Book Review: Boomerang

Boomerang

By: Noelle August

Published By: William Morrow

Publication Date: July 8, 2014

Page Count: 325

Buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound

Source: Kindly Provided by Publisher

Audience: New Adult - Contemporary Romance

Dating is never easy, but it's even worse when you wake up next to a stranger and then find out you'll be working together. Attraction aside, Mia and Ethan are also competing for the same job. Could things get any more awkward? Boomerang is the perfect summer read with just the right amount of sugar and spice to battle the heat outside.

Mia is the sort of girl I wish I had been in my college years. She's grounded, goal oriented, and tenacious. She doesn't let anything stand in her way, but she still manages to do this in a non-bitchy way. I liked the strength that Mia exudes, but even she can become vulnerable when love is concerned. Mia comes from wealth, but she wishes to forge her own path in the world and not ride her famous mother's coattails.

Ethan is Mia's opposite from a socioeconomic standpoint. He comes from a working class family in Colorado and soccer was his ticket to UCLA. After an injury puts him on the sidelines permanently, Ethan decides that law school is the way to go, but he has to pay bills and put food on his table. He accepts an internship at Boomerang, an online dating site, in the hopes that it will turn into a paying gig that will put him one step closer to law school. Ethan is like a nestle crunch - he's sweet and satisfying, but there are hidden depths to him. Like Mia, he is goal oriented and tenacious. His sense of loyalty was admirable. And, I'll admit, he may be newest book boyfriend.

Sadly, the job at Boomerang keeps Mia and Ethan romantically apart. It's against company policy for co-workers to date. Since both of them want the job when the internship is over, they put aside their attraction and focus on business. That turns out to be harder than it seems. To make matters worse, their boss insists they use the dating site as field research. Mia and Ethan must suffer through watching each other on a series of dates with other people. Will this drive them to their breaking point? Is a job really worth denying what the heart wants?

I loved this novel; it was fun, hilarious, and swoon worthy. The characters - particularly Mia and Ethan - make this one of my favorite 2014 New Adult reads. I wanted to be friends with Mia and who wouldn't want someone like Ethan in their lives? It also doesn't hurt that I have been caught up in soccer fever with the World Cup; Ethan's former days playing and his little league coaching earned him major points in my book. 

I also loved the relationships in Boomerang. Aside from Mia and Ethan, I really enjoyed the bonds between family and friends. Mia lives with two amazingly talented girls who always have her back. I love seeing strong female friendships in fiction. One segment really stuck in my brain as Mia thinks about her friends, "For the next hour, I watch my best friends: one of them onstage, transported, in love with what she's able to do, the other here with me, wearing an avid expression that tells me she's dreaming of her own turn in the spotlight. I want to thank them both for the awesome gift they give me every day. The gift of being kickass beautiful girls" (pg. 214). I think we should all be able to think of our friends in such a way.

In addition to the friendships, I was also drawn to the relationship between Mia and her Nana. These two share a special bond that even dementia cannot erase. There were some moments when they were together that I almost cried. The serious moments in this novel were just as important as the romance and the humor.

Overall, I loved my time spent with Ethan and Mia. I'm truly looking forward to the next novel. I can only hope that we'll get more of Mia and Ethan - even though the story isn't focused on them in the next installment. I also am really impressed that one of my favorite authors, Veronica Rossi, cowrote this with Lorin Oberweger. This is definitely different than Rossi's previous work and it was fun to see her step into a completely new genre.

I will leave you with one word of caution - since this is a NA novel, there are some intimate moments. I'm a "leave something to the imagination" sort so I have to admit that I was blushing through several of these encounters. For many readers, this will be no problem, but if you follow my school of thought, I just wanted you to be prepared. 

One Last Gripe: I think Ethan overreacted a bit about the date mixup.

Favorite Thing About This Book: The characters

First Sentence: On the single most important day of my life, I wake with the thought: Oh, crap, where are my panties?

Favorite Character: It's a tie between Mia and Ethan.

Least Favorite Character: Alison

Summary:

The first book in a sensational New Adult trilogy from Noelle August

Welcome to Boomerang.com, the dating site for the millennial gen with its no-fuss, no-commitments matchups, and where work is steamier than any random hook-up

Mia Galliano is an aspiring filmmaker. Ethan Vance has just played his last game as a collegiate soccer star. They’re sharp, hungry for success, and they share a secret.

Last night, Ethan and Mia met at a bar, and, well . . . one thing led to another, which led to them waking up the next morning—together. Things turned awkward in a hurry when they found themselves sharing a post hookup taxi . . . to the same place: Boomerang headquarters.

What began as a powerful connection between them is treated to a cold shower courtesy of two major complications. First, Boomerang has a strict policy against co-worker dating. And second, they’re now competitors for only one job at the end of summer.

As their internships come to an end, will they manage to keep their eyes on the future and their hands off each other, or will the pull of attraction put them right back where they started?