Get ready for an emotional roller coaster with a lead character that's easy to empathize with, going through some very hard times, and having to make some extremely tough decisions.
I liked Lizzie from the very beginning, even with her obvious flaws or even because she's the first to point them out. The story starts with her hearing the worst possible news that her parents are dead and she's expected to raise her kid brothers, even though she's just an 18-year-old college student that's failing all her classes. Seeing her take on all new challenges head-on and try to do her best for her brothers endeared her to me and made rooting for her to find her happiness super easy. The fact that the slight enemies-to-lovers and forbidden relationship that she has with Connor is sweet and steaming at the same time only makes the story that much better.

The only reason this isn't getting a full 5-star review is that the audiobook review copy has some serious sound mixing issues that I really hope got fixed before the final release. There are whole scenes with Connor and Lizzie where he's barely discernible and then she's suddenly practically screaming even though she's just talking 'normally' in the story. It's obviously Samantha Summers trying to get the low cadence of a man and lowering her pitch (tone), which should have been an easy fix. This is actually a bit of a bummer because she does a great job of setting up scenes emotionally as the story develops so that you really feel things right along with Lizzie and everyone else. It's just that sound mixing that I hope gets fixed for the final release.

Many happy thanks to NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for the emotional early listen!

I really enjoyed this audiobook. The story is about a young girl named Lizzie Brandt who goes off to college where she does the typical college things like party, boys, ect. Until on day that change when she receives some bad news which changes her life all together. She has to clean up her life at college before she loses her scholarship. She is thrust into a role of becoming an adult with lots of responsibilities. Lizzie goes to her history class TA who is Conner and ask him for assistance in tutoring for her to get her grades up.

There are a lot of themes in the book about college life the partying and going wild in essence after leaving high school for Lizzie's case she was Valedictorian in High School and became party girl in college. There are themes of slut shaming, revenge, college party life, grief and love. I also found myself laughing at some of the things in the book. It was one of the best romances I have read in awhile it had all the things you expect a good romance novel to have good sex scenes very steamy at times and a beautiful complex love. Lizzie struggles at the start and you see her grow as the book goes on and she becomes not perfect but someone to be proud of. She handles her circumstances the best she can and finds a way to thrive in it. I found myself rooting for Lizzie throughout the book. She really has character for all she went through in school and in life in general.

I enjoyed the person who narrated the audio book she did a perfect job playing the roles of the characters in the book.

I recommend anyone who likes romance to give this book a read it was well worth it.

After tragedy strikes Lizzie's family, she finds herself a struggling 18 year old college freshman turned guardian of her 2 younger brothers. As her life is turned upside down; she finds herself turning towards her unfriendly and seemingly cold TA who helps her turn her grades around so that she can keep her brothers out of foster care.

Let me just say this...this book dives into heavy subject matter, but I loved it! If it could go wrong in Lizzie's life; believe me, it does. Reminding us that life isn't always fair. Still it is a romance, and still some light heartedness. Mixed in with some angst and a little spice along the way!

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC audiobook for an unbiased review!

Such a creative and emotional story line. I enjoyed listening to the audio version because I was able to hear the tone of the characters and hear their initial appropriate immaturity and reflective growth throughout the book.

I really appreciate how this book tackles about parental death and how it would greatly affect a person. Most especially if that person has to take care of themself and her siblings. That has to be so hard, plus she has to balance taking care of her siblings to maintaining her grades to keep her scholarship.

Aside from all those, she gets involved with her TA and the rumors of her being a huge slut made things extra harder to handle. But she came out a better person and i am glad that she had really great support system that stayed with her.

I really appreciate this book.

Highly recommend this book to those who love light academia books. For once this is a really good teacher-student trope.

FULL REVIEW: https://wandersbetweenpagess.wordpress.com/2022/02/06/review-last-will-and-testament-by-dalhia-adler/

Despite the parent death plot line, because of it's pink illustrated cover I thought this was a romcom.... it definitely isn't. This is a very heavy book.

It opens to the heroine in bed with a frat boy she's been fucking for a year, despite knowing he has a girlfriend. She's been doing poorly in school and not really trying, which puts her at risk of losing her scholarship, which she now needs more than ever. And to top it all off she's now responsible for her two younger brothers. No one really presents her with alternatives or offers of help.

She's kind of a huge mess but not in an endearing way, she was however extremely realistic. Shes very flawed and that doesnt change all that much by the end.

I thought this would be a tale of a college girl having to step to the plate and becoming a responsible parent while falling in love along the way. In reality, she just flails around, failing at every turn and never catching a break. I wasnt her hugest fan in the beginning (not a fan of the whole side hoe life) but even I was like damn can she just have something GOOD happen for once? She was too young to be a parent and honestly she was not great at it, so in the end them being separated was the best option.

The romance didn't really spark for me but I would try another book by this author

The amount of love I have for this romance cannot be put into words here. I love Elizabeth and Connor, I love their romance, and I love how the pair overcome every terrible thing that happens as they fall in love. If anyone deserves a happy ending, it's these two (and Lizzie's brothers).

The drama here was a little over-the-top at times for me, but this was a pleasant read overall. I wish Lizzie was aged up a year or two both for the sake of the romance and and because I think it would’ve made some of the back story more believable. Great narration in the audiobook!

New Adult Romance isn’t something that I read a lot, but I was drawn to this one. It sounded like it could be cute, funny and emotional, and it was. I really enjoyed this book, and I couldn’t stop listening to it. I laughed, I cried, and I generally had a good time. I wasn’t expecting to love this book as much as I did, but I highly recommend it.

This book follows Lizzie Brandt, a former high school valedictorian who is now doing badly in college and has been sleeping with the wrong kinds of guys. After her parents die, she’s left as her younger brother’s guardian, and she needs to try and sort her life out. The only person who can help her is her Byzantine History TA, Connor Lawson. Not only is he a good tutor, but he helps her out in a lot of other ways. Soon, they both figure out that they’ve developed feelings for each other which could make things even more complicated.

So, obviously, this book does have some problematic elements. Though they are both adults, Connor is still in a position of power over Lizzie. But that is something that is covered in the book. They both know the relationship is questionable, and that does lead to drama, but it doesn’t feel like a bad relationship. Connor isn’t taking advantage of Lizzie, and though he can be a dick, so can she be. All of these elements do lead to problems for them, but it does have a happy ending.

I did enjoy the friendships too. You don’t see much of Lizzie’s friendships with Cait or Frankie, but they did seem good for each other. I’m actually excited to read the other two books in this series which does follow each of them. I also loved Doug, who was a frat bro who popped up a few times. Was he doing what he did to impress a girl? Yeah. But he was still a pretty decent guy, and I hope he pops up in the other books too.

Family is obviously another important point. Lizzie has to take charge of her younger brothers, who are 7 and 13. They’ve all lost their parents, and because of that, they’re struggling. They all love each other, they all tease each other and there are some adorable scenes. But grief obviously features prominently. This book made me cry a few times when it comes to these siblings. They’re all grieving in their own ways, but the 7-year-old’s pain was the worst. I feel like the grief was dealt with well, but not having gone through it myself, I can’t be certain. But it did feel realistic, and it was some great writing.

If you’re looking for a book that will make you both laugh and cry, this one will be for you. It’s been out in e-books since 2014, but the audiobook is only just coming out. It’s well narrated and is super easy to listen to. I’ll definitely be continuing this series in audio as I feel like it’s the best way to enjoy it.

*I received a free ARC of the audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This book managed to be heart breaking and heart warming at the same time. Many of the struggles the characters were going through were believable, and it was impossible to not feel for them. I thought the storyline with Sophie was a step too far, especially with the other themes like grief, loneliness, and responsibility that we’re happening, but overall it was an excellent book. I highly recommend!

Lizzie was not expecting to find happiness after losing her parents and becoming sole guardian to her younger brothers. But Connor stepped up to help her when she needed it and things progressed from there.

I loved the drama of Lizzie and Connor’s relationship. The way they figured out how to be in a relationship despite everything that was happening.

I knew going in to this audiobook that the premise revolves around Lizzie’s parents death. I however was not prepared for the emotional toll that I personally experienced while listening to this book. I felt that the subject was handled well and even though it was a major theme in the book it did not over power the romance that was the center theme.

Thank you NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for a copy of this audiobook. This is my honest voluntary review.

Thank you NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for providing ARC audiobook for review purposes.
The book is a first in three book series, set in a fictional university, originally published in 2014.
Audiobook version is to be published in February 2022.

The book is about a college party girl, Lizzie, suddenly loses her parents and inherits her two younger brothers. She now has to straighten up and improve on her grades to keep her family together. In effort to keep up with her school work, she begins to study with her TA, Connor, with whom she would start to have romantic relationship.

Who might enjoy this book: College students who are tired of studying and can use a steamy escape.

I admit I don't read romance genre very often, especially college setting. I thought the premises were interesting enough to pick it up, but the story soon turned into a predictable path for me. I am not this book's target audience and the three stars reflects on that. There are too many cuss words which to me indicates lack of sophistication and intelligence, but maybe this is how it is at this age. There are pretty steamy sex scenes as well leaving nothing to imagination, which too is not my preference. Overall for me the book is just okay for me'; however, I can see target audience giving 4 or 5 stars on this book.

4.5/5

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I had no idea this was a title released a while back, but the audio version is going to be released later this month. I read Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler late last year and really enjoyed it, so when I realized she had more titles, I had to pick them up immediately.

This book follows Lizzie in the aftermath of her parents' sudden death. Not only is she dealing with her grief, but she has to pull her grades up in order to keep her college scholarship, and now has to parent her two younger brothers. Oh yeah, and she's suddenly realizing that her history TA is kinda cute and maybe someone who could love and support her.

I cried and laughed and swooned my way through this entire book. I loved all of the emotions and just how imperfect all of our characters were. They are real people trying to do their best in a horrible situation-- desperately failing sometimes, but heroically loving one another at other times. Lizzie was such a great main character and I was devastated when the book ended. I wanted Lizzie and Connor's story to just keep going and going because I enjoyed it so much.

My one complaint is the big climax around 80% of the way through the book. I think it wasn't necessary and I would have enjoyed the book more if this conflict had been avoided.

The narration was fabulous and raw and real. I would definitely pick up more titles read by this narrator.

Highly recommend for romance readers-- especially those who enjoy a more serious title (less romcom, more "issues" romance)

A re-release on audio, this New Adult story was originally published in 2014. Lizzie is in college when she learns her parents have died in a car crash, leaving her the guardian for her two younger brothers. As she tries to juggle school with her newfound parenting responsibilities she starts falling behind. Luckily her TA Connor is eager to help out but these two have trouble ignoring their undeniable chemistry. Highly recommended for fans of Elle Kennedy and great on audio narrated by Samantha Summers. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ALC. I look forward to reading more in this series!

I voluntarily listened to an ARC of this audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Where to start? This was a tricky one to rate. I liked Connor. He was a pretty amazing guy, even though he fell for a student (there's a pretty small age gap really).
The plot was sad and unfortunately does happen. I just think Lizzie wasn't an easy character to like. It was mainly her attitude to things, like smoking, cheating, swearing. She just came off as quite immature for an 18 year old. I know she's meant to seem young at the start, and develop, but yes, she was hard to like.
Overall the audiobook was easy to listen to and I liked the narrator's voice.
2.5 stars

A cute forbidden romance with many challenges and twists and turns. I thought this was a cute story that reflects a relationship that is usually frowned upon…but wait until the ending to see what happens to them!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book is so enjoyable… but it doesn’t match the audiobook cover. At all. It presents as a cute rom com. And when I saw a TA mentioned, I just assumed based on all the equations on the cover that he teaches math. But he teaches Byzantine History? And this book is not a rom com. At all. Ok, now that we’ve moved past the fact that the cover artist didn’t read the book, let’s get down to the story.

Lizzie is living a wild life at college, letting alcohol, sex and generally bad decisions tank her GPA. And then her parents die suddenly and she becomes the guardian of her 14 and 7 year old brothers. The only way she can stay in college is to get her grades up to keep her scholarship, all while dealing with grief and basically being a single mom at 18. Oh and she has to uproot her brothers from their family home so she can continue to go to school.

She asks Connor, the TA of her Byzantine History class, to tutor her. He’s kind (and hot, if a bit of a nerd) and helps Lizzie with everything falling apart in her life. Major forbidden romance vibes with the TA / student thing. And both Connor and Lizzie have some heavy stuff going on in their lives.

So yea, not a rom com. This book is messy and heart wrenching, but the blossoming romance is a warm hug. And the spice is 🔥. Definitely much heavier than I was expecting, but also well worth my time and thoroughly enjoyable.

Narrator is absolutely amazing and I flew through this one in a couple days’ time.

I have to say that this was a interesting book- the description and plot was very engaging. I did have to day I had a lot of moments throughout this book where I wanted to scream at both Connor and Lizzie " what are you doing? ,that isn't responsible"

I had to constantly remind myself that Lizzie is only 18 and not a adult because oh boy sometimes I could see the diester that would later happen with Lizzie decisions.

Connor wasn't any better - he made some wild decisions and move as well. This whole story in my option was very close to being a fan fiction - I think the in-depth character development kept it out of that stage but it was close for me..

A good story but hard to watch Connor and Lizzie walk into disasters of their own making.

I LOVED THIS!
I love that this is book one for a series that I am so excited to continue reading about! Lizzie was so witty and charming. I enjoyed her and Conner's bantering back and forth throughout the novel and always found myself smirking while listening to this one! Conner is the perfect guy and just was so thoughtful throughout the novel to Lizzie and the boys.
I felt so sad for the characters in so many ways and really felt this novel captured love, heartbreak, and courage.
Thank you for the opportunity to listen to this novel! I soooo enjoyed it and cannot wait for the next one!!

Sarah
Insta: @sarahsbookcase

Overall I enjoyed the narration of the audiobook and thought it was an enjoyable listen but my reasons for the lower ranking is due to the plot.

This book centers around Lizzie picking up the pieces after her parents die and she is left to take care of her 13 and 7 year old brothers as an 18 year old college freshman within her first two months of her first semester which she is already ruining. She is a social pariah due to the events of the night she was notified of her parents death (hooking up with another girls boyfriend and humiliating the girl)…

Lizzie begins to get support from one of her classes TA’s who is 25 and very quickly the relationship turns sexual. I had problems with this dynamic personally due to the grieving process, the age gap, the power differential of the teacher-student relationship and it felt icky to me. Also, she was clearly extremely immature in how most things were handled that shows that Lizzie should not have been in a sexual relationship with someone in their mid twenties let alone someone in a position of power over her within two months of her parents death.

Other than that, if I would have listened to this when I was younger, I wouldn’t have had an issue with it as I too had a crush on a professor freshman year, but at 30 it came across as icky. That aside, I did really enjoy the book when I just focused on it being two adults in a complicated relationship… it had some pretty good steamy scenes so if you like that and are okay with the premise I would highly recommend it!

Thank you NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for the ARC of this audiobook! I am so thankful to obtain a copy to read in advance of its release!