Monday, February 18, 2013

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Title: Losing It
Author: Cora Carmack
Series: Losing It, book #1
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date: February 26, 2013
Source: from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Virginity.

Bliss Edwards is about to graduate from college and still has hers. Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, she decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible-- a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if that weren’t embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She’d left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.


GAH!  Where was this book when I needed it all those years ago?!?  Losing It was such a fun, light-hearted  look at one young woman's misadventures while attempting to ensure she graduates from college without her virginity intact.  And it might have saved me some embarrassment back in the day.  At the very least, I could have used the sense of camaraderie I gleaned from this book back then.

Losing It is sexy, but it's not all about sex.  Sure, there's some of that in there -- guaranteeing that you won't want a younger audience reading it -- but a big part of this book focuses on friendships and relationships and how they evolve into more...or into nothing at all.  Losing It is honest and thoughtful, but it's also full of hilariously mortifying moments that make the story all that more genuine.  Oh, and all the Shakespeare references...be still my heart!  Some were comical and some were tragic, just like the man's plays, but all in all, their inclusion in the story was perfection.

My bestest reading buddy Em and I decided to knock a review book off our list whilst reading together, and we'd both eagerly been anticipating Losing It.  You can tell from our status updates on Goodreads (here and here) that we both had a lot of fun with this story, but in the beginning we had no idea just how much win this book would be when we deigned to read a mere five chapters a night.  We did okay that first night, despite a rather horrendous stopping point.  The second night, we caved and read two night's worth of chapters.  At the end of the third night, we had finished the book.  There was no holding ourselves back with this one.

Losing It has everything I'm looking for in a great contemporary novel:  realistic and witty and sometimes terribly awkward characters, a great plot full of uh-oh! and oh, yeah! moments, and clever dialogue full of awesome banter.  Plus, it's set in Texas, which you can never go wrong with in my book.  :)  This is one of those novels that I want to set aside for my daughter for when the time is right...like ten years from now.  It's full of astute observations from a slightly snarky protagonist, and it's the kind of story that I like to think will really help get some tough points across when it comes time to discuss the merits of waiting for the right person.

I am super stoked that this novel garnered so much attention as an indie that it was picked up by an imprint of HarperCollins.  I was even more excited to see that the cover for the companion novel Faking It was revealed on the very same day that Em and I started our little read-along.  I imagine that read-along will go even quicker than this one did.  (Em and I seriously have no self-control...but we're okay with that.)  At any rate, I definitely recommend Losing It if you're a fan of awkwardly enjoyable reads.  (Um, I meant the book...don't go out and, um, "lose it" just because you enjoy reading awkward books.  Or do...who am I to tell you what to do?)

/awkward ramble

Rating:   photo 5-1.png

Favorite Quotes:

“Are you waiting for an invitation?” I asked, eyeing him standing carefully outside my door. “Is this the part where you tell me you’re a vampire?” 
He chuckled. “No, I promise the paleness is only because I’m British.”

“Four. 
That’s the number of people who saw me hiding around the corner from my own apartment in just a skirt and a bra. 

Eleven. 
That’s the number of ant bites I got on my shoeless feet. 
Twenty-seven. 
That’s the number of times I was tempted to do myself physical harm because I am an IDIOT. 
One. 
That’s the number of times I tried not to cry, but failed.”


“Some relationships just end. Like a star, they burn bright and brilliant, and then nothing in particular goes wrong, they just reach their end. They burn out.”

“I had no one, but Hamlet. Who hated me with the fire of a thousand suns.”

“He was flabbergasted. That was the best word. His flabber had been thoroughly gasted.”

I mean not that there's anything... I mean we didn't actually... um, make the beast with two backs and all that.

***Be sure to stop by the For the Love of Swoon Giveaway Hop...I'm giving away a copy of Losing It!!!***

For the Love of Swoon Giveaway Hop

9 comments:

  1. Thanks for the review - I'm glad you enjoyed it. I got this one for the winter holidays and I have it stored in my laptop, waiting to be read. I'm a big fan of erotic writing that's bold and honest, so it sounds like I'll really enjoy this one.

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  2. I'm glad to know that this book was good. I've heard a lot about it, but I wasn't sure whether or not I should read it. Great review!

    Halee @ Confessions of a Book Addict

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  3. I'm so glad you loved this book! I haven't read it yet, but I've always been on the fence about whether I should read it or not. Maybe now I'll give it a try. :)

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  4. I want to read this one. My interest has been piqued by that synopsis and definitely by your wonderful review.

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  5. So glad you loved this. I think most are surprised its not just about sex. Great review!

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  6. I'm so happy to see this review, because all those FAKING IT teasers were whetting my appetite! This sounds like such a fun read, and if you and Emily both liked it, I'm sure I will, too. Witty, terribly awkward, sexy but not about sex...everything you say is made of win. Thanks for the review, Jen!

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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  7. I really liked this one too. I look forward to Faking It. Nice review Jen.

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  8. Oh my goodness, the cover changed, now instead of a 12 year old there is an pasty white Edward looking fellow.

    It does look good and I'll have to get it. The subject of popping your cherry is always fun. I lost mine after highschool while I was in the army on... wait for it.... wait for it....!!!

    VETERANS DAY! woo! lol. I was 19 and the holiday totally wasn't planned but funny to look back on now. :)

    great review and yay for reading buddies. I read with Jess over at Hackaroo Reviews sometimes and we do the same thing. we start out slow, then throw out the rules and plow towards the end. :)

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  9. Wonderful review! I bought this book soon after it came out and have not had the time to read it, but every time I see it come up on Amazon or I read a review, it gets me itching to get to it. I am making time soon for this.

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