Twenty-year-old Clementine Avery doesn't mind being called bitchy and closed off. It's safe, and after being burned by her high school sweetheart and stalked by a professor her freshman year of college, safe sounds pretty damn good.

Her number one rule for survival? No dating. That is until she accidentally signs up for a romance writing class and needs material for her latest assignment. Sexy RA Gavin Murphy is more than happy to play the part of book boyfriend to help Clem find some inspiration, even if that means making out...in the name of research, of course.

As Gavin and Clem grow closer, they get entangled in the mystery surrounding a missing Boston University student, and Clem unwittingly becomes a possible target. Gavin tries to show Clem she can handle falling in love again, but she knows she has to be careful because her heart’s at stake…and maybe even her life.

DEAREST CLEMENTINE is a stand-alone novel with two companion novels. This New Adult romance is recommended for readers 18+ due to mature content.




Spoiler-free!
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book! I saw it on another blog in their 'to-read' pile and I thought 'why not check it out on Goodreads?' Here I am, a week later, rating it 4 stars. 

I do sometimes lose patience with New Adult, I tend to end up reading the same thing and wanting to DNF mid-way. Dearest Clementine was different.


For me, it was one of those books that didn't have as many of the standard NA tropes that regularly annoy me. I love how much the characters bonded first before finally getting together, because we all know how annoying instalove can be. We got to see the real reason why Gavin and Clementine like each other. And it was good that they have known one another for a while, whether they talked or not. 

Not only did they bond, but we got to know more about them. It wasn't all sappy and cheesy, not an 'I love you after one day' sort of situation. This more than anything was refreshing.



There was a lot more to this story than the romance. Clementine has many things that affect her life in many ways, and they include her being an author. She had a heartbreak in the past involving ex-boyfriend Daren, and she decided to channel her feelings into writing. Which lead to more drama involving another character. And her getting published. As a hopeful writer one day (which is dream that isn't possible to be a reality as I have no patience or self motivation), I found it interesting to read about those parts. 

I won't spoil too much as there are many secrets and twists we find out throughout the book, and it won't make the book as enjoyable if I did.


All the characters were written well, I was able to enjoy and bond with them enough to be happy to see them with each appearance, even the evil ones (because it's always fun to read evil characters!). Most were wonderfully supportive of Clementine. They were great friends and hilarious at times, particularly when they were being their typical teenage selves.



The romance wasn't forced, it didn't take over the whole book. It was more something lighthearted to soften the harder parts of the story. Gavin and Clementine worked great together as friends as well as a couple, their banter was fun and the overall relationship was pleasant to read. It seemed genuine. And when we finally got some love scenes, I didn't find them to be over the top, a feature that's greatly appreciated from someone who reads New Adult regularly.



I did find the pacing around 70% to slack a little bit, which knocked off a star from the final rating. I did notice my eyes wander from the page and I did lose a bit of interest, but I wasn't entirely sure if that was my lack of sleep due to my busy life at the moment, or the fact that nothing was really happening, considering Clementine was in a sad place and it had to have its usual reminiscent, depressing part of the story.



Overall though, if you like these kind of books, I would recommend you give it a try. It has its usual vibes of a New Adult story, but it wasn't overdone. It had more to the story than the sappy romance. It had mystery, humour and deep emotions.



GoodReads:
Dearest Clementine
Finding Dandelion (Jax's story)
Kissing Madeline (Daren's story)

Once again, I  was suckered into another New Adult. I tend to be drawn to them like a moth to a light. I can't seem to help myself, but luckily it was successful this time. Me thinks I'll consider book two!
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