My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan

My Oxford Year

by Julia Whelan

She could never have guessed what the year would hold…

‘A pure delight . . . will stay with you long after you’re done’ TAYLOR JENKINS REID

Gazing up at the dreaming spires of Oxford, American student Ella Duran can’t believe it: she has finally arrived at Oxford University.

A new life starts, and not even Ella’s handsome lecturer Jamie Davenport can distract her from her classes. But, as the term goes on, Ella can’t deny the growing attraction between them – an attraction that soon turns to love.

And when Ella learns of Jamie’s life-changing secret, their relationship becomes deeper than Ella could have ever anticipated.

As Ella’s Oxford year draws to a close, she must decide whether the dreams she arrived with are the same ones with which she will leave…

Reviewed by Lynn on

5 of 5 stars

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When a book inspires you to pause, mull over and digested the narrative as the final words are read. My Oxford Year is a revelation and far exceeded any expectations beyond my initial brief thoughts after quickly reading the blurb before I began reading.

Ella Durran has been working towards her personal goal since she was fourteen years old; to go to Oxford. With her jet-lagged head filled with cliché ideas and thoughts about what to expect, she quickly realises she's doomed to fail after a catalogue of disasters within the first twenty-four hours in the spiral city. However, after an eventful introduction to life in Magdalen College, life becomes more intriguing when the man she'd rather forget after an embarrassing encounter is to be her new professor.

Jamie Davenport oozes intellectual charm and is quite the dapper heart-breaker as his reputation precedes him at every turn between Oxford and Cambridge. When his mentor suddenly requests he teach one of her classes, he's unexpectedly drawn to the new American student in his class.

Ella and Jamie are physically drawn to each other, yet try to fight their attraction because their first impressions of each other are discouraging. However, it's respecting each others intelligence which brings them together in an intellectual meeting of minds.

Aside from enjoying the protagonists complex relationship blossom, I developed a new respect for poetry...it's unforeseen and I appreciate the unexpected inclusion which adds a fitting dimension to an already multifaceted narrative. Ella's quirky friends and associates play the part of secondary characters and complement the protagonists perfectly providing plenty of humorous moments. An eye-raising and laughable moment for me is the description of a British Christmas dinner, eaten for Thanksgiving by Ella. We traditionally eat turkey with Brussels Sprouts...I've never known anyone to eat it courgettes with turkey and I've never heard a Yorkshire pudding described as a bubble before...incongruous or not.

The ending is thought-provoking and very fitting for Jamie and Ella. Some readers may prefer a more defined conclusion but for me, it was a chance to ponder their life events and wonder how it may have all turned out. Any writer who engages me after the final words have been read is a fan of mine.

***arc generously received courtesy of William Morrow paperbacks via Edelweiss+***

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 24 April, 2018: Finished reading
  • 24 April, 2018: Reviewed