1984: Against All Odds (Love in the 80s, #5)

by Rebecca Yarros

[Cocktails and Books]

Very cute novella. Review to come.

Merged review:

This review was originally posted on Cocktails and Books

I often times get a little giddy when I find a book that goes back to a time of big hair, guys with tight pants and eyeliner and my youth. So when I saw this Rebecca Yarros novella, I knew I had to pick it up.

Sabrina Caroline is 1984's reluctant pop princess. She loves music, but she doesn't like the attention or the crowds. But with her manager/mother pushing her forward and warning her away from hard rock stars, she's trying to move forward even though she's not happy. Then at the MTV studios, she runs into her ex-boyfriend, Hawke Owen, lead guitarist for the very hot up and coming rock band Birds of Prey.

Sabrina and Hawke have history, but what's very clear from the very start is they still have feelings for each other. Decisions they made in the past (or even the immediate future) were made with the other person and their career in mind. It's hard to hate someone when you realize what they did, they did for you. That's what these two have to face, along with rules Sabrina has lived by because of her mother.

The crux of this story comes down to Sabrina and Hawke deciding what's better for them: being with the person they love or having a career.

I'm generally not a novella fan, but this one had all the elements I love in a good romance. It's was full of angst and character chemistry. Rebecca Yarros did a great job of putting what I love about her full-length novels into a hundred pages, but not feeling like I was missing anything or needed more.

If you haven't yet been introduced to Rebecca Yarros, pick up this novella. It's a great way to introduce yourself to a fantastic author.