No Expectations

by Madison Diaz

He's everything and more. I wish he saw me as more than just some kid. I wish I knew what to say to make him notice me. But I'm too late, the moment passed and he's gone.

Emilia:

Without school as a distraction, I'm lonely as hell. No boyfriend this year. No friends. All I had were my dogs and my customers. Then he noticed me. I was invisible at home but seen by his soft knowing eyes. He'd pierced my soul with a glance and a simple question before he showed me what it felt like to be wanted. Maybe I could grow up and become a woman worthy of him after all.

Stephen:

Spending the holidays alone shouldn't have felt this devastating. How could I still not enjoy my own company? Maybe I've depended on my family too much. They should be able to live their own lives for a few days. I could manage. Besides, how could I fall apart when she was right there? Her sweet innocent eyes looked into mine and I knew she'd take the loneliness away. I would do anything to keep her coming back.

ebook

Published August 18, 2017

Reviews

[J.L. Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the illustration of the personalities of Emilia and Stephen. You see the complexities of their lives, which I honestly did not expect from an age-gap love story. Stephen and Emilia’s tale doesn't necessarily follow the traditional tropes of these types of books.

For instance, instead of setting up these extra long character intros where said character is describing themselves to an unseen audience and then having the two central characters meet further down the road, Diaz opens the book with them already having seen one another previously and you could almost feel the attraction sizzling from the descriptions on the pages.

Everything about the characters and the situations felt extremely genuine from their actions to the dialogue. I was engrossed and didn’t get lost. And then there were the love scenes. They were hot, and I’m going to leave that right there and move on.

I saw the happy ending coming from miles away and I would have liked to see more stakes, more consequences, more risk. I would have liked to be unsure if this story would have ended happily. I think a happy ending is inherent to anything with the genre of romance, but still, personally, I like to see a lot of hardship in books to point where I don’t who’s going to make it.

Overall, Diaz is a great writer who has constructed a beautiful, complex, and even dramatic story.

[T Van · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shy Glances From the Girl Upstairs

I enjoyed this "neighbors with an age gap," love story, particularly that it never devolved into simplistic tropes. However, while the lack of unnecessary drama and angst was appreciated, it could have used more highs and lows for our love birds. The tone remained rather unvaried throughout, and at the end, I felt less, "Ah, love!" and more, "Well, that was nice."

[Ｙｅｓｓｅｎｉａ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
It was better than I expected. I have read books with this age-gap trend that make me regret ever reading them but this was a good story that could have been better but I liked it. There was some things not really explained about Emilia and Stephen that I'd have liked to know. Well...

[Bec · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 34%

This story may appeal to some, but it doesn't to me. Really, no matter how many times I've come back to trying to get into this book, I've decided I have to give up on it, even though I hate not finishing a book. The age gap between the two main characters is just too much for me, the heroine is way naïve and young enough to (almost) be the hero's daughter.

[Nour · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like how this book dealt with an age gap relationship, very realistic depiction of the awkwardness and rawness of it. Emilia and Stephen were very likable characters 🥰