Title: Bad Girlfriend (First and Last #4)
Author: Kirsten DeMuzio
Genre: New Adult Romance
Release Date: March 18, 2014
Description:
Brooke Mills has only ever wanted to be loved. The product of a teenage pregnancy and raised by her grandmother, Brooke went looking for love in all the wrong places. She has been the other woman or someone’s dirty little secret more times than she cares to admit. When Brooke’s questionable judgment lands her in the bed of her new neighbor, it’s the wakeup call she needs to change her ways. With the help of her friends, Brooke is determined to find a nice guy.
Adam Branigan is new in town, and despite the way he and Brooke met, Adam knows there’s more to the beautiful redhead than meets the eye. He wants to be the guy to show Brooke that she deserves more than late night booty calls. But will outside pressures and past relationships conspire to keep them apart?
**This book is intended for a mature audience, age 18 and older, due to language and explicit content.
MY REVIEW
I so loved this book!!!
Brooke has only had bad luck with men. What she has always wanted is to find a good guy. One that will make her first in his life. She has always gotten involved with men who only want one thing from her, and they never make the time for her. Case in point... her on and off again boyfriend Chet. When he asks her to go out to dinner, she's pissed when he wants to go have a little fun, but not go to dinner.
This is the night she meets Adam Branigan, her grandmother's tenant who rents the apartment above the garage. She's not expecting him to be so good-looking. When Adam invites her to come over for pizza, she brings Tequila and limes and before either of them know it, they are waking up in a very comprising position. They seemed to have one wild night that neither of them remember.
Brooke is mortified, because she didn't want to sleep with him. She wanted things to be different. She's been abandoned by her mother, raised by her grandmother, and all she's ever wanted is to be loved by someone. She knows her Gram loves her, but her mother comes and goes in her life, and she feels nothing but resentment towards her.
Adam feels horrible about taking advantage of Brooke and is determined to make things right. Once he's able to apologize and start over with her, he realizes she's not the girl who everyone believes her to be. From watching her, he knows she's envious of what her three best friends have, and wants that for herself. The more time he spends with her, the more he wants to be the man to give her everything that she wants.
One of my favorite parts was when her two friends made a list of rules for Brooke to follow. She wants to desperately to be different with Adam, so her friends come up with five rules for to follow to the letter. When she shows them to Adam, he's game! He's willing to do anything to have her, and if that means abiding by five rules to get... then so be it!
Soon, Adam finds himself in a hot water with one of the parents from the school. The reason is probably the stupidest reason on earth, and I could totally understand why he was so angry about it. When he realizes that it is more to do with Brooke, and what this parent thinks of her, he's beyond pissed and lets everyone know just how much.
As I said, I loved this book! I loved all the people in this book. There were times I felt sorry for Brooke, because she did have a reputation around the small town, but it wasn't really who she was. All she wanted was love, pure and simple. She wanted a husband to have kids with, and a husband who would love her, and make her a priority. That was it. So many men in her life had made a fool of her, and she didn't want it happening again with Adam.
Now... Adam... sigh... why can't all school principal's be like him?? When he first sees Brooke taking the garbage to the end of the driveway in nothing but her underwear, he becomes curious about her. When he finally meets her in person, he's hooked. He defends her like no one else has before, and he stands by her when people try and bring her down. He loves her completely and will do anything to see the smile on her face.
THE EXCERPT:
Adam’s POV
I was overwhelmed with the urge to show her that good guys did exist, and that I was one of them. But that’s not what she needed right now.
When we were done eating, I threw the pizza box in the fridge. Brooke poured another round of shots for us, and this time I did mine at the same time as her, with my eyes closed.
“So, you know my story. Now it’s your turn.”
Brooke shrugged one slender shoulder and picked at the blanket with her pale yellow fingernails. I looked to her toes and saw they were painted in a matching shade. At first glance, everything about this girl screamed high maintenance. Yet, here she sat on my bed, eating pizza out of a box, drinking tequila shots and seemed to be perfectly comfortable doing it.
“There’s not much to tell. I grew up here with Gram. My mom was only sixteen when I was born and was too young to handle raising a kid. She comes and goes, but mostly goes. I went to cosmetology school after high school, and I do hair at Loraine’s Luscious Locks.” She winced as she said that last part. “I hate that name. Luscious is such a weird word.”
I laughed. “Do you like what you do?”
“Yeah, I really do. I’m good at it. I like making people feel good about themselves. It’s not brain surgery, but I like it.”
“You don’t have to save lives to be doing something important. I’m sure a good haircut can do more for a woman’s self-esteem than twenty sessions with a psychiatrist.”
“That’s probably true,” Brooke said, tilting her head to the side as she studied me.
“What?” I asked, thinking I must have pizza sauce smeared on my face or something.
She narrowed her eyes. “Are you gay?”
“What?” I repeated. This conversation was not going where I thought it would.
“It’s just that you’re so…nice. And you seem to really understand women.”
I snorted. “I assure you, Brooke, I am not gay. And I absolutely do not understand women. Your species is a complex and unsolvable mystery to me.”
She giggled and reached for the tequila bottle again. When we both had our shots in hand, she held hers up. “To new friends.”
I clinked my glass against hers. “To new friends.”
That’s the last thing I have any clear memory of…
About the Author
I am an author of new adult and contemporary romance novels. My husband and I live in Columbus, Ohio with our two young daughters and happy golden retriever. When I’m not spending time with my family, I can be found doing one of my other favorite activities - writing, reading and napping.
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Full disclosure: I am an acquired taste. I'm a typical blonde Orange County suburbanite who says 'like' more than necessary, laughs loud and probably obnoxiously, and loves to dance in the rain. I'm a 26 year old college graduate with more than a few tricks up my sleeve, and I also happen to be a pretty big Ducks fan. Oh, and I'm a writer. Like, for real.
I recently signed with Anchor Group Publishing, which will see two of my series being published this year. I've self-published over 15 books, with more on the way, so I'm familiar with both a hybrid-traditional publishing method as well as self-publishing.
I don't speak in third person (normally) nor do I wear glasses (except when I'm feeling particularly mischievous). I'm lucky to have found my soul mate at the ripe old age of 22, even though he frustrates me on purpose to get a reaction out of me. We live near Disneyland, have two rambunctious female puppies, and have a beautiful baby girl. He has two amazing boys, and has gotten me hooked on Smallville, watching soccer (okay, okay FOOTBALL - FC Barcelona, baby!), and Cancun Juice.
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