EASY by Tammara Webber

This book totally rocked my world.  By defying convention, Easy by Tammara Webber surprised me and impressed me and made me want to read it again.  Immediately.  That's a rare occurrence, especially with as big a TBR pile as I have J.

 I'm not gonna lie.  The story had a couple of things that usually put me off.

1) An MC who follows her boyfriend to college and has lost her identity b/c of a guy. 

Um yeah, no need to explain why this independent woman wouldn't like that.

2) Heavy subject matter with the possibility of whiny-baby drama and preaching.

As a reader, I want to escape, to be entertained and ultimately a story with a spectacular HEA.  Usually, I steer clear of the heavy.  And preachy books pretty much turn me off.

Luckily, Easy took everything I'd come to expect from this kind of book and flipped it on its head.  Drama that was never preachy, romance that redefined HOT, and enticing characters that grow throughout the story yet stay true to themselves.  Why yes, you can have it all.

Easy centers around Jacqueline, a sophomore in college whose boyfriend has recently broken up with her.  She followed him to school instead of pursuing her dream as a concert bassist.  Jacqueline thought Kennedy was her one.  She never saw his betrayal coming.

After a frat party, Jacqueline--who was the designated driver for the night and completely sober--leaves by herself and is sexually assaulted by Buck, one of Kennedy's frat brothers.  (*Sidenote: If there's a better name for a sicko rapist, I don't know it.  Right on, Webber.  Right. On.)  Lucas, a complete stranger, saves Jacqueline right in the nick of time, beating the sh*t out of Buck before he can rape her.  But the close call changes Jacqueline forever.  She just wants to forget it ever happened--but how can she with Lucas popping up all the time?

I can't say enough about this book.  All of the characters were incredibly well developed.  It was believable that Jacqueline would commit to this relationship and lose a bit of herself.  I think this probably happens to so many young girls.  Not necessarily the following to college bit, but the loss of self.  It was believable.  It made her believable.

Instead of looking down on her for her vulnerability, I liked her more for it.  Jacqueline was willing to risk her heart, and quite frankly, Kennedy was the asshole.  That much was clear.  His reason for breaking her heart: He wanted to hook up with as many girls as possible before settling down so as not to ruin his future political aspirations.  Blech.  I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.

Whereas Lucas…well.  He was absolutely delectable J.  Prepare yourself, ladies.  A bad boy with a tragic past and a protective instinct for women--which was totally endearing and not at all possessive-stalkerish?  *Cue angels singing*  Thank you, Lord, for Lucas.  He was so sexy, so smart, so incredibly attractive on every level.  If he was real, I'd be all over that.  Seriously.

This romance is a must-read.  I know everyone under the sun has pretty much recommended this book, but I'll add my voice to that.  Easy was a great read by a great author with a very powerful message.  No girl deserves to be raped.  Ever.  For any reason.  Period.

If I ever get a chance to thank Tammara Webber for writing this book, I will.  And if you're a woman--or if you have women you love in your life--you should, too.

Happy reading,

Ninja Girl