Author: Lex Martin
Genre: Contemporary Romance/New Adult
Release Date: July 2015
Rating: 4/5 stars
In Dearest Clementine, college student Clementine Avery is dealing with a lot as she turns twenty-one. A creative writing major and writer, Clementine was published her freshman year after writing a YA novel inspired by a past romance, and is struggling to follow up with a new novel. Meanwhile, she accidentally signed up for a course in Romance Novel Writing instead of Young Adult Novel Writing, and her issues with love and intimacy make this class a struggle for her. It doesn't help that her wealthy mother cut her off and she's working as hard as she can to cover her expensive college tuition, take care of her anxiety, and heal from past traumas. Luckily, she has two close friends, Harper and Jenna, and a new roommate, Dani, to support her.
To protect herself from experiencing the heartbreak of her past, Clementine is determined not to date and hides behind a bitchy (but hilarious) exterior. She doesn't give any guy the time of day, until she meets handsome journalism major Gavin. With the urging of her friends and the support of Gavin, Clementine learns how to move on from her past, deal with forgiveness, and determine what type of person she wants to be. There is quite a bit of drama in this book, but there's just enough comedy not to make the reading experience feel too heavy, allowing the story to be a quick and engaging read.
I really enjoyed how, unlike in some romances, the introduction of a super hot guy (with, we can assume, a magical penis) is all it takes to heal the broken heroine and carry her into her happily ever after. Instead, Gavin is simply supportive and empathetic, and he's not the only source of support for Clementine. She has a flawed twin brother who messes up but means well, three awesome girlfriends, and she even learns to befriend people she viewed as her enemies before. She also understands that sometimes professional help is necessary and knows when it's time to contact a therapist. Clementine suffers from anxiety and a home life that was less than nurturing, and therapy and self care are a big part of her recovery.
The romance in this book was also really well-done. It's kind of a slow burn, because Clementine has a lot of work to do on herself before she's ready to be in a relationship. Gavin, meanwhile, is part of that coveted class of "book boyfriends" (which is referenced in this book, and that is awesome), who are handsome, smart, understanding, sensitive, and have killer abs to top it off. He and Clementine have great banter back and forth, and he appreciates in her what others may view as flaws, plus he's not afraid of her constant state of resting bitchface in the beginning of the book, so he's got some conviction. This was definitely a fun, well-written New Adult read, and starts off a series of standalone books set in this world.
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