Tease: The Ivy Chronicles (The Ivy Chronicles, #2)

by Sophie Jordan

A young college woman gets schooled in life, sex, and love in New York Times bestselling author Sophie Jordan's sizzling New Adult romance series-where three Ivy League suite-mates testing their boundaries as they seek higher knowledge of just how far they can go. A born flirt and good-time party girl, Emerson has never had a problem finding a willing guy. She's always chosen her hook-ups carefully, and she's never broken her three cardinal rules: Never let them see the real you. Never fall in love. Always leave them begging for more. Then comes Shaw. A hotty from the wrong side of the tracks, he's immune to her flirtatious banter and come-hither smile. After rescuing her from a disastrous night at a biker bar, he doesn't even try to take her to bed-he calls her a tease and sends her home instead. Unable to resist a challenge, or forget the sexy dark-eyed bad-boy biker, she vows to bring him to his knees. But instead of making Shaw beg, she finds herself craving him. For the first time in her life, she's throwing out her rulebook. Suddenly, she's the one panting for a guy she can't control.
A guy who won't settle for anything less than the real Emerson, who forces her to do things she's never imagined, including facing a past she thought she'd buried. A guy who just might leave her wanting more ...

• ISBN10: 0062279904
• ISBN13: 9780062279903
• Publish Date: 27 May 2014
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Collins
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Berls]

I'm so glad Brandee and I decided to resume this series as a buddy read for Can You Read a Series in a Month! It's been years since I read Foreplay but it took me surprisingly very little time to fall back in with these characters. I didn't even read the blurb, so I didn't know what to expect. I was not disappointed! Brandee loved it as well!

Emerson was a very complex character, which I loved. She has this image as a flirt, tease, and basically very promiscuous. But it didn't take long to realize that there was a lot more to her than the image she was showing to everyone - even her closest friends. And Shaw, a man she meets while stranded at a biker bar, he sees through her better than everyone. Their chemistry was electric to read and I loved his persistence as Emerson kept trying to revert back to being in control.

It was great as the layers started to peel away from Emerson and see how she came to put up this protective wall. I had two small complaints. (1) Everything really came to a head and resolution very quickly at the end... I wouldn't have minded seeing it spread out a BIT more and (2) since we're never in Shaw's POV, we didn't get to know him nearly as well as I would have liked - he has some issues that are not really resolved by the end of the book.

I've already picked up the third and final book in the series and can't wait to see how the last of these college roommates and friends finds her HEA.

[Rowena]

This is the second book in the Ivy Chronicles series and I thought it was another good addition to the series. I enjoyed getting to know Emerson more. To see what was behind her whole party girl persona. Justin was a complete douche and the way that Shaw defended Emerson's honor had me happy sighing all over the place. Shaw was yummy. I cannot WAIT for Logan and Georgia's book...can we have it already?

[Cocktails and Books]

If you haven't read Sophie Jordan's first book in this series FOREPLAY, read it first! I loved this book. Foreplay was pure enjoyment that made you feel like you were in college again plus it was filled with tons of sexiness, swoon worthy bartender, and a girl we can all identify with in some manner. Sophie Jordan didn’t surpoass FOREPLAY with TEASE but it was definitely a good read. TEASE follows Emerson, who we meet in FOREPLAY and Pepper's best friend. Emerson is a flirt, a tease, the good time girl. She has created her less than stellar reputation on purpose, it allows her to maintain control. Emerson's past haunts her and she needs control. Control makes her feel strong.

Enter Shaw....and man, is he yummy on a stick. The best part about Shaw, he sees straight through Emerson's BS. He knows she is hiding behind the facade. He calls her on it and it knocks her for a loop. He is definitely an alpha male but I find it refreshing that he doesn't put up with any of the ridiculous crap that Emerson dishes out. Shaw wants a relationship from Emerson, not a one night stand. The girl doesn't know how to control him and it causes a bit of drama. But you have to give credit where credit is due, Shaw is persistent and he is determined to get the "real" Emerson to make an appearance. This was a good addition to the series and I can't wait for Georgia's story in WILD!

Reviewed by Candace for Cocktails and Books

[kimbacaffeinate]

I adored Foreplay the first book in the Ivy Chronicles by Sophie Jordan and found it to be a refreshing, low-angst tale in sea of drama filled new adult titles. As you can imagine I was excited to get my hands on Tease the second book. While I enjoyed myself and Jordan writes fleshed out characters, I was left disappointed that it had all of the trappings of a typical new adult novel.

We are back at college and this time we are getting Emerson’s story. I liked Emerson and felt for her. She has quite the back-story, and I can see why she puts on this “flirting act” and tries to be in control all of the time. She is a good kid, well grounded in her goals but afraid at the same time. Shaw is a sweetie! A hot ex-marine motorcycle mechanic who has big plans for opening up his own custom shop. He is emotionally scarred from a tour overseas, and I easily connected with him.

The romance was hot, and sweet. The sexy time was oh-la-la hawt! Their interaction had all the elements I loved -sweet moments, heat, and wicked banter. Shaw handles all of Emerson’s complicated signals well and even sees past the mask she has created. He breaks down her walls and holds her accountable. He supports her and never pushes. At times he was a tad possessive especially if someone is trying to hurt her. This would have been an issue but he respects her feelings and wishes which I appreciated it.

The plot is where Tease fell apart for me. Tease was filled with drama, intense scenes, and angst. It was extremely predictable and while that can be fun it wasn’t the freshness I expected. There were twists and turns on the road to our HEA but Jordan offered nothing new. Gone was the freshness of Foreplay and sadly Tease delivered more or less the same formula I have read in countless new adult novels. What saved Tease for me is Jordan herself; she writes likeable fleshed out characters and juicy loved scenes. The connection she gave me with the characters kept me from setting this down.

Despite my disappointment with Tease, I did enjoy aspects of it. I am hoping Wild the final book in the Ivy Chronicles delivers more of the unique content we found in Foreplay.

Copy received from publisher in exchange for unbiased review that originally published @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer