Title: BIRTHDAY GIRL
Author: Penelope Douglas
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date:
April 17, 2018
PURCHASE LINKS
Amazon CA
JORDAN
He took me in when I
had nowhere else to go.
He doesn’t use me, hurt me, or forget about me. He doesn’t
treat me like I’m nothing, take me for granted, or make me feel unsafe.
He remembers me, laughs with me, and looks at me. He listens
to me, protects me, and sees me. I can feel his eyes on me over the breakfast
table, and my heart pumps so hard when I hear him pull in the driveway after
work.
I have to stop this. It can’t happen.
My sister once told me there are no good men, and if you
find one, he’s probably unavailable.
Only Pike Lawson isn’t the unavailable one.
I am.
PIKE
I took her in,
because I thought I was helping.
She’d cook a few meals and clean up a little. It was an easy
arrangement.
As the days go by, though, it’s becoming anything but easy.
I have to stop my mind from drifting to her and stop holding my breath every
time I bump into her in the house. I can’t touch her, and I shouldn’t want to.
The more I find my path crossing hers, though, the more
she’s becoming a part of me.
But we’re not free to give into this. She’s nineteen, and
I’m thirty-eight.
And her boyfriend’s father.
Unfortunately, they both just moved into my house.
*BIRTHDAY GIRL is a stand-alone, contemporary romance
suitable for ages 18+.
BIRTHDAY GIRL was everything I had wished for!
I am an avid fan of Penelope Douglas’ novels and I will read anything she releases., but I will admit, once she released the synopsis for BIRTHDAY
GIRL, I was hesitant and quite frankly, a little concerned how this was gonna
go. The whole “daddy issues” aspect worried me and the large age gap. But like
I said, I will read anything she writes, so I was willing to give this book a
chance and let me tell you, Penelope put those fears to rest within the first
chapter! BIRTHDAY GIRL was SO MUCH more than the age-gap/daddy storyline. It
was the delicious forbidden fruit, layered with a slow burn and sprinkled with
a taboo flare that left me craving more with each chapter. It was about connection, forgiveness, raw emotion, strength and it was completely unique. Jordan and Pike’s was taboo
in many ways, but their relationship just worked. Penelope made them work masterfully!
I have to say, it was refreshing to get a different type of story from Penelope.
She stepped out of her “comfort zone” so to speak, with this one. She is usually
the Queen of storylines with the “hate to love” aspect, but this book was written with just as much finesse
and the same captivating quality as her other books, and it was impossible not
to love. She proved to me once again, that she will not disappoint, and I couldn’t
be HAPPIER with how it all turned out. Now, to patiently (not so patiently)
wait for MOTEL, which is Danni’s story, whom we meet in BIRTHDAY GIRL.
If you're on the fence about this book, GIVE IT A TRY! It is totally worth it!
10 stars!
xoxo, Vivian💋
Pike and Jordan get back late from mudding
and are hosing off in the backyard.
JORDAN
I drop the hose to my side and drag the
fingers of my left hand down his abs, my heart pounding so hard it hurts. They
tighten as my nails slide across the muscles, and I’m so afraid to look at him.
This is wrong. I know it’s wrong.
But God, he feels good. I can feel his eyes
on me, and every thread of my bra is chafing my skin, and I just want to be
bare right now. I want him to see me.
I close my eyes. Oh, God.
“Jordan…” He grasps my hand, and I can hear
him breathing hard.
I nod, opening my eyes but still unable to
meet his. “I know,” I breathe out. “I’m sorry.”
I’m parched, my eyes sting with tears and I
don’t know why, and there’s a need between my thighs that is almost painful.
Slowly, he tips my chin up. I finally raise
my gaze, but he’s not looking at me, either. His eyes are cast down, and his
brow is pinched in pain. “You’re just out of sorts,” he says quietly. “You miss
Cole, and I just happen to be here. It’s okay.”
I remain still, my fingers still on his
stomach and his hand still on my chin. His chest moves up and down, and for a
moment, I think I’m going to turn tail and run. He’s making excuses for me. An
easy one to hide behind. It would make sense I’m feeling lost and in need of
someone else to escape into.
But what’s his excuse. I know he looks at
me. I know he does it when he thinks I don’t see it, but I do.
My eyes sting, filling with tears. “That’s
not why I was apologizing,” I tell him.
I raise my eyes, meeting his, and while I’m
afraid, I have to dive. I can’t hold back.
“I’m sorry, because,” I whisper shakily,
“this isn’t the first time I wanted you to touch me.”
And his gaze freezes on me.
He holds my eyes, unmoving except for the
rise and fall of his chest, and I have no idea what’s going through his head
right now, but I don’t think I’m sorry. No more excuses that this is about me
being distraught over Cole.
The attraction was already there.
He slowly lets his fingers fall from my
chin, both of his hands balling into fists, and he clenches his jaw, suddenly
looking angry.
On reflex, I take a step back, but I don’t
get any farther. Grabbing my waist, he hauls me into him, snaking an arm round
me and gripping my jaw in his hand between his thumb and four fingers. I gasp,
loving the feeling of his body hard against mine but scared, too, because he
looks so mad.
“No,” he growls, baring his teeth and
looking at me with fury in his eyes. “Do you understand? It’s not happening.
You’re not getting that from me.”
Tears fills my eyes, and I can barely see
him anymore as my body shakes with a silent sob.
His arm is like steel around me, and I can
feel the heat of his rage coming off his skin.
He shakes me. “You wanna get laid, then you
go hunt somewhere else.”
I suck in air and twist away from him,
pushing his body away.
He’s right. What am I doing? Why would I do
that? I feel so stupid, and I crouch down, quickly gathering up my shirt and
shoes.
But I wasn’t imagining it, was I? There was
something between us, and it was coming from him as much as from me. Did I just
see what I wanted to see?
I want to scream. Tears stream down my face,
and he still just stands there, glaring at me.
“Go to your room,” he orders.
I break out in a laugh, the bitter sound dripping
with disbelief. “Go fuck yourself!” I stand up, hardening my voice. “I’ll find
another bed tonight, thank you. Anyone will do for a slut like me, right?”
I whip around and run for the back door, but
he grabs the inside of my elbow and hauls me back into the wall of his chest. I
drop my shirt and shoes, and he forces us forward into the wall of the house. I
shoot out my hands, crashing into the siding.
Jesus.
I shake, sucking in short, shallow breaths
as my heart races and my blood runs hot under my skin.
What the…
He reaches around, taking my face in his
hand and his hot breath in my ear. “Don’t threaten me with shit like that. If
you want to act like a brat, then maybe you should get grounded like one, huh?”
I almost laugh through the tears drying on
my face. “By all means,” I taunt. “I’m dying to see how you try to take control
of me. You can’t even get Cole to do his chores, and when was the last time a
woman got hot in your bed? You’re not even a man.”
He growls and slams his palm into the house in
front of me.
I jump.
And the next thing I know, his hand is in my
hair, and my head is being twisted to the side as his lips crash down on mine.
AUTHOR BIO:
Penelope Douglas is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. Her books have been translated into thirteen languages and
include The Fall Away Series, The Devil’s
Night Series, and the standalones, Misconduct,
Punk 57, and now Birthday Girl. Please
look for Kill Switch (Devil’s Night
#3), coming later this year, and the standalone, Motel, coming in 2019.
She lives in Las Vegas with her husband and their daughter.
AUTHOR SOCIAL LINKS:
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*COMPLETE signed set of my novels (all 10 paperbacks!)
*$50 Amazon gift card
*Punk 57 Ardent Admirations candle!!
