All Good Things…
are wild and
free.
This is going to
be the best summer ever! Bonfires, pool parties, trips to the beach, throwing
her arms in the air while riding down the open road in a convertible – she’s
going to do it all.
Roxie has plans.
It’s the last summer before college graduation. By this time next year she’ll
be living in the “real” world; ie: paying bills, searching for a job that
doesn’t require an apron, and maybe even sleeping on a bed that doesn’t turn
into a couch. If there’s ever a time to be fun, irresponsible and reckless,
it’s now.
But things don’t
always go as planned.
Before the summer
has even started, Roxie makes a discovery that breaks her heart and shatters
her confidence. Her hopes of having the Best Summer Ever go straight in the
trash. Forget the beach. Forget the bonfires. Forget summer altogether.
If only her
childhood friend, Jake, would let her be. His contagious smile keeps popping up
and dragging her to every social event in Ann Arbor. Reluctant at first, his
happy-go-lucky attitude becomes an addiction. It isn’t long before Roxie starts
to wonder if her longtime friend might be the perfect cure for her heartbreak.
This summer might be good after all.
But All Good
Things…
must come to an
end.
**All Good Things
is an NA prequel to the contemporary 2013 release The Good Life. The books can
be read in either order, or as stand-alones.**
The beginning of this book gave me
just a sweet comfy feel as I was reading. We see Jake being let down by
his father and his mother not caring. Thank goodness he had the Humsucker
family to fill the void. He stayed with his best friend’s family a lot
and really liked the little sister Roxie, didn’t even mind that she followed
him around everywhere. Then one day, he realized that he and Roxie had
grown up, they were adults now and she wasn’t the cute little girl she used to
be, she was the beautiful young woman who was hiding some secrets that were
holding her back from loving someone.
This summer those two finally got
together, but they had to keep it secret since he was her boss at the bar, and
her family would flip. He was like a brother to her in their eyes.
Their relationship was funny and beautiful. They were a perfect fit, so
much so it was time to stop being the dirty little secret in each other’s lives
and let the world know they were together, just until it was time for Roxie go
leave for college again.
Decision as to a long distance
romance or a clean break was weighing them down, finally Jake made the
choice. The end of the book was where the emotions and intense feelings
came. At times I wanted to throw my kindle across the room because of
those two, and I couldn’t figure out why the author would end the book this
way, leaving me with tears and so many questions unanswered but I realize now
there is another book coming so it makes sense. Yes Jodie Beau is
forgiven.
For the most part this is a feel
good book to read. I would say it was all the way but the ending had me
upset, but then that is just a sign that the author gave us a beautiful story
with wonderful characters that we could fall in love with and care about.
I am so looking forward to reading the next book to see what happens to Roxie
now that she has made a huge decision in her life. Will Jake be there to
save her again or will she be on her own?
I
pushed my plate away. “What’s your excuse then?”
He
looked surprised by my boldness. “My excuse for what?”
“Flings.”
“I
don’t know what you’re talking about, Roxanne. I just have a short attention
span. I get bored easily. I can’t even commit to the same radio station to
listen to an entire song. I have to check the other stations to make sure I’m
not missing anything better playing somewhere else.”
“And
by the time you realize there isn’t anything better on the other channels, the
song you liked on the first channel is over and you missed out.”
“I’m just waiting for the right one. When all
the newness wears off and she stops shaving and starts wearing boring underwear
that doesn’t even match, and I still
want to be around her, I’ll stop. It just hasn’t happened yet.”
The
waitress brought the check over and Jake grabbed it. “I’ve got this.”
“You
better,” I said with a sweet smile. “You’re the one who made me come.”
“I
really wish you would not say things like that,” he said. He looked pained.
“Now we have to sit here for ten more minutes while I imagine something
disturbing. Like my mother taking a shit.” He closed his eyes and tilted his
head down toward the table to visualize.
I
gasped. Was he saying what I thought he
was saying? “Dude! You’re so gross.”
He
lifted his head, opened his eyes, and gave me a wicked grin. “Just kidding.” He
paused. “Partially. I’m partially
kidding. Semi kidding. Half kidding.”
OMIGOD!
“Are we really sitting here talking about the current condition of your penis?”
“I
guess we are. Is that weird?”
I
looked up at the ceiling as I thought about it. It didn’t feel weird. “Is it
weird that it doesn’t feel weird?” I asked.
“Hmm,
yeah, kind of.”
“Should
we go now?” I asked quickly.
“Can
I carry your purse for you?”
I'm a wife, mom,
waitress, book nerd, Chapstick addict, and a really bad driver who still
believes in happy endings and can't walk in high heels. Writing is what I do
when I'm avoiding other things...like cleaning.I once had big dreams of being a Hollywood screenwriter.
But then I met a boy and got distracted.
Three years later we met another boy, this one even cuter.
The three of us are now living happily ever after in the Detroit area. All Good Things is my second novel. And our house is kind of a mess :)
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