Buh-Bye, V Card: Box Set

by Avery Aster

Do you remember your first time? Relive falling in love, get naughty, and be good at being bad with a bad boy with the Undergrad Years mini-series. We've packed the box with the best in new adult, erotic romance, and contemporary romance.

The box set includes Love, Lex (Undergrad Years #1)  Yours Truly, Taddy (Undergrad Years #2) XO, Blake (Undergrad Years #3) and a bonus erotic romance novel Unscrupulous (Manhattanites #1).

Note: fans of Abbi Glines, Jessica Sorensen, Jamie McGuire, and Colleen Hoover will enjoy these hilarious and naughty, full-length, stand-alone, cliffhanger free, contemporary new adult novels from New York Times  Bestselling Author Avery Aster

Genres: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary Romance

551 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 8, 2016

About the author

Get a FREE ebook when you join Avery Aster's newsletter http://eepurl.com/CQ665

A graduate of New York University and a resident of the Big Apple for twenty years, New York Times bestselling author Avery Aster writes popular fiction in several genres. Erotic Romance fans enjoy Avery’s The Manhattanites books, while New Adult readers can’t get enough of the Undergrad Years. For those who like a good thrill that’ll mess with their mind, check out Avery’s Psychological Suspense series, Piper Adler and other books at www.AveryAster.com

Connect with Avery Aster:
Goodreads http://www.Goodreads.com/AveryAster
Facebook http://www.Facebook.com/AveryAster
Instagram http://Instagram.com/AveryAster
Tumblr http://AveryAster.tumblr.com
Pinterest http://www.Pinterest.com/AveryAster
Twitter https://Twitter.com/AveryAster

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this box set from NetGalley and I was really excited to jump in and see what this new adult romance collection was all about. I'll be honest, I only made it about halfway through the first book and I just couldn't do it. I couldn't turn another page, I could read even another word. I. Was. Done. I had to put it down because I totally checked out.

This is my first and last book by Avery Aster. Sometimes I'll give an author another shot if I was a bit on the fence about the first novel that I read by them but I wasn't on the fence this time. I was over that fence and four states away. It did not go well. Unfortunately, this is not going to be one of my gushing reviews. This one is going to be rough.

From the very first sentence in the first book of the set (Love, Lex), my stomach just dropped. The book is just all over the damn place. I couldn't keep up with what was happening ... it was like a tweaking hummingbird just flitting from one topic to the next. It caused a serious case of reading whiplash coupled with a healthy dose of disinterest. It reads almost as if it's a jumble of thoughts that weren't fully explored and with each disjointed sentence, you're just pulled further into this vortex of confusion.

It sure as hell doesn't help that this book is written using the urban dictionary for every other word. Everything is in such heavy slang that was uper-cray (did I use that correctly?) and nothing was jelly (again, I don't know if this is the right context, I had to Google this shit to see what it meant), forreals (this has to be another language altogether). I just wanted to grab my Kindle and scream, "SPEAK ENGLISH, I WANT TO READ YOU!!!". Yes, I understand that the book is written from the POV of a 17 year old. Got it. But she sounds like a damn idiot. Maybe that is what the author is going for. Who the heck knows. But it helps if the reader can comprehend what in the hell is going on and in order to know what is going on, we need to be able to recognize more words than just a handful every couple of pages.

I absolutely ABHORRED the main character, Lex. She is a self absorbed, neurotic teenager and the way she talks is what is wrong with this generation. I'm not that old and I remember using slang when I was growing up but at least you could still decipher the English language when we talked. She's also crass and immature. You should enjoy reading about people that are different than you, not get annoyed.

Since I'm talking about characters, the whole beginning thing (I'm not giving away anything that isn't in the blurb or the first chapter) with the boyfriend was just asinine. So this dude is staying in a relationship with Lex but refusing to have sex with her because she's overweight. I call bullshit. No sexually active teenage boy is going to say no to sex when it is being offered up on a silver platter because a chick is ten pounds overweight and then go play hide-the-salami with her coked out, has-been mom. Give me a break. It's just not believable.

There were also these news articles or statements, I'm not totally sure what they were at this point. Anyway, they were weird because they weren't needed and it drew your attention away from the story as you are trying to figure out why they are included. There were also this dream sequence that literally lasted page after page after page ... it was to the point where you forget that you're reading a dream. I don't know if that is what the author was going for and she was trying to show how off in Lala Land this girl was or what.

Most authors of YA or New Adult books are in fact, well over the age that they are writing about. There's nothing wrong with that. But there is a problem when it feels like you're insulting that generation with over-usage of nonsensical terms and phrases. Our son is 13 years old and I've been to tons of school functions where hundreds of teenagers are and I've NEVER heard kids use this much slang and improper grammar.

Ugh. I'll get off my soapbox. Let's just say that it was not the book for me. The truth of the matter is, if I had the option to give it no stars, that's what I would have done this time. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading New Adult romance novels (or any romance for that matter) and I most certainly will not be picking up another book by this author. Total miss for me.

* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *

Check out more of my reviews at Little Miss Bookmark!

[Mary Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Avery Aster delivers that no-holds barred, snappy, witty dialog that has you laughing out loud as you step into the world of the Manhattanites. The Undergrad Years really allows us to understand the crew, Lex, Taddy, Blake and Vive which makes you love them even more. Whether you read the Manhattanites books first or start with the Undergrad Years, you will fall in love with this unique family as they traverse life’s hills and valleys.

Love, Lex: We know Lex, Taddy, Vive and Blake from later in life but now we step back in time and find out what happened to bring them together and form such a strong family bond. Lex is faced with betrayal by 2 people she loves which forces some decisions that create a crazy situation I didn't see coming. Will she end up in prison? What about the hot biker cop that catches her who stars in all of her fantasies? Of course, all of this happens as she should be celebrating her 18th birthday. Jump onto the ride and see how Lex navigates these new challenges.

Yours Truly, Taddy: Taddy … I love Taddy, she has been dealt a tough hand but she always pulls herself up and trudges forward finding a solution/making her way as the situation demands. Since she found out that her parents wiped out her college fund, she resorted to modeling to get the needed funds to go to Columbia with all her BFF's – Lex, Viveca and Blake. The modeling job requires traveling to the tropics on an airplace – something she doesn't enjoy – well, since this is Taddy, nothing goes as planned. I don't want to say anymore because what happens is funny, sexy, crazy … all the things I have come to expect from Avery Aster. Another amazing story about the Undergrad Years for the Manhattanites … jump in for an amazing ride!

XO Blake: Blake is the strong, solid, encouraging best friend and we finally get to experience Blake's story. The crew, Blake, Taddy, Vive and Lex, always seems to find trouble or … trouble always finds them … it's no different this time as a situation at the night club lands Blake right in Diego's path, a guy from school that he has been lusting after. The bond we know between Taddy, Vive, Lex and Blake is even stronger as we experience more ups and downs with the crew while we focus on Blake's love life. Excited to see what happens for Blake in Unsaid.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buh-bye, V-Card is a boxed set so I’m going to talk about the set as a whole without giving away spoilers. Now books one through three are like novella length prologues to characters in Avery Aster’s Manhattanites series. You also get the first book of that series as a bonus. You follow a group of three friends from high school graduation to college.

The books are a fun and often hilarious read. I was just disappointed by the lack of well….romance. All three did contain some sexy scenes but they read more like a diary or confessional then a romance novel. And while I enjoyed the banter and witticisms, I didn’t often feel much else despite some of the tough circumstances the characters grew up in or found themselves in. They often felt brushed over or brushed off. Despite that, I still enjoyed them and would still recommend them to friends who just needed a fun, flirty read for a little escapism.

The bonus novel is where you get more meat. This book jumps about ten years ahead from where the first three are. All four of the characters now own or co-own their own business and are still close as ever. This first book focuses on Taddy. I loved that the group was still together and working in close proximity to each other. I liked how Warner and Taddy’s relationship started but I wish we had gotten more. I felt like the book focused too much on her work and the group rather than their relationship. And I wanted to know what happened to Leon. It feels more chick lit than romance. But that’s just my personal thoughts and opinions. And again, it shouldn’t keep anyone from reading the books, I still enjoyed them. It’s just not what I was expecting when I read the blurb.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

This is a collection of stories about three friends...Lex, Taddy and Blake. They have another friend...not sure why she didn't get a book too??

Anyway, I digress...each book is about one of the characters and that characters quest to loose their virginity.

When I read the synopsis, I figured it would probably be a hot entertaining read but I wasn't expecting much more.

Right from the start I had a huge problem with the way it was written. I am a big fan of new adult books, but this one is written like an annoying teenager speaks. Lots of "BFF", "VBF" etc and the like language throughout. It annoyed me from the first chapter and I never really got into it.

Then, the stories didn't even have the kind of heat I was expecting...their day dreams about losing it were better than the actual event.

The characters were ok, but not much time spent developing them so I never cared enough about them to feel bad about their dramas.

My thoughts:

POV switches up characters with each story
Quick hook or slow starter? 2.5 (I was skimming through most of the books)
Character development: 2.5
Level of Romance between characters: 2.5
Passion/Heat level: 3 (in a word, disappointing)
Angst/Heartbreak: 2
Cliffhanger?: No, each story is wrapped up in the end.

Overall, this one just wasn't for me. Maybe I am getting too old?? Someone much younger may not be bothered by the language.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Merel · Rating 1 out of 5]

( I received this book boxset from netgalley in exchange for an honest review)

First of all I want to say that I DNF'd this book about half way through the first novel, I just couldn't finish it.
I had never read a new adult book, so i thought I'd give it a go. I don't know if most new adult books are like this, but I'm very hesitant to pick up another one.
Where can I start? This book was all over the place. The language, the characters, the storyline..
What did I read? Is this even English? This feels like a bad case of 'trying to sound like a teenager'. Well, I can tell you that this is not how teenagers speak, it felt like all the characters had swallowed the urban dictionary! Another thing that put me off were the characters, the main character was so annoying and self-absorbed. She has some major parent problems, but the way it's being dealt with makes it very unrealistic.
No, there wasn't a single thing in this book that I liked, not even slightly, and I think I'll stay away from new adult for now.

[Elaine Kirby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring 4 the Most Part

I read the 1st & the 2nd stories, skipped most of the 3rd & 4th stories as they are boring stories. I had been trying to read this box set since 11/28/16 & as it is now 12/1/16 & I still haven't finished this set it's then rated as boring. There's really nothing naughty in this box set as to me naughty would be really explicit description of the hot sex these characters should be having & there's nothing. This box set needs to be sexed up if it's supposed to be naughty.

[bookaholic ge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get ready to take a stroll down memory lane as we get introduced to Lex, Taddy, Blake and Vive and how they became who they are and also how they became friends.

This book has a Kindle price of 4.99 and is completely free on Kindle unlimited...which by the way is a great price for 3 books that are sexy, funny and packed with tons of heat!

I received this book from Net galley for my honest review and I loved it!

[Chrsitina Somerville · Rating 1 out of 5]

I received this series via Net Gallery for my honest review.

I am sorry but unfortunately I could not make it past the first half of the first book. I just could not get into the story.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

read all three at diffetent times. .lobe the creativity of sll the characters in Avery's books. I love Lex..Blake..Vive..Miguel..not Diego though . Definitely a must read

[Elle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Love, Lex- 1/5

DNF afterwards as I struggled to find any character that I liked or wanted to read more about.

[Kandice Dover · Rating 1 out of 5]

See Love, Lex for review.

[Jessica Cullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

i enjoyed these stories as abit of light reading. there wasnt a great deal of meat (pardon the pun) to the stories.