Review: The Hazards of Skinny Dipping by Alyssa Rose Ivy + Giveaway!

The Hazards of Skinny Dipping by Alyssa Rose Ivy

Release Date: May 21, 2013
Publisher: Self-Published
Pages: 248
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Source: Author
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords
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This isn't a deep book about first loves or self-discovery. If you want a book like that, I'd be happy to recommend one, but I don't have that kind of story to tell. Instead my story is about rash decisions and finding out that your dream guy is bad in bed. It's the story of when I finally went skinny dipping, and how my life was never the same again. Oh, and it's also the story of my freshman year of college and realizing Mr. Right might have been there all along.

ADD TO GOODREADS

I'm pretty sure Alyssa Rose Ivy could not write a book I don't love! This is my new favorite New Adult! It's the summer before Juliet is headed off to college. Her cousin thinks she hasn't experienced enough adventurous things to be ready so she gives her a list to complete before she starts her freshman year. The last thing on the list is skinny dipping. Juliet is at her vacation beach house and takes the plunge to swim naked in the pool. All by herself doesn't seem like much of an adventurous dare to complete but it's a big step for Juliet. But then Dylan shows up, the super hot neighbor she has been crushing on for years. He joins her skinny dipping and they end up having a one night stand. This is her life long crush so of course she takes the chance but it turns out to be a not so hot night. No biggie except he goes to her college and wants to keep seeing her.

I think a big reason I loved this book so much was I could relate to a lot of different parts. Dylan wasn't a dream boyfriend but reminded me of many early boyfriends I had. Someone you like and want things to work with so you kind of push through hoping it will get better or thinking the first time was just off. Dylan was rather selfish but young guys often are. The only thing that kind of bothered me was why Juliet didn't say anything after dating him for awhile. It's time to be like hey buddy this is not working for me and you need to be doing this and this. I mean if he thinks you are enjoying what he is doing then it's not going to change. LOL And it was hilarious how he kept thinking everything was great. I just kind of assumed maybe it was because she was young. Although there was a rather humorous scene where he thought she wanted to try bondage. Some great laugh out loud moments on that one.

The only thing I didn't completely relate to was the sorority and fraternity stuff. Never joined one or had any desire to join one but liked seeing the dynamic Juliet had with her sorority sisters. While rushing she meets Reed. Reed is hot and buff and kind and funny and gives her a sweet job. Takes her awhile to see the potential there even though it was screaming at me. It is hard to get over your first big crush so Juliet had to see things through with Dylan which is kind of understandable. I loved that this was a simple, sweet, funny, and relateable story. I've been reading a lot of New Adult lately and some of the very depressing ones with the characters with very tragic pasts are starting to get me down. While these characters lives aren't all sunshine it was never depressing either. This was more of a fun summer read that had me laughing out loud and swooning and re-reading several of my favorite scenes. I highly recommend it for New Adult fans looking for a great but light and fun romance plus Reed is well worth meeting. :-D



"I thought about how I could be walking into a torture chamber, which made me think about walking into Christian Grey's playroom. I laughed."

"It would be a sweatshirt dress."
"You're not that short."
"But you're that big."
He laughed. "Yes, I am."
"Why do I get the sense you aren't talking about height?" I pulled on my sweater.
"Because I'm not."

"Oh, it worked, but at least I knew there was a chance I'd get to take it off."

"Can we order in? I'd love to find a really bad movie to watch."
He sat down on the edge of his bed. "A bad movie? Why not a good one?"
"Because I don't want to worry about missing any good parts if I'd rather make out with you."
He laughed that really deep laugh of his. "In that case, let's find a horrible movie."

"No. You wanted to see me. You can take all the time you need. When you're ready, I promise I'll still be here. I'm not giving up on us."

Rating: 5/5

~Giveaway~ 
Summer is here! Work is slow so I'm in a good mood and feel like making it up to all my followers how slow my blog has been the last month when I was tired and things were hectic. So there will be a new giveaway everyday this week. I've had a bunch of stuff I've been meaning to pass on for awhile. Starting with this book since I loved it so much, it's a great summer read, and it's on sale! Not sure how long the sale lasts but if it lasts until the end of the giveaway then I'll pick a bunch of extra winners!
As usual rules are all listed in the rafflecopter.

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