THIRD DEGREE by Julie Cross
Age Group: A New Adult Contemporary Romance
Expected Release is March 25, 2014
Published by Flirt (Imprint of Random House)
Source: ecopy from Author
Fans of Monica Murphy and Tammara Webber will savor this New Adult novel—a story about coming of age in the heat of the moment—from Julie Cross, the internationally bestselling author of the Tempest trilogy.
I used to be “Isabel Jenkins, child prodigy.” As lame as that sounds, at least it was an identity. But now I’m not sure what I am. I just failed the most important exam of my life—the emotional readiness test required to get into a medical residency program—and it turns out my parents can’t stand each other. Now I’m trying to figure out how to pick up the pieces of my life, and that means re-enrolling as a college freshman, but this time I’m shutting the books and majoring in being eighteen.
But so far, my roommate hates me and I’m not into the party scene. The only good thing about school has been getting to know my insanely hot RA. Marshall Collins makes me wonder about everything I missed while I was growing up too fast. Pretty soon we’re hanging out constantly, but for the first time, I find myself wanting more than a no-strings-attached physical relationship. And the lesson I really need is one Marsh definitely can’t teach me: love. Because I’m going to be alone forever if I don’t learn fast.
Third degree both a coming of age tale for a young genius turned doctor and a really sweet romance of two people finding each other. Find the other person that truly gets them. Isabel and Marshall are both hiding so many parts of themselves. Isabel had multiple degrees, including her MD by the time she turned 18. She was all set to start her residency before her 19th birthday, when she found out that she failed her emotional readiness portion of her exam, and no residency program would take her. So what does an 18 year old doctor do when she has half a year of free time before she can re-take her exam? She goes back to college for a “normal” college experience.
Here she meets her RA Marshall, who seems to know about her situation. He kind of takes her under his wing to kind of socialize her. Isabel is so smart, but she sees everything as very matter of fact. She doesn’t seem to connect emotions with her actions. Which I personally felt would be an asset to a doctor, but I do see where a more appropriate bedside manner would be beneficial as well. Marshall seems to be able to bring out her more emotional side, but it wasn’t overnight and it wasn’t easy. I loved loved loved that it was finally triggered when Marshall was sick. That was when I knew how good the two of them would be together.
We also got to meet Marshall and Isabel’s family. I felt like I got to know Marshall’s family a lot better than I got to know Isabel’s family. I loved Marshall’s wacky family. They were all characters, and I really liked how close he was to his sisters. Their relationships were all very sweet. And Marshall himself is such a sweetie-pie. I just want to hug him and squeeze him. I really liked Isabel, but I loved Marshall.
Marshall and Isabel are both very stubborn though, so the road before them is not easy. There are so many moments when I thought, this is it. They have run their course. And there were a bunch of times where I wasn’t sure if this was going to be your typical happily ever after book, and I was ok with that. I’m not going to tell you whether it is or isn’t, but I will say that I was going to be ok with either outcome. This story seems to be so much about the individual journeys of the two main characters and it was done so well that it is enough of a story ending on its own. Third Degree is a great new adult book with substance and depth. The story felt realistic, very fleshed out and three dimensional. This is my first book by Julie Cross and I was very happy with it. I can’t wait to check out her other books.
Julie Cross lives in Central Illinois with her husband and three children. She’s a former gymnast, longtime gymnastics fan, coach, and former gymnastics program director with the YMCA. She’s a lover of books, devouring several novels a week, especially in the young adult and New Adult genres. She’s also a committed (but not talented) long-distance runner, creator of imaginary beach vacations, Midwest bipolar weather survivor, expired CPR certification card holder, as well as a ponytail and gym shoe addict.
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Tiffany
HOW did I not know this was coming out so soon? I love Julie’s books. The Tempest series is amazing if you like time travel novels.
AToMR
Thank you for your thoughts on THIRD DEGREE. 🙂 I’m glad Marshall and Isabel kept you guessing.
Berls
This is a new to me author, but I really love the sounds of this book. I love watching characters grow and Isabel sounds like a character I would really love to read about. I can already tell that Marshall getting sick and her emotional side being triggered is going to be an awesome part of the book for me too. Great review – adding to my tbr!
kimbacaffeinate
This sounds cute, and I love a nerd girl 🙂