My awesome book friend, Vi, and I wanted to do a joint review of this book when we both got approved and we had some differing opinions.

Molly Young’s father has just died at the opening of this book. She’s not dealing well with it at ALL. He was a very well respected professor at the local college, while she personally despised him. Molly gets drunk and meets Ian who takes care of her that night. When she meets him the next day at the reading of her father’s will she is thrown for an even bigger loop.

Clio: At the beginning of the novel I was a fan of the premise and how the couple meets. I always like a hero or heroine who is falling apart for some reason and Molly definitely was. I liked how Ian took care of her even while he drank too but nowhere near as much as she did. I thought the idea of Ian being a good guy right from the beginning and not taking advantage of Molly at all while they were drunk was sweet even while she was doing everything to push him. The banter while drunk also made me laugh the whole time.

Vi: I liked the initial banter between Molly and Ian at the bar. It was cute. But the interaction in the hotel room was awkward. Molly was drunk. She wanted to have sex with Ian to forget. Ian doesn’t want to have sex. She gets mad then passes out before she can leave.

Clio: I thought Molly came off right away as a hurt girl who was trying to push people away and take care of herself. She seemed dark and angsty but not extensively so.

Vi: I was really worried for Molly when she said she had attempted to commit suicide in the past. As she was crossing the Mississippi River, she was contemplating jumping off the bridge into the river. “No, I wouldn’t kill myself today.” “The bridge would always be here. I could always kill myself later.”

Clio: Good point, I take back my not extensively so comment.

Clio: I’m conflicted about this book because I really loved about 75% of it, and the last 25% I was torn between liking and hating at different turns. What I really enjoyed about this book is Molly dealing with her father’s death in a relatively normal way. She was conflicted, she hated him when alive so how is she supposed to feel about him after he’s dead? I’m not a fan of painting someone in a phony way after they die and obviously neither is Molly. I enjoyed Molly’s experiences with college and her not being entirely sure about what the hell she wants to do in life. That was another realistic thing to me.
I also really liked Ian. He was a good guy, wanting to do the right thing but he didn’t come off as weak. Ian was able to go toe to toe with Molly in some arguments and not roll over. He made me laugh with some of his comments and him drunk was cute and funny in a non obnoxious way.

Vi: I liked Ian as well. I just didn’t see the connection between him and Molly. I didn’t feel the chemistry.

Clio: Now for what I did not like. Unfortunately, while I did like the name of the book, I just did not like the Nirvana references throughout the book. A few were fine. The class was extensive, the paper she had to write about the song didn’t even make sense to me.

Vi: I agree. I like Nirvana. I just didn’t get all of the Nirvana references either. The title of this book is a Nirvana. It’s also the song picked to write her paper on. I get that the meaning behind the song was be yourself. But why was it necessary to be included in the book?

Clio: The last 25% or so felt kind of out of left field. Obviously there was something going to be revealed about Molly’s dad but what it turned out to be was rather huge, yet dealt with way to quickly for my taste. If the last 25% of the book turned into the last 50% with this part being more fleshed out I can see where it could have been a 4.5 star book for me.

Vi: For such a short book, there were secrets after secrets. My head was spinning. Because there was so much happening, I felt that the romance was lost amidst all of the revelations. In the end, I wondered if Molly and Ian were really going to make it together. Molly, who’s already feeling suicidal, has even more crap to deal with. I hope she finds herself a good therapist.

Clio: As it is I would recommend it for NA genre lovers like me. Especially at the price it is currently it is worth it! The romance and the relationship between Molly and Ian was great. There is definitely angst but to the same level some of these books have.

Vi: I liked the first chapter. Then it quickly spiraled downhill for me. I like this author. I will not give up on reading her books. But I cannot recommend this book. Here’s hoping her next NA is more enjoyable. In the meantime, I look forward to her next adult book in Cool Cat trilogy, coming in 2014.

Thank you to Vi for doing the joint review!

We both received ARC’s from Netgalley in return for our honest reviews.

~Clio

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