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A review by shaunnareads
On Dublin Street by Samantha Young
5.0
Samantha Young's On Dublin Street more than deserves such a high rating. It's one of the few books from the NA genre that I've re-read, and will probably read again. I absolutely adore it.
Such adoration came as a bit of a surprise. I'd been putting this book off for months and months because... Well, you know when you watch certain American movies, and they have a Scottish character, and their accent is awful and the character is awful and they are just horribly cliched in general? Well, when I read that this novel was set in Scotland, as a Scottish person, I was convinced that it was going to be cliched and cheesy and terrible, so I avoided it - regardless of the excellent ratings and reviews. Big mistake on my part!
On Dublin Street is told from the protagonist, Jocelyn Butler's point of view. Like many characters in this genre, she comes from a deeply troubled past, and is trying to escape her demons. Jocelyn's method of escape, however, is bottling it all up - completely ignoring everything that has happened to her, in the hope that not talking about it, or even thinking about it, will make it seem less real. She has built up massive walls around herself, and avoids letting anyone in at all costs. She's a completely broken individual, and she damn well knows it.
The more time I spent with Jocelyn, the more I loved her. By the end of the novel, she had grown to become one of my all time favourite protagonists. She's tough, she's witty, she's sharp - but underneath her facade, she's deep and entirely genuine. And her character growth - seriously! I do love me some good character development, and Joss grows from a broken, vulnerable girl who is afraid to let anyone in, to a mature young woman, capable of loving those around her and, most importantly, allowing them to love her back, like she deserves. Honestly, I connected with this character so easily. She's written brilliantly. I fell totally in love with her.
In fact, I fell in love with almost every character in Young's novel. Everyone is written perfectly. They each had such personality, it made it pretty much impossible not to love them all. Everyone was very realistic, and I can't praise Young enough for creating such a perfect, well-thought out cast for her novel. Ellie, Joss' roommate, was one of my favourite characters. She was completely adorable, so quirky, and reminded me of a good friend of mine. I adored Ellie's family, too. Even characters that I disliked because they were the "bad guys" in the story were written so well I could easily picture people I've met who were almost exactly like them. Holly, anyone?
And then there's Braden... Braden Carmichael. Just, WOW. I know I keep going on and on about the characters but Braden was incredible, too. Okay, so he's cocky and he's arrogant and he's a little bit caveman - but those qualities only made him all the more likeable in the end. He's so completely devoted to the people that he loves, and stops at nothing to make them happy and keep them safe. He has endless patience when it comes to these people too - especially so with Joss. He shows her nothing but love and patience and loyalty from the moment they start their "arrangement". On top of this, the connection between Braden and Joss was electric. On the physical side of things, it was passionate; on the emotional side of things, it was a complete rollercoaster - in the best kind of way. It all felt so real. At times it was heart-warming, at other times, heart-breaking - but it was a ride I'd gladly take again and again.
I adore Samantha Young's writing style, too. I really do. I think she has the perfect mixture of seriousness and humour. I was laughing out loud at certain parts, and tearing up (read: ugly crying) at others. I was completely enthralled from the very first page and, like I said earlier, have ended up re-reading it since finishing it a matter of months ago.
This is turning into a big, excitable ramble, so I'm going to reign it in and round it up. Samantha Young has crafted one of my favourite romance novels of all time. Captivating from the very first page, On Dublin Street is emotional, sexy, deep, and just.. incredible. I'd recommend this book to everyone who enjoys a realistic, well thought out romance with a memorable plot and characters you will love forever.
Such adoration came as a bit of a surprise. I'd been putting this book off for months and months because... Well, you know when you watch certain American movies, and they have a Scottish character, and their accent is awful and the character is awful and they are just horribly cliched in general? Well, when I read that this novel was set in Scotland, as a Scottish person, I was convinced that it was going to be cliched and cheesy and terrible, so I avoided it - regardless of the excellent ratings and reviews. Big mistake on my part!
On Dublin Street is told from the protagonist, Jocelyn Butler's point of view. Like many characters in this genre, she comes from a deeply troubled past, and is trying to escape her demons. Jocelyn's method of escape, however, is bottling it all up - completely ignoring everything that has happened to her, in the hope that not talking about it, or even thinking about it, will make it seem less real. She has built up massive walls around herself, and avoids letting anyone in at all costs. She's a completely broken individual, and she damn well knows it.
The more time I spent with Jocelyn, the more I loved her. By the end of the novel, she had grown to become one of my all time favourite protagonists. She's tough, she's witty, she's sharp - but underneath her facade, she's deep and entirely genuine. And her character growth - seriously! I do love me some good character development, and Joss grows from a broken, vulnerable girl who is afraid to let anyone in, to a mature young woman, capable of loving those around her and, most importantly, allowing them to love her back, like she deserves. Honestly, I connected with this character so easily. She's written brilliantly. I fell totally in love with her.
In fact, I fell in love with almost every character in Young's novel. Everyone is written perfectly. They each had such personality, it made it pretty much impossible not to love them all. Everyone was very realistic, and I can't praise Young enough for creating such a perfect, well-thought out cast for her novel. Ellie, Joss' roommate, was one of my favourite characters. She was completely adorable, so quirky, and reminded me of a good friend of mine. I adored Ellie's family, too. Even characters that I disliked because they were the "bad guys" in the story were written so well I could easily picture people I've met who were almost exactly like them. Holly, anyone?
And then there's Braden... Braden Carmichael. Just, WOW. I know I keep going on and on about the characters but Braden was incredible, too. Okay, so he's cocky and he's arrogant and he's a little bit caveman - but those qualities only made him all the more likeable in the end. He's so completely devoted to the people that he loves, and stops at nothing to make them happy and keep them safe. He has endless patience when it comes to these people too - especially so with Joss. He shows her nothing but love and patience and loyalty from the moment they start their "arrangement". On top of this, the connection between Braden and Joss was electric. On the physical side of things, it was passionate; on the emotional side of things, it was a complete rollercoaster - in the best kind of way. It all felt so real. At times it was heart-warming, at other times, heart-breaking - but it was a ride I'd gladly take again and again.
I adore Samantha Young's writing style, too. I really do. I think she has the perfect mixture of seriousness and humour. I was laughing out loud at certain parts, and tearing up (read: ugly crying) at others. I was completely enthralled from the very first page and, like I said earlier, have ended up re-reading it since finishing it a matter of months ago.
This is turning into a big, excitable ramble, so I'm going to reign it in and round it up. Samantha Young has crafted one of my favourite romance novels of all time. Captivating from the very first page, On Dublin Street is emotional, sexy, deep, and just.. incredible. I'd recommend this book to everyone who enjoys a realistic, well thought out romance with a memorable plot and characters you will love forever.