EASY by Tammara Webber-a review

ABOUT THE BOOK: A girl who believes trust can be misplaced, promises are made to be broken, and loyalty is an illusion. A boy who believes truth is relative, lies can mask unbearable pain, and guilt is eternal. Will what they find in each other validate their conclusions, or disprove them all?

When Jacqueline follows her longtime boyfriend to the college of his choice, the last thing she expects is a breakup two months into sophomore year. After two weeks in shock, she wakes up to her new reality: she’s single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, ignored by her former circle of friends, and failing a class for the first time in her life.

Leaving a party alone, Jacqueline is assaulted by her ex’s frat brother. Rescued by a stranger who seems to be in the right place at the right time, she wants nothing more than to forget the attack and that night–but her savior, Lucas, sits on the back row of her econ class, sketching in a notebook and staring at her. Her friends nominate him to be the perfect rebound.

When her attacker turns stalker, Jacqueline has a choice: crumple in defeat or learn to fight back. Lucas remains protective, but he’s hiding secrets of his own. Suddenly appearances are everything, and knowing who to trust is anything but easy.

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REVIEW: I guess I am a little late on the EASY review train but when I read so many 5 star and A ratings for this ‘mature YA’ or ‘new adult’ contemporary storyline I had to take a chance and….. it was well worth it.

EASY is not the usual YA storyline: First, it is mature YA-there are a few non-graphic sex scenes; all of the characters are over 20 years of age. Secondly, there is no love triangle (get down on my knees and gives thanks). Thirdly, most of the storyline takes place on the university campus and involves third and fourth year students and, their family and friends.

The storyline begins with a sexual assault against our heroine Jacqueline Wallace and progresses through the emotional turmoil, a women must face, when her personal space and private life have been violated. We are taken on a journey that follows Jacqueline as she refuses to file charges against her ex-boyfriend’s frat brother and the ensuing changes that her life will follow at the hands of her ‘knight in shining armor’. Only this knight’s armor has a few blemishes that Jacqueline hopes to discover.

Lucas is our reluctant hero. After rescuing Jacqueline from her would-be rapist, Lucas seems to be everywhere Jacqueline is-coincidence? Jacqueline is unsure but she will soon realize that Lucas has long been a part of her everyday curriculum at school and she had never taken the time to look at the world around her-so wrapped up in her previous relationship, she hadn’t even noticed they were barely speaking to each other.

As the storyline develops Jacqueline’s friendship with Lucas strengthens with each encounter and it helps that Lucas seems to be everywhere on campus and involved with a myriad of events and volunteer programs where Jacqueline has become involved. Luke has a few secret of his own including a dark past that hits too close to home with Jacqueline’s assault.

Tammara Webber weaves together the lives of friends who must endure the humiliation of rejection and betrayal, fear of potential retaliation and the love and support of roommates and pals. There are some fascinating and colorful secondary characters who lives intertwine on a daily basis especially Jacqueline’s tutor and, her roommate Erin. But not everyone is who he or she seems to be.

EASY is a well-written and personally engaging storyline that grabs you from the very start. Tammara has written a novel that is worth the price of admission and one that every young woman should read. Sexual assault and rape must be reported and, the old boys clubs and fraternities must be held accountable for their actions when one of their own hides behind the power of old money and the public persona of institutions and the elite. EASY is an amazing storyline from the pen of Tammara Webber.

ORDER LINKS: Amazon / Barnes and Noble / The Book Depository / KOBO /

Reviewed by Sandy