Series Review: Jade by Allie Everhart

Series Review: Is this series worth your time? Does it get better as the novels progress? Or does it get worse? Find out below:

Jade Series

Synopsis for Choosing You (from Goodreads):
When Jade is given a scholarship to an elite private college in Connecticut, she sees it as a chance to finally escape her painful past and get a fresh start. She’s determined to succeed and that means keeping her focus on school and not guys. But her plan falls apart her first day on campus when Garret, a rich prep school boy with swimmer abs and a perfect smile, offers to help her move in.

Jade tries to push him away, but she can’t deny her attraction to him and Garret won’t let her. Things quickly heat up between them, but then come to a sudden halt when reality hits and Jade realizes that a relationship with Garret may never be possible. He comes from a world of wealth where there are rules, including rules about who he can date. And not following those rules has consequences.

As the two of them try to overcome the obstacles working to keep them apart, Jade is confronted with another challenge. On her 19th birthday, she receives a letter that her now deceased mother wrote years ago. In it are revelations that explain her traumatic childhood but also make her question the past she’s been running from.

Series: Jade Series
Author: Allie Everhart (penname of Stephanie Karpinske)
# of Books: 5 (Choosing You, Knowing You, Loving You, Promising You, Forever You)
Book Order: Chronological
Complete?: Yes
Genre: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Drama, Mystery
Heat Rating: warm
Point of View: First Person, Single
Publication Dates: September 2013 – March 2015
Source & Format: Own–eBook

**This post was originally posted as a Toonie Tuesday review of the first book of the series. It has now been updated to reflect my conclusion to DNF this series. It will not be further updated.**

Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:

I loved Always by Ellery Rhodes and when I saw the similar plot synopsis and price of Choosing You I just had to grab it!

My Review:

Choosing You started out a little rough for me because it took me a long time to like Jade. She lives up to her name–she is definitely jaded and rightfully so when you learn about her past. However, just because she had a rough childhood it doesn’t excuse her from being just plain rude to people at times. To me she came across as mean–and for no apparent reason–and that dampened my impression of her. Otherwise, I would have appreciated her strong convictions and her ability to stay true to her views more than I did. By the end of the book I didn’t love her but I tolerated her more than I did at the start (though I’m not sure if I can read 5 books about her if she continues on with the mean streak).

Garret was a different story for me–I loved him immediately. A completely swoon-worthy hero who seemed to genuinely like Jade for her personality (which is a little baffling) and not just her body. I liked that they got to know each other and develop a relationship instead of jumping into bed with each other. They seemed like a good match overall in terms of interests but I need to see more between them to say for sure that they are a good match for each other.

As for the plot, about 80% of the book is Garret and Jade trying to establish a relationship–so it’s a lot of back and forth together/not together scenarios. Jade was definitely the worst because she flip-flopped a lot with what she wanted. I also found that it was exaggerated in its drama (a touch over the top) but I expected it so it didn’t get on my nerves too much. Near the end we get a good little twist that makes me excited to see what is going to happen in the next book.

Update (February 13, 2017):

I have opted to DNF this series. When I looked back at this book, I didn’t have many positive thoughts about it and seeing that this story drags into 8 novels, I just don’t want to commit to all of that.

Series Rating: DNF

Choosing You 3.5/5

I didn’t love this book but I didn’t, surprisingly based on the Jade we get at the start, hate the book. It’s not one of those realistic New Adult reads, rather it is one that keeps the drama high and a tad over the top. I definitely need to read a few more novels before I determine if this series is worth the time (or the prolonged story arc).

Always by Ellery Rhodes (Always Series #1)