[ARC REVIEW] “Kiss Me Tenderly” (Blairwood University #8) By: Anna B. Doe

It’s finally here — Penelope and Sebastian’s love story! You won’t want to miss this college rockstar romance. I’m so excited to post my review today as part of the book’s blog tour. Keep reading to learn more!

ABOUT KISS ME TENDERLY BY ANNA B. DOE:

𝐒𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝. 𝐀𝐧𝐝, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭-𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫.

I never thought I’d bump into my teenage crush on campus, but when it happens, any childish illusions I had about him are erased with a few harsh words. I don’t expect to run into him again, but I’m wrong.

He’s at Blairwood to stay, and not just that, he wants me.

Sebastian claims he lost his muse, and I’m the only one who can bring it back, but I want nothing to do with the arrogant man.

That is until he proposes me a deal.

He’ll help me with my bucket list if I play my piano for him. The request is outrageous, but the more I think about it, the harder it is to find reasons to say no.

As we spend time together, I get to know the man hiding beneath the jaded exterior, and suddenly my crush doesn’t seem so childish after all. But there is no way that the world-famous rockstar will fall for a small-town girl like me…

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Review:

I’ve been waiting for Penny’s love story for what feels like forever. Ever since I read “Kiss Me First,” which is her sister’s love story, I hoped that we’d eventually get to see Penny find her happily ever after too — and I wasn’t disappointed!

It was a bit unbelievable that it took Bash so long to figure out that she was blind, and he would describe their eyes as meeting (which technically is still possible) before he knew, and then them not quite meeting after he knew, but I understand why that choice was made for story purposes. Even though he was a jerk to her at first, I thought she got over the fact that he was her favorite musician/celebrity really faster — definitely a lot faster than I would have in her shoes.

Even though this is another one of the sort of “next generation” (aka just a few years younger than the original characters from the start of the series) books, it still has a lot of the Blairwood that we know and love. From some of the locations to the awesome friend groups (not to mention cameos from other characters in the series), it’s both new and familiar at the same time.

There’s also an element of suspense surrounding Bash’s past, which I wasn’t expecting! It definitely added more layers to the story and made it even more of a page turner. Even though we get to see his POV, there was a lot we didn’t know about him for quite awhile. Bash and Henry, Penny’s guide dog, have an…interesting relationship. Bash may have millions of fans, but Henry isn’t one of them.

Overall, I highly recommend that Blairwood University series for anyone looking for a wide range of heartfelt college romances — plus, they’re all on Kindle Unlimited, so if you’re a subscriber, they’re free! I’m so grateful to Anna and her team for allowing me to review an early copy — all of the books are out now!

***