[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Swoon Reads in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
Once the semester is over, Edie is off for Paris. She’s planning to stay for first semester next year, too. She’s studying fashion. Paris is where she NEEDS to be. She also needs to pass FR102, not only for the grade but also to function in Paris for the next several months. The problem is her auditory processing disorder (APD or CAPD). Problematic enough with English in the “right” circumstances – crowded, loud places with lots of distractions, etc. Even worse in a foreign language.
Enter Hudson, the TA in Edie’s FR102 class. When her professor refuses to let her record his classes as an accommodation, Hudson volunteers to tutor her.
After a few false starts, they begin to work together. And things start to heat up between them. But Edie is only focused on passing the class and getting to Paris. She already broke off one relationship rather than take the chance of it distracting her from her goals. She will NOT be giving into these feelings for Hudson, either. Paris…. Paris…. Paris….
Review
I was hooked from the start when Edie was explaining her CAPD to her advisor – who did NOT get it. By the time we meet adorable Hudson, and the relationship between them starts to warm, I didn’t want to put the book down.
The chemistry between Edie and Hudson is delightful. Even in all of Edie’s resistance, you can feel them being drawn together. The other characters are mostly there to move Edie and Hudson forward or round out some of the story. The focus, though, is on this relationship. I liked that this YA story is about college students instead of high school students. It made for a nice change of pace for me.
There’s not a lot else to the plot. This is 80% will-they-or-won’t-they give into their feelings and commit to seeing where the relationship goes. The French class, the roommates and friends, and the CAPD swirl around the couple, but they are not the focus.
My only complaint is the abruptness of the ending. It wasn’t so much “I want more” but “Wait, that’s it?” It felt like a momentary scene rather than a definitive statement on where things were going from there. I guess readers will get to decide for themselves how things wrap up in the end.