Book Review & Guest Post: She Wants It All by Jessica Calla

 
Book: She Wants It All (Sheridan Hall #3)
Author: Jessica Calla
Published: May 16, 2017
Publisher: BookFish Books
Number of Pages: 340
Format: ebook
Source: I received a copy of this book via the publisher in exchange for an honest, and unbiased review.
Rating: 5 Stars
Tags: NA, Romance, Received for Review, Contemporary

Goodreads/Amazon

Synopsis: Happy to sing cover songs with his band and float through New Jersey University with little to no effort, Dave Novak spends the first week of college partying. Then he meets Maggie Patrinski. Performing on stage in front of hundreds is easy for Dave, but the mere thought of Maggie sends his heart racing and turns him into a bumbling idiot. Even so, he can’t get her out of his mind.


Maggie’s not exactly thrilled when her roommate sets her up with Second Floor Dave, the hottie with a reputation. Not only has she just had her heart broken, but she’s vying for a competitive summer internship and studying to become a vet. She doesn’t have time for guys and isn’t interested in falling in love, especially when she may be moving across the country for the summer.


But as Maggie gets to know Dave, his charm wins her over and she falls hard and fast. The problem? Maggie has goals, Dave doesn’t. Maggie studies, Dave doesn’t. Maggie wants it all, Dave only wants her. With their summer plans up in the air and past mistakes creeping back into their lives, their future together is uncertain. The only thing they’re sure of is that when they’re together, they’re better.

-MY REVIEW-

Out of all the books I read, I very rarely read NA. Why? Mainly because I have a hard time finding ones that I like. I found that a lot of the NA books that I tried, had very little plot, and a lot of sex. And to me? I would rather have the plot that I get in YA, without the sex, than just a story filled with mindless sex. And I think that's why I love Calla's NA books so much. There is plot, and character development, and realistic romance.  It isn't the typical NA romance, and I really like that.

In the third installment of the Sheridan Hall series, we get to follow the stories of Maggie, who is studying to become a vet, just broke up with her long time boyfriend, and is ready to focus on her schooling; along with Dave, the fun guy upstairs who plays in a band, doesn't care about school, and is secretly a complete dork. We get to see them through the ups and downs of their relationship, and oh, was it fun.

This was definitely my favorite book out of the three, mainly because I related with Dave and Maggie more than the couples in the other books. Dave's quirkiness and Maggie's strong will made for a great couple, and that left me giggling for a good part of the book. 

I also thought that the writing was excellent in this one! Calla is a fabulous contemporary romance writer because her writing is engaging, funny, but it isn't too in your face. This allows you to instantly connect with the story, fly through the book, and have a ton of fun while doing it.

So, who do I think that next book will be about? I'm pretty sure that I know who, but let me tell you who I want to see a story about. I don't remember much about them, but do you remember the girls who just sat in their rooms all day and smoked pot? I think that it would be super fun if they were a couple, and I would love to learn more about them.

So overall, I adored this book! With fun characters, a engaging plot, and a cute romance, how could this book go wrong?  Until next time, Calla, until next time.

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The Fun of Creating Book Boyfriends

Guest Post by Jessica Calla

One of the challenges of writing a series like Sheridan Hall is creating guy characters who are likeable but different. Readers are smart. They don’t want to read the same character over and over, with different physical features. Whether you put the guy on a motorcycle or behind a computer, each character must stand on his own in the readers’ minds.

That being said, let me start with a bit of news: I’m happy to announce here, on Adventures with a Book Nerd, that there will be a fourth book to the Sheridan Hall series! I already know who the guy is, and I think readers of the series will be surprised. For now though, with the release of the third book, we have three male main characters spotlighted: Chase in She Laughs in Pink, Ben in She Runs Away, and now Dave in She Wants it All.

I know I’m probably a bit biased (wink wink), but I love each of them for different reasons. There’s no way I could pick between them. They’re like my children! But “Jess of the Past” can offer some insight into these guys and the feelings that she hopes they invoke in the reader.

Chase is the guy I want to hug and fix. Physically, he’s tall, dark, and purple-y eyed. He’s compared to movie stars by the other characters. He’s also a hot mess. His only interests are art and Juliet, the ballerina down the hall who’s in love with his roommate. He has a past. He has a dying grandmother. He has a substance abuse issue. He has a boatload of baggage. But if “Jess of the Past” lived down the hall from him in Sheridan, he’d be the one she’d be checking on and counseling into the early hours of the morning.

Ben is the guy that “Jess of the Past” would want to get drunk and hook up with. Yep. He’s the jock. A football player from a small town in Pennsylvania, he leaves his close-knit, traditional family to accept a scholarship from New Jersey University. He’s got muscles. He’s got snark. He’s got four brothers, and he’s everyone’s friend. He’s also falling hard for his floormate, Meg, the petite blonde runner with a secret life.

Finally, there’s Second Floor Dave. I don’t want to give too much away about Dave because I’m hoping you’ll read the book and get to know him through his story, but I’ll just say this… Sigh…

As “Jess of Today,” I’d want to give Dave a talk about confidence and responsibility, and possibly slip him a Xanax. But “Jess of the Past” would completely fall in love with this lanky, skittish guitar player who works hard at music, but not much else. Not physical love, but that all-consuming love love. “Jess of the Past” would know that she didn’t stand a chance—he only has eyes for the lovely brainiac, Maggie. Still, she’d help plan their wedding and babysit their future kids, just to be around Dave’s sweetness and to know that guys like him exist in the world.

I love writing stories because I love creating characters, especially the Sheridan characters. I’m going to be sad to leave them behind when the time comes, but I know they’ll always be in my heart. And besides Book 4, I’m already thinking about a “Ten Years Later” novella…maybe a wedding and they all get together…hmmm.

Thanks for reading, and thank you Anna, for hosting me on your blog! I hope you enjoy She Wants It All. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  About the Author: Jessica Calla is a contemporary romance, new adult, and women's fiction author who moonlights during the day as an attorney. If she's not writing, lawyering, or parenting, you'll most likely find her at the movies, scrolling through her Twitter feed, or gulping down various forms of caffeine (sometimes all three at once).

Jessica is a member of Romance Writers of America, involved in the Contemporary, Young Adult, and New Jersey Chapters, and is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. A Jersey girl through and through, she resides in the central part of the state with her husband, two sons, and dog. 

You can find Jessica on her website, Twitter, Goodreads, or Facebook.