Right of First Refusal by Dahlia Adler

Title: Right of First Refusal (Radleigh University #2)

Author: Dahlia Adler

Publisher: Self-Published

Release Date: March 15, 2016

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / B&N / Indigo

On the lacrosse field, Cait Johannssen 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?

Dahlia Adler’s Last Will and Testament was one of my favourite books of 2014 and today is still one of my all-time favourite books. I have basically been dying for more Radleigh University books since the moment I finished it. So when Right of First Refusal landed on my Kindle, I dropped everything to read it right away. And of course, I loved it.

When it comes to lacrosse, Cait knows exactly who she is and what she wants. And she knows exactly what to do to get it. Her personal life is a whole other story. Especially when she meets her new roommate and discovers that said roommate’s boyfriend is the boy she fell in love with and who broke her heart at sports camp years earlier. And apparently Cait’s not as over it as she thought. Yeah, that’s not awkward at all. What started out as Cait looking for a distraction from all the drama in her life, somehow turns into pretending to be a friend’s girlfriend and navigating a complicated web of lies. But no matter how much she tries to put him out her mind and move on, Cait soon realizes that she’s not over Mase and she’s ready to get him back.

I was so beyond excited when I woke up on Tuesday and Right of First Refusal was on my Kindle. I feel like I have been waiting for this book for forever and I was so freaking excited to finally be able to read it. So of course I jumped in right away. Well, as much as I could considering I was working that day. But any moment I wasn’t working, I was reading Right of First Refusal. And needless to say that I absolutely ADORED this book. I mean, it’s written by one of my go-to authors, it has a strong sports theme, it’s a second chance romance, and there’s awesome female friendship. What is there not to love about all that? For real, though, this story was fantastic for so many reasons and I could go on all day about how much I loved it. The thing Dahlia Adler does best is write all kinds of relationships that feel completely real. And there were so many great ones in this story. There was the friendships between Cait, Lizzie and Frankie that made me wish I could be part of their trio (which I guess would make us a foursome, but I digress). The camaraderie between Cait and all her teammates on the lacrosse team. The complicated dynamics of Cait’s relationship with her father as he’s starting a new part of his life. Cait’s tricky relationship with her new roommate. Even Cait’s relationship with lacrosse, the sport that got her through the toughest parts of her life. All those relationship felt so real and complex, and the way they were all woven together added so much to the story. But the most important of all was the whole “you-were-my-first-love-until-you-broke-my-heart-and-now-you’re-my-new-roommate’s-boyfriend” situation between Cait and Mase. To say it was complicated would be an understatement. But it made for a compelling read, that’s for sure.

Let me just start off by saying (well, repeating, actually) that I want to be best friends with Cait, Lizzie and Frankie. Their friendship and their love for each other completely leaps off the page and makes me want so badly to be a part of it. On the surface, the three of them don’t really look like they have much in common, but that doesn’t really matter to them and that’s what makes their friendship so great. They love each other and are always ready to be there for each other, no questions asked and without judgement. At its core, Right of First Refusal may be a romance, but Dahlia Adler does a fantastic job also making this a story about friendship. Speaking of the romance, it was also pretty freaking great. I’m a sucker for any kind of second chance romance and that’s exactly what I got here. It was interesting seeing Cait work through everything as she was trying to figure out her feelings about Mase while also coming to terms with who she was herself. Her confusion over her feelings felt real and made her story that much more of a compelling read. And I could more than understand why she wanted to be with Mase because she made him sound pretty great. I loved getting to see the different sides of his personality, the way he would go from being hard and closed-off to the way he would be with the kids he coached basketball. It’s really no wonder that Cait fell for him. Twice. I mean, I had totally fallen for him by the time I got to the end of the story. Which speaking of the end of the story, can I just have Frankie and Samara’s story now? Because I really, absolutely cannot wait to read it in Out on Good Behavior.

If you made it through this ramble-y mess, I love you. Almost, but not quite as much I loved Dahlia Adler’s Right of First Refusal. I could keep going on all day about everything I loved about this story. But I won’t. Go read it and find out for yourself just how awesome it is. While you do that, I’ll be right here counting down the days until I can read Out on Good Behavior.

Just Visiting by Dahlia Adler

Title: Just Visiting

Author: Dahlia Adler

Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary

Release Date: November 17, 2015

Source: ARC from author

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Reagan Forrester wants out—out of her trailer park, out of reach of her freeloading mother, and out of the shadow of the relationship that made her the pariah of Charytan, Kansas.

Victoria Reyes wants in—in to a fashion program, in to the arms of a cute guy who doesn’t go to Charytan High, and in to a city where she won’t stand out for being Mexican.

One thing the polar-opposite best friends do agree on is that wherever they go, they’re staying together. But when they set off on a series of college visits at the start of their senior year, they quickly see that he future doesn’t look quite like they expected. After two years of near-solitude following the betrayal of the ex-boyfriend who broke her heart, Reagan falls hard and fast for a Battlestar Galactica-loving, brilliant smile-sporting pre-med prospective…only to learn she’s set herself up for heartbreak all over again. Meanwhile, Victoria runs full-speed toward all the things she thinks she wants…only to realize everything she’s looking for might be in the very place they’ve sworn to leave. 

As both Reagan and Victoria struggle to learn who they are and what they want in the present, they discover just how much they don’t know about each other’s pasts. And when each learns what the other’s been hiding, they’ll have to decide whether their friendship has a future.

I have yet to meet a book by Dahlia Adler that I haven’t loved. And every time I hear she has a new one coming out, I get really excited. It’s just one of those things. When I heard about Just Visiting, it had all the makings of a book I would love. And I did, in fact, absolutely love Just Visiting.

Reagan and Victoria have a plan: they’re going to finish high school and get out of Charytan, Kansas together to go to college. All they have to do is get through this last year and figure out which college they will go to. Or at least that’s always been their plan. But as they start visiting colleges, Reagan and Victoria realize that the plan might not be what they want anymore. Reagan is still determined to leave the trailer park behind and she won’t let herself fall for a boy again. Except for that one boy she meets on a college visit. She knows it’s never going to work, but she can’t help it. Victoria has been looking forward to the day where she will be in a city where she won’t be the only Mexican. Going away to college seems to be the solution. But the more colleges she visits, the more she realizes that what she wants might be in the place where she already is. As Reagan and Victoria figure out what they want, they can’t help but fear that what they discover about themselves and each other could mean the end of their friendship.

As I’ve already said, I’ve yet to meet a book written by Dahlia Adler that I haven’t loved. She just has a way of writing stories that works for me, no matter what they’re about. When I first heard about Just Visiting, I was so excited. Not only was it a contemporary romance (which, you know, Emilie bait) but it was one that put a strong focus on friendship. And not just any friendship, but awesome girl friendship. So yeah, I was excited and I want it to read it. And once I started reading, Just Visiting didn’t disappoint me. I loved how well Dahlia Adler captured that feeling that comes with choosing what path you’re going to take after high school, those feelings that come with thinking you know what you want but realizing that what you actually want is something completely different and not knowing what to do about it, and the confusion that comes from trying to make what you want line up with what everyone else around you wants. That combined with the romance and friendship just made for a compelling story and it just worked for me. 

On paper, Reagan and Victoria didn’t really make sense as friends and I think that’s why I loved them so much. Because their friendship wasn’t so much about what they had in common so much as it was about them being there for each other and supporting the other. And I loved that their friendship wasn’t perfect. It made it feel that much more real. It doesn’t hurt that Reagan and Victoria were also pretty fantastic outside of their friendship with each other. Even when she didn’t necessarily make it easy, I loved Reagan from pretty early on and I wanted the best for her. When I finally found out everything that had happened to her, my heart completely broke for her and it just reinforced how much I wanted her to get some good and happiness. And I understood Victoria on so many levels, especially when it came to fitting together what she wanted with what she thought everyone expected her to do. I admired her passion and her loyalty and I wouldn’t have minded having a friend like her. But who I really want to mention is Dev. I mean, can we take a moment to discuss just how adorable and sweet he was? Because he absolutely was and a smile broke out on my face anytime he made an appearance. 

Dahlia Adler’s Just Visiting was everything I had hoped it would be. This story perfectly balanced friendship and romance and truly captured the challenges that come with choosing what to do after high school. And it should obviously go without saying that if you haven’t yet read one of Dahlia Adler’s books yet, you should get on that.

Blog Tour - Under the Lights by Dahlia Adler

Title: Under the Lights (Daylight Falls #2)

Author: Dahlia Adler

Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary

Release Date: June 30, 2015

Source: ARC from Publisher

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

Josh Chester loves being a Hollywood bad boy, coasting on his good looks, his parties, his parents’ wealth, and the occasional modelling gig. But his laid-back lifestyle is about to change. To help out his best friend, Liam, he joins his hit teen TV show, Daylight Falls…opposite Vanessa Park, the one actor immune to his charms (Not that he’s trying to charm her, of course). Meanwhile, his drama-queen mother blackmails him into a new family reality TV show, with Josh in the starring role. Now that he’s in the spotlight—on everyone’s terms but his own—Josh has to decide whether a life as a superstar is the one he really wants.

Vanessa Park has always been certain about her path as an actor, despite her parents’ disapproval. But with all her relationships currently in upheaval, she’s painfully uncertain about everything else. When she meets her new career handler, Brianna, Van is relieved to have found someone she can rely on, now that her BFF, Ally, is at college across the country. But as feelings unexpectedly evolve beyond friendship, Van’s life reaches a whole new level of confusing. And she’ll have to choose between the on thing she’s always loved…and the person she never imagined she could.

It’s only just recently that I finally read Dahlia Adler’s Behind the Scenes, but as soon as I was finished reading I knew I needed Under the Lights. I was so excited about reading this story and I’m so happy it lived up to everything I built it up to be in my mind.

Josh Chester has a reputation as a Hollywood bad boy and he loves it. But lately, Josh is getting tired of the bad boy lifestyle. Especially when it involves being blackmailed by his own mother to be on a reality TV show. In an effort to get out of it, and to help out his best friend and help his own reputation, Josh takes a guest starring role on Daylight Falls, playing Vanessa Park’s new love interest. But unlike every other female in Hollywood, Vanessa is completely unaffected by Josh, and that only makes him more intent on charming her. For maybe five seconds, Vanessa was interested in Josh. But that was al on time ago. Now, she sees him for who she really is and the last thing she wants is to have to act opposite him on her TV show. She already has enough on her plate with her best friend having moved across the country for college and the feelings she’s been having for Brianna, her publicist’s new intern. There’s never been a single doubt in Vanessa’s mind about wanting to be an actor, but can she still do that while also being with the person she never could have imagined she would want. 

When I read Behind the Scenes a couple months ago, I read it in the span of a day. I got sucked into the story and I didn’t want to stop reading. So guess what happened when I started reading Under the Lights? If you guessed that I read it in a day, you would be right. It’s typically what happens when I read one of Dahlia Adler’s books. So Under the Lights. I was so excited to read it. But at the same time, I was curious as to how a story told in alternating perspectives by characters who aren’t love interests for each other would work. I mean, in my experience, when there’s alternating points of view, those two people tend to end up together. But that wasn’t the case with Josh and Vanessa. Instead, this ended up being a story about their friendship, which I pretty much loved. But outside of the unlikely (and at times very amusing) friendship between those two, this was obviously also about the romance. And that wasn’t a “traditional” romance. Dahlia Adler wrote a romance between two girls that felt completely real, and reading about it and the difficulties that came with it at times broke my heart. But what I loved most of all about the romance between Vanessa and Brianna was that Dahlia Adler wasn’t afraid to go places that you don’t necessarily see in other YA novels, even LGBTQ ones. So many of the scenes between Van and Bri were touching and heartwarming and ultimately that had a lot to do with the two girls themselves.

It didn’t take long at all for me to start rooting for Vanessa and Brianna. I already knew Vanessa from Behind the Scenes, but I didn’t know everything that was going on inside her head. How she was questioning every romantic relationship she’d had in her life because none of them had ever felt the way she was told they were supposed to feel. I could tell how much she was struggling and I wanted so much for her to find that thing she was looking for that she had heard so much about. And that’s where Brianna came in. Brianna knew exactly who she was, and who she wanted. But just like Van, Bri also had her own insecurities and struggles. And the two of them together were fantastic. I’ve said it already, but I was rooting for them right away. And then they broke my heart a few times. And then they put it back together. So I loved them. And then there was Josh. I’m not exactly sure how to put Josh into words. But as horrible of a human being as he could be, I liked him right away (don’t know what that says about me, though). And that’s because I knew that he wasn’t the asshole he let people believe he was. In his own way, he was there for the people he cared about, even if he sometimes didn’t know exactly how to show it. So I loved seeing him come into his own over the course of the book. I loved seeing him figure out who he was and who he wanted to be. And as I mentioned earlier, I loved seeing his friendship with Vanessa develop. A friendship between those two didn’t exactly make sense (he calls her K-drama because she’s Korean-American and an actress—and as offensive as it was, he meant lovingly…for the most part). But both of them needed that friendship in their lives, they just didn’t know it. But I loved it all the same. 

As you might have guessed by now, I absolutely loved Dahlia Adler’s Under the Lights. This was a beautiful story about a friendship between a boy and a girl, and a romance between two girls. But I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

Favorite Quotes!

As part of the tour, I was asked to share some of my favorite quotes from Under the Lights. There were so many quotes that I could share, but here are three of my favorites, one each from Vanessa, Brianna and Josh.

Giveaway!

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Behind the Scenes by Dahlia Adler

Title: Behind the Scenes (Daylight Falls #1)

Author: Dahlia Adler

Publisher: Spencer Hill Contemporary

Release Date: June 24, 2014

Source: Purchased

Buy the Book: Amazon / Book Depository / Indigo

High school senior Ally Duncan’s best friend may be the Vanessa Park — star of TV’s hottest new teen drama — but Ally’s not interested in following in her BFF’s Hollywood footsteps. In fact, the only thing Ally’s ever really wanted is to go to Columbia and study abroad in Paris. But when her father’s mounting medical bills threaten to stop her dream in its tracks, Ally nabs a position as Van’s on-set assistant to get the cash she needs.

Spending the extra time with Van turns out to be fun, and getting to know her sexy co-star Liam is an added bonus. But when the actors’ publicist arranges for Van and Liam to “date” for the tabloids just after he and Ally share their first kiss, Ally will have to decide exactly what role she’s capable of playing in their world of make believe. If she can’t play by Hollywood’s rules, she may lose her best friend, her dream future, and her first shot at love.

Guys I love stories set in Hollywood. For real. All you need to tell me about a book is that it’s set in Holly or some part of it takes place in the TV and movie world and I am willing to read it. So why it took me so long to finally read Dahlia Adler’s Behind the Scenes, I will never know. But I am so, so happy that I finally did. 

Despite being best friends with an actress, Ally has never had any desire to lead the kind of life her best friend Vanessa does. The last thing Ally wants is to have paparazzi following her around and be recognized everywhere she goes. What Ally really wants is to move to New York to study at Columbia and study abroad in Paris. And she was on track for doing just that before her dad got sick and the medical bills meant her parents had to dip into her college fund. To make her dream happen, Ally is forced to take a job as her best friend’s on-set assistant. Getting to spend extra time with Vanessa isn’t too bad, and neither is getting to spend time with Liam, her co-star. And finding out just how much she has in common with Liam is even better. Until Vanessa and Liam’s publicist decides the two of them need to “date” to generate buzz for their new TV show. Can Ally be okay with seeing her best friend and her boyfriend kiss even if she knows it’s not real? If she can’t, Ally will be losing her best friend, her first chance at love and her dream future. 

Guys. How did I not read this book sooner? Late last year, I read Dahlia Adler’s NA debut, Last Will and Testament, and absolutely loved it so I don’t know why it took me so long to pick up her YA debut. I mean, really. This book has my name written all over it. This is a contemporary romance set in Hollywood with awesome best friends and swoony actors. It could not have been a more perfect book for me. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise at all that I loved Behind the Scenes and read it in a day. This story completely sucked me in. Sure, I was a sucker for the Hollywood aspect, but I also really loved reading about the friendship between Ally and Vanessa. There needs to be more awesome female friendships in YA, even if they aren’t the sole focus of the story. The one in Behind the Scenes made me wish for that kind of friendship (paparazzi and fake relationships, aside) and whenever there were scenes with Ally and Vanessa just being great friends it put a smile on my face. It should also go without saying that the romance was great. I mean, it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing considering one half of the couple had to pretend to date the other half’s best friend. Things got messy, but that’s how relationships are so it felt real the whole time I was reading. And the fact that Ally and Liam were totally adorable together didn’t exactly hurt either. 

Right from page one, I loved Ally. Despite the fact that her best friend was a famous actress, she didn’t ever see herself as being in her shadow and I LOVED that. She was her own person outside her friendship with Vanessa and she was driven and had a determination that I really admired. I mean, this girl was willing to do what it takes to make her dreams happen. But what I loved about Ally was that I also got to see her more vulnerable side while I was reading. There were moments where she questioned everything, both in terms of her future and with what was going to happen to her dad. But I would be lying if I didn’t say that most of all I loved seeing her being all adorable and couple-y with Liam. And Liam wasn’t entirely who I thought he was going to be. It’s not like I expected him to just be a stereotypical actor-type, but he was so much more than I thought. And of course that just made me love him so much more. I loved how he just got to be Liam, teenage guy, with Ally and she didn’t expect him to be any more than that. And I really loved who that was. And I just loved Ally and Liam, that’s all there is to it. I will also say that what I got to see of Vanessa and Josh has made me plenty excited to read their story in Under the Lights.

Dahlia Adler’s Behind the Scenes was such a “me” kind of book and I loved every minute I spent reading it. This was the perfect contemporary romance and the Holly setting was just an added bonus. And I can’t wait to read more of this story in Under the Lights!

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.