REVIEW: On Dublin Street by Samantha Young

On Dublin Street by Samantha Young

Published: August 31st, 2012
Acquired: Amazon
Format: Kindle

Overall:

Goodreads | Amazon

Four years ago, Jocelyn Butler left her tragic past behind in the States and started over in Edinburgh. Burying the grief, ignoring her demons, and forging ahead without any real attachments has worked well for her so far but when Joss moves into a fantastic apartment on Dublin Street, her carefully guarded world is shaken to its core by her new roommate's sexy older brother.
Braden Carmichael is a man who always gets what he wants. And what he wants is Jocelyn in his bed. Knowing how skittish Joss is concerning any kind of relationship, Braden proposes a sexual arrangement that should satisfy the intense attraction between them without it developing into anything 'more'. An intrigued Jocelyn agrees, completely unprepared for the Scotsman and his single-minded determination to strip the stubborn young woman bare... to the very soul.

Contains strong adult content. For readers ages 18+

My thoughts:
Jocelyn, aka Joss, has been through a lot in her life and has managed to put it all in a steel trap door. Along with any emotions she may develop for anyone in her life. Her parents and sister died when she was just 14 years old and she was left with nothing but her memories and a bunch of money in the bank. After moving to Ireland she began to find her place, but never really opening up to anyone completely.
When she needs to move out of current flat, she finds the perfect place and possibly the perfect roommate and then there's the roommates obnoxious but devilishly sexy brother, Braden.

From the moment she meets Braden in the back of the cab on her way to Dublin street, I knew he'd be an annoying character that I just didn't connect with. No matter what happened or the amount of girls fawning over him, I would just not like him. The way that Samantha Young describes him made me think of "Handsome Squidward" {just click here to understand--I have a very active imagination.}.

Let me say everything I loved, Samantha Young's writing. Uhm, yeah... love. The sex scenes in this book were hot, but not in "a trashy, make you blush kind of way," more in "an ohmigawd that is sexy and beautiful and perfect and I want to read more." I could only hope to write those types of scenes that well. Her writing in general was so so good and I hope the rest of her books I plan on reading in the future are as good.

Even though I loved her writing, I just couldn't connect to this book the way I wanted to. Jocelyn was just too passive. And there were times where I thought even the most heartless person would've done the right thing. Her "steel trap door" shut way too many times for my comfort. I wished that she would have breathed. I get tragedy, trust me, I do. And people handle them differently, but the way she navigated the world was toxic to herself and others.

Braden. I do not do well with authority, bossiness or rudeness. I could not stand his attitude or that he was always so stern with Joss like she was his child. I don't find it sexy, at all. I don't care how you look, who you are, or how good you are in bed; you try to tell me what to do and the last thing you'll see is the front door shutting in your face. Even with his sweet gestures and how protective he was of his sister and Joss, I couldn't forget Bossy Braden.

Joss's roommate, Ellie--too adorable for words. I read all of her parts in an Irish accent just for the hell of it. She was fun, caring and a great best friend. Loved her and how much she cared for her entire family and Joss.

Overall the book was good, the writing was amazing. I just didn't connect to the main characters like I should have. I have read nothing but gushing reviews, so I know that this book may be right for most, but not for all.