For What It's Worth


Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Review: Until Fountain Bridge (On Dublin Street, #1.6) by Samantha Young


17665083Ellie Carmichael had a crush on Adam Sutherland, her brother, Braden’s, best friend, for years, and although Adam treated her with proprietary concern he made it clear he thought of her only as a little sister.

Over the years, as Ellie’s crush develops into love, her romantic idealism makes it difficult for her to move on. To make matters worse, as she’s gotten older, Adam’s attitude has changed toward her. His affection for her is now joined by attraction, but his loyalty to Braden, and his fear of losing the only family he has, stops him from claiming Ellie the way she wishes he would.
But one night his attraction is put to the test, and as much as Adam would like things to remain the same everything changes between them in a simple brush of the lips.

Soon lust, love, jealousy and heartbreak combine to force change upon their relationship… and Adam discovers the hard way that life is too damn short to spend it on regret. ~ Goodreads

Source: Purchased

Review:I remember when I was reading On Dublin Street last year that I was far more interested in the relationship of the supporting characters Ellie and Adam.

They get their HEA in that book but because they weren’t the main couple you don’t know their history or exactly how things came around from their POV.

Ellie has known her older brother’s best friend, Adam, since she was 14 years old. She’s always loved him and it just got worse as she got older and he started sending her mixed signals. He tells her she’s beautiful and flirts but then she catches him screwing a girl in a back alley. He kisses her then backs off. But they’ve always remained very good friends in spite of all that.

I loved how their story was told in this novella. Instead of going back and telling their side of the same story in a straightforward manner, Until Fountain Bridge is told in flashbacks while they read Ellie’s diaries starting from the very beginning. Adam gets to hear Ellie’s version of events (& it’s not always pretty) and Ellie learns a few things about what Adam was thinking at the time.

Because we know how it ends in advance we can cut Adam some slack for his behavior and it’s nice to hear about the moment things started changing for him as well.

Short, sweet and sexy – Until Fountain Bridge was a great addition to this series. I do have one complaint…the spelling errors. There were quite a few which surprised me. During very pivotal scenes there would be a misspelling or a word left out which would totally ruin the moment for me. I can’t understand how they would be missed with just a quick cursory read through. Otherwise I would still recommend reading it.

Author: Website | Twitter
Buy the book! Until Fountain Bridge: (InterMix)
Recommended by: Tina’s Book Reviews

15 comments:

  1. Hm... I'd be curious to see how I would feel about Adam and cutting him some slack. I was just thinking, "some best friend to do that to his sis!" :P This is one I might have passed on, but since you enjoyed it, it makes me curious. Might have to check it out!

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    1. It's better if you read On Dublin Street first because this is more of a look back to see exactly when and how they're feeling developed/changed over time before they got tougher.

      The best friend of the brother aspect plays a pretty big role.

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  2. I've always enjoyed a good "brother's best friend" story. I haven't read On Dublin Street but I can see how this novella could satisfy an itch that started in another book. Sucks about the spelling errors, though. That's never good.

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    1. It's weird because you know how everything turns out so I wasn't sure this was even necessary but it did help me to see Adam more clearly.

      I thought their relationship was so much better than the other couple in the first book.

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    1. They're hit or miss for me but this one works really well because we know the story already...this just adds another layer to it.

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  4. Ugh. Should I read On Dublin Street? Everyone lurved it and all of the reviews for it and this novella are great. It seems like such a good series that does the NA over-the-top romance well, but I'm hesitant. Seeing your approval has me reconsidering.

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    1. I didn't really like it. (ODS) I didn't realize it was NA when I was reading it. The girl is younger but it felt more straight up romance because the guy is older.

      It has an over the top/cracky quality that you might like but was too over dramatic for me but I liked Adam and Ellie so I picked this one up. They figure quite heavily in the ODS plot but I needed to read more about them on their own.

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  5. What John said -- not sure if I should read these. I've liked some NA, but have found some of it to be formulaic and requiring a HUGE suspension of disbelief….
    But I love the idea of giving a pair of secondary characters their own story!!

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    1. I didn't love On Dublin Street. Honestly it didn't feel NA to me at all. And the characters were so immature - even in the end.

      I did like this couple though and that's why I read their novella because they were so sweet and fought for each other even thought hey had a bumpy road.

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  6. I can't believe I still haven't read this b/c I wanted more Ellie and Adam too. I don't understand why all the typos. It shouldn't have been that rushed! Thanks for the review!

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    1. It wasn't the worst I've ever read regarding typos but it did seem to happen at pivotal moments where they were most noticeable.

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  7. I have yet to read On Dublin Street, but I really am determined after all the praise I've heard.
    Honestly, I don't know that I'd be comfortable with Ellie and Adam's history. It seems that they hurt each other so much in the past, and his mixed signals would drive me nuts. But then again, who knows? Sometimes these things work even for me.

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    1. I didn't love it. It was good but the characters were too immature for me and I didn't feel much better about their relationship by the end.

      Ellie and Adam were so sweet and they definitely hit some bumps on the the road to their HEA but it was believable to me. I could understand why he was reluctant to give in and it was great to read about that moment that everything changed for him. We don't get that in ODS

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  8. I like reading stories that are told as diary entries. This sounds very sweet.

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