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The Fifteenth Minute by Sarina Bowen Also by this author: Him, Us, Rookie Move, Good Boy, Goodbye Paradise, Stay, Hello Forever, Temporary, Heartland
Series: The Ivy Years #5
Published by Rennie Road Books on October 13, 2015
Genres: College Romance, New Adult
Pages: 294
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Freshman Lianne Challice is known to millions of fans as Princess Vindi. But sometimes a silver screen sorceress just wants to hang up her wand, tell her manager to shove it, and become a normal college student. Too bad that’s harder than it looks.
She’s never lived a normal life. She hasn’t been to school since kindergarten. And getting close to anyone is just too risky — the last boy she kissed sold the story to a British tabloid.
But she can’t resist trying to get close to Daniel "DJ" Trevi, the hot, broody guy who spins tunes for hockey games in the arena. Something's haunting his dark eyes, and she needs to know more.
DJ's genius is for expressing the mood of the crowd with a ten second song snippet. With just a click and a fade, he can spread hope, pathos or elation among six thousand screaming fans.
Too bad his college career is about to experience the same quick fade-out as one of his songs. He can't get close to Lianne, and he can't tell her why. And the fact that she seems to like him at all? Incredible.
Erin: You know a series is GOOD when you reach Book 5 and still want more. Sarina Bowen’s Ivy Years series keeps getting better and the newest installment, The Fifteenth Minute lives up to all the preceding books with awesomeness to spare. Each one of the books in the series can be read as a standalone, so don’t worry if you haven’t read the others—though I’d highly recommend you correct that ASAP. Hockey, sexy, swoony boys, and feisty, sassy girls, there’s much to love about each book, and The Fifteenth Minute hits on all the good things an NA romance should have in it: humor, drama, and two characters that are totally captivating.
Daniel “DJ” Trevi and Lianne Challice are opposites in just about every way possible. An outgoing, popular guy and a shy, nerdy, girl … a girl who also just happens to be a world famous actress. On the surface it doesn’t seem like they should work, but a love of music (DJ is the, well, DJ for the Harkness hockey teams during their games) and a mutual attraction prove otherwise. These two were just adorable together, I loved them both. DJ definitely brought Lianne out of her shell and provided her a safe environment to spread her wings and be the person she wants to be, and Lianne, well, not only did she bring out DJ’s sweet, protective side, but she believes in him during a time when Daniel questions just about everything.
As with all of the books in the Ivy Years series, the chemistry between DJ and Lianne is sizzling and intense, and is that delicious kind of sexy and hot because it’s their deep connection that has them so in tune with one another.
Then he kisses me as if he’s just invented kissing and wants to give me a thorough demonstration of how it’s done. Apparently it’s done with full, hungry lips that press firmly against mine and a gentle tongue that teases the seam of my lips just once before I open for him. And it’s done with his hands skimming my back and with the low, throaty sound of longing he makes when I deepen our kiss.
****** It was true, too. Lianne tugs my head down for another deep kiss as I sink into her once again. This is how it feels to get just what you need when you didn’t even know you needed it. It’s not just the shock of pleasure I feel every time I move. It’s the soothing beat of her heart against mine and the way she holds on as though she’s never letting go.
We meet again and again and it’s beautiful.
SWOON!
In between all the sweet and sexy, Sarina Bowen tackles a very difficult, polarizing topic—sexual assault on college campuses. We’ve all seen the news articles and have seen the discussions on Twitter about this issue and Bowen faces it head-on. Although, she comes at it in a very different direction and I don’t want to spoil anything, but I have to say, I was highly impressed by the way she laid everything out and highlighted both sides of this important, timely issue. Kudos to her for handling this part of the book brilliantly and sensitively.
DJ and Lianne’s relationship grows as they each grow as people. They bring out the best in each other, but in turn, they learn to be true to themselves, too. I like when that happens in a book. Sure we all love the HEA and the two MC’s as a couple, but they have to be strong on their own as well and DJ and Lianne are definitely strong. It was also great fun to see some of the other character’s from previous books … especially Graham and Rikker. I’ll admit to a bit of squeeing every time they were on the page.
All in all, The Fifteenth Minute had a little bit of everything. Fun and sweet and sexy and serious. This book is a perfect addition to one of my favorite NA series.
She's a Texan, though she drinks her tea plain and NOT sweet. She loves cheesecake, strawberry limeade's from Sonic and her favorite color is purple. In her books, she loves an HEA, but she never minds if the road is rough to get there, as long as the reward is worth the struggle.
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