The Freshman (College Years 1) by Monica Murphy-Review Tour

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 22, 2021

I started flirting with a guy while waiting for my car to be serviced. Now granted, he wasn’t just any guy. Tall. Dark. Hot. Mysterious. Can you blame me for wanting to talk to him? He’s in town visiting his parents. So am I. He goes to the same college as I do. Such a coincidence. Almost as if our meeting is destined…

But I shouldn’t believe in that sort of thing. I am single as a Pringle and always ready to mingle. Until I keep running into Mr. Tall, Dark and Mysterious everywhere I go. Tony Sorrento. Turns out he’s on the football team. I mean, I’m not one to chase after a sexy jock but, okay. I’m down. And did I mention he’s only a freshman?

Our fathers are business rivals, and they forbid us from dating. We need to keep this on the low. Can we remain friendly? Sure. Maybe turn our friendship into friends with benefits? Most definitely. Here’s the thing though. I didn’t plan on catching feelings for him so quickly. Seems like he’s falling pretty hard for me too.

Defying our fathers’ wishes is only asking for trouble, but is being with Tony worth the risk?

••••••••

REVIEW:THE FRESHMAN is the first instalment in Monica Murphy’s contemporary, new adult THE COLLEGE YEARS romance series-a spin off from the author’s THE CALLAHANS. This is eighteen year old, college freshman Tony Sorrento, and twenty year old junior Hayden Channing’s story line. You do not have to have read The Callahans but I recommend reading the series for back story and cohesion as The College Years focuses on the secondary characters from the previous series.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Tony and Hayden) THE FRESHMAN follows the forbidden relationship between eighteen year old college freshman Tony Sorrento, and twenty year old college junior Hayden Channing. Hayden and Tony had never met before the day they found themselves at the local car dealership but unbeknownst to our couple, Tony and Hayden’s father were business rivals, and as such were forbidden from seeing one another. Upon their return to college, Tony would run into Hayden, on the first of many meetings that would eventually lead to a romantic affair but as Tony’s love for Hayden grew, threats of another nature would force Tony to chose sides between the woman with whom he was falling in love, and the family he hadn’t been close to in a very long time. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Tony and Hayden, and the potential fall-out as keeping their relationship a secret is about to be exposed.

Hayden Channing struggles with the age difference between herself and Tony but more so the possibility that her relationship with Tony is about to affect her father’s business. Tony knows that once their relationship is exposed, there may be no going back but the Sorrento family dynamics is slowly deteriorating from within.

The relationship between Hayden and Tony is one of immediate attraction but their father’s rivalry is threatening any possibility of a happily ever after. Hayden continues to struggle with Tony’s age, and Tony struggles with what is happening back home. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate, without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including most if not all of the The Callahan leading couples. We are reintroduced to the original supporting characters, all of whom will have their own story to tell: Jackson and Caleb.

THE FRESHMAN is a fast paced, wonderful and exciting story line of forbidden romance; a slight age-gap love affair that is reinforced by Hayden’s continuous need to reflect on their differences. The premise is entertaining and captivating; the romance is tender and seductive; the characters are energetic and familiar but I struggled with the immature nature and attitude of the parents, often times reminiscent of what you would find in a young adult story line.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

Monica Murphy is the New York Times, USA Today and #1 international bestselling author of the One Week Girlfriend series, the Billionaire Bachelors and The Rules series. Her books have been translated in almost a dozen languages and has sold over one million copies worldwide. She is both self-published and published by Random House/Bantam and Harper Collins/Avon. She writes new adult, young adult and contemporary romance.

She is a wife and a mother of three who lives in central California on fourteen acres in the middle of nowhere along with their one dog and too many cats. A self-confessed workaholic, when she’s not writing, she’s reading or hanging out with her husband and kids. She’s a firm believer in happy endings, though she will admit to putting her characters through angst-filled moments before they finally get that hard won HEA.

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