Single Sundays: Strangely Normal by Tess Oliver

Synopsis (from Goodreads.com):
A unique summer job lands eighteen-year-old Eden Saxon into a lifestyle completely different than her own. She becomes a companion for nineteen-year-old Finley King, the daughter of a rock legend. Finley suffers from severe anxiety, and her father fears her being alone. Eden leaves her loving, but wildly dysfunctional, parents and dreary apartment and enters a world where no luxury is overlooked. She instantly adores Finley and her charming, quirky personality. The whole situation has only one flaw– Finley’s older brother, Jude. Jude King is cocky, arrogant and irritating. Unfortunately, he’s also completely irresistible.

Eden realizes she’s underestimated the depth of Finley’s problems, and suddenly her dream job turns out to be a lot more than she’d expected. Eden soon finds herself in over her head . . . and her heart.

Review:

This book was yet another of the many I bought in a recent Kobo mass purchase. I was really excited to read this because of Finley’s character situation and the promise of great sexual tension between Eden and Jude.

And there was great sexual tension between Eden and Jude. While things may have occurred a little too quickly between them for my tastes (the book seems to take place within a few weeks) I enjoyed watching them interact with each other. The sexual tension is right there from the get go and just keeps building so I really liked that.

Finley is an interesting character and I wish that part of the book was told from her perspective. I really liked her and I wished that the book focused more on her and her mental problems. I didn’t completely love how her mental issues were handled in this book (I’ve read much better) but considering she is a secondary character it isn’t a huge deal breaker for me. The story is mostly about Eden and her trying to navigate her life as it changes around her. I just wish I got a better conclusion about Finley’s journey in the process.

As for Eden, I liked her a lot at the start and then I just liked her by the end. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what caused me not to like her as much near the end but I think it was the rushed feeling this book had to it and that caused her character to be a little wish-washy to me.

I say that the book was rushed because it seemed like it had just built to its climax and then, BOOM, end. I guess I just really liked where the story was headed and things just happened and then ended so quickly that I felt like I was robbed. I really wish this book had a sequel because I really liked the King siblings and I want to see more of them.

Conclusion:

It’s definitely not the greatest book ever but, I got exactly what I wanted out of it: a quick, super cute romance read that had me smiling and swooning. A good book to read if you need a bit of a pick me up!

Rating: 4/5

Shorthand Stats:
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Celebrity
Recommended for: 17+
Heat Rating: warm (there is talk of sexual situations but nothing is ever described)
Point of View: First Person
SERIESous’ Top Book Series: Favourite New Adult Standalone 2014
Similar Reads: Everything Between Us by Mila Ferrera (Between Us Series #2); Twisted Perfection by Abbi Glines (Perfection #1 or Rosemary Beach #3) and Always by Ellery Rhodes (Always Series #1)