Review Tour: Just One Year: Penelope Ward

by Kimbytx - Monday, February 24, 2020

JUST ONE YEAR

Penelope Ward

(A standalone)

Release date: February 24, 2020

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From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward, comes a new standalone novel.
The beginning of my sophomore year in college was off to a rough start. On the first day of orientation, I had an altercation with an infuriating British dude in a campus bathroom. (The ladies’ room was out of order. So, I used the men’s room. Don’t judge.) I got home later that night and realized that the foreign student we were expecting to rent a room in my parents’ house was allergic to our cat. So, the spare room went to someone else: Caleb—the British guy from the men’s room. And so it began…my love-hate story with Caleb Yates. Or was it hate-love in that order?
The guy knew how to push every one of my buttons. Sometimes I’d email him to express my aggravation and disdain. He’d actually rewrite my own words and send them back to me. That was the type of infuriating person Caleb was. So frustrating. And… Sometimes incredibly funny and endearingly sweet. And hot.
He eventually grew on me, and Caleb soon became one of my best friends that year. Too bad he was headed back to England soon, so nothing could happen between us—for so many reasons. I definitely couldn't fall in love with him, especially since all we had was just one year.

This is a story about two college-aged people that unexpectedly become an important part of each other's lives. After a not-so-meet-cute, the fact that Caleb is now going to be a replacement exchange student in Teagan's home might just be a bit awkward.

Teagan is highly intelligent, reserved, and likes to hide herself...literally. She does not bring attention to herself and even loves her isolated basement bedroom. She is not happy that a new person will be invading their home...especially one that is cute, charismatic, and exasperating.

Caleb Yates is happy to be in the U.S. for a year as an exchange student as it gets him away from his family life in England. He is smart, outspoken, distractible, and a bit judgmental. He tells Teagan things just like he sees them. And that sparks her to think about the things she takes for granted in her own life.

They enjoy challenging each other and eventually grow closer. They are catalysts for change as they open up and share their innermost secrets and fears, and start to live life more fully. But it is hard to keep things platonic due to fear of ruining a friendship and they know they are on borrowed time...just one year. But they have a natural attraction, chemistry, and bond that becomes harder and harder to deny.

Caleb is that broken hero I could not help but love. Despite the difficult things he had been through, for the most part, he is fun, witty, caring, and energetic. And I loved seeing Teagan coming out of her shell and becoming more aware of what she had been missing. They have fun banter and obvious chemistry, but their emotional attachment is the heart of this story.

This is a slow-burn, emotional, college romance of an unlikely pair that develops a connection they never expected. But their lives have built-in complications, and they both have insecurities, past issues to face, futures to plan, and growing to do.

Are they destined to just be a forgotten sweet romance or is there a chance for them to bridge the gap in their two worlds?

My heart hurt for these two as there was just no easy fix for them and life seemed to get in their way. The side characters and their backstories added a bit of mystery, tragedy, and depth to the story. I was engaged from the beginning and totally devoured this book.

Teagan is having a rough start to her sophomore year of college. Between not getting into the class of her choice and being caught by a hot Brit in the men's room, it was not what she was hoping for the first day of the new school year. Living at home for convenience and budget sounded like a good idea, but she also feels like she doesn’t quite belong with the rest of her family. Now that they’ve taken in an exchange student for the year, she is glad she can retreat to the basement and focus on herself.

Caleb Yates is in the US for an exchange year for his first year of university. He isn’t a traditional freshman, having taken time off to figure out what he wanted to do. He still isn’t sure, but he’s hoping a year away from home can help him exercise some of his demons. Though he thought he’d be living in the dorms, an opportunity to stay with a host family arose after the original student was allergic to the family cat.

I loved watching these two get to know each other and open up in ways they have avoided for years. Both are carrying past baggage that cause them to keep people at arms’ length. But this was a slow burn, for sure. There is no moving quickly for these two, which really means they formed a strong friendship before even considering crossing any lines.

I struggled with parts of this as I wondered how they could make it work. These two had such strong chemistry between them that I hated the thought that they wouldn’t figure things out, but I also felt that they were hurting others around them at times. I wasn’t fully on board for probably the first third to half of the story as I waited to see what would happen between them. But as I continued, my worries were for naught and thy stayed true to the promises they had made. I actually really ended up loving Teagan’s character progression a lot. She is probably the one who grew the most in accepting her past.

In the end, there was a lot to love here. Despite my minor hangups it was a quick read and I really did like the characters. Penelope Ward has a way of writing these emotional, slightly angsty stories that pull me in and don’t let me go!

COVER CREDITS::
Model: Chase Mattson
Photographer: Derick Smith
Cover designer: Letitia Hasser, RBA Designs

Penelope Ward

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.

She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.

With over two million books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over twenty novels. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.

BOOKS BY PENELOPE WARD: