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Down London Road was right up my street!

Oh, I'm so happy right now. I absolutely adored ON DUBLIN STREET when I read it last year - it was one of my very first CRs, actually. I loved its intensity paired with its relaxed down-to-earthness. I loved the fact that it was set in my own country for a change. I loved the characters, the dialogue, the steamy scenes, how it gave me so many feels. Just everything, really... So I was naturally a bit nervous to start the sequel thinking it couldn't possibly live up to its predecessor. Well, as you can see from my high rating, I needn't have worried! DOWN LONDON ROAD was every bit as good as book one. Young somehow, miraculously managed to create that same magic once again and stirred many of the same feelings within me as ODS, despite the characters and situations being entirely different.

(Well, not all the characters were different - Joss and Braden (the MCs from ODS) were in it a fair bit, and main character Jo was barmaid-Jo-who-likes-rich-older-guys from ODS as well.)

Now, I know what you're thinking... Jo didn't come across that well in ODS. She was just the shameless, shallow pouty chick that was after anyone with a pulse and a fat wallet. Well, yes that is kind of still true. But let me assure you there is so much more to her than that, and we may have been given a rather skewed and unfair impression of her.

Sadly, it's an impression that a lot of people share, including other main character, Cameron. He's really not very nice to Jo at the start of this book. In fact, he's extremely unpleasant, hurtful and judgemental. I found Cameron's misconceptions very confusing, actually, because part of me thought he was being a total asshat, and yet another part of me kinda agreed with him. Jo is a golddigger. She's one of those women who, in the real world, I would probably really dislike and give the stink-eye to when she wasn't looking. Because on the surface, she's got it all - she's tall, attractive and has a multi-millionaire boyfriend. But sadly for Jo, that's really not a true reflection of her life at all. Jo is a survivor, a fighter, and a character I grew to deeply admire. I can't tell you all about why, obviously, but when you read it you will see - as Cameron eventually did-  that first impressions can be very misleading.

Now I know some people didn't like the fact that both Cam and Jo had other partners as the story began, but personally I think it was absolutely necessary to have that in there as it's all part of Jo's emotional baggage. The fact that she thinks she needs to choose her lovers based on what they can provide for her and Cole (her teenaged brother whom she parents because their own mother is a non-functioning alcoholic waste of space), instead of basing it just on her own feelings. And as for Cam, well... anyone who looks like Cam would likely have a girlfriend at all times. So I didn't mind that aspect of the story at all and thought it was realistic, if not very romantic.

The plot itself, much like ODS, was a character-driven tale with lots of lovely romantic scenes, some super hot sexy scenes, and some ball-like-a-baby scenes. I just love, love LOVE all the feels you get from a Samantha Young book. I can't even pinpoint exactly what it is that causes them to be so effective in that way, because the writing style is really very straightforward. I guess some writers just have a better insight into what situations would create the best tension and drama and know how to pull that from their readers. But whatever it is, so far, she has gotten me good twice. In fact with this one, I was crying by around the 20% mark. Like, serious crying. I may not know how she does it, but I'm sure glad she does!

5 Stars ★★★★★
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not on par with the first in the series. I found Jo annoying for the most part and frustrating. I kept wanting to yell at her to stop being so dumb. If half the book wasn't Jo and Cam building up to dating then the other quarter them being stupid I'd have loved it, but there was a lot left to be desired.

I will say that I loved how the teenagers were protrayed in this book though!