Nailed by Jennifer Laurens

Nailed by Jennifer Laurens

Release Date: November 10, 2008

Publisher: Grove Creek Publishing

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 240

Overall:

Mandy is a girl that knows what she wants. Unlike most 18 year olds, she also knows who she is and what she wants to do with her life. I knew very few people in high school that knew either one of those things, and I admired the ones that did…I also quite admired Mandy for the same reason.

Ever since she was a little girl Mandy has wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps and work in construction. She wants to learn the trade and become not only a professional, but she wants to either take over her father’s business or start one of her own. In order to put that plan into motion, Mandy doesn’t follow her friends on after graduation trips; she stays behind to start her apprenticeship.

The first crew Mandy is assigned too belongs to her brother, Marc, and he is less than happy about it to say the least. Marc isn’t cutting Mandy any slack, he does everything to make sure she pulls her weight, even if it’s just clean up and grunt work. But soon, the older, flirtatious A.J. has Mandy’s attention, as well as the mysterious, brooding Boston (a nickname she affectionately gave him on the first day because of his hat).

With the help of her best friend Cam, Mandy finds herself trying to decipher what is really going on in this push-pull, triangle A.J and Boston have her in. Framing a house is easy for Mandy, the hard work and physical labor is easy, it’s this new mine field of testosterone and desire that’s hard for her.

This is the second novel by Jennifer Laurens I have read, and this is the second one I have loved. Nailed is fun, different, and at times, almost lyrical. Mandy is a heroine of sorts to be admired; she’s cute, fun, straightforward and she’s very wise beyond her years. Cam is adorable and uses those trashy romance novels as insight into the dream relationship. He’s actually quite insightful and he’s one of the best, best friends I’ve seen in a novel lately, to the point that he reminded me of my best friend.

A.J. is older, gorgeous, and a total gentleman. He’s constantly flirting with Mandy, but never pushy, he’s actually very sweet. Boston is a mystery at first, but when Mandy starts to find out more about him and find that they have more in common than she thought, even he can’t help but to warm up to her. He’s one of those guys that are totally sexy, but he’s got the hard exterior, but the sensitive, caring heart that almost any girl desires.

I love Jennifer’s writing style, its fluid and it flows. It’s experienced and has a beautiful touch woven into the words. The characters are so well developed, even the ones that aren’t seen all that much, like Cam. The intense moments are well balanced with comical ones. I really only had one issue with the book and it was minor and mainly my own quirkiness. In the first few chapters, Mandy and Cam frequented Barnes and Noble, but then it randomly changed to Borders, even though the descriptions and the café was the same. I think it was more of an oversight on an editor’s part, but still it irked my nerves for a bit.

Nailed was a fantastic, adorable story and I anyone that’s looking for a cute romantic novel to take up a few hours, then they should totally pick it up. I really recommend it and look forward to reading more from Mrs. Laurens in the future.

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I received this book as part of Around the World Tours.