Title: Love and Relativity
Author: Rachael Wade
Genre: Contemporary Romance, New Adult, 
Publisher: Rabbit Hole Press
Publication Date: December 2012
Pages: 338
Rating: 4 stars

Synopsis (from goodreads):
Love, life, and happily ever after? It’s all relative.

Marine biology student Emma Pierce lives in paradise—geographically speaking, anyway. Stranded on Sanibel Island, Florida, she works at a nursing home by day and spends her nights dodging the island’s infamous bad boy, Jackson Taylor, at her favorite karaoke bar. Trying to heal from the loss of her sister and a failed relationship she rerouted her life for, she’s ready to graduate and finally leave Florida behind.

When a run-in with Jackson and his rowdy crew goes sour at the bar one night, sparks fly and irreversible damage is done. It’s no secret that Jackson loves to get underneath her skin, but this time he’s gone too far. Now all he wants is to earn her forgiveness before she’s gone for good, but their ideas of closure—and the future—are enough to keep them worlds apart.

My Review:

“Love is like art,” I shrugged. “It’s relative.”
“I don’t think so. I think it’s absolute. You know when you love someone.”

Emma Pierce has been hurt by love before. She planned out her entire life with her boyfriend only to have everything fall apart. Now single – and looking to keep it that way – Emma isn’t looking for distractions. She’s applied a program on the other side of the country and can’t wait to move away from the town where she’s haunted by memories of her sister and dogged by the baddest boy in town – Jackson Taylor. Jackson is the one guy who could tempt Emma to change her plans. He’s gorgeous and there’s no denying the sparks that fly when Emma and Jack are in the same room. But she’s a one guy kind of girl and he has a different girl warming his bed each night.

I loved reading the story of Emma and Jackson. Their chemistry flies off the page and from their first interaction I was hoping for a happily ever after. The banter between them is witty and heated with the romance red hot. What I liked most about Emma and Jack was they’re both flawed. Jack gets around and makes the same mistakes over and over again with Emma not willing to face up to reality at times. Their faults aside they both have some great qualities too. Emma is down to earth and a caring side. I thought her interactions with the residents at the retirement home where she works to be both funny and sweet. She’s a very strong person too. I loved that she didn’t let life get her down. She wasn’t going to give up. That said – she wasn’t bullet-proof and her actions and reactions were refreshingly realistic. Jackson is a little messed but oh-so attractive and one of those guys that I can imagine being many readers’ book boyfriends.

The supporting cast was great – with them being interesting and having stuff of their own going on. I am definitely going to check out Wade’s Preservation series to read their stories. Plot wise, this is a book about love and relationships. But it’s also about families and over coming the past. It was nicely done with an ending that was absolutely perfect and played out like a romantic comedy.

Love and Relativity is a great story. It’s incredibly hot – definitely not recommended for young audiences – with some characters that I loved and a plot that really worked for them.

(PS. The reference to the Lux series by Jennifer L Armentrout made me laugh and was a nice tribute considering the cover models for this book!)

Purchase the novel from:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble