Title: Love Complicated
Series: N/A
Author: Teegan Loy
Genre: New Adult Romance
Length: Novel (280 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (11 May 2015)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts
Blurb: Life is all about making choices. Some are complicated. Some are simple. But for eighteen-year-old Jalen Marten, none are easy. Jalen has managed to stay invisible for his entire high school career. He has a small group of friends, and it’s enough for him. He doesn’t want or crave attention from his peers. All Jalen wants is to survive high school.
Austin Suter is the hot, talented tennis player who has the entire school bowing at his feet. Girls routinely throw themselves at him, and boys like Jalen stay the hell out of his way. Austin is destined for greatness on the world stage of professional tennis.
The kiss between them wasn’t supposed to happen. Falling in love definitely hadn’t been part of Jalen’s plan.
And when Austin turns pro, Jalen begins to realize that the choices he makes will affect Austin’s life. One wrong choice and Austin’s career could be over before it really begins. Jalen is not sure where he fits, or even if he fits at all in Austin’s life. But the more complicated things become, the less the idea of being apart appeals.
Love should simplify things, not complicate them.
ISBN: 9781632169259
Product Link: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6370
Reviewer: Prime
Review: Not many New Adult books leave me going, “OMFG, that was f-ing fantastic”, but Love Complicated left me both blown away and extremely happy by the end I got to the end of this novel.
This is about two 18-year-old guys, who are seniors in high school, but they are poles apart socially. Jalen is a quiet guy who doesn’t think that anyone notices him, though he is prominent in the school’s music department (I think I identified with him because minus being gay that was essentially me until I went to my 10 year high school reunion).
In fact, I was half expected for Jalen to take steps to become professional. Then there is Austin. He is one of the school’s “jocks” – Austin is a championship tennis player who is going to go pro at any time. It also happens that he has noticed Jalen much more than Jalen could ever think.
This is a sweet story of two guys in high school, going through the roller coaster that is senior year and with Austin coping with a particularly controlling father who wanted to be a pro tennis player long before. Jalen is the middle-class sort of guy with only his mother, and Austin is the rich-kid who has everything material except his parents are too busy making barbs at each other to be really there for their kids.
The minor characters are also fantastic and really make the story much more and add a definite depth that makes it feel so real. I love and adore Jalen’s BFF Sarah, and Austin’s BFF Clark, as well as Austin’s little sister CeCe. All three inject a lot of needed humour and fun to proceedings.
They are also fun and realistic catalysts that help Jalen and Austin along the way. Basically, they are exactly what minor characters are meant to be. I’m also giving honourable mentions to Jalen’s and Austin’s respective mothers. Jalen’s mother is a total sweet and fun-loving woman who is devoted to her son, whereas with Austin’s mother we get to also see her grow up as she makes her occasional appearances.
I cannot recommend this enough, even if you do not like young adult fiction, I think even us adults can see a lot of our experiences at that age reflected in either the major or minor characters.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *