REVIEW: Double Clutch (A Brenna Blixen novel) by Liz Reinhardt

Author: Liz Reinhardt

Pages: eBook

Genre: Young Adult - Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Self

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Double Clutch was kindly provided to me by author, Liz Reinhardt

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

What happens when you fall in love with the perfect guy...twice...in one day?

Brenna Blixen spent her freshman year homeschooling in Denmark; now that she's back in the States, she's determined to make her sophomore year unforgettable. And by unforgettable, she imagined awesome classes, fun friendships, and maybe a little romance.

What she got was a whole lot of romance, and all at once.

The same day that dark, brooding Saxon Maclean charmed her with his killer good looks and whip-smart wit, Jake Kelly stole her breath away with his heart-wrenching smile and intelligent, thoughtful focus.

But Saxon is a proud player who makes it clear that he doesn't know why he can't get Brenna off of his mind and out of his system, and Jake's sweet and humble attitude hides a secret past life that might be more darker and more complex than Brenna's willing to handle.

Complicating the matter is the fact that Saxon and Jake were once best friends and are now arch-enemies...and the more Brenna finds out about their connection to each other, the more intrigued and worried she becomes.

Between keeping the peace with her lovingly over-protective parents, designing t-shirts for her high school's rising punk band, keeping up her grades in both academic and technical high school, and running the track like a maniac, Brenna has enough to worry about with out juggling two guys who make her heart thud and drive her crazy all at once.

She has to make a choice. But how can she when giving her heart to one of them might mean breaking the other's?

REVIEW: 4.5 out of 5 stars

I recently had the opportunity to interview Liz and was thrilled by how down to earth, fun and entertaining she is, she is the type of person I would love to sit down and have a coffee and a chat with and this is from very limited interaction! I kindly thank her for providing me with a copy of Double Clutch.

Most of my followers know how I feel about love triangles – a few choice words come to mind when I think of them (not all that kind) but after reading Double Clutch where the relationships between Brenna, Saxon and Jake are explored and done tastefully and in a way which didn’t have me squirming is kudos to Ms Reinhardt.

15 year old Brenna Blixen has recently returned from a year spent in Denmark with her parents and has returned to New Jersey for her sophomore year. She will be commuting on her trusty bike between two schools as she is doing share time; it is on her first day at both schools that she meets two gorgeous yet very different boys who are about to be make her life a tad bit more complicated.

Brenna is the sort of protagonist I adore! Fun, stylish, witty and sarcastic and doesn’t tolerate rubbish, the bond she has with her parents was wonderful and certainly rare in the YA books I have read recently, parents are generally absent and show no guidance whatsoever but Brenna’s are supportive and openly show their love and care.

Jake Kelly and Saxon Maclean (I love their names) are ex best-friends and both eager to gain Brenna’s attention, while Jake is sweet, good-looking and thoughtful but with a bit of a wayward past, Saxon is confident, irritating and a sexy player who can’t seem to get Brenna (Blix) out of his mind. I was quite eager to find out the reasoning behind their rift and was surprised by what it was, I am also surprised by Saxon’s revelation and am curious to see how it will be explored in the sequel - I wont reveal what this was as it is a major spoiler.

Double Clutch is a realistic contemporary romance that held my attention from page one right to the very end, it is sweet, romantic and the drama is detailed and entertaining and thank goodness for no insta-love declarations – although they did eventually come – I won’t reveal with whom.

Each of the characters are well-developed, they are flawed, practical and believable and you get a glimpse into the fascinating secondary characters as well, I loved Brenna’s mother and best friend Kelsie, I also enjoyed how Brenna befriended Devon – he seemed sweet.

Double Clutch is well paced and engaging and Ms Reinhardt’s writing allowed me to become immersed and focused on the story – which is something I love. This book literally has everything and I really hope I won’t have to wait forever for a sequel.

I would recommend Double Clutch to the more mature teen; it does have a few scenes which may be too sexy for the younger reader.

My interview with Liz Reinhardt can be found here

Obtained: Author