Nineteen by E.S Carter introduces us to playboy Jake Fox and plain-Jane Emma Campbell. There’s obvious chemistry when the two first meet, but then something tragic occurs, temporarily halting any chance of a relationship yet bonding them emotionally at the same time.
This is a great ‘opposites attract’ love story. Carter’s writing style is smooth and easy to take in, and her characters say, think and do realistic things. Jake is a total womanizer, so I didn’t care for him at first. But what he does for Emma and the personal growth he experiences throughout the story (as a result of his feelings for her) changed my opinion of him. By the end, I was really rooting for them to be together. And then . . . BOOM! . . . I swiped left on my Kindle expecting some sort of resolution to what seemed like a benign situation at the end of the book, and my heart dropped. After a few moments of pure shock and sadness, I smiled because what’s on the last page is unexpected and quite clever.
This is just the beginning of Jake and Emma’s story, so yes, it ends with a cliffhanger. But it’s a cliffhanger that will likely leave you stunned and wanting more.
K. J. Farnham 