SIDE EFFECTS
Author: Lisa Suzanne
Genre: Contemporary Romance
~ SYNOPSIS ~
She has been hurt. She has a past of lies, cheating, and pain. She has severe panic attacks when she’s in enclosed spaces, a side effect of a horrible accident caused by a man she thought she loved. Quinn Carpenter has a distinct type: bad boys with dark hair, dark eyes, and tattoos. Tyler, her friend with benefits, fits the bill perfectly. They have fun together and they both know that fun is where their relationship begins and ends.
Quinn’s life is exactly how she wants it until she meets Reed Porter, the typical pretty boy with blue eyes, blonde hair, and zero tattoos. He is the exact opposite of everything Quinn likes.
So why can’t she get the frustrating, preppy, blue-eyed Reed out of her head?
She isn’t interested in commitment. She doesn’t want a relationship. But Reed challenges her, he puts her in her place, and he makes her nervous. The confident Quinn is never nervous around men, so what is it about Reed that has her questioning everything? And what will be the side effects of attempting to juggle two men at the same time?
~ REVIEWS ~
Lydia's Review:
4.5 Stars
I love Lisa Suzanne!! Just going to throw that out there, right off the bat. I've yet to read a book by her that I don't enjoy. And let me tell you, Side Effects was a great read. I loved Quinn ever since I first met in Separation Anxiety, so I was really excited to read her story.
"Have you ever walked in on the man you love fucking another woman? I don't highly recommend it. But that's one of the side effects of dating assholes." - Quinn
See? LOVE her. She had a funny and witty attitude that will make anyone laugh. Sure made me laugh out loud several times....while reading in public, thank you very much. People flat out stared at me.
"I wanted someone to love me so much that he cried when he saw me walking down the aisle in my white dress toward our forever. I'd never experienced that sort of love." - Quinn
Quinn had been hurt more times that she cared to admit, and because of this she swore off love and relationships. She was all for friends with benefits, but a real, serious boyfriend? Hell. NO. She had learned her lesson. She looked for having a good time, no strings attached, which meant no heartache. Enter bad boy Tyler. They had the type of "relationship" where it was more like "wham, bam, thank you ma'am" and it worked. Simple. Easy. No fuss........or so Quinn thought.
"I knew that Ty fucking me was the only thing he would ever love about me." - Quinn
Life had other plans for Quinn and her "no boyfriend" rule. Enter Reed a.k.a. Preppy Porter. See, Quinn had a smart ass remark for everything and that included giving everyone a nickname. The ones she gave Reed were super funny. Reed may have been preppy, but he was nowhere near close being a wimp or a pushover. He put up with Quinn and her wittiness and never backed down. He never took no for an answer when it came to her. Their banter was hilarious and had me smirking A LOT while reading.
Quinn tried REALLY hard to fight off her attraction for Reed. REALLY-FREAKING-HARD. But she failed. Thankfully. There were times where I wanted to smack her on the head - hard - to make her see that Reed was YU-MMY and very much worth it.
"He's not your type, Quinn. But maybe your type isn't working for you anymore."
AMEN. Yes, my thoughts exactly! I mean, Reed was effin' HOT and not one bit of a wuss. Like I said, he never backed down and didn't take no for an answer. He proved to Quinn that he wanted her, that he deserved to be given a chance -- that THEY deserved a chance.
"When you fuck me, and you will fuck me, I’m going to be the only man on your agenda for the night.” - Reed
Wowza. Panties, meet floor.
Once Quinn got over her fears and realized Reed was worth the risk -- worth the chance, their relationship blossomed and it was amazing to read. You could easily tell they both fell hard for each other and that Reed would stop at nothing to be by her side and make her happy. They actually made a great couple. Their personalities were a match and I LOVED it.
Lisa Suzanne's writing style is one I always connect with and enjoy reading. Her plot lines always keep me fully entertained and her characters are ones I always like, even when they piss me off. It takes a great author to make a reader feel different emotions while reading, and Lisa Suzanne always manages to do just that and with excellence.
Side Effects is honestly a wonderful book you should pick up!
Bethany's Review:
4 Stars
I was asked to be on the Side Effects tour, and I thought: Oh yeah!! I’m finally going to carve out some time for one of Lisa Suzanne’s books!! I have a few of them on my kindle, but I haven’t set the time aside. Tours kinda make me set that time aside….and boy, am I glad I did. This book was very funny and so sarcastic, I just laughed! Quinn had a definite funny bone in her!
~ PURCHASE LINKS ~
Lydia's Review:
4.5 Stars
I love Lisa Suzanne!! Just going to throw that out there, right off the bat. I've yet to read a book by her that I don't enjoy. And let me tell you, Side Effects was a great read. I loved Quinn ever since I first met in Separation Anxiety, so I was really excited to read her story.
"Have you ever walked in on the man you love fucking another woman? I don't highly recommend it. But that's one of the side effects of dating assholes." - Quinn
See? LOVE her. She had a funny and witty attitude that will make anyone laugh. Sure made me laugh out loud several times....while reading in public, thank you very much. People flat out stared at me.
"I wanted someone to love me so much that he cried when he saw me walking down the aisle in my white dress toward our forever. I'd never experienced that sort of love." - Quinn
Quinn had been hurt more times that she cared to admit, and because of this she swore off love and relationships. She was all for friends with benefits, but a real, serious boyfriend? Hell. NO. She had learned her lesson. She looked for having a good time, no strings attached, which meant no heartache. Enter bad boy Tyler. They had the type of "relationship" where it was more like "wham, bam, thank you ma'am" and it worked. Simple. Easy. No fuss........or so Quinn thought.
"I knew that Ty fucking me was the only thing he would ever love about me." - Quinn
Life had other plans for Quinn and her "no boyfriend" rule. Enter Reed a.k.a. Preppy Porter. See, Quinn had a smart ass remark for everything and that included giving everyone a nickname. The ones she gave Reed were super funny. Reed may have been preppy, but he was nowhere near close being a wimp or a pushover. He put up with Quinn and her wittiness and never backed down. He never took no for an answer when it came to her. Their banter was hilarious and had me smirking A LOT while reading.
Quinn tried REALLY hard to fight off her attraction for Reed. REALLY-FREAKING-HARD. But she failed. Thankfully. There were times where I wanted to smack her on the head - hard - to make her see that Reed was YU-MMY and very much worth it.
"He's not your type, Quinn. But maybe your type isn't working for you anymore."
AMEN. Yes, my thoughts exactly! I mean, Reed was effin' HOT and not one bit of a wuss. Like I said, he never backed down and didn't take no for an answer. He proved to Quinn that he wanted her, that he deserved to be given a chance -- that THEY deserved a chance.
"When you fuck me, and you will fuck me, I’m going to be the only man on your agenda for the night.” - Reed
Wowza. Panties, meet floor.
Once Quinn got over her fears and realized Reed was worth the risk -- worth the chance, their relationship blossomed and it was amazing to read. You could easily tell they both fell hard for each other and that Reed would stop at nothing to be by her side and make her happy. They actually made a great couple. Their personalities were a match and I LOVED it.
Lisa Suzanne's writing style is one I always connect with and enjoy reading. Her plot lines always keep me fully entertained and her characters are ones I always like, even when they piss me off. It takes a great author to make a reader feel different emotions while reading, and Lisa Suzanne always manages to do just that and with excellence.
Side Effects is honestly a wonderful book you should pick up!
Bethany's Review:
4 Stars
I was asked to be on the Side Effects tour, and I thought: Oh yeah!! I’m finally going to carve out some time for one of Lisa Suzanne’s books!! I have a few of them on my kindle, but I haven’t set the time aside. Tours kinda make me set that time aside….and boy, am I glad I did. This book was very funny and so sarcastic, I just laughed! Quinn had a definite funny bone in her!
Have you ever walked in on the man you love fucking another
woman? I don’t highly recommend it. But that’s one of the side effects of
dating assholes.
When a book
starts out like that and makes me laugh out loud, I know I am in for a treat. I
laughed at the sarcasm and wit and I loved Lisa’s voice in this book. It wasn’t
the same take on an old tale: Girl falls in love with boy. Girl catches boy
cheating. Girl hates boys forever. Girl falls in love again. Rainbows and
jellybeans for all. Nope! Completely different take for me, and it was a nice
read! Aside from the funnies in the book, we got to see Quinn’s serious side as
well. The hurt, the pain, the anguish….and the self-doubt, it was all there.
Quinn was
hurt in the past by her boyfriendS that she loved. We learned
quite a bit about what she liked in a man, and Ty seemed to fit that bill. He
was tall, dark, tatted and handsome and could take care of her ‘needs’ as
needed. But we also heard that, even though she thinks she knows what she wants, her inner dialogue tells a
different story. So Ty was a guy worthy
of ‘passing the time with until she was
ready to move on’.
I deserved better, but I wasn’t ready to go on that mission
to find better. ~Quinn
Quinn wore a
mask to the outside world. She wanted everyone to think she was ok and living
the life that she wanted to, but she truly wasn’t. She was surviving…..day to
day, getting by, but hiding the entire time she was doing it.
My life wasn’t perfect, but by living the way I lived, I was
also avoiding the inevitable hurt I’d feel when the person I loved most in the
world let me down. ~Quinn
On a chance
encounter, Quinn meets Reed: “Preppie
Blondie what’s-his-nuts”. Okay….did I mention that this book was funny??
Because it really was!! Quinn was SO sarcastic and had a comeback for
everything….I loved it. Her attitude was freaking hilarious. Anyways, their
first meeting was so funny I had to re-read it a few times because I was
laughing so hard. I enjoyed the banter A LOT.
Reed
apparently stalks her, because he shows up everywhere she is!! Okay, not
really….but when fate plays a prominent role in your life, she seems to help
out a lot. I feel their first meeting was meant to be. Too many quirky
circumstances led to them meeting time and time again after that. I loved how
their meetings were written, because it all seemed plausible. It wasn’t unrealistic,
and I liked that. It made me smile and giddy, because she FOUGHT her attraction. She FOUGHT
her feelings and it really worked in the beginning. My advice for Quinn: Don’t
judge a book by its cover!!! Reed was seriously amazing. He had so many great qualities
about him and he really was drool-worthy! He also knew what he wanted….and
wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“Quinn, I won’t be your sloppy seconds. When you fuck me, and
you will fuck me, I’m going to be the only man on your agenda for the night.”
~Reed
Once the
story got thicker, and a love was blooming and growing…..the drama picked up. I
am not entirely sure that some of the drama was all that necessary, and maybe a
little overdramatic, but it helped propel the story in the direction it was
going. The self-doubt from Quinn was really exasperating though. I wanted to
smack her more times than not. She has so much going for her: she has a good
job, an apartment, life with great girlfriends and an amazing boyfriend that
seriously loves her AND her mouth (I loved her mouth too!! Snarky little
thing!), but she isn’t the smartest one when it comes to the heart and actual
common sense in that department. I will blame it on her past and her
insecurities, but some of it was really aggravating. I am very glad that the
“LOVE” story behind all this was a very worthy read. I really enjoyed the
relationship between Reed and Quinn, and I liked watching it progress.
I will say
this, I have my own nuances and quirks, they make me who I am, but I also have panic
attacks…..it’s something that I have learned to deal with and notice the
triggers and cause/effect of some of the attacks. It is VERY hard for me to read a book when someone mentions the MC has
panic attacks because I often wonder if that is put in for dramatic effect or
to help foster an emotional attachment. Most of the time, having that scenario
in a book turns me off because they *never* get it right, in MY mind. It’s either way too dramatic,
or it doesn’t make sense the way they write it. I was glad to know that I
*understood* Quinn’s panics and triggers and they seemed real and relatable. Everyone is different, but it was nice to see
that it wasn’t overly played out even though that’s a big part of her.
This book
was a very even and loveable 4 stars for me. Reed and Quinn’s love is a great summer read!
~ PURCHASE LINKS ~
~ TEASERS ~
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
~ Lisa Suzanne ~
Lisa Suzanne started handwriting her books on yellow legal pads after she took a creative writing class in high school. She still has those legal pads full of stories, but now one of them is published under the title How He Really Feels. She currently works as a full time high school English teacher, and her favorite part of the year is summer. She has been blessed with the world’s best dog, a supportive family, and a husband who encouraged her to publish after reading one of her novels. She likes the advice of Ernest Hemingway’s famous quote, “Write drunk. Edit sober.”
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