to have been the most backward statement I’d ever heard. “And why am I a puzzle?”
“Because of what I just told you. I don’t know you, you don’t even talk to anyone, and I feel safe when you’re near me! Why is that? I feel like I’m going crazy because all I’ve been able to think about for these past two weeks is you, and how every time you open your mouth it’s like déjà vu, and I just—I don’t know what’s happening.” Her green eyes were massive and she looked like she was on the edge of losing her shit.
I took a few steps toward her and lowered my voice. “Calm down, Indy. You’re fine.”
“I just don’t understand,” she said loudly, the pitch of her voice rising. “Do you believe in past lives?” she asked suddenly.
I paused, a laugh slipping past my lips. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Past lives? Like that whole stupid YOLO saying is really just bullshit, because we’re about to get another shot down the road?”
I tried to contain my smile, but she was really fucking adorable when she was like this. “What does that have to do with what you’re freaking out over?”
“In stories with soul mates they find each other no matter what in every life. And it’s like they have a weird connection they can’t explain.”
I closed the distance between us and dropped my head so I was looking directly into her eyes. “Are you saying we’re soul mates?”
“No!” she said, horror lacing her voice, her cheeks filling with heat.
“I think you were,” I teased.
“I wasn’t, I was just saying that in stories . . . I don’t know what I’m saying, okay? But I don’t get what’s going on with us!” 
“So now there’s an us?”
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “I need to stop talking.”
I laughed and took a step back. “I’m teasing you, Indy. And no, I don’t believe in past lives. I think we have this one, and that’s it.”
She sighed, and her body visibly relaxed. When she spoke again, she sounded exhausted—and in a way, defeated. “I don’t, either, but I can’t figure out how to explain this feeling like I know you.”
I ground my jaw for a few seconds as her green eyes held mine. “Because maybe you do know me. You’re just not ready to remember why.”
- Saving Me by Molly McAdams

My Thought

This is an absolutely beautiful anthology! I cannot believe how perfect it was. I gave this a full on 5 star rating and read this in one day - a total of 6 hours. I can't express the love I had for each character and their growth in self and romance. I love how all the characters connected throughout each story and the relationships between the housemates was smooth. Everything was seamless!

Behind Her Eyes by A.L. Jackson
This was such a beautiful story. I loved Misha and Darryn. Let me start off by saying I hate Hunter. He was a total douche bag for how he set Misha up and broke her heart. He felt no remorse at all and it was sickening. Moving on now…Darryn is the king of sweetness. Yes at the beginning he lied, but he stayed truthful to Misha. He loved her before knowing the real her and felt bad for what Hunter did. He wanted to protect her and he did. Misha finally learned to love a guy and what sexually intimacy really was. I loved their relationship to the max!

Saving Me by Molly McAdams 
Indy and Kier were the perfect couple to me out of this story. I enjoyed the truths hidden between the two and how they helped each other grow. Let say first -- I hate both their parents, flat out. Any who, Indy was a sweet girl dealing heartbreak after heartbreak. She lost her family and found out her boyfriend was cheating. She was a wreck and couldn't be fix, or so she thought. Like most people she turned to alcohol and sex to drown out the pain and emotions. No matter what happened she always was protected by one person, Kier. Kier was the sweetest guy on earth. The kind of guy I would love to be with. He was always there for Indy to protect her, heal her wounds and comfort her. He was her safe haven. At the beginning she never remembered him or their conversations because she was always drunk the night before. It wasn't until he told her the truth that she started to understand their connection. I loved how they both confided in one another and made sure to continually comfort each other. In the end, they had such a perfect relationship and I would love to know more about them if I could. My favorite story of them all!

Fouling Out by Tiffany King
The story of Courtney and Dalton was not much of a surprise to me. Best friends that lost touch and grew apart, end up at the same college and begin to fall for one another. I didn't like how macho Dalton acted at first when he first saw Courtney at Gruby's. He was a total jock and idiot. I like how he tried to get her attention and without being a player -- it showed that he had his own personality. Their relationship was cute and enjoyable. Best friends turned couple -- sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. This time it worked smoothly. I think the fact that they knew each other made their cute lovey dovey relationship all the more worth it. As for Dalton's dad…douche!

Beneath Your Layers by Christina Lee
Chloe and Blake were hilarious to me! I enjoyed their dislike for one another at the beginning because it was seriously just a misunderstanding between the two of them. Their relationship with their mother's are very different. Blake would kill for attention from his mother and Chloe would kill to have her mother back off some. I enjoyed learning about their maternal "issues" because it made me understand them each a bit better. Cute relationship.

I did see a trend with all the characters and their parents which I definitely enjoyed. It was beautiful seeing how their family issues impacted their college life because it's very realistic. I experienced my own issues in college with my parents (not as bad as these characters) but it was very much relatable on some levels.

Overall this was a perfect anthology and I highly recommend my New Adult and Contemporary Romance lovers get their hands on this beauty!


Giveaway

Author Bios

A.L. Jackson is the New York Times bestselling author of Take This Regret and Lost to You, as well as other contemporary romance titles, including Come to Me Quietly, Come to Me Softly, Pulled, When We Collide, and If Forever Comes.

She first found a love for writing during her days as a young mother and college student.  She filled the journals she carried with short stories and poems used as an emotional outlet for the difficulties and joys she found in day-to-day life.

Years later, she shared a short story she’d been working on with her two closest friends and, with their encouragement, this story became her first full length novel. A.L. now spends her days writing in Southern Arizona where she lives with her husband and three children. Her favorite pastime is spending time with the ones she loves.

To stay up to date with important news on A.L. Jackson, including new releases, sales, and exclusive specials and excerpts, text “jackson” to 96000 to subscribe!



USA Today Bestselling author Tiffany King is a lifelong reading fanatic who is now living her dream as a writer, weaving Young Adult and New Adult romance tales for others to enjoy. She has a loving husband and two wonderful kids. (Five, if you count her three spoiled cats). Her addictions include: Her iPhone and iPad, chocolate, Diet Coke, chocolate, Harry Potter, chocolate, zombies and her favorite TV shows. Want to know what they are? Just ask.

Twitter | Facebook | Blog  | Goodreads

Email authortiffany@yahoo.com



Molly grew up in California but now lives in the oh-so-amazing state of Texas with her husband and furry four-legged daughters. When she's not diving into the world of her characters, some of her hobbies include hiking, snowboarding, traveling, and long walks on the beach … which roughly translates to being a homebody with her hubby and dishing out movie quotes. She has a weakness for crude-humored movies and fried pickles, and loves curling up in a fluffy comforter during a thunderstorm ... or under one in a bathtub if there are tornados. That way she can pretend they aren't really happening.


Mother, wife, reader, dreamer. Christina lives in the Midwest with her husband and son--her two favorite guys.

She's addicted to lip gloss and salted caramel everything. She believes in true love and kissing, so writing romance novels has become a dream job.

Author of the Between Breaths series from Penguin. ALL OF YOU, BEFORE YOU BREAK and WHISPER TO ME available now, PROMISE ME THIS on October 7th, 2014.

Also Adult contemporary romance TWO OF HEARTS coming from Peguin/NAL on May 5th 2015.