Book Review: Before Jamaica Lane by Samantha Young

Before Jamaica Lane

By Samantha Young

Release Date: January 7, 2014

Source: Publisher

Summary: One simple lesson in seduction between two friends can turn into so much more… 

Despite her outgoing demeanor, Olivia is painfully insecure around the opposite sex—usually, she can’t get up the nerve to approach guys she’s interested in. But moving to Edinburgh has given her a new start, and, after she develops a crush on a sexy postgrad, she decides it’s time to push past her fears and go after what she wants.

Nate Sawyer is a gorgeous player who never commits, but to his close friends, he’s as loyal as they come. So when Olivia turns to him with her relationship woes, he offers to instruct her in the art of flirting and to help her become more sexually confident.

The friendly education in seduction soon grows into an intense and hot romance. But then Nate’s past and commitment issues rear their ugly heads, and Olivia is left broken-hearted. When Nate realizes he’s made the biggest mistake of his life, he will have to work harder than he ever has before to entice his best friend into falling back in love with him—or he may lose her forever…

Review: I really shouldn't be surprised how much I loved this book. With Samantha Young's track record, I should have been prepared to fall head over heels in love with this book. But I found myself surprised with just how great this book really was. 

Olivia may seem like the confident, successful woman on the outside, but on the inside she's anything but confident. Whenever she comes within two feet of an attractive guy, she becomes completely tongue-tied and self-conscious. Olivia feels like she's had enough of being shy and inexperienced, so she enlists the help of her best friend Nate, who's quite the master when it comes to flirting and landing the girl. Olivia's new education proves to be very intriguing, but soon the lines are blurring between the lessons and the real feelings Olivia has for Nate. Can Olivia continue on in their deal before her emotions become too real? 

Gahhhhhh this book was amazing. There wasn't a moment where I wasn't freaking out over what was going on between Olivia and Nate. Seriously, I was reading with my sister in my room and freaked out every other second and she looked at me like I was crazy. Which is true, because this book drove me absolutely crazy!

What made this book had to be Olivia's character. Of all of the heroines of Samantha Young's books, Olivia has been my favorite. She's so relatable and quirky, and I just love her. She has an awesome job (she's a librarian), a super hot and nice best friend (Nate), and is trying to be more confident in both her looks and herself as a person. I loved watching her grow in confidence and learn to love herself before she learned to let others in. It was great, too, how the other two couples from the first two books of this series were still a major part of Olivia's story. 

But let's get to the real reason I loved this book. Yeah, you guessed it…Nate! This guy, wow. He's got a seriously emotional past, so those moments when he opens up to Olivia and shows just how emotional he really is are so touching. Not to mention he sure is skilled when it comes to his knowledge of women, so he's the perfect person to guide Olivia in her goal to become more sexy and confident. Their banter and bickering was so fun and I loved how they could still cuddle and watch movies and just be friends. Their relationship was just so…perfect. 

The end of this book, though, is what seriously got me. Seriously? Their relationship was driving me absolutely crazy! There wasn't a moment that I wasn't on the edge of my seat, freaking out about how things between Olivia and Nate would turn out. If you haven't started Samantha Young's series yet, you need to do that RIGHT NOW. And if you've already read them, then you have to pick this one up as soon as it comes out! This is her best story yet and you're going to find yourself going crazy over Nate and Olivia's sweet yet super steamy relationship.