17 October 2015

Title: The Fifteenth Minute (The Ivy Years #5)
Author: Sarina Bowen
Publisher: (October 13th, 2015)
From: the Author
Format: eARC
Add to: Goodreads
Order a copy: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository, Amazon UK, iTunes, Kobo

NOTE: This is a "New Adult" novel. Due to mature content this title is recommended for ages 18+

Synopsis: Just because she's famous doesn't mean she's happy.

Freshman Lianne Challice is known to millions of fans as Princess Vindi. But sometimes a silver screen sorceress just wants to hang up her wand, tell her manager to shove it, and become a normal college student. Too bad that’s harder than it looks.

She’s never lived a normal life. She hasn’t been to school since kindergarten. And getting close to anyone is just too risky — the last boy she kissed sold the story to a British tabloid.

But she can’t resist trying to get close to Daniel "DJ" Trevi, the hot, broody guy who spins tunes for hockey games in the arena. Something's haunting his dark eyes, and she needs to know more.

DJ's genius is for expressing the mood of the crowd with a ten second song snippet. With just a click and a fade, he can spread hope, pathos or elation among six thousand screaming fans.

Too bad his college career is about to experience the same quick fade-out as one of his songs. He can't get close to Lianne, and he can't tell her why. And the fact that she seems to like him at all? Incredible.

Review: 4 Stars - The Fifteenth Minute is the fifth title in author Sarina Bowen’s The Ivy Years series. The series follows different characters set in the same college, so each title can be read as a standalone as each title is its own story. However, characters from the past do make appearances so reading the book prior will give you some insight into who is who and their past.

Now that Ive gotten the important bit if info out of the way I'm free to gush about this series that I’ve read from the very beginning and have come to love, and without a doubt looked forward to.

One of the things I love about this series is the fact that each title has characters’ who are dealing with real issues, big and small. It’s one of the things I look forward to when I find a new book is being written. And in this fifth installment the author has taken issues to a whole new level with what her poor characters are forced to go through this time around.

And you might guess what’s going on… which I had an idea; however it didn’t take away from reading in the slightest because these characters and the way that the books written, you can’t stop, you can’t look away, you can’t put the book down until you reach the end! And when you do get to the end you wish you’d have read the book slower to savor it as the characters feel like friends and your heart has bled for them in their struggles.

The two main characters are DJ and Lianne. Both from different worlds, yet each is struggling with something so far removed from who they are, it’s shocking to see two people who are so different at the root of what is hidden deep down inside. Lianne is a movie star yet knows nothing when it comes to being a “normal” teenager in college, yet that’s exactly what she wants. A chance for a “normal” experience away from the spotlight, so she chooses a college far away from Hollywood and all its glamour.

Then there’s DJ, just your normal everyday college teen with a passion for music and hockey. He’s looking to finish his second year and is facing a difficult time at every turn. Forced to live off campus, he’s hiding from more than he knows what to do with. He looks forward to spending time with the Hockey team that his brother plays on and the time he can play music during the weekly games.

Neither of these characters saw the other coming and neither quite knows what to do when emotions and hidden secrets start to bubble over in their happy, fun, easy going relationship.

It’s the issues that create so much depth from these characters and makes the story with how it’s written, so much more than I could have asked for... and then some. I love these books, these characters, and this title didn’t let me down. It has all the things I love when it comes to a great book.

If you love characters with depth and a well written story then look no further than the Ivy Years book. There’s a buildup of the story that starts from the first page and doesn’t stop right through to the end. The issues are honest and will tug at your heart and the characters will stick with you long after reading. It’s a contemporary series centered around a college and college Hockey team that’s more than just about the sport. So, what are you waiting for? Go get started on this book today!








​Excerpt:

Lianne Challice is chatting me up.

As I fetch the pizza I ordered from the window, I try to decide whether or not I’m going insane. Maybe all the stress in my life has finally cracked me.

But no. When I deposit the pie on a table, her big eyes cut from the jukebox over to me, before darting away again. She is so freaking cute and so feminine that it’s making me crazy. Her mouth is like a little red candy that I’m dying to taste. And who has teeth that straight? She intimidates the fuck out of me, to be honest.

I make another trip to the pizza counter for paper plates and napkins. Usually we just grab slices off the tray like animals. But tonight I’m trying to be classy. The idea makes me snicker to myself. As if. Impressing Lianne Challice isn’t something I’m capable of. But I’m having fun trying. And there hasn’t been a whole lot of fun in this year for me. So that’s something.

Years from now I’ll look back on this night and laugh. Guys, did I ever tell you about the time I chatted up a movie star? I mean, my father is still telling people about the time he sat one table over from Tina Fey at Nobu.

Lianne sneaks another glance in my direction and I beckon to her. “Have a slice?” If she wants one, now is the time. In a minute my brother and his teammates will fall on the pizza like seagulls.

“Thank you. I guess I should. I didn’t make it to the dining hall tonight.”

“Your enthusiasm for Capri’s pizza overwhelms me,” I tease. “Aren’t you a fan?”

She slides a slice onto a paper plate, considering the question. “Pizza is like a nineties hit. Pretty good, especially if that’s all there is and you’re hungry.”

My own slice stops halfway to my mouth and I laugh. “Seriously?”

“What?”

“I don’t know if we can be friends,” I say before taking a bite.

“Because I don’t love pizza?”

I shake my head. “Who doesn’t love pizza? It’s, like, a basic human desire.” I cram a bite into my mouth to prove my point. Smooth, right?

She bites her bottom lip, and I realize I’d rather have that for dinner. “It’s okay. But it’s mostly just something you eat when you’re in a hurry or need to feed a crowd on the cheap.”

“Ah, I see,” I say when I can speak again. “The problem is that you haven’t had any great pizza. You’re a freshman, right? You don’t know all the glory that is Harkness pizza. Have you been to Gino’s Apizza?”

Lianne shakes her head. “I don’t think so.”

“She doesn’t think so,” I scoff. “Baby, if you’d had great pizza, you’d remember.” And now I sound like a real perv, but Lianne Challice is smiling at me, watching me with her big doe eyes, and I feel it like a drug. “They make everything from scratch. Even the sausage. We’ll go together, so I can prove my point.”

Annnd I think I just asked a movie star out on a date. Here comes the crash and burn.

First her eyes widen just a smidge. Then two pink spots appear on her face, one on either cheekbone. “Well, it would be a shame to live in this town and never know its true pizza greatness.”

I replay that sentence in my head and realize that she didn’t turn me down. “True,” I agree. “Do you think Thursday would be a night to experience pizza Nirvana?” I’m overselling the hell out of Gino’s now, but it’s working for me.

She gives me a serious frown, and I’m hoping she’s not busy on Thursday. Because I have back-to-back hockey games to DJ on Friday and Saturday. “Thursday it is. I shall prepare to be amazed.”



​QUOTES:

Sarina Bowen’s Ivy Years is my favorite New Adult series of all-time!” — Elle Kennedy, New York Times bestselling author of The Deal

“A love story brimming with emotion and tenderness. Read it and fall in love like I did.”
Kristen Callihan, USA Today bestselling author of The Hook Up




About the Author:

Sarina Bowen makes her home in the Green Mountains of Vermont, where she lives with her family, eight chickens and a large pile of skis and hockey equipment. She is a graduate of Yale University.

Find Sarina Online:

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