276°
Posted 20 hours ago

Birthday Girl

£9.9£99Clearance
ZTS2023's avatar
Shared by
ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
82
63

About this deal

The characters were a little hit and miss for me, but I did like the way their characterization was handled in the dual timeline. The story flip-flops between the 1990s and 2019 and we see most of the characters in both timelines. I really enjoyed how Wolf tweaked their relationship dynamics between the two timelines and it was interesting to imagine how these characters got from point A to point B over the course of 20ish years. I'd say the slight majority of the story is the 2019 timeline and I found the characters in that part to be really insufferable to read about. It felt very much like the story revolved around 'rich people problems' that just weren't built up in a way that was interesting to me.

I do like the plot but then I found this slightly boring. The story shifts between present and past--the past his life with Maddie, the time of her disappearance and how he ended up becoming a successful author. This wasn't much fast paced and not much twists and turns you would normally expect in a thriller. But then it wasn't really bad either--the writing was great and the plot was good as I mentioned before. The ending, well, in my opinion or maybe it was just me was slightly confusing. This book was quite the journey. Almost literary fiction wrapped up in a psychological thriller. Or vice versa! Mixing the present with the past to give us the journey, and it is a journey, that Jonathan goes on through the book to find the truth. A jaw dropping truth that caught me on the hop. I quite early on gave up trying to second guess where we were going. Although I did have several theories, all fizzled out along the way! JORDAN He took me in when I had nowhere else to go. He doesn’t use me, hurt me, or forget about me. He doesn’t treat me like I’m nothing, take me for granted, or make me feel unsafe. He remembers me, laughs with me, and looks at me. He listens to me, protects me, and sees me. I can feel his eyes on me over the breakfast table, and my heart pumps so hard when I hear him pull in the driveway after work. I have to stop this. It can’t happen. My sister once told me there are no good men, and if you find one, he’s probably unavailable. Only Pike Lawson isn’t the unavailable one. I am. PIKE I took her in, because I thought I was helping. She’d cook a few meals and clean up a little. It was an easy arrangement. As the days go by, though, it’s becoming anything but easy. I have to stop my mind from drifting to her and stop holding my breath every time I bump into her in the house. I can’t touch her, and I shouldn’t want to. The more I find my path crossing hers, though, the more she’s becoming a part of me. But we’re not free to give into this. She’s nineteen, and I’m thirty-eight. And her boyfriend’s father. Unfortunately, they both just moved into my house. *BIRTHDAY GIRL is a stand-alone, contemporary romance suitable for ages 18+. Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas – eBook Details

ARCHIVES

Jordan has nowhere else to go when her boyfriend offers to let her move in with him and his dad. Working a dead-end job, with her relationship sputtering, she jumps at the opportunity, expecting to help out around the house in exchange. What she doesn’t anticipate is for her heart to race every time Pike pulls into the driveway, or to burn when their eyes meet over the breakfast table. He’s kind and listens to her and protects her in a way no man ever has before. Her sister once told her there are no good men, and if you find one, he’s probably unavailable. Only Pike isn’t the unavailable one…she is. I think the description of this book is way off and is not doing the book any favors. The description states this is a "propulsive thriller" for fans of Gone Girl. Based on that, I'm expecting to have some real moments of tension and building threats revolving around Maddie and her disappearance. This could not be further from the truth. This read 100% like a normal lit-fic book where the main character is going through a little bit of a mid-life crisis in regards to his upcoming wedding and career trajectory. I didn't find this to have nearly the tension, plotting, or pacing to be called a 'propulsive thriller'.

Penelope Douglas delivers a scorchingly hot and sinfully sexy, forbidden romance with Birthday Girl. It kept me up until after midnight as I devoured every single word. Definitely one of my top reads of 2018!” -New York Times bestselling author Meghan March I would like to thank Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy of Birthday Girl, a stand-alone novel set in New York. In the 1990's, Jonathan is a struggling writer and Maddie, his wife is an aspiring actress. Then one day, Maddie gets into the stranger's car and disappears. Jonathan was trying to explain the police about his wife's disapperance and soon comes to term that his wife maybe is dead. Many years later, Jonathan is now a sucessful writer. One day, among the throng of people, he spotted Maddie. He believed that she was still alive but was not sure why she was avoiding him. No one else seemed to believe that Maddie was alive but soon find that his closest friends might be hiding something. He remembers me, laughs with me, and looks at me. He listens to me, protects me, and sees me. I can feel his eyes on me over the breakfast table, and my heart pumps so hard when I hear him pull in the driveway after work. Jordan has nowhere else to go when her boyfriend offers to let her move in with him and his dad. Working a dead-end job, with her relationship sputtering, she jumps at the opportunity, expecting to help out around the house in exchange. What she doesn’t anticipate is for her heart to race every time Pike pulls into the driveway, or to burn when their eyes meet over the breakfast table. He’s kind and listens to her and protects her in a way no man ever has before. Her sister once told her there are no good men, and if you find one, he's probably unavailable. Only Pike isn't the unavailable one…she is.

Categories

We do spend a lot of the book in Jonathan's head and it's not the best place to find yourself to be honest. Although a lot of what is gleaned therein is important and integral to the overall narrative, I think that maybe there was a little too much introspective and some info could have been found from another source, maybe. Penelope Douglas does many things very well. One of the best of those things is her ability to make something taboo seem irresistibly satisfying. With Birthday Girl, she twists the older man/younger woman taboo and makes it compelling, sensual, and a wonderful treat.” -Eden Butler The great opening scene with Jordan and Pike is when we see her going to the movies. She’s alone and waiting on her boyfriend, who doesn’t show up. Pike is there along watching a movie and by the drop of her cellphone, the two end up talking. This scene is MAGNIFICENT! I mean, you can feel the energy between the two character’s from scene one. I hate to give spoilers, so I’ll keep this brief, but these two were everything. Jordan and her childhood and the woman she grew up to be, she deserved it ALL. Pike, the man who sacrificed so much for his son, he deserved it ALL!

He doesn’t use me, hurt me, or forget about me. He doesn’t treat me like I’m nothing, take me for granted, or make me feel unsafe.

Follow Me

There is some angst in the last third of the book when Jordan and Pike start seeing each other (because it took that long for that to happen), but I found it to be very bearable. It probably helped that Jordan is a mature character and there is a lot of self-reflection going on with characters. The romance was lovely as well. It was a nice slow burn with plenty of tension. True love comes from the most forbidden places in this TikTok smash hit from New York Times bestselling author Penelope Douglas, now with bonus material! In all, the good far outweighed the bad in this book, so that I was able to finish it within a few hours. The last Penelope Douglas book I read was Punk 57, which I did not care for, but I’m happy to say that Birthday Girl was a very worthwhile read. I liked this book, it was beautifully written and perfectly paced – slowly revealing secret after secret until you’re not sure of anything anymore – only that you have to keep reading! The author does a great job of moving from past to present – throughout, you really can not tell where this book is going – it keeps you guessing right up to the end! I would however pin this story as more of a literary thriller/mystery, but more mystery than a thriller. Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas is an age gap forbidden romance that centers around Jordan. After an unfortunate circumstance, Jordan’s boyfriend Cole lands in jail therefore leading him to move into his Dad’s house with Jordan.

Asda Great Deal

Free UK shipping. 15 day free returns.
Community Updates
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
New Comment