Drunk Dial by Penelope Ward

 

From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward, comes a new, sexy standalone novel.

BLURB

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Look up Landon Roderick, that boy from childhood whom I’d never been able to forget—even though he so easily forgot about me—and call him.

Then again, anything sounds like a good idea when you’ve had a little too much wine before bed, right? It was supposed to be just a quick, meaningless, prank call. Instead, I went off on him—unloading thirteen years of pent-up emotions.

I didn’t think he’d call me back.

I certainly could never have anticipated the weeks of sexually tense phone conversations that followed as I got to know the man he’d become.

Turned out, Landon had never really forgotten me, either. That special connection we had was still there. I opened up to him, but there were also things about me he didn’t know. And he had his own secrets.

Over the countless hours we talked on the phone, I wondered what would happen if we actually saw each other. One night, I did something impulsive again. Only this time, I went to the airport and booked a ticket to California. We were about to find out if one phone call could bring two lost souls together or if my drunk dial really was all just a big mistake.

A complete STANDALONE.

MY REVIEW

 

This complete standalone by Penelope Ward is funny & sexy, but also has a surprisingly serious side.  Landon the food truck owner & Rana former tomboy turned the professional belly dancer were so close as early teens, but now, 13 years later they couldn’t be living more different lives, in more different places – Sunny California versus Misty Michigan.  The time apart has changed them to their very core & they both have secrets they are hiding behind.

Told in first person from dual perspectives, I went into my first solo Penelope Ward read expecting funny-sexy-light & was surprised by what I expected from the blurb to find funny – “That old perv had become my guardian angel on Earth.” “My cheeks actually hurt from smiling.” & very steamy sexy “That was not just kissing. It won’t ever be just kissing with you. Ever.” to serious “…I think you have this false impression that the sunshine somehow equals happiness. The sun always goes down, Rana.  It can’t mask everything.” This steady read is about two kids who go through their own very different coming of age years, lost to emotions that stem from circumstances out of their control.  A friends to lovers story that encompasses life lessons needed for these characters to forgive, love & move forward – “Each tear that fell represented the regret pouring out of me, regret for not only my past mistakes but for what living in fear was causing me to miss out on right now in the present.” Expect topics ranging from dysfunctional families to adoption, body dysmorphia & more...  Sordid pasts reveal unexpected twists to a story that “was a lot like the Rubik’s Cube – colorful and complicated.”

I loved the long distance virtual dating & the honesty of these characters as they bare all to one another.  The connection that was never truly lost & only intensifies as the story unfolds.  I smiled every time Rana opened another note from Landon –capturing this story so well… “P.S. Maybe it’s not really a mistake if you learn from it.”

“Tell me something funny…”

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

Amazon US/UK