Birthday Girl [ Book Review ]

BLURB

From New York Times Bestselling author Penelope Douglas comes 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.

|CW: Explicit Sex, mention of abuse.|

⭐⭐⭐⭐

4 stars.

4 swooning stars for Birthday Girl

Age gaps, forbidden love, the struggle between duty and love, doing whats ‘right’ and what makes you happy; Penelope Douglas writes them beautifully in her book, Birthday Girl.

I absolutely loved Beautiful Girl. I loved how it stayed real while still being steamy and sweet.

Falling in love with someone much older/younger than you isn’t something so simple, especially when there are extra attachments like a boyfriend or ex and a son who is said boyfriend later to become ex.

Birthday was down to earth and grounded about the struggle of loving someone you aren’t supposed to love, even though they’re everything you’ve ever wanted and needed, especially when it can ruin an existing relationship.

Jordan and Pike are everything…

I really loved Jordan and Pike. I loved their characters. I loved how sensible they were, how mature they both were. I also loved the development of their characters, especially Jordan, it was wonderful to see her slowly develop from a girl who was completely confident in herself and unsure of what she was worth, to a young woman who knew exactly what she needed. I also loved seeing Pike learn it was Ok to want things for himself — someone who makes him happy, even —and he didn’t have to live for his son only, even though it seemed like the most responsible thing to do, life isn’t quite simple. And not to worry, there’s no cheating in this book, well on the part of the main characters.

I loved the other characters too, well a majority of them. I love how they were real and messy, especially with Cole, who despite being a couple of times, was trying to discover himself. I loved that he wasn’t some cliche jerk, even though he could be at times, but just a young man growing and doing it mostly wrong

Real themes on parenting, heartbreak and the mess of life…

Penelope Douglas does an amazing job in showing the responsibility in being a good parent and how being one can turn a person’s life around. Pike is the image of a good father, sacrificing his dreams and almost the woman he had come to love for his son’s happiness. Putting his son first and himself second, it was spectacular and somewhat sad to see. And on the other hand, we had those parents who simply didn’t care, showing the two parallels of parenthood.

And oh the heartbreak! If I can say one thing, Birthday Girl had some really nice heartbreak quotes

We don’t need food to survive this life as much as we need our hearts broken at least once.

I’m not sure I agree with that one, but it is a pretty quote.

You need your heart to get out of bed, walk, talk, work, and eat, and she took it when she left.

I like this one though.

I just loved it,Ok

I really enjoyed reading Birthday Girl. I loved the combination of real, sweet and steamy. It was a wonderful read, I loved it.

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Goodreads

Have you read Birthday Girl? What do think of it? Also do you like my new style?

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