Buy:  Amazon  |  Paperback

Review

3.5 stars

A sweet, fun, mildly angsty coming of age story featuring a 19 year-old daughter of a rock star moving to London for a year, desperate to stretch out on her own and create her own adventures. With great characters, and a fabulously fun found-family, it’s a great read with a bit of romance and mystery, and I really enjoyed it.

After a rocky start to life, Abbey grew up in a privileged and protected bubble, under the close eye of her protective rock star father. When she gets the chance to study abroad for a year, finally experiencing the real world, she jumps at the chance, setting off for London and a brand new adventure.

Things get off to an awkward start when she rocks up to her share house and meets her three roommates – all guys, and not the girls she was expecting. They’re an eclectic, good looking, sweet and funny bunch, and they welcome Abbey with open arms, so she just goes with it, settling into life with Jamie, the aristocratic playboy, Jack, the perpetually shirtless, rugby-playing Australian, and Lee, her instant best friend. In order to keep the peace in the house, the boys immediately agree to a no-fraternisation rule amongst roommates, which means that Abby lusts after handsome Jack in secret. Though when she meets the extended group of friends, and is introduced to broody musician, Nate, she finds her affections drawn elsewhere, except he has a girlfriend.

It starts to get really interesting when the two boys Abbey wants but can’t have, suddenly start to show an interest in her, and she finds herself trapped in a dreaded love triangle. I usually hate a love triangle, but this one was actually handled really well. Abbey spends time with the boys, they both know about the other, and none of them want commitment. They’re young, they’re keen to experience fun and adventure in their lives, and they’re enjoying the time they spend together. But when they all start to develop deeper feelings, things start to get complicated.

It’s a great ride, I enjoyed watching Abbey experience so many new situations and feelings, and I was invested in both of these guys. They both represent a life that Abby is desperate to embrace, and watching her work through her feelings and figure out where her heart truly lies, and what she needs to be happy, was really well done.

In the midst of the romantic drama, Abbey’s studies have her investigating a generations-old mystery, as she dives deep into the history of a noble family to figure out the identify and story of a mysterious woman in a painting. With the help of the boys, new friends, and even a crotchety old librarian, this mystery part of the story is interesting and really well done, and ties in nicely to the rest of the story.

Though there is romance and mystery, this book is mostly about Abbey. We watch her branch out on her own, come out from under the wing of her protective father, experience life, excitement and a new country while figuring out who she is and what she wants. She meets wonderful friends, learns a lot about herself, and falls in love, and I enjoyed experiencing it all with her.

3.5 stars.