College Bound by: Lilia Ford

 

After a vicious fight with her stepbrother and guardian, Natalie storms out of the family McMansion, never imagining that would be the last time she’d be allowed in the house. A string of truly rotten decisions follows, until she finds herself suspended from school, friendless, broke, and camping out at the convenience store where she works. Worst of all, her college applications are due!

Thanks to a helpful teacher and her own stupendous brilliance she manages to get into her top choice college. Unfortunately, dealing with the financial aid forms proves to be too much for her supersmarts and she is about to lose her spot because she cannot get the money together to pay the deposit.

Enter Gareth Boyd, an old family friend with an indecent proposal that will pay for everything—if she can meet his price.

College Bound was a very easy read. Mild erotica and leaning more toward the romantic, the storyline was easy to follow and the characters and their dynamics easy to understand. As someone who can sometimes get lost in the complexities of the BDSM world, I found the level of erotica in this novel pleasurable.

At beginning of the novel, I found the main character talking to me directly as the reader a little on the annoying side. It was almost as if I couldn't enjoy the story without her inserting sarcasm and a self-depricating tone every other paragraph. As I continued to read, this either waned or I just ceased to notice it as much. Lilia Ford did an excellent job of nailing the 18-year old persona of the main character. It was (at times painfully) clear that this was a smart, but immature person exploring a world that was unexpected, new, and exciting. Her personality was both endearing and annoying.
Ford was also very successful in exploring different types of love and different types of relationships. As a romantic, this aspect of the novel was satisfying. Overall, a very good read that I would definitely recommend that you run and read College Bound by Lilia Ford!