Review: Rikki by Abigail Strom

RIKKI

Author: Abigail Strom

Series: Hart University #1

Pages: 212

Genre: New Adult

Release date: First published September 20^th 2015

Goodreads

Synopsis: Ever since junior high and an ill-fated game of seven minutes in heaven, Rikki Eisendrath and Sam Payne have hated each others’ guts. But when they end up at the same college—and the same dorm—they figure it’s time to declare a truce. 

They even become friends . . . sort of. But when Sam asks Rikki to model for his sculpting project, they start spending more time together—and her feelings for him get more complicated. 

She tries to focus on the guy she’s been crushing on instead. But Sam’s the one she can’t stop thinking about, even though their arguments are starting to heat up as much as the chemistry between them.

With antagonism and attraction this intense, there’s bound to be an explosion. But when the dust settles, will Sam and Rikki be enemies, friends . . . or something more?

Review: 4 out of 5 stars

What a frustrating book! In the most positive way of course; I don’t think I have come across characters that are clearly so perfect for one another but can never seem to communicate their true feelings and prefer to play games with one another’s emotions. If it wasn’t for what happened towards the ending of this book it would have been a 5 star read for me.

Rikki and Sam have always hated one another; it all started out with their academic competitiveness but then it changed with a game of seven minutes in heaven; both characters are extremely strong-willed and not willing to forgive the other until they call a truce when they end up in the same dorm at college.   

Rikki and Sam were both well-developed, fleshed out and likeable characters but boy oh boy did they need to work on their communication skills; it isn’t until Sam asks Rikki to model for his sculpting project that their friendship actually begins to change and Rikki feels differently towards him despite crushing on someone else.

As the book progresses, we learn that Rikki and Sam have a lot in common; they bond over their virgin status, they also have family issues – Rikki with the pending divorce of her lesbian parents and Sam with the recent death of his father and his struggle to leave home and his mum. Their conversations and bonding times strengthened their growing friendship.

I really enjoyed Abigail Strom’s writing style, she wrote some wonderfully diverse characters who all played a role in the overall story and kept the plot entertaining with their ongoing antics; as mentioned above though there was an incident towards the end of the book that left me deeply disappointed; it was a big plot twist that I truly didn’t expect, I won’t divulge what it was to avoid spoilers but be prepared.

Overall, I enjoyed Rikki by Abigail Strom and I look forward to reading more titles by this author.

Thank you to Abigail via Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review Rikki.

About the author: Abigail Strom started writing stories at the age of seven and has never been able to stop. She lives in New England with her family, who are incredibly supportive of the hours she spends hunched over her computer. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached at abigail@abigailstrom.com.

Like all writers I'm a reader, too, and that's why I'm on Goodreads. I read everything, but especially romance, YA, mystery, sci fi, and fantasy.