I Want it that Way (#2B Trilogy) by Ann Aguirre

My Thoughts

A fresh approach to a sexy, heartfelt romance!

Synopsis

Nadia Conrad has big dreams, and she’s determined to make them come true—for her parents’ sake as well as her own. But between maintaining her college scholarship and working at the local day care to support herself, she barely has time to think, let alone date. Then she moves into a new apartment and meets the taciturn yet irresistible guy in 1B…. 

Daniel Tyler has grown up too fast. Becoming a single dad at twenty turned his life upside down—and brought him heartache he can’t risk again. Now, as he raises his four-year-old son while balancing a full-time construction management job and night classes, a social life is out of the question. The last thing he wants is for four noisy students to move into the apartment upstairs. But one night, Nadia’s and Ty’s paths cross, and soon they can’t stay away from each other. 

The timing is all wrong—but love happens when it happens. And you can’t know what you truly need until you stand to lose it.

My Review

Ann Aguirre’s fresh, unique voice definitely cut through the New Adult clutter with a story about love, life and unplanned complications. The book was very well done — tight, precise writing with an open and honest approach between our two protagonists.  The story unwinds the moment Nadia Conrad and her BFF Lauren move into apartment 2B… the apartment directly above Daniel Tyler, a reticent but good-looking guy who begrudgingly helps them when they move in. Nadia is drawn to Ty’s brooding behavior… there’s just something about him that draws her in.

Nadia learns that Ty is a single dad, raising his 4-year-old son while working and going to school. He has zero time and seems consumed by the weight of his responsibilities. His at-first ornery behavior softens, however, and Nadia and him begin to connect. To talk. To get to know each other moment by stolen moment.

“You take another little piece of me every time you open your mouth. You know that, right?”

Nadia is younger than Ty and is in what is supposed to be the throes of college chaos, but instead, she’s working in addition to her studies as she tries to make ends meet. It’s clear Ty and Nadia have very different lives, but somehow they fall for each other pretty immediately. I’m usually put off a bit by insta-love, but even though their initial connection was strong, their relationship takes time to really evolve. Ty’s life is so dictated by his obligations, that it makes it difficult for Nadia to spend time with him.

“I’m afraid if I blink, you’ll be gone. I didn’t think anyone would put up with the rules and limitations that go along with me.”

Nadia and Ty’s coming together is rife with complication despite their clear feelings for one another. So when they agree to an unconventional arrangement as an outlet for their emotions, it only makes an already difficult situation more difficult.

The only thing I struggled with is pacing. There was a part of the story that could have benefited from more happening, and perhaps in a different setting. Much of the story takes place in the apartment complex and it could have used some mini climatic scenes to quicken the story along.

I loved the heartfelt moments and really believed the chemistry between the two protagonists. I also loved the characters as individuals. Ty was a caring and passionate man who wanted to do right by others and Nadia had a good mix of tenderness, vulnerability and strength. I look forward to seeing what she does with the series, which will feature characters from the same apartment 2B.

“I love you, I thought. It wasn’t rockets or fireworks or any of the Hollywood effects I’d been led to expect. Instead, it was crisp air lightly touched by the scent of burning wood, spiced with insatiable longing.”

Reading Order and Links

Click each image below to pre-order from Amazon U.S. 

About Ann

Ann Aguirre is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author and RITA winner with a degree in English Literature; before she began writing full time, she was a clown, a clerk, a voice actress, and a savior of stray kittens, not necessarily in that order. She grew up in a yellow house across from a cornfield, but now she lives in sunny Mexico with her husband, children, and various pets. Ann likes books, emo music, action movies, and she writes all kinds of genre fiction for adults and teens, published with Harlequin, Macmillan, and Penguin, among others.

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