The debutante path is a fairly straight track: who you are, who you associate with, and whose label you are wearing become priorities. They define you. They are the aspects by which you are judged.
Ashlyn’s world has been one of enlightenment and finesse, and now she is ready to take on the financial world at her father’s company just as he had always planned. Her future had been scripted long ago, but a chance meeting with a beautiful boy on a bicycle gives Ashlyn a new outlook on life.
Ethan is far too young, far too tattooed, far too pierced—just far too everything—to ever fit into her world. He has issues, too—major ones. Ashlyn knows he will never be accepted by her friends, let alone her overbearing father, but there is something about his live-in-the-moment outlook that keeps drawing her back into his arms.
Ashlyn must make a choice. Can she forgo the family dynasty and live life to the fullest with this fascinating but damaged young man?
Shay Savage is an independent author from Cincinnati, Ohio, where she lives with her family and a variety of household pets. She is an accomplished public speaker and holds the rank of Distinguished Toastmaster from Toastmasters International. Her hobbies include off-roading in her big, yellow Jeep, science fiction in all forms, and soccer. Savage holds a degree in psychology, and she brings a lot of that knowledge into the characters within her stories.
From the author: “It’s my job to make you FEEL. That doesn’t always mean you’ll feel good, but I want my readers to be connected enough to my characters to care.”
Savage’s books many books span a wide variety of topics and sub-genres with deeply flawed characters. From cavemen to addicts to hitmen, you’ll find yourself falling for these seemingly irredeemable characters!
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** ARC kindly provided for an honest review. **
Judging Books was quite a refreshing, spontaneous, heartwarming story about two people who weren’t intended to meet. Definitely not from the same world, from their looks to their social status.
Guess what? I do like when two characters who seem so different from their looks and personalities collided. Ashlyn was raised in a world where appearances matters, social status and also relationships. Taught to follow her father’s step, having her degree, putting her family’s need before hers.
One day, everything changed when she met Ethan. Definitely not someone she would have met in her social circle. Too pierced, too tattooed and well too young. I like stories when you are challenged, when things are unexpected. Even if the story of a woman older and falling in love with a younger man should be predictable, it definitely wasn’t and I loved it.
The upfront tone, refreshing side, melting with such sincerity, sensibility about that young man who was misunderstood his whole life warmed my heart. Ethan was a character that won’t leave anyone indifferent. The more I’ve read about him, the more he won me over, as well as Ashlyn heart. He was the breath of fresh air in her predictable life, determined by her social status.
For once, she was stepping out her comfort zone, when she would be judged. As much as their story would have ended in a disaster, fighting for what felt right was so worth it and I so believed that. There’s no right time to find love and sometimes it just happens in the most unexpected places. I instantly connected with them, I appreciated to see their flaws and doubts. The characters that felt real to me. Ashlyn was the one to have her world turned upside down, the moment she met Ethan. For someone very young, I was appealed by his maturity and spontaneousness. To seize the moment and not to waste time.
Surprisingly, things were going fast but it didn’t make it less believable. It was poignant, fearless and overwhelming, but written with a certain lightness. Never falling into pathos.
The kind of story I love to read.
The author delivers a beautiful and emotional story, proving that when you love someone fiercely as they did, any battle and obstacles in the way made you stronger. I enjoyed reading their journey when they fought hard, showing how magnificent and pure love could be. A beautiful lesson of courage, friendship and love. Swoon, swoon.
