Book Review — Taking Chances by Molly McAdams

Her first year away is turning out to be nearly perfect, but one weekend of giving in to heated passion will change everything.

Eighteen-year-old Harper has grown up under the thumb of her career marine father. Ready to live life her own way and to experience things she's only ever heard of from the jarheads in her father's unit, she's on her way to college at San Diego State University.

Thanks to her new roommate, Harper is introduced to a world of parties, gorgeous guys, family, and emotions. She finds herself being torn in two as she quickly falls in love with both her new boyfriend, Brandon, and her roommate's brother, Chase. Despite their dangerous looks and histories, both men adore Harper and would do anything for her, including taking a step back if it would mean she'd be happy.

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When you purchase this book, you get a complimentary ticket to ride the hot mess express.  It’s been several months since I finished Taking Chances, and it’s still really hard for me to talk about this this book and the characters.  It ripped out my heart, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it.  While reading, I had to take a moment and cry unashamedly into my pillow and let it all out.  Let me tell you, the FEELERS were out in full force in this

Harper grew up on a military base and was raised by her drill sergeant father (he really is a drill sergeant).  He was less of a father and more of a jerk, so Harper was elated to move far away.  Harper moves across the country to start a new life away from her father’s controlling ways.  On her first night at college, her roommate, Bree, takes Harper to a frat party, where she meets Bree’s brother, Case.  Almost immediately, Harper cannot stand Chase.  Not only is he Chase  the resident heartbreaker on campus, but he calls her Princess.  And that sets her off.

Chase and Harper have this AMAZING chemistry and attraction to one another.  But before they have a chance to be together, Harper meets Chase’s frat brother, Brandon.  She falls hard for him.

And what would that say about me? I finally had my first kiss just last night, and not fifteen minutes ago Brandon had me pushed up against the wall. The way my heart would pound for each guy separately was already frustrating me to no end, I didn’t want to complicate things further by kissing Chase.

Chase is the perfect mix of snark, sex, and sass.  When Harper ran into Chase at the party, I knew that I was going to love him.  He knew how to push all of Harper’s buttons.  Normally, I am a sucker for the good guys, but there was something about Chase that I couldn’t deny.  And Chase fell hard for Harper. Watching her be with Brandon was painful for him and for me as the reader.

If you think acting like you don’t exist isn’t the hardest thing I’ve ever done, you’re wrong. I hate not talking to you, I hate not bickering like we’re an old married couple and I hate not spending every day right next to you. but this is how it has to be, Brandon hates me, and Princess trust me when I say he has ever reason to.

But, like Harper, I also loved Brandon. I was stuck between two incredible book boyfriends.  What’s a girl to do?  Brandon was the most patient, sweet, and thoughtful book guy in the entire world.  Normally, this level of perfection would annoy me cause a serious case of the eye rolls.  But his perfectness (perfectness?) wasn’t annoying. It only made me love him more.

“Do you know how much I love you? He nodded and I continued, “Sometimes it’s hard for me to even believe you’re real, and that you’re here with us.”

This book has a love triangle that does involve cheating, so if those things bother you, this may not be the read for you.  The cheating and the love triangle, however, is not the most shocking thing to occur.  A little over halfway into the book, Harper is dealt a very hard blow.  A blow that changes her life and the choices she had made.  I was so heartbroken and depressed after reading that part.  When an author can evoke such feelings out of me to the point of anger and despair, I knew I have found a winner.  I know a lot of people have downrated this book because of what happened, but as sad as it was I felt like it positively added to the story.

Without giving anything away, I was really happy with the second section of the book. Harper makes some dumb choices in the first part of the book, but by the end of the book you can really see how much she has matured.  What I also loved about Taking Chances is that in addition to the romantic relationships, there were also great family relationships.  Chase and Dee’s family treated Harper like their own child.  That familial connection Harper had with Chase’s family only deepened my grief over the events in the book.

Who I would recommend this book to:  I would recommend this book to someone who loves heart wrenching, make-you-cry romances and (again) doesn’t mind cheating and love triangles.  This is not one of those love triangles where one guy doesn’t have a chance in hell. I believe that both guys had an equal chance in this book.