.jpg)
Recommended for readers 18+ for mature content.
Announcing: Ivy Years #4
The Shameless Hour
by Sarina Bowen
Available Now!
Find it on: Amazon, B&N, Goodreads
The girl who’s had everyone meets the boy who has no one.
For Bella, the sweet-talking, free-loving, hip-checking
student manager of the Harkness men’s hockey team, sex is a second language.
She’s used to being fluent where others stutter, and the things people say
behind her back don’t (often) bother her. So she can’t understand why her
smoking hot downstairs neighbor has so much trouble staying friends after their
spontaneous night together. She knows better than to worry about it, but
there’s something in those espresso eyes that makes her second-guess herself.
Rafe is appalled with himself for losing his virginity in a
drunken hookup. His strict Catholic upbringing always emphasized loving thy
neighbor—but not with a bottle of wine and a box of condoms. The result is an
Ivy League bout of awkwardness. But when Bella is leveled by a little bad
luck and a downright nasty fraternity stunt, it’s Rafe who is there to pick up
the pieces.
Bella doesn’t want
Rafe's help, and she’s through with
men. Too bad the undeniable spark that crackles between the two of them
just can’t be extinguished.
My Thoughts on The Shameless Hour:
Bella is a fan favorite, I certainly love her, and it's so exciting to be finally reading her story. And it is absolutely worthy of her- fans will not be disappointed. A lot of us wanted her to fall for a hockey player, but what ends up happening is too heartbreaking and perfect all at once. She needed someone who was kind, a gentleman, a romantic, someone mature who wouldn't look down on someone who is as sex-positive as Bella. SH also shows that men can be A: monogamous, B: find it important to be in a relationship with their sexual partners, C: have those things NOT detract from being supremely sexy and still be "Alpha".
Admittedly I was concerned that I would have a problem loving Rafe, too often Latino men/women are written poorly, they say "si" instead of "yes" a lot. I'm a Latina, I don't do that. Then they are usually poor from a rough neighborhood, why do they always have to be poor/from the wrong side of the tracks? Then they are either super religious or have parents who are super conservative/religious- I'm an agnostic and so is my intimidate family of Liberals. I am so pleased to say that while a good chunk of these were still true for Rafe, they were pretty damned awesome on him. He is more than a stereotype, he's fleshed out as they Best Boyfriend maybe in the history of boyfriends. And he and Bella go together deliciously.
I love the Ivy series because they aren't exactly your typical NA, there is a lot of positivity, feminism (both male and female), deals with social issues: physical disabilities (The Year We Fell Down (The Ivy Years, #1), abuse and neglect (The Year We Hid Away (The Ivy Years, #2), gay rights (The Understatement of the Year (The Ivy Years, #3)- which is my absolute favorite of the series, harassment/slut-shaming (Blond Date, #2.5 & The Shameless Hour, #4). They guys aren't treating aren't infantilizing the women on one hand and treating all the others like disposable one-night stands worthy of ridicule and contempt. They also aren't beating up anyone who looks "at their women" or brooding against every available wall. In the same token, these women aren't waiting to be saved, they aren't all virgins waiting for the hot dangerous guy to wear them down into a stranglehold of a relationship. These are tough chicks who figure things out on their own, and deal with their problems by working through them. It's so very refreshing. These books are very sexy, very romantic, and they will weave themselves around your heart.
Bella is a fan favorite, I certainly love her, and it's so exciting to be finally reading her story. And it is absolutely worthy of her- fans will not be disappointed. A lot of us wanted her to fall for a hockey player, but what ends up happening is too heartbreaking and perfect all at once. She needed someone who was kind, a gentleman, a romantic, someone mature who wouldn't look down on someone who is as sex-positive as Bella. SH also shows that men can be A: monogamous, B: find it important to be in a relationship with their sexual partners, C: have those things NOT detract from being supremely sexy and still be "Alpha".
Admittedly I was concerned that I would have a problem loving Rafe, too often Latino men/women are written poorly, they say "si" instead of "yes" a lot. I'm a Latina, I don't do that. Then they are usually poor from a rough neighborhood, why do they always have to be poor/from the wrong side of the tracks? Then they are either super religious or have parents who are super conservative/religious- I'm an agnostic and so is my intimidate family of Liberals. I am so pleased to say that while a good chunk of these were still true for Rafe, they were pretty damned awesome on him. He is more than a stereotype, he's fleshed out as they Best Boyfriend maybe in the history of boyfriends. And he and Bella go together deliciously.
I love the Ivy series because they aren't exactly your typical NA, there is a lot of positivity, feminism (both male and female), deals with social issues: physical disabilities (The Year We Fell Down (The Ivy Years, #1), abuse and neglect (The Year We Hid Away (The Ivy Years, #2), gay rights (The Understatement of the Year (The Ivy Years, #3)- which is my absolute favorite of the series, harassment/slut-shaming (Blond Date, #2.5 & The Shameless Hour, #4). They guys aren't treating aren't infantilizing the women on one hand and treating all the others like disposable one-night stands worthy of ridicule and contempt. They also aren't beating up anyone who looks "at their women" or brooding against every available wall. In the same token, these women aren't waiting to be saved, they aren't all virgins waiting for the hot dangerous guy to wear them down into a stranglehold of a relationship. These are tough chicks who figure things out on their own, and deal with their problems by working through them. It's so very refreshing. These books are very sexy, very romantic, and they will weave themselves around your heart.
