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Catching Liam by Gennifer Albin Series: Good Girls Don't #1
Published by Self-Published on June 25, 2013
Genres: New Adult
Pages: 378
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Twenty-one year-old Jillian Nichols only has one rule when it comes to boys: catch and release. Boy-catching isn't just a game for Jillian and her friends, it's a lifestyle. After all, boys might be good for a dance or a drink and certainly a little under-cover action of the scandalous variety, but expect much else and you're bound for heart ache.
So when her best friends and fellow boy catchers start dropping like flies junior year, Jillian is determined to keep boys in her bedroom and out of her heart. Until she meets Liam McAvoy, the kind of guy that sticks around to make waffles and who can't—or perhaps won't—take a hint.
Study abroad student Liam doesn't want to be another notch on Jillian's bedpost. Actually he has much more interesting ideas for Jillian and her bedposts, but his student visa's set expiration date means he can't promise her forever. That doesn't mean he's going to walk away from the challenge of discovering why Jillian is hell-bent at keeping people at a distance.
Before long, neither is sure who is catching who—or if they're playing for keeps. Jillian knows one thing though: falling in love will not only break the only rule of boy-catching, it could also break her heart.
Kassiah: I had a really hard time writing a review for this book. I loved the first half. I didn’t love the last half, and that’s why it gets three stars.
We begin with college junior Jillian Nichols thinking about the guy she hooked up with the night before when she hears some off-key singing coming from her kitchen. She gets out of bed to investigate and is met with a sexy naked Scotsman.
Standing stark-ass naked in the middle of my kitchen was six feet of smoking hotness. I remembered he was cute, and he was. He had a good face. It wasn’t the kind that would grace any movie posters, but it was symmetrical with a well-defined nose and a strong jawline. His eyes were a sky-blue and his dark blondish hair was untidy enough to look a little sexy. But his body was another story, right down to his absolutely perfect, carved-by-the-gods-themselves calves.
“Hello, beautiful.” He had an accent. How had I forgotten that he had an accent?
The naked Scotman, Liam McAvoy, wants to hang around for breakfast (and round two), but Jillian has a rule–she doesn’t do seconds. She basically pushes him out the door and goes about her life. A few days later, after hanging out with her friends and feeling like a fifth wheel with their boyfriends, Jillian begins to wonder if she’s missing out on something and if having a boyfriend would be worth giving up her freedom for.
The new semester starts and what was supposed to be an easy “A” in interpersonal communications becomes Jillian’s worst nightmare when she’s partnered up with Liam. He doesn’t feel the same way about her.
“The purpose of this assignment is to teach you to consider the various needs of your partner…”
“I like this assignment,” Liam whispered to me.
“You would.”
After Liam wears her down by being adorable, Jillian decides to give them a real chance. There are waffles and making out in darkened theaters and shower sex. It’s almost insta-love. There are two major problems, though: one, she has a health issue and is very afraid that once Liam will split once he finds out and two, Liam is in the US on a student visa and has plans to return home to Edinburgh some time in the future. What happens when Liam finds out about her illness?
And that’s about when I stopped really liking this story. They were both great at the beginning, and then…I don’t really know how to explain it without giving everything away. The characters, namely Liam, at the beginning of this story didn’t seem to remain true to character through the end. At first, I loved Liam. He was funny:
“We call them kilts, and we wear them so we can let our enormous cocks breathe.”
He was chivalrous and hot and gave her forehead kisses. He affectionately called her “chicken,” and he was swoony.
“I want to worship you.”
Then, he turned into a douche. And not the kind of douche-type that I love. He sang her a Taylor Swift song. It just didn’t make sense to me. I stopped and reread wtf happened, and when it’s all said and done–I don’t get it. I don’t think the Liam at the beginning at the story, who was so hell-bent on getting Jillian to notice him and give them a chance would just act like such a douche.
Not to mention, there was a Fifty Shades reference in there that totally squicked me out. Not just because it was mentioned (isn’t that enough of a reason?), but the easy way that it was assumed that Liam knew what she was talking about. Maybe I hidelive under a rock, but I didn’t think Scottish guys interested in pursuing international careers were all that versed in Christian Grey’s red room antics. ::shrugs::
And that’s what the issue was, really. This story is self-published, and I have to believe that a real editor would have caught these inconsistencies and fixed them or at least asked Gennifer Albin to justify their actions. I was happy, though, that I didn’t constantly find errors 🙂
Though the transformation that Jillian’s character went through was expected, she annoyed me at times, and I wanted to feel what she was going through more. I liked her, and I found myself rooting for her. Even with the negative things I pointed out, I did like the story and I could have loved Liam. The other characters were interesting, especially Professor Markson. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series (hot for teacher!!), and I definitely think that this book is worth checking out.
