Dark Wild Night

SPOILER ALERT!!! Not major plot spoilers, but still. The characters are so detailed it was a joy to read. I know a lot of people who are totally into comics and animated art including my brothers. Also, with my mother being an artist and it running in the family it was easy to see the many facets to Lola's character and personality. I am a great fan of the artistic persona but not of the ego that sometimes accompanies it. It was nice to see that some artists are real people and don't get all egocentric and live their lives as real, down to earth people wanting more out of their lives than just creating their versions of art. I sympathized and empathized with the emotional turmoil she went through with balancing the different parts of her life and then adding in the most important one of an all encompassing love that you are not fully equipped to know what to do with and how it will effect everything you do. Oliver was awesome and I fell in love with him myself. His patients to deal with Lola and knowing all her quarks was enduring. Not everyone has abandonment issues like Lola, but Oliver knew how to calm her and what buttons to push to help her do and move forward in whatever it was she was dealing with. And I like the fact that we all know that the relationship between Oliver + Lola was happening while the other two books were written/happening. This showed with the fact that Oliver had already fallen in love with Lola between their marriage in Vegas and when they started the book 8 months later. He had no problem expressing that he was already in love with her. I don't know how, but I actually heard his Australian accent when I was reading his sections. I love that this book didn't end like the others in the series, where they get married again. That would have been too cliché and with all the emotional issues they are dealing with, I can see that a true person in the same situation would not want to jump back onto that band wagon like their friends did. You don't have to end a romance book with a marriage or an engagement for that matter just for the sake of the romance. I appreciate that Christina and Lauren know that and can truly capture their characters correctly. Great Book!!

"You just sucked my soul out of me." I love humorous romances - stories that never fail to help me escape the tediousness of the day. Christina Lauren deliver with this novel. I also have a very large soft spot for nerds. Lola and Oliver are the best of the best nerds. One is a graphic novelist and the other owns a store specializing in - you guessed it- comic books. Lola and Oliver met, married, divorced and became best friends in the early stories of the Wild Seasons series. Lola is just as you imagined. She is introverted character lost in the world she creates. Suddenly her graphic novel is optioned by Hollywood and she is now noticed. But will her relationship with her best friend stand up to the strain? The novel takes you on a story of missed cues and opportunities. When Lola and Oliver final realize the feelings between them are way more than friendly and for a VERY long time, the pages of the story ignite. Nerds can be sexy. Lola's character had the ability to become grating to me. You know, the whiny, indecisive push-pull girl. Christina Lauren gives her character just enough insecurity to be what we would expect an introvert to be but without dragging the storyline. And Oliver. Wow - he has his own issues. However his protectiveness and desire to watch Lola succeed is swoon worthy. Book 3 could very well be a standalone. This is solely Oliver and Lola's story. But the friends make appearances from the first two books. I dare you not to go back and read them. If you are familiar with Christina Lauren's writing, this delivers. My favorite over all in the series. PS Not Joe needs a story.

This is one of those cute, adorable romances with likable characters (and plenty of sexy). I enjoyed the whole thing. Lola and Oliver are good people. They are best friends wanting more. Life gets in the way a bit, but they're mature enough to get it right before it goes too far. Dark Wild Night was definitely worth my time, and Oliver is great book boyfriend material.