Losing It Trilogy by Cora Carmack
William Morrow ~ HarperCollins
Losing It received from HarperCollins Canada (signed)
Faking It & Finding It personally purchased
*Note that this review does not include my thoughts on the novellas (Keeping Her & Seeking Her).
Losing It #1 ~ Released October 15, 2012
Goodreads Description:
Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, Bliss Edwards decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible - a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if that weren't embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She'd left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier
Confession: I had no intention of reading Losing It, and it just so happened that fate stepped in. And by fate, I mean I was gifted a copy from HCC at their Fall Preview Event for bloggers, when they surprised us with a guest appearance from Cora Carmack to sign copies of Losing It for all of us! And after meeting Cora (I should also add here that I've talked to her before through blogging!) I decided I'd give my first New Adult book a whirl.
And you know what? I liked it.
Losing It is my favourite of the series, because I love the sense of humour that Cora writes so well. I can absolutely relate to Bliss and her many awkward moments, and her confusion and fear associated with growing up and taking on more responsibility. This is the kind of NA book I'm happy to read - yes, there's romance and a strong emphasis on it. But the romance isn't overpowering nor does it detract from the rest of the story. There are messy, crazy moments that Bliss has to learn to navigate and it doesn't always work out ideally.
Faking It #2 ~ Released June 4, 2013
Goodreads Description:
Mackenzie “Max” Miller has a problem. Her parents have arrived in town for a surprise visit, and if they see her dyed hair, tattoos, and piercings, they just might disown her. Even worse, they’re expecting to meet a nice, wholesome boyfriend, not a guy named Mace who has a neck tattoo and plays in a band. All her lies are about to come crashing down around her, but then she meets Cade.
Cade moved to Philadelphia to act and to leave his problems behind in Texas. So far though, he’s kept the problems and had very little opportunity to take the stage. When Max approaches him in a coffee shop with a crazy request to pretend to be her boyfriend, he agrees to play the part. But when Cade plays the role a little too well, they’re forced to keep the ruse going. And the more they fake the relationship, the more real it begins to feel.
I picked up Faking It immediately after finishing Losing It. There's definitely a similar vibe to Losing It, but I thought that Max and Cade were different enough characters to control their own story and make it work. Max has plenty of sass, so there's still that humorous style of writing, but in a different way from Bliss' awkward moments. This one's more sarcastic than anything.
Faking It is my least favourite of the three books here, likely because it just didn't wow me the way that Losing It did. It just kind of fell in between what I was hoping for, although I thought it was interesting that there were a few more serious issues included in this one for the characters to handle.
Finding It #3 ~ Released October 15, 2013
Goodreads Description:
Sometimes you have to lose yourself to find where you truly belong...
Most girls would kill to spend months traveling around Europe after college graduation with no responsibility, no parents, and no-limit credit cards. Kelsey Summers is no exception. She's having the time of her life . . . or that's what she keeps telling herself.
It's a lonely business trying to find out who you are, especially when you're afraid you won't like what you discover. No amount of drinking or dancing can chase away Kelsey's loneliness, but maybe Jackson Hunt can. After a few chance meetings, he convinces her to take a journey of adventure instead of alcohol. With each new city and experience, Kelsey's mind becomes a little clearer and her heart a little less hers. Jackson helps her unravel her own dreams and desires. But the more she learns about herself, the more Kelsey realizes how little she knows about Jackson.
Now Finding It really stood out to me from the other books in the series. It was less funny and far more serious, mostly for including a number of (what I consider) very serious issues that really had to be worked on by Kelsey and Jackson.
But I really appreciated that. I think this book is the one where we can really see that NA doesn't have to be light and fluffy - it can be a bit darker and still work. I would have liked to have seen the solutions to these issues worked out a little bit more because they felt too heavy for a convenient ending. You also get the bonus of hearing about some fantastic vacation spots that I desperately want to check out now!
Thoughts on the Series:
I'd really love to see NA branch out to include books that don't predominantly feature romance, and I think this is a series that proved to me that it can be done. Romance is absolutely the main aspect of these books, but there was enough depth and reflection on the life of young 20-somethings to convince me to give NA a chance. And yet the books are still fun, enjoyable, and easy to read.
