Forbidden romance, complicated relationships, and true love. Jordan needs a place to stay, so when her boyfriend Cole offers to let her move in with him and his dad while she saves up money she can't say no. She's been working dead-end jobs just to try to make ends meet, but with a boyfriend who is barely there and a relationship declining she begins to feel herself yearning for more... or rather someone else. Pike is Cole's father, he's done everything he can to give his son a good life, he's hard working and built a company, but the one thing he's missing is someone to share a life with... yet the moment his dream girl appears before him it just had to be his son's girlfriend. Pike and Jordan find themselves bonding and falling for each other, yet their age gap, the fact that she's his son's girlfriend, the fact that this is messy and that they're both unavailable... but they can't keep away from each other, especially since they live in a house together. How long can they hold out? Will they be able to withstand the storm that comes if they do give in? This was such a fun read, I was surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this one. Both Pike and Jordan were forced to grow up, they're both mature and they fit together so well. They care so much yet don't want to hurt the ones they love, but the chemistry between them is undeniable and they can't help wanting the other. I loved how their romance went, how it built over time, and how through care and bonding, you get to see them fall for each other. I really had fun with this one and if you enjoy forbidden age gap romances give this one a go!

*Thanks Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group, Berkley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Read if you like:
👴🏼Age Gap Romances
🏘️ Small Town Vibes
🎶 80’s References
⛰️ Outdoor Activities
🥵 Great Spice

I know a lot of Penelope’s books get a bad rap, but with seeing this one rise to popularity on booktok when it became a NetGalley option with Berkley I couldn’t help but request it! The summary was appealing to me, and I definitely made the right decision as this one really sucked me in! I was unsure of this level of smut before, but I think I may need to fit more books like this in my life. 😜

I knew going into this that this was smut, but I didn’t expect so much depth. I mean there wasn’t even any smut until like halfway in. I love that she developed the characters and got us attached to them and made sure that we could empathize before taking it any further.

No Insta-love or insta-sex here. A good, reasonable sounding plot with realistic conflict and unbelievable tension and pining. Age gap relationships are normally seen as taboo, but honestly fuck “normal” and let people love whoever they want. We have 19 year old Jordan and 38 year old Pike and I LOVED them together. I respected the hell out of both of these characters and the choices they made in their lives. They were both tough, responsible, independent, selfless, and so passionate.

This book was sexy, intense, emotional, and quirky and I was here for it. Thank you Berkley Romance for my ARC of this one!

After suddenly being evicted from their apartment, Jordan and her boyfriend, Cole, are forced to move into his father's house temporarily. The stress of the new living situation puts a strain on Jordan and Cole's relationship. Cole is never around and when he is, he isn't as supportive as he should be. Jordan begins to spend more time with Cole's thirty-eight-year-old father, Pike. There is a connection and chemistry between Jordan and Pike that neither of them is willing to admit they have.

DAAADDDDDYYYY PIKE! I fell in love with Pike from the first scene between him and Jordan. WHAT A MAN! Sure, he was a little bossy, but that's the way I like my daddies. Pike was sexy, not only because of his good looks, tattoos, and strong body, but also because he was genuinely a good man. He was father who tried to do right by his son even though his son was a jerk.

Penelope Douglas did an amazing job of developing this taboo relationship between Jordan and her boyfriend's father. I was cheering for them to get their HEA even though it started under questionable circumstances. Jordan and Pike seemed to belong together - their chemistry was undeniable, especially during those sex scenes. Douglas is an expert steamy scene writer and I loved the steamy scenes in this book.

Pick up this book for one of the best age gap romances out there featuring a daddy who you won't be able to resist falling for!

Steam level: 🔥🔥🔥½
⚠️: infidelity (not between the main characters)

I've heard a lot of hype in regard to this book but I am not a big fan of age-gap romances. I decided to give it a chance and I am glad I did. The tension between Pike and Jordan was insane and I found myself rooting for them despite all the obstacles in their path. The fact that Jordan is dating Pike's son when they meet definitely puts the story in boyfriend/ex-boyfriends dad territory which I know a lot of romance readers love. I was a little off put by the fact that Jordan is the same age as Pike's son but as the story progressed that didn't seem to matter as much to me. Despite their difference in age, they both were exactly what the other needs.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ 4/5

Okay, okay, this book lives up to the hype! Age gap romances are definitely up there for me, but I definitely had my moments of internal struggle as I am closer in age to Pike than I am to Jordan. REGARDLESS, I really loved Pike and Jordan’s relationship and the tension was undeniable! These two have chemistry!

I was in a bit of a reading slump before picking this up and I am so glad that I did because I flew through it. This was definitely a wild ride and I recommend it for my age gap, ex-boyfriend’s dad loving girlies!

Birthday Girl will be published on September 26, 2023.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing (@berkleypub @berkleyromance) and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is easily the best Penelope book I've ever read. If you weren't rooting for Pike by the end, you were wrong.

No but for real, this was one of the best romance books I've ever read, and it was so enjoyable. The book starts off on kind of a sad note, you can feel as the reader the struggle and anxiety the main character goes through having to move into her boyfriend's dad's house and then having the boyfriend be absolute trash? I will stand on the hill that her ex was unredeemable and that's that.

Pike is written to be the perfect boyfriend. He's older, more mature, more attentive, and overall just more caring than the ex boyfriend ever was. Jordan and Pike had so much more chemistry than any other romance in the book and I could not be happier.

This book was everything and I will read it over and over again because I love it that much.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Five Stars! Penelope Douglas really knows how to write a spicy book, with characters, and a story you care about. She's becoming an auto buy author for me. If Penelope Douglas writes it, I'm going to read it and I'm going to love it. Not to mention, all of the covers of her books are to die for, they look so pretty sitting on a shelf! I didn't know I was a fan of age gap romances until I started reading her books!

Ugh. This was definitely not my thing. I skimmed or skipped multiple spicy scenes. What did I expect, you wonder? Didn't really think about it actually. I just went with some hype I had heard, but both the main characters were immature. I'm not opposed to reading romance books ... just close the door!

The writing and the set up feel like the rest of her books. Her fans will enjoy them. I stopped after chapter 2 (11%) but probably a solid three to four stars for the target market.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC.

I enjoyed this book! I friggin' loved Jordan! She was really finding out who she was a person. She was learning her worth and I loved it!!

There was miscommunication between Pike and Jordan. I expected it from Jordan as she was a young adult still in college. Although, I expected a bit more from Pike. He's 38 years old. I think it was written in the story to add to the sexual tension. I don't read a lot of these tropes but IMO the sexual tens/ion was HIGH. This was exactly the book I needed to read!!

The spice level was 🌶🌶🌶

Read This Book If:
You like age gap & forbidden romance tropes with a HEA
You like DUAL POV
You need a moderately spicy book in your life!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas!

My ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I’ve seen people suggest this book was scandalous in some way be of the age gap but it was actually a really sweet, slow burn love story. I really enjoyed it.

Jordan has nowhere else to go when her boyfriend offers to let her move in with him and his dad. Working a dead-end job, with her relationship sputtering, she jumps at the opportunity, expecting to help out around the house in exchange. What she doesn’t anticipate is for her heart to race every time Pike pulls into the driveway, or to burn when their eyes meet over the breakfast table. He’s kind and listens to her and protects her in a way no man ever has before. Her sister once told her there are no good men, and if you find one, he's probably unavailable. Only Pike isn't the unavailable one…she is. As the days go by, Pike’s finding it anything but simple to have his son’s girlfriend living in his house. He can’t stop thinking about her and holding his breath every time they cross paths. It feels like she’s becoming a part of him. Except he knows they’re not free to give in to this. How could they when he’s her boyfriend’s father?

Well I came into this book a little skeptical because age gap romances aren't my usual cup of tea. However after I mentally aged her up from 19 to 23 I enjoyed the book much more! There were some times where Jordan and Pike were bickering like father and daughter that I didn't love but besides that I really enjoyed their story. The romance was well written and there was a good amount of spice. A lot of these smutty books can come off as soap opera-y and this one didn't!

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 9/26

After reading and giving Corrupt 5 stars, I was eager to pick up another Penelope Douglas book, even though age gap is not my favorite trope. While reading Birthday Girl, I was surprised to find that the age gap didn't bother me, because from my observations, our mid-thirties male lead, Pike, had the mind frame of a 19-year-old, so he and Jordan (the 19-year-old female main character) were on the same level mentally, in my opinion. First of all, the man doesn't eat vegetables. Secondly, he had the nerve to tell Jordan to "go to her room". No sir, I would not be taking orders from a man child who I have to sneak vegetables in his food to get him to eat his daily serving of veggies. I say this poking fun at Pike, but I mean I like a man with a more sophisticated palette. Another thing was that Pike was taking Jordan on activities like off roading to impress her. These are things that I did as a 19-year-old, not 30 something. As far as the connection between the two, I think I can see why Jordan liked Pike, because he was fun (in a juvenile way), but why did he like her other than he was physically attracted to her at first sight? I don't mind instant attraction based on looks, but as the story progresses, I would like to see more reasons other than the physical for why the character is still interested in the other. Then there was the scene (and I will be vague to not spoil anything) where Jordan gets jealous and throws a tantrum, and Pike is turned on by this jealousy and pouty behavior. To me that part read like how a younger guy would act, not someone in their mid 30s. I enjoy Penelope's writing. I think their prose flow nicely, are easy to read and well written. I guess you could argue that Pike's maturity was stunted because his adolescence was cut short due to having a kid at a young age. Maybe that's why he was sort of living out his teenage dreams. But, I am not sure if that was the intention that Penelope Douglas had when they wrote his character. As you can see, I had some issues with the believability of the characters, so that is why Birthday Girl was not a 5 star like Corrupt was. Actually, I can't wait to continue the Devil's Night series. As far as Birthday Girl goes, I think if you are 19 and you like older dudes, you will eat this book up. It just wasn't for me.

3.5 STARS
This book has a bit of that naughtiness going on for those of you who enjoy the age-gap romance and forbidden romance tropes. If that is you, then this is the book I’m sure that you will devour.

Like all good authors, writing a forbidden romance that includes a young adult is definitely a science when it comes to keeping the edge on your story and those pages turning.

The author has taken us on a journey of a teenage girl crushing completely on her boyfriend’s dad and likewise. The tension and the sexual undertones are all over the story. The character development is great and the main characters all balance well.

The plot is engaging but I did have some issues with the book. Go figure. As a mature adult, in some instances, this was a tough book to read.

A little girl, games, and stereotypical storyline made it a little hard for me to enjoy. While I love the characterization, and the fact the author did really put a lot of creativity into her story, there was also a lot of the same methodology that you see in all of the young adult books.

Following a formula that gets you the break up, the crushing, coming back together, another break-up, games, running away, etc. etc., is somewhat boring for the reader. This reader is looking for more than just a formula used to write the books. The creativity doesn’t shine so brightly when the book is broken down so blatantly.

Well, Birthday Girl has plenty of steam and heat to it because of the forbidden romance aspect. There are some issues that I found with it because of the fact that it’s the same formula as all the other YA books.

The story is definitely for the younger generation and I’m not taking anything away from the author for that as she knows her audience.

If you’re looking for loads of anticipation, some sexy times, some drama and anxiety, but a happily ever after eventually, then this is the perfect story for you.

hands down one of my favorite age gap, ex's dad books ever. they both try to deny and fight their feelings but they have such a pull to each other there is nothing better than when they come together. just all around a perfect book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: power imbalance, parental neglect, cheating

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary/taboo romance
-ex's dad
-age gap
-sloooow burn
-forced proximity
-forbidden relationship

The loofah and Daddy Pike were wonderful on the reread just as much as they were on my first read.

Steam: 3.5

I loved this book. It was such a fun read full of smut, drama, and healing.

Jordan has a super crappy boyfriend, but his dad? Hot hot hot. Jordan and her super crappy boyfriend move into his dad's house, Pike. But the attraction between Jordan and Pike is on fire, and super crappy boyfriend keeps ignoring her and treating Jordan like crap, which causes Jordan and Pike to become closer than ever.

Forbidden/taboo romances are almost always fun and this one is no exception; I adored it. It's just a fun, smutty read. (and it makes for an excellent bookstagram photo when it's your bday). The angst was great, the spice was delightful, and the chemistry between Jordan and Pike was on fire.

Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas is an exceptionally gritty, heartbreaking, and authentic book. It captivates readers with its raw portrayal of emotions and experiences.

I didn't enjoy "Birthday Girl" as much as I hoped. It's not just about the age gap – the characters' maturity and how well they fit together bothered me. The relationship between Jordan and Pike didn't feel believable. Jordan was supposed to be mature due to her past, but her behavior often felt childish and annoying. The way Pike treated Jordan was confusing. Sometimes he lusted after her, and other times he acted like a strict parent. Cole seemed lacking in depth, coming across as one-dimensional and barely engaging with Jordan throughout the story. This limited interaction weakened the potential for any meaningful tension. The book dragged on, and I couldn't connect with the characters. I finished it because so many others liked it and I wanted to see what the hype was about, but it didn't engage me personally.