Review // Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas

Title: Birthday Girl
Author: Penelope Douglas
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform 

Published: April 16th, 2018
Pages: 406

JORDAN
He took me in when I had nowhere else to go.
He doesn't use me, hurt me, or forget about me. He doesn't treat me like I'm nothing, take me for granted, or make me feel unsafe.
He remembers me, laughs with me, and looks at me. He listens to me, protects me, and sees me. I can feel his eyes on me over the breakfast table, and my heart pumps so hard when I hear him pull in the driveway after work.
I have to stop this. It can't happen.
My sister once told me there are no good men, and if you find one, he's probably unavailable.
Only Pike Lawson isn't the unavailable one.
I am.
PIKE
I took her in, because I thought I was helping.
She'd cook a few meals and clean up a little. It was an easy arrangement.
As the days go by, though, it's becoming anything but easy. I have to stop my mind from drifting to her and stop holding my breath every time I bump into her in the house. I can't touch her, and I shouldn't want to.
The more I find my path crossing hers, though, the more she's becoming a part of me.
But we're not free to give into this. She's nineteen, and I'm thirty-eight.
And her boyfriend's father.
Unfortunately, they both just moved into my house.

If I saw Chandler recommend this book one more time, I'm pretty sure my head would explode. After reading this book, I can see why she constantly recommends this book. Fortunately for me, I wasn't in the mood to read any of the unread physical books I own. Why not just purchase an ebook that I may or may not like? Well I loved it and now I have to buy the physical copy.

Birthday Girl follows Jordan, who at the beginning of the book lives with her boyfriend Cole. I'm pretty sure that's his name. I could be 100% wrong. I was not worried about him at all in this book. He's not a great boyfriend, he constantly forgets about Jordan and leaves her stranded at work. Which is how she meets Pike.

After work, on her birthday and she's forgotten by her party obsessed boyfriend, she goes to see a classic film at a local theater. She makes a mess of some wine and has a chance encounter with Pike. She ends up watching the entire movie with him and she realizes that even though he's older than her, she likes him because they have similar tastes.

Well, as they're saying their goodbyes, they find out that Jordan is dating Pike's son, Cole. Or whatever his name is.

Jordan and Cole and up getting evicted because Cole doesn't know how to stop ruining things and partying. His father offers to let them stay with him rent free. Just do stuff around the house and save up to get your own place. Simple enough, right?

WRONG.

This is obviously where all the juicy parts begin happening and I'm not going to give any spoilers. You need to read this book for yourself. It's filled with delicious smut. There's obviously an age gap. If you're not comfortable with that, I recommend you to not pick this book up. I appreciate this book because it doesn't include anyone under the age of eighteen.

The romance in this book is just so perfect. I really want to pick up all of Penelope Douglas's books now. Especially if they're all as smutty as the gem! My only gripe for this book is that it felt like it took ages for them to finally get together.

5/5 Stars