Can't Keep Us Apart

Can't Keep Us Apart

• Feb 9, 2015

Boomerang by Noelle August

Release Date: July 8, 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins | William Morrow
Pages: 325 pages
Source & Format: Bought; Kindle
Series: Boomerang #1
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Summary (from Goodreads)

Welcome to Boomerang.com, the dating site for the millennial gen with its no-fuss, no-commitments matchups, and where work is steamier than any random hook-up.

Mia Galliano is an aspiring filmmaker. Ethan Vance has just played his last game as a collegiate soccer star. They’re sharp, hungry for success, and they share a secret. Last night, Ethan and Mia met at a bar, and, well... one thing led to another, which led to them waking up the next morning — together. Things turned awkward in a hurry when they found themselves sharing a post hookup taxi... to the same place: Boomerang headquarters.

What began as a powerful connection between them is treated to a cold shower courtesy of two major complications. First, Boomerang has a strict policy against co-worker dating. And second, they’re now competitors for only one job at the end of summer.

As their internships come to an end, will they manage to keep their eyes on the future and their hands off each other, or will the pull of attraction put them right back where they started?

Thoughts on Boomerang

I don't read very much New Adult because it often seems like sexed-up Young Adult. I would love more books with characters in the New Adult age range, but I also want them to be in situations that feel relatable. I don't want some big angsty dramafest! So when I heard Veronica Rossi was co-writing a New Adult series under a pen name, I knew I had to give it a shot. I trusted that she would write something that I'd enjoy!

Boomerang alternates between the two main characters: Mia Galliano and Ethan Vance. They meet at a bar, go home together... and then show up at work together the next morning. Yep, that's right. Mia and Ethan are both interning at Boomerang.com - a new dating site that's already making waves. The only problems? There's a strict no-dating policy, and there's only one job available at the end of the summer. They're now competitors and both are determined to win. Will they fight their attraction or end up right back where they started?

Reading Boomerang was like watching a romantic comedy. Was it kind of predictable? Sure. But did I have fun during the experience? Absolutely! I thought Mia and Ethan were both well-developed characters. You learn a lot about their families, their interests, their friends and their previous relationships. Thankfully, however, it never felt like an information dump. New facts were introduced in a way that made sense, and I was left feeling like I might know these people in real life.

The only thing I found occasionally frustrating was the drama associated with Mia and Ethan's previous relationships. They both had bad break-ups prior to meeting one another - the effects of those endings still lingering in their thoughts and impacting their choices. Combined with the conflict created by the no-dating policy, there were moments I just couldn't wait for them to commit or get over it.

I also didn't love the sexiness of it. There's a lot of sexual tension here, but I preferred the moments where Mia and Ethan were just talking or enjoying each other's company. I wanted fewer moments where they pondered their attraction to one another because it felt too instant and a bit excessive. Overall, I liked Boomerang but didn't love it. It was a fun, if predictable, escape! But hey, sometimes that's what I'm in the mood to read.

Rebound by Noelle August 

Release Date: February 10, 2015
Publisher: HarperCollins | William Morrow
Pages: 288 pages
Source & Format: Publisher; ARC
Series: Boomerang #2
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Summary (from Goodreads)

Adam Blackwood has it all. At twenty-two, he’s fabulously wealthy, Ryan Gosling-hot and at the top of the heap in the business world. His life is perfect, until a scandal from his past resurfaces and knocks the tech wunderkind down, throwing his company, Boomerang, a hook-up site for millennials, into chaos. 

Three years ago, Adam married his high school love—and then lost her in a tragic accident. Now, the heartbreak and guilt he’s tried to bury with work and women begins to take over his life. 

Alison Quick, the twenty-one-year-old daughter of a business tycoon—and the very ex-girlfriend of Boomerang’s former intern, Ethan—has a problem of her own. She’s got one chance to prove to her father that she deserves a place in his empire by grabbing control of Boomerang and taking Adam down.

But as Alison moves in on him, armed with a cadre of lawyers and accountants, she discovers there’s much more to Adam and Boomerang than meets the eye. Will earning her father’s approval come at the price of losing her first real love? It appears so, unless Adam can forgive her for wrecking his life and trying to steal his livelihood. But Alison hopes that old adage is right. Maybe love can conquer all.

Thoughts on Rebound

Not long after finishing Boomerang, I received a copy of Rebound for review. I was excited for the new installment in this series. Despite its predictability, I liked the first book and had a feeling I'd feel the same about the second. I also loved that it was focusing on secondary characters from the first book: Mia and Ethan's boss, Adam, and Ethan's ex-girlfriend Alison. Adam made perfect sense as the subject of Rebound - he definitely caught my attention in Boomerang. But I was surprised that Alison was the other main character because she's pretty unlikeable in Boomerang. However, I had a feeling we'd get to see another side of her.

Alison meets Adam when her father sends her in to Boomerang learn everything she can about the company. While Adam believes she's just there to help her father decide if he wants to invest in it, Alison's father has something else in mind. He wants Alison to get the scoop on Adam's mysterious past so that he can take control of Boomerang himself. Instead, Alison finds herself unable to resist her attraction to Adam. Soon enough, she learns his secret, the source of his pain and the reason he's poured himself into his work. But what will she do with this knowledge - and will it drive them apart?

I'd describe Rebound the same way I did Boomerang - fun but predictable. My issues with Rebound were also almost exactly the same as my issues with Boomerang. The drama in the book was sometimes quite annoying! Adam's past felt so anticlimactic, so I wasn't that emotional and invested in the way it played out. And since you already know Alison's past, I just kept waiting for that to rear its head. Combining their pasts with the pressure from Alison's father made it all a little too angsty for me. It was still a fun read, but I did find myself rolling my eyes at times.

It's also a much sexier read than I'd typically pick up, but I knew that going into it. Since Adam and Alison didn't seem quite as preoccupied with their attraction to one another as Mia and Ethan did, I found myself enjoying their relationship a little more. I loved the new things we learned about both characters, and I was glad that the authors had chosen them as the protagonists. They're different from Mia and Ethan, but it a good way. They stand on their own - and definitely made for an interesting read!

Rebound wasn't a life-changing or ground-breaking read, but it was fun way to spend a few hours! If you're a fan of New Adult, I think you'll enjoy this book. And if you're wary of New Adult, I think you'll find much to like about the way Veronica Rossi and Lorin Oberweger tackle this genre!

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review consideration. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review.