New Adult Contemporary Romance
Expected Release: June 1, 2015
Twenty-one year old Alexis Caine is so close to her dream she can taste it. And it tastes like validation and Häagen-Dazs.
In a few months she'll graduate with a shiny new business degree and launch a fashion label with her best friend Ava. All the planning, the dedication, and the saying ‘no’ to everything—and everyone—will have been worth it.
Then Dylan Cameron, Ava’s tall, dark and broody younger brother, returns from the East coast. Lex has hardly seen him in years and given his reputation for partying, girls, and worse, that’s just fine with her.
But suddenly Dylan’s all grown up. And a dangerous night of unplanned confessions for both of them threatens to tear Lex's carefully constructed world off its axis.
Because one sassy control freak plus one prodigal son equals chemistry that refuses to be ignored.
My Review
For a debut novel, I'd say Piper Lawson did a wonderful job. Schooled is a great best-friend's-brother romance that I found to be fun and charming with a nice dash of a serious side.
Alexis ("Lex") is a focused college senior, ready with her best friend Ava to start their own business right out of college. She's serious and driven, and doesn't want to let anything get in the way of the future they have planned. I loved her energy and drive, and how committed she is to their venture. Enter Dylan, Ava's brother, who just transferred to their school (though he's a sophomore). Hot and sexy with a reputation that's not necessarily deserved, he's still a bit innocent when he arrives (okay, not THAT innocent, but still a bit green).
Now arrange some circumstances for these two to talk, commiserate, and become friendly. What you'll end up with is a spark that turns into a wildfire-but one that Lex wants to keep quiet, especially from her best friend. And when secrets are kept, you know eventually things will combust-and not likely in a good way. This is where our drama comes into play, making for a hot but tension filled story. But Lex is not the only one with a secret...
While I understand Lex's motivation, I personally didn't agree with it, so I was very empathetic toward Dylan. His character had quite a bit of depth and you wind up really feeling for him as his layers become revealed.
I liked that the relationship and story build over time--there's no insta-love here. The story is told strictly from Lex's point of view; I would have liked to have had Dylan's POV as well for more story depth and insight, but even without it this is still a solid and quite enjoyable romance read. Recommended for 18+ due to language and adult sexual scenes, Schooled was a 4-star read for me.
Great job Piper on this well-written debut novel!
About the Author
Schooled is Piper Lawson’s debut novel. Piper loves reading and writing stories about sassy, sexy, smart women and the guys who fall hard for them.
Piper’s main household expenditures include books, shoes, and chocolate, not necessarily in that order. Coffee = life (and she’ll defend it accordingly, especially when cornered). Piper has two business degrees, neither of which she’s leveraged into a fashion label.
Home is Canada plus occasional sunny winter escapes.
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