Name: Four Years Later
ISBN: 9780804176828

Monica Murphy

When his mother, who abandoned him and his sister four years earlier, comes back into his life, threatening to destroy everything he worked so hard to achieve, college freshman Owen Maguire learns the redeeming power of love with the help of his tutor Chelsea. Original.

Four Years Later

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I've been a huge fan of Monica Murphy's One Week Girlfriend series since I picked up the first book and fell in love with Fable and Drew. The only time my love faltered was during Three Broken Promises. It was still a good book, but I was missing that character connection with Jen and Colin. I was excited to learn Fable's little brother Owen was going to get his own book. I couldn't wait to learn his story. 

Owen is a guy with a lot of issues. He's intelligent, but does stupid things. He has a great role model in his brother in law, Drew, and a completely horrendous one in his mother. One of them encourages him to pursue his dreams and a career, the other relies on him for money to support her drug habit. Calling her a piece of work would be the understatement of the year. Owen is close to flunking out of college and losing his spot on the football team when he meets his new tutor, Chelsea. He's immediately attracted to her, but also finds the longer he spends with her, the more his old life doesn't appeal to him anymore. He wants to be a better guy and she's brought that out in him. 

Chelsea is brilliant. She entered college early and is inexperienced in a lot of ways. I wouldn't call her immature by any stretch of the imagination. She was more just completely out of her element. Especially with Owen. With him she felt a lot of things she'd never felt before. Her friend warns that he's a player, but she can't help but see the other side of him. 

I adored both Chelsea and Owen. They couldn't have been more different, but they worked together so well. They had great banter and, of course, a ton of sexual tension. I liked watching their relationship develop slowly. It felt real and honest, despite the secrets Owen was keeping. Four Years Later was written in both Chelsea and Owen's POV and when executed well, like it was here, it really helps me get a feel of both characters. They each had a very distinct voice and I enjoyed the glimpse inside each of their heads. 

This was a great story all the way around. Each character grew in their own way and they found something really special with each other along the way. The romance was sweet and steamy, but there was more to this book than just that. I enjoyed learning more about Owen's relationship with Fable and Drew. And overall, I just absolutely loved Owen. He was flawed, but he knew it and he wanted to be better. By the end of the book, he was. 

If you loved Drew and Fable, I have no doubt you'll fall in love with Owen and Chelsea, too. 

I received a copy of this book from the author, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.