Welcome to the book blast tour for The Virgin Club by Kayley Wood, a contemporary romance with a smidge of comedy that is ever so much fun to read! Please enjoy my review and an excerpt before you download your own copy. You won't be disappointed. (And it's currently only $0.99!) And then also remember to leave comments and questions along the way as you follow the tour and then enter the giveaway.
The Virgin Club
Challenge: Lose my virginity before my 24th birthday. Time Left: 23 days.
Appletinis, a semi-meltdown, and a ‘Lose My Virginity Challenge’ post. That's all it took for my little blog to go viral.
I’m going to be fine. I’m anonymous. I can just delete the post and pretend it never happened. No big deal, right?
Wrong!
My co-worker crush, Logan—gorgeous, yummy and out of my league—found out about my secret deadline-driven cherry popping quest.
Humiliated would be an understatement.
Fortunately, my besties come to the rescue with a brilliant plan that involves my trending blog. If all went smoothly, I'd not only win over the untouchable Logan but also live my dream of becoming a full-time writer.
The plan isn’t just brilliant, it's perfect… until my new boss, Alexander Freeman comes into the picture with his Brooks Brothers suit and Tom Ford briefcase.
So what if the Stiff is hot? I will not ruin my one chance with Logan or my dream career.
But I'm in more trouble than I originally thought.
Turns out Alex has a few intentions of his own and a huge secret I'm totally unprepared for.
Read an excerpt:
David and I walked down the hallway toward the conference room, Maria and Claire trailing behind us.
“Have you noticed what’s trending on Twitter right now?” David asked.
“No. I’ve been absorbed in the Moonstorm Press account. Anything interesting?”
“Very,” David leaned in closer and whispered. “Apparently there is a twenty-three-year-old virgin out there who is set on cashing in her V-card before her twenty-fourth birthday.”
A cold sweat started to form under my arms. This was not good. I let out an over-exaggerated laugh. “Why would something that stupid be trending?”
David smirked. “A twenty-three-year-old virgin sharing her sexual escapades like it’s her diary for the entire world to see? This is the next viral thing. Mark my words.”
Viral? No. My blog was not going viral. I had to delete that post the moment I got home. Maybe even the entire blog.
“Are you talking about The Virgin Club?” Maria caught up beside David and her eyes lit up like she was ready for some juicy gossip.
Yup, I will never drink and post again.
“Yes!” David said. “Have you read any of it?”
“Some, but the site kept crashing, but thankfully someone posted some screenshots on Instagram. Did you see her goal for the first week?”
I wanted to sink through the floor and disappear. The last thing I needed was my work colleagues talking about my sex life—or lack thereof.
**My thoughts**
I will admit that when I first read the blurb of this book, I was a little apprehensive. I thought perhaps it was going to be like some kind of reality show where all the girl does is try to sleep around or something like that. But this little voice in the back of my head kept telling me to give it a try. I am so glad that I did.
It's not at all what I thought it was going to be. I was surprised to find myself relating to Emma so much, especially considering I am a generation older than she is, which I think helped me to really get into the story. Emma has her job that she goes to daily and does well at, two best friends, and seems to be doing okay on her own, only she is a big fail in the romance department. She is also a writer and has an anonymous blog that talks about a pact that she and her friends made in college - to remain virgins all the way through school. This is something that you almost never hear about anymore. Usually it seems like people are competing to see how early they can lose it, instead.
So when Jada and Lauren move on to their respective serious relationships, and subsequently give up their V-cards, Emma is left being the last one standing. She decides to shift her blog's focus from being a single girl still trying to hold onto her virginity to vowing to give it up by the time she turns 24 in a few weeks. And suddenly she goes viral.
People can't stop tuning in to see what kind of trouble Emma is going to get herself into today, especially when it involves her little love triangle that has developed between her, Logan - the new hottie at work, and Alex - the new boss. Even more intriguing is that Logan and Alex have their own past, making the game a little bit more exciting. And of course, she is still, in theory, anonymous, but you know she is going to get found out at some point.
What I loved is that Emma ends up learning a lot about herself as she writes out her story. She is figuring out how to find what's real and good in a relationship and continues to realize that it's not all about sex. She learns a lot about trust and love as well as friendship and loyalty. She learns that blogging after enjoying a few appletinis may not be the smartest move (although it did let her be honest, which led to thousands of followers, and who hasn't done this at least once or five times before?). And I love that she learns to embrace herself as a super lovable klutz, which actually makes her even more endearing to me. (Says the woman who just recently sprained her ankle doing something stupid and trivial as well.)
If you're looking for a lot of hot sex, don't bother. Or maybe you should try this book, just to try something different. I actually loved having a cleaner romance to read for a change. The men will still give you plenty of swoon-worthy moments in the romance department. And you won't be able to help but laugh at, but mostly with Emma, along the way. I was really reminded of beloved authors like Sophie Kinsella, Helen Fielding, Marian Keyes, and other great indies like Tawdra Kandle, Melissa Baldwin, and Becky Monson. Adding Kayley Wood to my list and definitely reading more of her work.
About Kayley Wood
Kayley has three simple rules in life:1. Surround yourself with some incredible, kick-ass women you call friends.
2. Don’t worry about failure or mistakes. It’s how you respond to them that makes all the difference.
3. An appletini is never complete without two cherries.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44301055-the-virgin-club
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18941724.Kayley_Wood
Kayley Wood will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
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Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteHi Andi, thanks so much for the review. You're my first blog review, and you always remember your first time! ;)
ReplyDeleteThe authors you compared my style to, is a such a high compliment. I'm honored (and humbled.)
As someone who has sprained her ankle three times, I totally understand. Get well soon! -Kayley