In my attempt to cover some of the attending authors for this year's GRL,
I am reviewing
I am reviewing
Serpentine Walls by CJane Elliott!
BLURB
A Serpentine Series Book
Reeling from the news that his parents are divorcing, Pete Morgan starts his junior year at college cynical about love and commitment. Although his new openness to one-night stands does wonders for his sex life, fighting his romantic nature proves harder than he’d anticipated. He soon finds himself pining for a glamorous senior, Aidan, who doesn’t mind taking Pete to bed but shows no interest in commitment—at least not with Pete. And Pete’s attempt at a “friends-with-benefits” relationship with sophomore Jed leaves Pete feeling empty.
One bright spot in Pete’s year is Matthew, an easygoing graduate student who assists Pete in making his first film. Matthew has some baggage too, and has sworn off relationships and sex altogether, so Pete feels safe to enjoy their friendship. But he falls for Matthew anyway, not able to fight his growing conviction that Matthew is the perfect guy for him. Even if Pete can accept that he made a mistake when he turned his back on relationships, that doesn't mean Matthew will feel the same. With a few life lessons under his belt, Pete’s ready to take a chance on love. As he finds the courage to bare his heart to Matthew, he can only hope that Matthew will take a chance with him.
Reeling from the news that his parents are divorcing, Pete Morgan starts his junior year at college cynical about love and commitment. Although his new openness to one-night stands does wonders for his sex life, fighting his romantic nature proves harder than he’d anticipated. He soon finds himself pining for a glamorous senior, Aidan, who doesn’t mind taking Pete to bed but shows no interest in commitment—at least not with Pete. And Pete’s attempt at a “friends-with-benefits” relationship with sophomore Jed leaves Pete feeling empty.
One bright spot in Pete’s year is Matthew, an easygoing graduate student who assists Pete in making his first film. Matthew has some baggage too, and has sworn off relationships and sex altogether, so Pete feels safe to enjoy their friendship. But he falls for Matthew anyway, not able to fight his growing conviction that Matthew is the perfect guy for him. Even if Pete can accept that he made a mistake when he turned his back on relationships, that doesn't mean Matthew will feel the same. With a few life lessons under his belt, Pete’s ready to take a chance on love. As he finds the courage to bare his heart to Matthew, he can only hope that Matthew will take a chance with him.
REVIEW
My Rating - 5 Stars!
Serpentine Walls is an interesting coming of age story by CJane Elliott.
As this is my first time reading a CJ Elliott book, I am happy to have discovered this series. I love college romances, and Serpentine Walls does a great job of portraying these tough years.
Pete's struggling with all the men who are interested in him. He's hooking up with one guy regularly, lusting after another, and becoming good friends with yet another whom he thinks is straight. Oh, and did I mention his professor has been hitting on him?
Combine this with the emotional issues Pete's experiencing due to his parent's divorce and he is having a tough year.
This story does a great job of dealing with several common issues that people experience during these years. For one, college kids are often self-absorbed, so I appreciated this side of Pete, as well as appreciating a friend calling him out on it.
At it's core, this story revolves around perception vs. reality, as well as pausing to assess what you really want in life.
The sexual desires versus emotional desires of wanting to be in a relationship is also wonderfully written. Most kids this age don't think beyond the moment, which is the way Pete and Aidan are definitely behaving. Spending time with Matthew really helps open up Pete's eyes to what he actually wants.
All in all this is an extremely realistic view into the mind and actions of a college guy. Accepting any offers he gets for sex. Lusting after someone who he can never actually have for more than a few hookups. And liking someone who, unfortunately, isn't open to having sex right now.
I completely appreciate the writing style, as it's not only realistic, but also kind of jumps around, fast forwarding, pretty much the way life is at this age.
If you haven't read Serpentine Walls and you enjoy a good college story, be sure to check out this one by CJ Elliott. I, for one, will need to find some time to read the others in this series.
CJane Elliott
CJane is an ardent supporter of LGBTQ equality and is particularly fond of coming-out stories. In her spare time, CJane can be found dancing, listening to music, or watching old movies. Her husband and son support her writing habit by staying out of the way when they see her hunched over, staring intensely at her laptop.
CJane is the author of the award-winning Serpentine Series, New Adult contemporary novels set at the University of Virginia. Serpentine Walls was a 2014 Rainbow Awards finalist, Aidan’s Journey was a 2015 EPIC Awards finalist, and Sex, Love, and Videogames won first place in the New Adult category in the 2016 Swirl Awards and first place in Contemporary Fiction in the 2017 EPIC eBook Awards.
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