Drunk Dial by Penelope Ward

My rating: 4/5 Stars

Penelope Ward tops my favorite authors and every book from her is pure joy. The same happened with “Drunk Dial” although I didn’t rate it at 5, only 4, but I will explain myself shortly.

“Drunk Dial” is a very sweet and hot love story between Rana and Landon, and you can call it second chance romance, because in their childhood they were bond by a strong friendship. On a drunk night, Rana decides to call Landon, an old friend who she befriended a long time ago, but because of her family, she had to move away and never hear from him again. Now, she wants to tell him all her frustrations and believe me, she does:)) Only that this conversation will become like an addiction for both of them, causing them to rekindle their relationship and further on, fall in love.

Rana is very introvert and uneasy with herself and her looks. This was one of the aspects that made her take wrong decisions, with very severe consequences. Ignored by a mother she adored, and later on abandoned by her, she was raised by her father and during her childhood she made so many mistakes, which made her mentally and physically, the person she is today. Her conversations with Landon were not in her confort zone, but she trusted him enough to confide in him and later on, give him her heart.

Landon, as well, made a lot of mistakes in his life, but managed to adjust his sales to a better future. He was abandoned by his mom, a drug addict, and raised by an adoptive family, who loved him dearly. He left them to find his birth mother, but exactly like Rana, found himself doing wrong things that affected him. Now, he has a very original business, a food truck and everything goes smoothly for him. When rekindling with Rana, he felt that connection and that intrigued him in keep having the conversations with her and see where things lead.

Their love story is not a typical one, it starts by building trust, getting to know each other, unfortunately by phone, and after that seeing each other face to face. Rana is the shy one and she will struggle a lot with her trust issues, but Landon is there for her, accepting her with mistakes and everything. I liked him as a hero, as a person with past issues, struggles and regrets, but a person that manages to see the right path in the end. This lesson he tough to Rana, and it worked perfectly. They were very opened to each other and considered trust fundamental to a healthy relationship. The way they gradually accepted each other mistakes and found way of healing them was amazing, a whole proces that will inevitable capture your hearts.

Why only 4 stars? I loved the heroes, the unique idea that built the plot, the steamy and original love scenes, but it was not something that made me very alert and made me think about it after finishing it. It didn’t have that suspense which I love at Penelope, that critical moment for our characters. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked it, but I wanted something more challenging, something more WOW. Maybe I’m just being picky and my state of mind was not very into the book, but now, this is my opinion.