Out of Line Review

Desperate to break free…

I've spent my entire life under my father’s thumb, but now I'm finally free to make my own choices. When my roommate dragged me to my first college party, I met Finn Coram and my life turned inside out. He knows how to break the rules and is everything I never knew I wanted. A Marine by day and surfer by night, he pushes me away even as our attraction brings us closer. Now I am finally free to do whatever I want. I know what I want. I choose Finn.

Trying to play by the rules...

I always follow orders. My job, my life, depends on it. I thought this job would be easy, all the rules were made crystal clear, but when I met Carrie Wallington, everything got muddy. She's a rule I know I shouldn't break, but damn if I don’t inch closer to the breaking point each time I see her. I’m ready to step out of line. And even worse? I’m living a lie. They say the truth will set you free, but in my case…

The truth will cost me everything.
So, let’s get one thing straight.  I like to think of myself as an intelligent woman, I mean I’m well educated and I have a healthy dose of common sense but I know when I’m being manipulated and that’s exactly what Jen McLaughlin did with Out of Line.  Let’s take Finn, romantic lead and general heartthrob of the novel as the prime example here.

1.    He's a marine.
Who DOESN’T dig a man in uniform?!  He’s strong, muscular, brave and protective of Carrie, he actively wants to take care of her.  Can you say swoontastic?

2.    He has tattoos.
So, there’s a hint of a bad boy lurking underneath then.  Plus, tats look hot on a guy.

3.    He surfs.
So he has a great body and a killer tan.  Maybe he’s also a little spiritual and a bit of a deep thinker.  Yep, I’m liking everything I see so far.

4.    He holds Carrie’s hair when she pukes.
I have no words but secretly, I would love to be with someone who cares THAT MUCH about me that he’s willing to see my stomach contents.

5.    He’s good in bed.
This is a given nowadays with male characters, right?

6.    He’s pretty much perfect.
And that sums it up in a nutshell.  He is the perfect guy because not only is he easy on the eye, but there’s something upstairs (and downstairs...ahem...) that makes him interesting.  He’s also snarky at times and likes to tease Carrie which we all know, means he likes her.

Jen McLaughlin has taken EVERYTHING that women want in a man and thrown all of the character traits together to make the main character – Finn, which by the way is a cute name considering he surfs.  Yes, ladies and gentleman I have been completely manipulated by the writer and you know what?

I DON’T CARE.

I don’t care that Jen has plucked the perfect guy right of my head and materialised him on the page because I loved every minute of it.   I loved the characters, I adored the situation of Finn being undercover and the chemistry between Carrie and Finn was sizzling.

Out of Line tells the story of Carrie Wallington, a freshman in college who has gotten out from under the watchful gaze of her father, who happens to be a senator.  All her life she’s had to put up with bodyguards and the like but now she’s at college, she is finally free.  Or so she thinks.  Enter Finn, just a guy she met on the beach outside of a frat party.  There’s an instant attraction there and Carrie surprises him more than he thought she ever would.  She’s not the average college student – she’s a bit of a goody goody but she’s kind and generous and helps out at the soup kitchen at the weekend.  Finn tries to fight his growing attraction towards her because he REALLY shouldn’t get involved but can he hold out?  Crossing the line would cost him everything.

Out of Line is a contemporary New Adult romance that will grab hold of you and not let you go until you’ve finished the book.  I should know, I blew off all my morning chores to stay in bed and finish reading.  I know a lot of people aren’t that big on cliffhangers and my take on it would be that there wasn’t a cliffhanger as such, just an introduction to the next book in the series and the suggestion of conflict to come.  There’s no story without a bit of conflict, right?!

I’m looking forward to book two because I want to see some consequences, dammit and that’s all I’m going to say about that.  Let’s just say that there is a lot more of this story to be rolled out and I can’t wait to sit back and watch it all unfurl.

Out of Line is well written with a decent plot and characters to swoon over.  Now if I could just meet Finn in real life, I’d be a VERY happy girl.

Out of Line was published on 4th September, 2013.  To find out more about Jen McLaughlin and her books, please click here to visit her website.