Final Year

Beth needs to prove her sociology thesis, which requires pushing herself beyond her comfort zone. When Beth meets Jeremy at a restaurant and he ignores her, she places him solidly in the player zone. Yet, when their continued meetings challenge her thesis, Beth wonders if her theory is wrong or if Jeremey is an anomaly she couldn’t predict. Jeremy’s only focus is on winning a coveted grad spot with Dr. Young. But when the campus goes into lockdown, he fears his missing not-so-theoretical chem project is the source and knows he must get it back immediately. Unfortunately, he cannot find it alone, and Beth is the only person who can help. But can he trust Beth after knowing her for only ten days? And will the tension brewing between them help or hinder them as they race to find Jeremy’s project before the police do?

A suspenseful romance, “Final Year” involves a hero and heroine who meet almost by chance and find themselves in an unexpected race against time. The pace is quick, and the days leading up to the lockdown are shown through short one-sided flash backs that give the reader a glimpse into the buildup of Beth and Jeremy’s relationship and then thrusts the reader into the adventure as they race across campus and dodge police. The one drawback is that the immense tension makes the romance feel forced towards the end and lacking in development. Still, the leads’ different flaws and restraints play off one another nicely, and the plot itself is pretty straightforward making this is a good book for fans of New Adult, Suspense, Thrillers, and Contemporary Romance.  

Sarah E Bradley