Miniviews #13: Before Jamaica Lane & Fall From India Place

Before Jamaica Lane by Samantha Young

Publication Date: January 7th, 2014

Publisher: NAL Trade

Pages: 432

Series: On Dublin Street #3

Source: Purchased

Rating: 4.5/5

As soon as I knew which characters were going to be the main focus of Before Jamaica Lane I might have been a little to excited. I absolutely loved the glimpses we got of Liv in Down London Road. She just seemed totally cool and kick-ass. Than add in this kind of mysterious friend of Cam's, Nate, who is a total player. I absolutely needed to get this book in my hands to devour it. I was not disappointed. Liv and Nate are easily my favourite couple from this series. The chemistry and intense sexual tension between them is off the charts. Before anything actually starts between them, they are best friends. I love their friendship. It's cute. They get each others jokes and quirkiness. They know things about each other that no one else does. They've both been through death and dark periods and can be there for each other when one of them is having a bad day.
Liv is a really confident and intelligent girl. But she's got some insecurities that are keeping her from pursuing a guy she's crushing on. Eventually she confesses to Nate that she has no experience with dating or sex and Nate decides he's going to teach her. Nate is a player. He's got his reasons why he never gets attached to girls. But you can tell how much he cares and loves Liv. He needs her friendship. The way he continually tells her she's beautiful and that she's crazy for thinking these terrible things about herself is endearing. Even when they eventually start to have this mind blowing sex together it's all in the pretense of Nate teaching Liv. Obviously things don't remain uncomplicated and it eventually goes to shit.
Like I said I love them together. The banter, tension and just everything about them is just all the things. I actually teared up throughout the last quarter of the book. There's really no reason why I should have. Especially because I'm not one to cry(my robot heart and all). But with Nate trying to win Liv back. The things he does and says. Mashed-up with Liv's feelings just hit me in the feels. God, I need a whole other book about them.

Fall From India Place by Samantha Young
Publication Date: June 3rd, 2014
Publisher: NAL Trade
Pages: 294
Series: On Dublin Street #4
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4/5

There was a lot of build up in the previous series books for Fall From India Place. There was a lot of glimpses into Hannah and Marco's developing friendship. Although we never met Marco before this book, Hannah kept us informed about them through the various ladies throughout the other books. I also was taken with Hannah. We saw her grow up throughout the series. She's shy, but really smart and witty. And a total bookworm. Fall From India Place takes place a few years later when Hannah has graduated from uni. Marco is no longer in her life though. She hasn't spoken or seen him in years, but he's left an impact on her. She still thinks about him. We know something happened between the two of him before he took off that left Hannah a shell of the person she was before. Back in present time Marco suddenly appears and wants back into her life. This wall that Hannah has built up around herself starts to crumble with his daily nudges.
Finally learning about the mysterious Marco's past really showed him as this outstanding guy. To be told you're scum by your family is of course going to take a hit. And as much as Marco obviously cared for Hannah he knew he wasn't in a place to give her what she deserved. I think it really showed how mature and decent he is when he does come back to her. I know he probably didn't go about it the right way with no good-bye or word to her in years. But I can really appreciate him for getting his life together before involving someone else in it. Unfortunately I didn't fall for Hannah as much as I thought I would. She's a great girl, I just wanted to her to stop being afraid and be the person she was. You know? She's got a fantastic life and family and another chance with the love of her life. But she lets the past stop her from moving forward. She keeps something from Marco that she never should have. And she blames him for it. Which I can understand to an extent. The shit that happened to her was scary and Marco wasn't there for her. I just can't get behind her blaming him and not leaning on her family when it's obvious they are 100% there for her.
Hannah and Marco together are hot and intense. It's adorable how much Marco is fighting to have her back in his life. He knows what he wants, he's got his priorities straight and he just needs to convince Hannah he's not going anywhere again. May not have been my favourite couple of the series(so far) but the set up for Cole's book is leaving me needy. I need Cole's book. The man he's turned into is very appealing.

Happy reading!

Brittany