Title: The Shameless Hour (The Ivy Years, #4)
Author: Sarina Bowen
Genre: NA | Contemporary Romance
Release Date: April 14, 2015
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Hosted by: As the Pages
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THE SHAMELESS HOUR PURCHASE
LINKS
Synopsis
The girl who’s had
everyone meets the boy who has no one.
For Bella, the
sweet-talking, free-loving, hip-checking student manager of the Harkness men’s
hockey team, sex is a second language. She’s used to being fluent where others
stutter, and the things people say behind her back don’t (often) bother her. So
she can’t understand why her smoking hot downstairs neighbor has so much
trouble staying friends after their spontaneous night together. She knows
better than to worry about it, but there’s something in those espresso eyes
that makes her second guess herself.
Rafe is appalled with himself
for losing his virginity in a drunken hookup. His strict Catholic upbringing
always emphasized loving thy neighbor—but not with a bottle of wine and a box
of condoms. The result is an Ivy League bout of awkwardness. But when Bella is
leveled by a little bad luck and a downright sinister fraternity stunt, it’s
Rafe who is there to pick up the pieces.
Bella doesn’t want
Rafe's help, and she’s through with men. Too bad the undeniable spark that
crackles between the two of them just can't be extinguished.
IVY YEARS SERIES pURCHASE LINKS
EXCERPT
Oh, this guy! How any girl could cheat on him was beyond
me. You had to wonder if the girl also kicked puppies just for fun. Without
thinking it through, I lifted a hand to the muscle joining his neck to his shoulder,
giving him a little squeeze.
Beside me, Rafe stopped breathing.
My fingers drifted upwards, past the collar of his dress
shirt and onto his neck. He was warm and solid, and I didn’t want to stop
touching him.
Rafe turned his chin two or three tiny degrees in my
direction, improving the contact with my hand.
I rose onto my knees, the jacket sliding onto the floor,
forgotten. Rafe watched me, and the moment stretched out between us. I loved
this part — the crackling tension when “will we or won’t we” became the only
question in the room. “Rafe,” I whispered. “Maybe there’s a part of your shitty
day that I can fix.”
He swallowed roughly, and his gaze dropped to my mouth,
but he didn’t make a move. Instead, time seemed to slow down, and I saw Rafe’s
awareness of me engulf him. His body went quiet, and his eyes darkened.
For several beats of my heart, I let him get used to the
idea. When I slowly put my other hand on his chest, he made a small grunt of
surprise. Still, he didn’t move a muscle. He just watched me with hungry eyes.
“I’ve always thought you were sexy,” I whispered, pressing
my palm against his pec. “Seems like a good time to tell you.”
Sarina's
Bio
Sarina Bowen writes steamy, angsty
contemporary romance from Vermont’s Green Mountains. (Her ancestors began
logging and farming Vermont during the 18th century. These were rugged, outdoor
types without benefit of a laptop or a good latte. It boggles the mind.) Sarina
enjoys skiing, skating and good food. She lives in Windsor County, Vermont,
with her family, eight chickens and too much ski gear and hockey equipment.
✯
GIVEAWAY INFO✯
The giveaway is open internationally
and ends 05/03/2015.
·
(1) An Ivy
Years Notebook (It's super cute)
·
(1) eBook box
set of Ivy Years #1-3
·
(1) Signed
paperback of The Year We Fell Down
4.5 stars
Bella is a Senior at Harkness University and Student manager for the men's hockey team. She keeps herself busy by being immersed in her psychology major, and between the hockey team's management and the players. Bella has fallen in love twice in her lifetime. Both times with people who were incapable of returning her love. She was only in their periphery while they were the Centre of her universe. Since her hit and miss, Bella has become promiscuous. Deciding that sexual relationships are all she wants.
Rafe the super sexy, Harkness Sophomore footballer, whose sweet persona and Catholic upbringing has kept him waiting to lose his "V" card to his girlfriend. On the night they were supposed to celebrate both their birthdays by losing their "V" cards. An unexpected visitor shows up and the betrayal of his girlfriend is felt deeper than the depths of the ocean.
On said night, Rafe and Bella run into each other and one thing leads to the other, and Pop!!! goes Rafe's cherry. I'm not even sure I'm supposed to say that for boys. *Shrugs, funny but shrugs* Being the traditional type of guy that Rafe is, he starts to feel remorse for his actions. In turn he shies away from Bella.
After weeks of Rafe's unsuccessful attempts to apologize for his rash behaviour, a school project forces Bella and himself to become part of a team project. Resolute in them being friends at least, they both move forward with that understanding.
After all the preludes, and my mind running wild with the story. It becomes so much more interesting. A Catholic boy and a head strong, sassy, and sexually healthy young woman.
Cudos to Sarina Bowen for writing such a strong lead female role. Bella is the epitome of confidence. Sexy, sultry and brutally honest. Keeping true to herself, and her wants and desires, Bella's strength is unwavering in the face of stereotyping.
As the story progresses, The Shameless Hour, throws us for a loop by lashing out with a most brutal form of revenge on Bella, by the Football fraternity. A public shaming. In a drug induced haze, physical taunts are peppered over her body. An act meant to Shame and Embarrass.
I was tainted. And nobody was ever going to let me forget it.
The fact that Sarina show's us Bella as a two sided coin, only compounds her strength. We're now shown the softer, more emotional side of Bella. Her vulnerability shines through. Her own promiscuity has been turned into a stereotypical public embarrassment. Used as a weapon against her. Not only did the fraternity exact revenge physically, they also publicly broadcasted a picture of Bella with a lude header on there Brodacious website.
Now this is where I fell in love with Rafe. There was this instant connection to Rafe. I don't know if it was the words uses to describe him, his inner turmoil and thoughts or even his simplistic demeanor. May be, it was everything, coupled together that just made me feel as if I was Rafe and relaying the story through my eyes.
Rafes stumbles upon Bella after her incident and instantly, he knows something is wrong. Taking her back to her room, both her roommate, Lianne and himself, attempts to help Bella. Even though Bella shuns him; through this painful situation, Bella and Rafe's friendship grows, along with their desires for each other. Lianne, the room mate, shined through. I loved how this secondary character came out of her shell. She was initially portrayed as the a reclusive superstar. Locked away, without any interaction, only stumbling upon Bella's dates; either in the act or when leaving. Lianne proved herself, and a friendship among herself, Bella and Rafe, was nurtured and grew in the face of adversity.
Bella and Rafe's love story took effect at this point. It was slow burning and definitely not the prettiest of circumstances, but their relationship, started as friends, school and team mates, and grew into something sweet, gentle and so beautiful. The support that Rafe gave to Bella, was without a doubt a dream come true for any woman. Rafe, started as a hardworking Dominican, trying to make a better life for himself and his family, while working in the family restauarant. His strong background, coupled with his persistence and his inner sweet self, made Rafe a superbly portrayed male protagonist.
The Shameless Hour is a book that draws you in and brings people together. A book of breaking barriers and insecurity. Removing all inhibitions. Sarina Bowen brought us an epic and intricate storytelling, depicting real life situations - sexual appetite, diseases, stereotyping, bullying, revenge and the use of social media in hurtful and unproductive manners. The dynamics of the book was compounded by the diversity of the differing themes and characters and their portrayals.
There was one aspect of the book I didn't like at all. It related to Bella's family. The atrocious way she was treated, and then when the truth was unveiled, it was a total 360. They just seemed to acceptable with their cavalier attitude. Forgiving and understanding. It was out of character for this book.
*ARC provided by As the Pages Turn on behalf of the author for an honest review* Thanks!!
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