The List

Author: Kate L Mary
Publisher: Lyrical Press, Kensington Publishing
Page Count: 226 pages
Format: E-Arc
Source: NetGalley
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Series: College of Charleston (Book One)
Release Date: 5/26/2015

The List. Twenty things every girl must do before she turns twenty. . .

Body piercing
Get drunk
First kiss

But thanks to her crazy, over-protective father, Annie Roth is way behind schedule. Good thing it’s her first semester of college, because Annie is more than ready to start checking off items. . .

Fake ID
Skinny dipping
Road trip!!!

Where it gets complicated? Ryan and Chris. Best friends. Both sweet, funny, totally hot, and totally into Annie.

But there are some things on The List that Annie only wants to do with Ryan. . .

Lose it
Get Heart Broken
Fall in love

*ARC provided by Publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review *

Eighteen year old Annie Roth has lived a very sheltered life thanks to her overprotective dad and her four brothers. But now that she’s a freshman in college, she wants and plans to experience all the things she didn’t get the chance to do in high school. Her roommate and new friend helps her come up with a bucket list of things to do before she turns twenty, and then the two girls set out to cross them off as they navigate their first year of college.

Annie meets Chris while moving into her co-ed dorm building and doesn’t quite know how to act around him, or how to deal with his cute boyish charm and occasional, well-meaning but somewhat judge-y comments. Ryan is her roommate’s hot cousin, who makes her palms sweat and her heart pound. Annie likes both guys, but only one of them touches her soul in ways she wasn’t prepared to have happen.

I really enjoyed this story. I loved the character of Annie and I loved that she was able to meet people willing and able to take her under their wings and help her do the things she hadn’t been able to do while living with her family in California. I had fun reading about her adventures in finding herself, even making her own mistakes, and I loved that she had good friends to look out for her and help her on her quest.

I loved Annie and Ryan together. I liked Chris, too, but not so much with Annie. I didn’t think there was chemistry there as much as safety and friendship. No real spark to their relationship to warrant my caring about them as a couple, but he was the perfect roadblock to keep Annie and Ryan apart.

If you like innocent heroines trying to find themselves and falling in love with the one guy they shouldn’t want, you’ll love this book. But be forewarned, this one is rife with angst that will make you want to toss the book away while also pulling it closer to read through its pages.

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Kate L. Mary is a stay-at-home mother of four and an Air Force wife. She grew up in a small town just north of Dayton, Ohio where she and her husband met at the age of twelve. Since their marriage in 2002, they have lived in Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, and California.

Kate enjoys any post-apocalyptic story – especially if zombies are involved – as long as there is a romantic twist to give the story hope. Kate prefers nerdy, non-traditional heroes who can make you laugh to hunky pieces of man-meat, and her love of wine and chocolate is legendary among her friends and family. She currently resides in Oklahoma with her husband and children.

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And be sure to check out Book #2 in the College of Charleston series,  No Regrets, coming in September 2015