seriously romantic: rogue wave by j. bengsston

book 5 in the cake series, rogue wave, tackles keith mckallister's story. and the long torturous love affair he has with samantha anderson. i would have liked this book so much better if we hadn't spent so much time in the past. this has been my main complaint about this series as a whole, i thought the theory of second best was good, and the way it dealt with the mckallister's trauma didn't overpower the narrative. but in fiercely emma the book was so bogged down in the flashbacks and i was over it. in fact, i couldn't read book 4 in the series because i didn't want to read anything more about jake and casey. every time jake is in the room it's like he sucks all the oxygen out of the story. how a character i enjoyed so much in the first book became one i dread reading about i don't know?

so when i realized that this book timeline begins before the bad stuff actually happened to the mckallisters, i was sort of over it? which suc



ks, because i actually really like keith as a character. his story is compelling, he is someone who is lost and has to work hard to redeem himself and get his life back on track. sam is a perfect counterpoint to him, and their starts and stops make sense because they have a lot of growing up to do. although the reasons for their last break up are a little frustrating, and mostly all sam's fault even though everyone assumes it's keith's. and while the backstory is important to their story, i think i would have preferred to see something where the past didn't constantly overshadow the present yet again? it seems like others didn't have this problem so ymmv.

but the story ends happily enough and with a hint of a flash forward in time, so it seems likely that we'll see the younger mckallisters' stories in print at some point. and maybe for once, jake will not be so front and center?

**rogue wave published on march 19, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of candy kane pr in exchange for my honest review. keep reading for more information about the book...




Title: ROGUE WAVE
Series: Cake #5
Author: J. Bengtsson
Release Date: March 19, 2019
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A love story that survives the test of time.

Keith McKallister is the king of the stoners. You know the type. Every school has one – the hot, fun, dopey guy beloved by the student body but despised by, well, just about everyone else. He spends his early mornings in the ocean and his days trying to get to class on time. Life is as easy as it gets until one poor choice too many catches up with him and he’s forced to reevaluate his path.

Samantha Anderson sits in the front row. You know the type. Every school has one – the quiet, faceless, studious girl who fears the taunts of her peers and fades into the background. Life has never been simple for Samantha, and it’s about to get a little more complicated when Keith slides into the seat beside her with a partnership plan designed for his benefit only. But what Keith brings to the table is more than either of them could imagine.

Sometimes the person you least expect to make a difference will change your life forever. Sometimes the person you love the most might be better off without you.

*Although a part of the Cake Series, this book can be read as a standalone.

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EXCERPT

In hindsight, I should’ve been less friendly. I mean, I knew nothing about the nerdy crew or where their triggers might lie, so who was to say a wave in the Star Trek crowd didn’t mean something entirely different? Smart girls were tricky like that. From what I’d gathered through trial and error, the higher the SAT score, the less impressed a female was with my overall being. Not that I had a ton of experience with them to begin with.

Typically, the honors kids refrained from interacting with me. Maybe they feared my stupidity would rub off on them, I don’t know. But what I did know was this girl, with her divided, color-coded binder and back as straight as an arrow – she was definitely part of that extra credit crowd.

“Hey there, partner.” Hair tumbled over my forehead as I tipped my head in her direction. After the day I’d had, I wasn’t feeling particularly charming, but I needed to win this girl over, and quickly. Normally I wouldn’t give two shits about someone I had zero interest in, but given the promise I’d made to my father, my priorities would need to change. People who’d been merely background players before were about to take center stage in my life. If I had any hope of passing chemistry, this little ball of tension sitting before me needed to be unraveled.
“Hey,” she answered in a voice that sounded both hesitant and hardened. There were none of those embarrassed giggles from a few days ago. It was as if the dopey conversation I’d had with her the other day hadn’t registered at all, and now I was back to square one.

Okay, first things first: establish a connection. “Sorry, I forgot your name.”

“Samantha Anderson.”

“Oh, right – Sam.”

“My name is Samantha,” she said, all business-like. “No one calls me Sam.”

I fought the urge to smile. Samantha Anderson was trying so hard to be badass, but she just didn’t have the street cred to pull it off. And even though I needed to tread lightly with this girl, I couldn’t help a little subtle teasing.

“Uh-huh. So, Sam, what did I miss?” I asked, taking my seat.

“Samantha,” she corrected once more. “And… you missed three days.”

That was not the response I’d been expecting from my straight-laced partner.

Damn, she was a ballsy little brainiac. I was impressed. Yet still, I had to call bullshit on her timeline. I knew for a fact I’d only missed two days of chemistry. “Your tally is off.”

She shook her head, the tiniest of smiles finding its way to her lips. “I counted the nap.”


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A professional stay-at-home-mom for twenty-one years, Jill started her writing career in 2016 after reading a really bad rockstar romance. Although she had no previous writing experience and no desire to become an author, Jill was convinced she could write a better story.

And so began Cake: A Love Story. She wrote the novel for fun and added every single thing she’d ever wanted to read in a romance. Embarrassed by her newfound hobby, Jill kept her writing a secret from her family.

When the story was complete, she turned to Amazon to get the feedback she desired. Not thinking the book would ever sell, Jill planned to pull Cake off Amazon once it got a review or two but that never happened because, within a week of its release, Cake began to soar up the bestseller charts. Not only was Jill shocked by Cake’s success but now she had a whole new burgeoning career on her hands… and some explaining to do. Needless to say, the news of Jill’s secret book baby came as a complete shock to her husband and three children.

Jill is now a full-time writer.

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