Losing It by Cora Carmack

Title: Losing It (Losing It #1)

Author: Cora Carmack

Publisher: William Morrow

Release Date: February 15, 2013

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository

Virginity.

Bliss Edwards is about to graduate from college and still has hers. Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, she decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible--a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gores guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with a half-a-brain would ever believe. 

And if that wasn't embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor.

She'd left him name in her bed about 8 hours earlier.

Cora Carmack's Losing It was the first New Adult novel I read. When I picked it up, it wasn't because I had this burning need to read NA but rather that everyone seemed to be raving about this book and I wanted to find out what the big deal was. And boy did I find out. I read Losing It in one sitting and proceeded to realize that I could really be into this whole New Adult deal.

With only one semester of college left, Bliss is starting to wonder if she's ever going to lose her virginity. It's not that she's a prude. She just has certain standards. But as the end of her college days near, she decides to do something about it. With the help of her best friend, Bliss sets out to find someone with whom she can have a one-night stand. And everything is going well. Until they're back at her house and she starts to panic. The next thing she knows she is giving the gorgeous guy in her bed a crap excuse and rushes out the door. Ready to put this unfortunate encounter out of her mind, Bliss heads to class the next day only to come face to face with her new theatre professor. Who happens to be none other than the gorgeous guy she abandoned about 8 hours earlier. 

I've already shared my thoughts quite extensively on New Adult and what I like about it, so I'll spare you from that in this review. I will, however, say this: it's really awesome to be able to read about characters who are going through some of the same experiences I am currently going through. I think that's what appealed so much to me with Cora Carmack's Losing It. The fact that the story closely resembled some of my recent experiences made it so I could relate not just to the characters, but also to the story. Just shortly before reading the book, I went through my last semester of university and found myself in many of the same situations as the characters in the story. I don't mean to say that I abandoned a gorgeous boy in my bed one night, but rather that I could relate to the life changes associated with the end of university or college. I know what it feels like to start that last semester not really knowing what comes next and the fears and anxieties that can be associated with that. That aspect of the story definitely felt realistic and helped hook me. That, and, you know, the whole romance side of things wasn't half bad.

Right from the start, I found myself relating to Bliss in a scary number of ways. And that definitely hooked me. There were so many moments in the story where I was thinking to myself "been there, done that" and that's what kept me reading. It made the story feel realistic, to the point where it felt like I was reading something that, in some ways, could totally have been happening to me. And much like Bliss was at times, I'm pretty sure I would be completely tongue-tied if I ever came face to face with someone like Garrick. A British accent and gorgeous looks? I'd be a total goner. But Garrick was also a lot more than those two characteristics. He was also incredibly smart and incredibly sweet when the occasion presented itself. And the chemistry between him and Bliss was obvious and so much fun to read about. More or less the whole time I was reading I had a smile on my face. There are some other characters in this story I really connected with *cough*Cade*cough*, but I'll leave that to future reviews.

Cora Carmack's Losing It was as good as everyone said it was. It was a great contemporary romance story that will appeal to an older audience. And if you're unsure about this whole New Adult thing, books like Losing It might just help sell you on the whole thing.