Blog Tour: When Joss Met Matt by Ellie Cahill Review + Giveaway!

When Joss Met Matt by Ellie Cahill
Publication date: Feb. 24, 2015
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: New Adult - Contemporary
Source: Received ARC via Edelweiss (Thanks!)
Summary: Dating can be fun, but it can leave a nasty taste in your mouth. For Joss, ever since her longtime boyfriend cheated on her, she doesn’t want her last memory of a guy to be that jerk. Enter her college friend, Matt. They come up with a theory: after a bad break-up, a person needs to cleanse the palate with a little sorbet sex. Lovers for a night, but always back to being friends in the morning. The two can handle it because they have a contract: rules they wrote, rules they follow and rules they can sometimes bend. The arrangement works: everyone needs a little sorbet now and again … until it starts to be the only thing you want. And then Joss breaks the one rule they never wrote down: don’t fall in love. (Adapted goodreads.com)

The good

I had no idea that light, romantic comedy-esque New Adult existed but it does! And it comes in the form of When Joss Met Matt. It's about two friends, Joss and Matt, who have a "friends with benefits" arrangement they call "sorbet sex". Basically whenever one of them goes through a break-up, then and only then do they hook up to cleanse their palate (as in get the bad break-up out of their system) and go back to being friends in the morning. They even have a set of rules. It's something they've been doing since they met in college and still do now, 7 years later. We switch back and forth between the learning about the past – how they met, their friendship, the many nights spent together – and the present – where they have to make a decision about what they are to each other. Joss knows she wants to be with Matt but the question is, does he?

This book is a mix of classic tales all in one. The two best friends who obviously should be more, the whole "friends with benefits" thing never working and all sorts of miscommunications that prolong the obvious. That these two belong together! I enjoyed how the author chose to tell their story. We first get introduced to Joss in the present. She's finally figured out what Matt means to her and she's going to talk to him. And in the moments leading up to that talk, we get many flashbacks to their relationship, starting with how they met in college. It felt realistic and I think that's the biggest appeal of the book overall. I could picture myself being friends with Joss and if I had a "friend" like Matt, I would totally fall for him too. Their chemistry and dynamic just jumps off the pages. I found myself laughing, smiling and absolutely wanting them to admit they're perfect for the other.

(Minor) Reservations

I am used to NA being all overly-angsty and filled with sexy-times. And what surprised me was this book was neither. There's angst but it's not over the top and even though the majority of the flashbacks are of their hook-ups, it's of the fade-to-black variety. So depending on how you like your NA, I think that's just something to keep in mind.

Do I recommend?

I do! It's fun and perfect for people who are wary of New Adult but want to give it a try. And for those of you who constantly read the drama-filled NA I mentioned earlier, this could be your sorbet book! A great palate cleanser for some lighthearted romance.

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Now, keep scrolling for the giveaway

 and some rules for "sorbet sex"! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway