On Dublin Street by Samantha Young

4.5 Stars

I have read many Samantha Young books and I think this hero might be my favorite!  The heroine, Joss, annoyed me a little at the beginning, but it was a result of all her baggage that made her annoying and she was getting that worked on professionally, so the further into the book the reader moves, the more you like the heroine.  Another thing that the author did A-M-A-Z-I-N-G-L-Y well was when troubles came up with the couple, one of them would do something stupid, but then, the other one would react in a very believable and equally stupid manner so that it didn’t seem like either Joss or Braden was constantly being an idiot. 

On to the plot…

This takes place in Scotland (and whilst I have never been there, it is number one on my places I wish to visit) with the main character being a very damaged girl named Joss Butler.  She moved to Edinburgh after graduating high school in Virginia.  Her past is something she never talks about and she doesn’t get close to anyone.  Even the girl who she calls her best friend has no idea what she’s hiding from.  Joss ends up moving into an apartment on Dublin Street (hence the name) and there meets Ellie and her brother, Braden Carmichael.  And from there you can guess the rest.

My favorite parts were as follows:

·         The first meeting in the car

·         The second meeting in the apartment

·         Most of their fighting

·         I loved Ellie and her frustrations with Adam

·         Most of the secondary characters, except Rhian

·         Braden’s bossiness

Favorite quote:

“I stuck my stupid head out of my stupid hidey-hole.  That’s when Braden swooped in like a big-ass eagle.” 

Drip Drop Teardrop by Samantha Young

4 Stars

This story follows Avery who is a young girl who lost her parents when she was ten and now lives with her aunt who is dying from cancer.  She goes out once a month dancing with her friends and this is where she meets Breenus.  Breenus has what is described in the book as a “hideous” scare on half his face.  Avery starts to see Breenus at her favorite club (she loves to dance, but hates attention).  Eventually Breenus asks for a dance and Avery feels drawn to him, but doesn’t want to.  She is worried what her friends would think of her and is worried that people will start at her if she is with a guy with a huge scare on his face. 

The back story for Breenus was awesome and well fleshed out.  I wish there was more to Breenus and Avery’s interactions.  Avery was pretty annoying and her stories from her childhood made her even less likeable.  That coupled with her fear of what others are thinking of her made her a jerk at times.  However, I feel like this was what the author was going for.  Why else would she describe three specific situations where Avery was a big fat brat as a child if not to hammer home how selfish she is.  I think we were supposed to see how much Avery grew through her time with Breenus.    

It was a super quick read and I found myself thinking about it when I wasn’t reading.  I wanted to know Breenus better and wanted Avery to turn out to be a better person.