Losing It by Cora Carmack
December 5, 2012 by William Morrow Paperbacks
eBook- Kindle
Review Copy

So this book is all about that pesky little thing people like to call virginity. Or so for Bliss is that thing that's weighing on her as a 22 year old who has yet to find Mr. Right. Determined to hurdle herself over that milestone, Bliss along with her carefree friend who is no stranger to one night stands, dress up in revealing clothes and go out clubbing in search of the guy who will finally free Bliss of her so called tragedy.

Sounds like a great plan (not) but fate proves that Bliss can't get into it, her brain wont turn off the pros and cons of taking such a huge step and shes uncomfortable in the bar and in the clothes. Eager to get it over with but scared and annoyed all the same shes ready to give up and go home, that is until she meets Garrick, a British heartthrob sitting alone in the bar reading Shakespeare. Could a guy really be reading in a bar and is that really a sexy accent to boot? Bliss is dumbfounded and mesmerized by his eyes and his voice, she cant believe her luck and it doesn't take long for her misconceptions to get thrown out the window as the two move faster than the speed of light into a sexual encounter. Its sparks and instant chemistry, something she's never felt before, and so Bliss takes him home, but is terrified of the process (hmmm, bringing home a guy you've known for 10 minutes might be hard to get naked with when your insecure about sex in the first place) and the fear of facing rejection leads to a disastrous but hysterical end to the night. Humiliated is putting it lightly, but mortification describes the next morning when she walks into her theater class and sees the new teacher, you guessed it...........the naked dude who was in her bed, none other than that sexy British guy Garrick!


Talk about awkward!  At first due to the circumstances, Bliss and Garrick try and avoid each other but finally confront the situation and attempt to keep things as a teacher/student relationship. However undeniable chemistry, unfinished business and the fact that they live in same building gives them constant opportunities to run in the same circles. Both of our characters are falling in love and Garrick is finding it harder and harder to resist the beautiful girl that taunts his dreams. Seeing her out and thinking of her with another guy drives him crazy and knowing he cant do anything about it makes it worse, because if he pursues something more it could possibly bring consequences, like rumors and even job loss. But painful days of not being together and a spark that wont fade bring them closer to making that choice that could undo them.

For me virginity and sexual relationships are anything but pesky issues or what do people like to say..."just a right of passage"....I think sex is something to be valued and a very important choice, one that many young adults make with no common sense, for the couple in this story the age made a huge difference and even with its sexy appeal, I liked how Carmack made the issue important to her main character and really did make her choice of taking that step meaningful. Instead of a sleazy and forgotten one night stand, there was true romance built upon. For that aspect Losing It was easy to like in terms of readability. What keeps me from a higher star though, is how similar I found it to Slammed by Colleen Hoover....( the tragic sweet romance of Will and Layken, only this would be the R rated version and we just trade poetry for theater)....and being that Slammed is one of my favorite books from this year, it was hard not to compare the two. I was constantly sizing up Garrick to Will, who were pretty much the same character only Will would come out as the more gentlemanly persona and not the guy who tried to bag the chick on the first night......I was also comparing the overall progression of the couples relationship which had a lot of the same central issues that at times seemed so similar I was scratching my head a bit.

Of course there were differences and I was able to see them in the development of Bliss and her dynamic of friends, the independent living and college aspect surrounding her and not to mention the whole virginity thing. I saw in this story a beautiful potential for a long lasting relationship and while I had some issues with the "dramatic plot fillers" and predictability to the tee, overall I really enjoyed the writing style and felt like dancing Bliss style when I read the end.

Rating

Recommended to readers 18 and up and contains: Graphic sexuality, strong language, drinking and mild violence.

3/5- New Adult- Contemporary Romance
Thanks to Publisher for Review Copy