Right of First Refusal by Dahlia Adler
Release Date: March 15, 2016
Publisher: Smashwords
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 978-0990916840
Source: Bought
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On the lacrosse field, Cait Johanssen gets what she wants. Off the field is another story. Because what she wants is the school’s hot new basketball student-coach, Lawrence Mason, who also happens to be the guy who broke her heart in sports camp two years earlier.
But it’s Cait’s new roommate who’s got him.
Cait and Mase agree it’s best to keep their past a secret, but she doesn’t expect him to completely ignore their history…or how much it’ll hurt when he does. So when a friend on the basketball team asks her to pose as his girlfriend for a night, Cait can’t turn down the opportunity for distraction. (Okay, and a little spite.) But what starts as an evening of fun turns into a fake relationship with more lies than the usually drama-free Cait can handle, and it’s only keeping her from the one truth that’s nagged at her for years: Why did Mase cut her out of his life to begin with?
And is it really too late to get him back?
*****
This winter, the second book in the Radleigh University companion series released and this spring, tomorrow to be exact, the next book, Out on Good Behavior releases. So I thought it fitting to finally talk about Right of First Refusal which follows Cait, a college student who discovers that she already knows and is very familiar with her new roommate’s boyfriend. It’s as juicy as it sounds, so if you’re looking for a bit of a thrill here, you’ve got it. And while Right of First Refusal is steamy, dare I say it was not as steamy as I expected it to be! Ha. Who would have thought I’d say that?! Anyway…
I was actually way more interested in and connected more to the exploration of other relationships like the celebration of healthy female friendships which we see through Cait, Lizzie, and Frankie. Ahhh, it was so great to see Lizzie and Frankie again, and yes, we do get Lizzie’s boyfriend, Connor as well. Also, I really appreciated seeing the strained relationship that Cait has with her father because of being able to relate (thought not for the same reasons, to be clear). All of the relationship dynamics that weren’t romantic really spoke to me and were so well executed and just might be what I remember most about this book. “Why?” you ask…
Well, I’m not much of a contemporary reader nor am I into romance so reading a contemporary romance is a big deal for me and sometimes I am blown away, other times content, though most times, I don’t make it past the first chapter because I know it’s just not for me. This, I was content with. The romance here didn’t do anything for me but there was enough of other compelling stuff happening that this kept me fully engaged and satisfied.
Do I wish I was able to connect more with the romance? Of course. All of Adler’s past romances that I’ve read I’ve loved, so I’m not going to lie, I had high expectations. But this is the reminder that I’m just not going to connect with every romance on my TBR list, even the ones that I’m highly anticipating. I was still able to have an enjoyable reading experience and that’s a great testament to Adler’s writing. It’s well rounded and complex in its storytelling, characters, and arcs, is realistically diverse, and is the perfect summer day read if you want more than the sun’s rays to heat you up.
This didn’t hit the bullseye but it was a solid read for me and if you haven’t yet checked out Right of First Refusal or the first book in the companion series, Last Will and Testament, I highly encourage you read Last Will and Testament and then move onto Right of First Refusal. You can read them out of order since they are companions to each other but it’s just more fun if you read them in order. You might love both or find that like me, you come away loving one and simply liking the other. Regardless, you’ll come away with positive vibes from both books, so go ahead and take the plunge!
Right of First Refusal by Dahlia Adler is available now.