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Thursday, February 20, 2014

ARC Review: Full Steam Ahead by Valerie Chase


Full Steam Ahead is the debut novel from Valerie Chase, and because of that I had no idea what to expect. I was really sold on this book because of the beautiful cover and the interesting blurb. This book just sounded really different than the other New Adult books out there, and it really was. I can't tell you how refreshing it was to read a New Adult book that not only had no cliffhanger, but that didn't center around a ton of angst and cheating or a love triangle. I really enjoyed this story and all the characters. I think that this was a really great first book from Valerie Chase, and I am excited to see where she goes from here.

Georgia has been having a rough time lately. She is secretly broke and hiding it from all of her friends. Her boyfriend just broke up with her after she thought that he was getting ready to propose to her. She is also getting demanding emails from a blackmailer and she has no idea what to do about it. When she originally had planned her sorority's winter travel cruise, she had planned on spending all her time with her then boyfriend Hunter. Now she is stuck staying in the cheapest room possible with Jace, while trying to avoid Hunter. Jace has a reputation for being a player, and the last thing Georgia needs is to deal with him. But when Jace turns out to be completely different than what she thought, she realizes that there is more than just attraction between them. The two start spending time together while on vacation and soon they are unable to fight the connection and chemistry between them. But Jace knows that Georgia is holding things back from him and even though she has told him some things, he feels that she should be able to open up to him the way he has with her. Can Georgia take the risk of telling him everything and seeing if they have a shot together or will there be too much standing in their way for them to get past?

I really liked Jace. He was nothing like what you expect from his reputation, and he instead was a really great guy. I liked that he was so caring and thoughtful when it came to Georgia. He was always trying to help her out and went out of his way to look out for her. I also loved that even though he was starting to develop feelings rather quickly and they took him by surprise that he didn't fight it. He was starting to see just how much she meant to him and he was trying to figure out ways for them to be together in the future. I thought that he did react a little badly when she didn't want to completely open up to him so quickly, and I thought he should have been a bit more understanding. But he came around pretty fast and saw that he had made a mistake. At first I really thought that I wasn't going to like Georgia. She came off as a bit whiny and kind of a brat. But she really grew on me and it wasn't long before I started to like her. I thought that Jace and Georgia had a ton of chemistry together, and they really seemed to fit. He got her like no one else did, and I felt like they were really great for each other. He was sweet with her, and I really enjoyed how he always went about things with her in a way that was exactly what she needed. These two were perfect for each other and I really enjoyed watching as they fell for each other.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I thought it was a quick and entertaining read that I didn't want to put down. Even though Jace and Georgia's relationship develops rather quickly, it felt completely real to me. They were believable and the whole thing just worked for me. I loved the supporting characters as well as the main characters, and I thought that they all added a lot to this story. I am looking forward to getting more about them in the future. Starting with the next book, which centers around Georgia's friend Yasmin. The only reason this book wasn't a five star read for me was the ending. There is no cliffhanger, but I felt like just as things were starting to work themselves out it was over. Even with the Epilogue, I felt like the ending was pretty abrupt and rather rushed. I wished that we had been given a bit more closure and seen a bit more of where things went from that point. This whole story takes place in such a short amount of time, that I felt like we got kind of cheated on seeing how things played out. It wasn't enough for me to dislike the book or anything, but it did take a bit away from the whole experience. I really do think that this was a great book though, and I would highly recommend this to New Adult readers. I think that this one was unique and different. Full Steam Ahead offers a new take on a genre that can sometimes seem very similar. I look forward to reading more from Valerie Chase in the future and will be waiting for the next installment in this series.

**ARC provided by Itching For Books**

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