Summary
The struggle is real.
Nick Stahlnecker is eighteen and not ready to grow up yet. He has a summer job, a case of existential panic, and a hopeless crush on the unattainable Jai Hazenbrook. Except how do you know that your coworker’s unattainable unless you ask to blow him in the porta-potty?
That’s probably not what Dad meant when he said Nick should act more like an adult.
Twenty-five-year-old Jai is back in his hometown of Franklin, Ohio, just long enough to earn the money to get the hell out again. His long-term goal of seeing more of the world is worth the short-term pain of living in his mother’s basement, but only barely.
Meeting Nick doesn’t fit in with Jai’s plans at all, but, as Jai soon learns, you don’t have to travel halfway around the world to have the adventure of a lifetime.
This is not a summer romance. This is a summer friendship-with-benefits. It’s got pizza with disgusting toppings, Netflix and chill, and accidental exhibitionism. That’s all. There are no feelings here. None. Shut up.
Nick Stahlnecker is eighteen and not ready to grow up yet. He has a summer job, a case of existential panic, and a hopeless crush on the unattainable Jai Hazenbrook. Except how do you know that your coworker’s unattainable unless you ask to blow him in the porta-potty?
That’s probably not what Dad meant when he said Nick should act more like an adult.
Twenty-five-year-old Jai is back in his hometown of Franklin, Ohio, just long enough to earn the money to get the hell out again. His long-term goal of seeing more of the world is worth the short-term pain of living in his mother’s basement, but only barely.
Meeting Nick doesn’t fit in with Jai’s plans at all, but, as Jai soon learns, you don’t have to travel halfway around the world to have the adventure of a lifetime.
This is not a summer romance. This is a summer friendship-with-benefits. It’s got pizza with disgusting toppings, Netflix and chill, and accidental exhibitionism. That’s all. There are no feelings here. None. Shut up.
Review
Rating: 4 stars!
Adulting 101 -- I would've read this book for that title alone. That it's about a character who's not ready to grow up yet was another good reason to read it. I knew then I would not only read this book, but that I would also like it. And I did. I liked it a lot. It had a fun main character, adorable BFFs very into cuddling, pizza, and everything! It was like the cutest book ever!
Nick Stahlnecker is eighteen years old, not ready to grow up, and college is only a couple of months away. He has no idea what he wants to do in his life, and that has him in panic mode. All very understandable. Being an adult with the responsibilities and whatnot is so unappealing. I mean...
He has a summer job where the most interesting thing to him is his stapler. Well, the stapler and Jai Hazenbrook. Jai Hazenbrook's ass, to be exact. It's an ass that inspires poetry, and Nick has a notebook to prove it. It also inspires Nick to ask Jai to blow him in the porta-potty. They get caught and that inspires their boss to fire them.
Nick misses his stapler from work, but Jai is in a worse position. Jai needs a job to earn enough money for traveling around the world as he's been doing for years now. Getting out of that town as soon as possible is his goal.
On the bright side, Nick and Jai start hanging out and hooking up. Nick wants to get a head start on the whole adulting thing, and Jai isn't strong enough to resist Nick's charm. Nick continues to be super cute at it, and I of course wish the book had first person narrative, and that Nick told the whole story. Oh, well, moving on...
Nick on his own is adorable. Nick and his BFF Devon are beyond that. I can't even. Sweetness overload. My favorite parts of the book are about them.
Yep, that seems about right. That's why it seems so wrong to separate them.
So aside from Jai and his perfect ass, this is not a great time for Nick, but Nick is Nick and will make one laugh even when he's not at his best.
What Nick does in the end, and where he goes, well, you should find that out for yourselves.
From what I understand this isn't the type of books Lisa Henry normally writes, but I hope she'll do it again. I would like a short story with Nick just to check how he's doing adulting.
***ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
Until next time, happy reading!
XOXO,
Great review! I need to read that book :) x
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