Review: I Want it That Way – Ann Aguirre

Posted 7 August, 2014 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 8 Comments


Warning: This book includes mature content such as: sexual content, and/or drug and/or alcohol use, and/or violence.
Review: I Want it That Way – Ann AguirreI Want it That Way by Ann Aguirre
Series: 2B Trilogy #1
Published by Harlequin HQN on 26 August 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Pages: 352
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
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5 Stars

Nadia Conrad has big dreams, and she's determined to make them come true—for her parents' sake as well as her own. But between maintaining her college scholarship and working at the local day care to support herself, she barely has time to think, let alone date. Then she moves into a new apartment and meets the taciturn yet irresistible guy in 1B….

Daniel Tyler has grown up too fast. Becoming a single dad at twenty turned his life upside down—and brought him heartache he can't risk again. Now, as he raises his four-year-old son while balancing a full-time construction management job and night classes, a social life is out of the question. The last thing he wants is for four noisy students to move into the apartment upstairs. But one night, Nadia's and Ty's paths cross, and soon they can't stay away from each other.

The timing is all wrong—but love happens when it happens. And you can't know what you truly need until you stand to lose it.

*I received a free ARC of I Want It That Way from Harlequin via Netgalley in exchange of an honest review*

I Want It That Way is the most beautifully heartbreaking story I have read so far in 2014. I laughed, cried big, fat tears, cheered, and rooted for Nadia, all the way!

My I Want it That Way review:

I Want it That Way is so different from all the other New Adult stories I have read lately! Yes, both Nadia and Ty struggled with their lives, doubts and how to deal with the real stuff. However, at the same time, they both came from loving families, where their parents were still married and supported them emotionally and  financially as best they could.

The writing is haunting, written from first person point of view, Nadia shared all of her feelings with me, and I found her to be an awesome female lead. Hard-working, not partying too much, serious about her job in a day-care and her studies, the only thing she hadn’t really planned on was falling for the single father downstairs. I Want it That way showed how difficult it can be to take care of a little boy as a single parent, and I really enjoyed that in this story, it was the dad who had changed his whole life around to care for his son.

I Want it That Way showed all the inner turmoil Nadia was fighting with, Ty had told her that he never dated, because he didn’t want Sam to suffer a break-up. Nadia thought this was adorable, and it only made her fall even harder for him. Their chemistry was so good, though, so it was very easy to understand why Nadia couldn’t completely let go of her feelings. Working with Sam twenty hours every week, and meeting Ty both at work and at home didn’t make thinks any easier.

Part of why I Want it That Way was both so sad and so beautiful was because Ty couldn’t stick to his resolve the whole time, and the few moments Nadia and Ty spent together alone were so filled with tenderness, want and need I almost bursted while reading. Their connection was so strong, my heart truly broke along with Nadia’s when Ty decided this relationship just wouldn’t work for him. And I loved how both Nadia and Ty were changed by their meeting and their friendship, the character development was so well done. The side characters were really great, too, there wasn’t a single character that felt flat.

If you are looking for a different kind of New Adult story, I Want it That Way should be a perfect fit! There is a lot of emotional stuff going on, and as I said, I cried big, fat tears, feeling so bad for Nadia and her broken heart. At the same time, it was impossible to really be upset with Ty, since he had told Nadia from the very start how things would go between them.

Some of my favorite I Want it That Way quotes:

I don’t think I’ve ever had so many highlights in a single book before – there are so many beautiful quotes it was difficult to choose just a few.

The first time I saw Ty, I fell down the stairs and tore my pants. A superstitious person might call that an omen. He had nothing to do with it, of course; that was just a quirk of timing.

Mom claimed I had “good bones” which meant I’d age well, like Katharine Hepburn. Since I barely knew who that was now – and she was a really old woman who died when I was a kid – that wasn’t much comfort at age nine.

God I had no idea what it was about him, but every time he said my name, it went through me like gasping, shivering sex.

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Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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8 responses to “Review: I Want it That Way – Ann Aguirre

  1. Your review was kinda gut-wrenching so I can only imagine how the book is, Lexxie. I’m glad this one was so powerful and different. I was hoping it’d be a good read. It’s already on my tbr since I saw it on your STS. 😉 Now I really can’t wait to read it…even if it’s going to make me ugly cry. Beautiful review, my friend.

    Hope you’re getting some sun and relaxing…sipping a fruity drink and reading! **BIG HUGS**

    • Yeah, but the FEELS! There is ugly crying, but there is smiling, too, Brandee 🙂 Thanks for stopping by! I’ll be playing catch-up tomorrow.
      We just got home this evening, and it’s colder, and still raining here 🙁
      *BIG HUGS*

  2. Oh I’m glad to see you had a wonderful time with this one. I see a lot of different reviews so I confess I don’t really know. But well I have a few books by her to read so I think I need to start with these ones.

    • I loved it, Melliane! It brought out so many feelings, and it was very different from other NA stories I’ve read lately.
      Thanks for stopping by 🙂

    • Yes, having the different gender roles is awesome, and the writing was so good, too, Jirrine.
      Thanks for stopping by 🙂

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