Birthday Girl

This was SO GOOD. So so so so so so freaking good. Birthday Girl is a slow burning forbidden romance that's perfectly peppered with just the right amount of angst and emotion. I could not put this book down. From the very beginning I was overwhelmed with thoughts and feelings on how this was going to work, how this could possibly end the way I wanted it to. It's a roller coaster of blistering emotions, a relentless barrage of intense, complicated feels... And I seriously loved it so hard.This book was EVERYTHING. This is the book I've been dying for from Penelope Douglas and DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT. This is everything she ROCKS at doing all in one book. Douglas takes fresh out of high school characters and delves into their psyche, their complicated emotions, their difficult circumstances and she complicates their lives further by adding to it a love story that will wreck the reader, that will make that character struggle even more with everything that's going on in their life. That's what she does here with Jordan, taking a girl who has the weight of the world on her shoulders, a mountain of difficulty staring her right in the face, and she catapults the girl's problems into another stratosphere by throwing in a quietly simmering attraction to her boyfriend's dad. I MEAN, HELLO?! I COULD NOT GET ENOUGH OF THIS.I love how bumpy the road is for all of these characters. I love how desperately they fight their attraction and I love how scorchingly hot it is when they don't. I love how naughty and taboo their dynamic sometimes feels but I love how it can feel so perfectly right at the very same time. I love how fun this book is. I love that it made me laugh out loud at the most unexpected times and I love that I actually found myself tearing up in the most heartbreaking moments. I love that I just got lost in it. I love that there was never a single moment in this book that made me want to stop reading it. I love that I fell in love all over again with one of my favorite authors with this book. I love the push and pull and the slow burn between Pike and Jordan for much of this book and the delicious anticipation I felt the entire time. I love how much it hurt. I love that I felt SO MUCH, both good and bad feels on these pages. I love how giddy I feel after reading a book like this. I love how intoxicating this story is. I love all the rightness in all of the wrongness of this deliciously forbidden love story. And I love that I can't think of a single bad thing to say about it.I read this book as fast as I could because I was absolutely dying to see how this would end. But I never wanted it to. I loved every moment, ever page, every delicious, angsty second of the build of this story. I got lost in these pages and I wanted to stay lost. Birthday Girl is Penelope Douglas at her absolute best, if you ask me. Everything from the writing in this book to the stellar storytelling to the character development to the raw emotion that just oozes from this story was top notch. This book took me back to Bully, to all the reasons I became an insta-fan of this author but it also showed me how beautifully Douglas continues to grow and change as a writer. All the awesome things I love about her stories are in this book along with a whole lot of other amazing things that I wasn't expecting. It was so good, so well done, so unputdownable. I loved Birthday Girl with everything in me.

Read on KU.After reading the small excerpt of this story at the end of Credence I knew I had to read it as well.There are definitely a lot of similarities between Birthday Girl and Credence so if you enjoyed that book you'll definitely enjoy this book as well.This author definitely has a preference for blonde hair and light colored eyes just saying.I enjoyed this book a lot, Jordan was funny, witty and relatable. Pike is the sexy older guy we all wish we could find and hold onto. They definitely had a rocky road to go through before finally being together but it was a ride well worth it.I loved the whole tradition of the blowing out of candels I thought that was a cute detail throughout the book.*SPOILER*(If you want a comparison to how much it's like Credence then pretty much picture if Tiernan ended up with her step-uncle instead of his son.)If you love age gap forbidden romance with some drama but guaranteed HEA then read this one 👍 was a quick read with some good spice and likeable characters.Will continue checking out other works from this author!

Came in good condition. Loved this book so much from my kindle and listening to the audio, I just had to get my book trophy. I was excited it had the bonus content. One chapter and a Q&A with the author. I appreciate all extra content with books. Surprised that the kindle version did not have it also.Their story worked so well for me and I was rooting for them THE WHOLE TIME. Y’all listen to this on audible so you can HEAR Pike Lawson. Mm yes. Hard yes.My first “taboo” story and I’m glad I picked this to start with. I enjoyed the authors writing very much and the dual POV. She made likable characters, that all seemed so real in their actions and thoughts. It was a nice buildup with a HEA, which I love.

Quick Summary:🌶️ 4.5/5 Chili Peppers – For those descriptive scenes!🎧 3.5/5 Audiobook Rating – I prefer duet narration over dual, but the narrators did a great job.⭐ 3/5 Stars – The only reason this isn’t a 4 for me is my personal feelings about the 19-38 age gap. I’m 39, and my friends have kids who are 19. It hit a little too close to home. I enjoyed the book much more when I was able to disassociate from that specific point. Again, that’s a personal thing and not a critique of the actual book.Now the details:This book is the perfect mix of forbidden, heart-melting, and downright HOT. Turn that AC back on because this one is spicy! We’re talking a solid 4.5 chili peppers. In true Penelope Douglas fashion, when she adds spice, she does not hold back. Nothing too crazy, but she’s a very… descriptive author.The story follows Jordan (19), who unexpectedly finds herself falling for Pike, her ex-boyfriend’s dad (38). Yep, you read that right…ex👏boyfriend’s👏dad👏. It’s an age-gap romance that somehow feels completely natural, with a slow-burn tension that practically sets the pages on fire.While the age gap isn’t for me personally, what really hooked me is how this book balances all that steam with real, heartfelt emotion. Pike and Jordan’s chemistry is electric, but it’s their connection and personal growth that make their relationship so satisfying to root for. The internal turmoil they face feels realistic and relatable, especially given the challenges of such a significant age gap.The audiobook narration is fantastic! It’s done in a dual POV style, with each narrator reading their respective chapters. Both do a great job switching between characters, bringing the story to life in a way that makes the tension and emotions even more palpable.