Review : Tease by Sophie Jordan

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : Tease (The Ivy Chronicles #2)
Author : Sophie Jordan
Publication Date : May 27th 2014
Publisher : William Morrow Paperbacks 
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble 

What happens when a girl who always calls the shots meets a guy who's too wild for even her?

A born flirt and good-time party girl, Emerson has never had a problem finding a willing guy. She's always chosen her hookups carefully, and she's never broken her three cardinal rules:

Never let them see the real you.
Never fall in love.
Always leave them begging for more.

Then Shaw comes along. A hottie from the wrong side of the tracks, he's immune to her flirtatious banter and come-hither smile. After rescuing her from a disastrous night at a biker bar, he doesn't even try to take her to bed—he calls her a tease and sends her home instead. Unable to resist a challenge, or forget the sexy, dark-eyed, bad-boy biker, she vows to bring him to his knees.

But instead of making Shaw beg, Emerson finds herself craving him. For the first time in her life, she's throwing out her rule book. Suddenly, she's the one panting for a guy she can't control—a guy who won't settle for anything less than the real Emerson and who forces her to do things she's never imagined, including facing a past she thought she'd buried.

A guy who just might leave her wanting more. . . .

Personal Thoughts

When I read Foreplay last year, I fell in love with Sophie Jordan's writing, especially because she had a pretty typical NA plot, but she somehow managed to make it her own. So, I was pretty excited to read Emerson's story, Tease. While Tease wasn't as good as Foreplay for me, it was still an enjoyable and romantic read, which undoubtedly could have been stronger had Emerson been a bit more likeable.

Emerson, unlike, Pepper, was a character who was very difficult to enjoy completely. She had her issues and her constant need to hide her past from the others was a little frustrating. It also got on my nerves how she repeatedly pushed away her love interest, Shaw, for most of the book. It also took her a very long time to grow throughout the book and I honestly can't say that I enjoyed her using boys as she did. It just wasn't a pleasant experience and she definitely came across as a tease. What made this book for me though was Shaw. I really enjoyed his character and I loved how he pushed Emerson to figure out her issues and deal with them. He was a sweet-heart to her and stood by her despite the crappy things she pulled on him. Despite my liking Shaw though, I felt like he wasn't as developed as I wanted him to be. Sure, he was sexy, sweet and had a romantic side, but I wanted to get to know him on a more emotional level. Perhaps his point of view would have helped in that part, but for the most part, we don't really get to know Shaw and his background very well.

Emerson's issues were what prevented me from fully enjoying this novel. My problem with them were that the author used a trope that is so common in NA contemporary romances. When you repeatedly have the same theme in books, it takes away from the freshness of the topic and as harsh as this may sound, makes it seem unimportant. I'm not going to divulge what Emerson's issues were, but if you read a lot of NA, you probably already know what it is. I also felt like at the end they remained kind of unresolved and I wished she had stood up to those people who had hurt her in her past. The romance between Emerson and Shaw was great though, especially because together, they had smoking chemistry. They do have a few hiccups along the way that I found a little frustrating, but I really enjoyed them as a couple. Regardless of my issues with Tease, Sophie Jordan's writing style makes up for most of it. Her writing is very much addictive and I ended up devouring this book in a few hours.

While Tease might not have been my favorite novel in this series, I have a strong feeling that the last book is going to be as good as Foreplay or even better judging from the couple and the excerpt. I definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a well-written NA romance book, but if you're not into angsty romances, I would look elsewhere.

Rating

Cover : 3/5
Plot : 3/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5

**Overall rating : 3.5/5**

Thank you to Edelweiss and William Morrow for the e-ARC of Tease.