Last Will and Testament by Dahlia Adler

Title: Last Will and Testament (Radleigh University #1)

Author: Dahlia Adler

Publisher: Dahlia Adler

Release Date: December 9, 2014

Source: ARC from author

Buy the Book: Amazon / Indigo / B&N

Lizzie Brandt was valedictorian of her high school class, but at Radleigh University, all she’s acing are partying and hooking up with the wrong guys. But all that changes when her parents are killed in a tragic accident, making her guardian to her two younger brothers. To keep them out of foster care, she’ll have to fix up her image, her life, and her GPA—fast. Too bad the only person on campus she can go to for help is her humorless, pedantic Byzantine History TA, Connor Lawson, who isn’t exactly Lizzie’s biggest fan.

But Connor surprises her. Not only is a he a great tutor, but he’s also a pretty great babysitter. And chauffeur. And listener. And he understands exactly what it’s like to be on your own before you’re ready. Before long, Lizzie realizes having a responsible-adult type around has its perks…and that she’d like to do some rather irresponsible (but considerably adult) things with him as well. Good thing he’s not the kind of guy who’d ever reciprocate. 

Until he does.

Until they turn into far more than teacher and student.

Until the relationship that helped her put their lives back together threatens everything they both have left.

Guys, I love New Adult. This shouldn't be news to anyone if you've been hanging around here for a while, but I thought I would restate that just because I can. The latest in the string of awesome New Adult I've read is Dahlia Adler's Last Will and Testament. I tore through this book and I loved every last page of it.

Though she may have been focused on her future when she was in high school, now that she's in college, Lizzie Brandt has other priorities. Her priorities tend to land more in the having fun category than in the academic achievement category. But that quickly changes when her parents are in a deadly car accident and Lizzie is left to care for her two younger brothers. If she doesn't, they're going to end up in foster care and that's the last thing she wants. That means Lizzie has to clean up her act, fast. And there to help with it all is Connor Lawson, her history TA. A TA who should be completely off limits, if he weren't so great at being there for Lizzie and her brothers. Both of them know that they should fight their attraction for each other. But that's a easier said than done.

Teacher and student relationships are always interesting. And I'm quite ambivalent about them. Sometimes they just don't work. And other times I am rooting for that relationship all the way. Dahlia Adler's Last Will and Testament was definitely the second kind. I was rooting for these characters and for them to be able to be together. And in large part, that's because of the way Dahlia Adler wrote this story. Right from page one, this story hits you in the feels. You've barely had a chance to meet Lizzie, the main character, when she finds out that her parents have been killed. And from there, the emotions keep on coming. And all those emotions made it so I got really invested in this story. A whole lot more invested than I thought I was going to get. And because I got this invested in the story, I really wanted this relationship to work out. Heck, after a while I even stopped thinking about the fact the Connor was Lizzie's TA, making her his student. They were just two people and I wanted their relationship to work out. Because they both needed it so much.

Have I mentioned that I loved Lizzie and Connor? If I haven't, I'm saying it now. They were both great and I wanted the best for both of them. Lizzie definitely get it easy, and I have a lot of respect for her. It's not every eighteen year old who would be willing to become the legal guardian of her two younger brothers. And Lizzie tried to make it work as best as she could...and that meant getting Connor involved. Both in her life and in her brother's life. Even though that second part may not have exactly been intentional. Though I can hardly blame Lizzie, because Connor was pretty damn awesome. There's something to be said for the sexy history nerd. And Connor was all that, and a whole lot more. If I'm being honest though, one of my favourite thing about Connor was his choice of curse words. As a good French Canadian, I smiled anytime he swore and it was in French, because doing so in English didn't have the same effect (and I can totally relate to that).

So. You should all go and read Dahlia Adler's Last Will and Testament, especially if you like to have your heartstrings pulled at. This story will do just that, all the while making you smile and root for this couple. Now I just need to go and get my hands on Dahlia Adler's other books.