Hey guys, 

One of my New Year Resolutions was to make time for reading. I'm always a hit and miss, I've only had 'time' for reading when I went on holiday and I would go through the phase of loving it and then trying to get back into books and then weeks later I would give up.

October/November last year one of my friendship groups decided they was going to create a book club and we would take it in turns. Some of us managed the whole book, some managed a few chapters and I think the odd person hadn't even started. Admired the inspiration but the motivation could have done some work ahaha. Therefore, this book club failed.

My second friendship group are more readers as they are slightly older than me and are settled; when they tell me about the books they read within a certain a mine of time - That is admiration and motivation. We decided to put the different genres of books into a Spin the Wheel so we have a variation of range.

Elisha went first with starting book club and chose the book Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas.

Photo Credit: Google Images

Jordan has nowhere else to go when her boyfriend offers to let her move in with him and his dad. Working a dead-end job, with her relationship sputtering, she jumps at the opportunity, expecting to help out around the house in exchange. What she doesn’t anticipate is for her heart to race every time Pike pulls into the driveway, or to burn when their eyes meet over the breakfast table. He’s kind and listens to her and protects her in a way no man ever has before. Her sister once told her there are no good men, and if you find one, he's probably unavailable. Only Pike isn't the unavailable one…she is.

As the days go by, Pike’s finding it anything but simple to have his son’s girlfriend living in his house. He can’t stop thinking about her and holding his breath every time they cross paths. It feels like she’s becoming a part of him. Except he knows they’re not free to give in to this. How could they when he’s her boyfriend’s father?

Review:

Omg, is it possible to be in love with a character? Pike is just so dreamy, we all need a Pike.

I got straight into the book and was hooked. The way Penelope writes you can literally picture the characters. I remember in school reading The Fault in the Stars and could picture The characters and the film came out, I was somewhat close. I literally wish they had brought this out into a movie as it's so detailed. Same for It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover - cannot wait for that to come out this year (Blake Lively as Lily Bloom 🤩). I envisioned Cole to look like Noah LaLonde (Cole from My Life with the Walter Boys). I envisioned Pike to look like Tom Welling (Superman in Smallville or Cain in Lucifer).

I went to Blackpool with some friends in the month of reading this book, so when I had a quiet downtime moment I would try and read a tiny bit. I then went to Ireland solo to see one of my best friends so it was the perfect opportunity to read at the airport and on the plane. Trust me to get to the saucy parts on the plane hahaha. 

I love a forbidden romance of will they or wont they. Even though it was a slight slow burn I just knew it would pick up from reading the blurb. It was kind of obvious what was going to happen from the get go but still it was one where there's surprises and couldn't put the book down. The sexual tension & chemistry in this book was incredibly high.

This was the first book I have read of Penelope Douglas' and can definitely say it won't be the last. At the time of reading this book, me and my ex were on a break so this was the perfect distraction as I was totally absorbed and loved escaping reality.

This book starts with Jordan who is a 19 year old hardworking and independent girl who finishes work and heads to the movies whilst waiting for her boyfriend to pick her up. As it's her birthday, her boss gave her a box of wine which she has a situation of spilling the wine and dropping her phone, which leads to the perfect set-up of meeting a stranger called Pike. She highlights that she has a boyfriend even though they both feel the instant connection but when they leave the movies they realise they have someone in common so it won't be the last time the two meet. So we know this story is going to be a when, where and how kinda situation.

Another thing I loved about this book was how the chapters alternated between Pike and Jordan. I love when you get that person's perspective especially With the age gap between them both and how they are different but the same. Penelope did so well in letting their story develop and their love story flourish. We seem them go from strangers to living together to then falling in love whilst trying to hard not to be selfish and succumb to their desires.

I would definitely rate this book a solid 4 out of 5.