Name: When Joss Met Matt
ISBN: 9780553394511

Ellie Cahill

On the rebound, friends with benefits Joss and Matt promise to keep it strictly physical by following the rules of their rendezvous outlined in the jokingly named Sorbet Contract, but forget to include the most important rule: don't fall in love. Original. 15,000 first printing.

When Joss Met Matt

Jess

I loved that their story spanned so many years but I was skeptical as to how they’d be able to pull off still being friends without things getting messy.<br />—<br /><a href="http://gonewiththewords.com/when-joss-met-matt-by-ellie-cahill-blog-tour-review-book-playlist-giveaway/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Read my full review, originally posted on Gone with the Words</a>

Sven Test

This 2.5 stars review was published on Latte Nights Reviews on August 17, 2015.

**Contains some spoilers**

I had high expectations for this book. I love the NA books that have those friends with benefits stories so I was hoping to love this one but sadly, it wasn’t the case.

For the first half of the book, I was enjoying myself. I was loving the story and the characters so much but then it just… I don’t even know what happened! One minute the mood of the book was light and fun and the next, it’s moody and sad. This majority of the story it is told by Joss in flashbacks, but it also has some present time. The flashbacks start 7 years ago, which I had a bit of a problem. You see, we never really get to read about Joss and Matt being together until the end of the book. All the while, it’s just them having sex and Joss pining after Matt once she realizes very late in the story that she has started to develop feelings for him. The thing is they are never together because while they do have sex, once the “sorbet sex” is done, they start dating other people. The thematic of the story was fun but it got to a point where the “sorbet sex” was getting to me and I kept rolling my eyes.

I think this is the second time I read a book that I wish the characters had never gotten together in the end. They acted more as friends than anything. I never felt any romantic pull from either of them, which made it hard for me to see them together at the end. I had never read anything by Liz Czukas. This is my first book by her under the pen name Ellie Cahill. I have heard many others raving about her YA books, which I plan on checking out some time in the future but maybe not now.

You guys may be wondering why I don’t have a content warning above the post and that is because this book is a New Adult coming of age story, meaning the main characters are in college but it doesn’t have explicit content at all. So for you young readers (above 15, maybe) you can go ahead and read this book, in my opinion.

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It's tough to write a book that flashes between present day and past that keeps my interest and doesn't get confusing after awhile, but Ellie Cahill did it pretty much perfectly here. In fact, her writing style is one of my favorite things about this book. I loved how she used flashbacks to explain the full story of Joss, Matt and Sorbet Sex. It was effective and engaging. 

I liked Joss, though I'm convinced she has THE WORST taste in men. (Matt aside, of course.) I wished she would've been a little more assertive at times, but that wasn't her style. Matt was a good, sweet guy who also had terrible taste in women. (Excluding Joss, of course.) I just loved them together. I loved reading along as they interacted. They really were a huge part of each other's lives and helped each other become who they are. There were times I wanted to throw this book across the room, because I wanted them to be together for more than just Sorbet Sex, and it kinda sucked to play along as they dated other people who were so obviously WRONG for them. It would've been an affectionate toss, however, because I liked them so much I had to see them wind up together. 

When Joss Met Matt was sweet and schmexy. It wasn't angsty, but there were a few moments that definitely punched me in the feels. Tears might have been shed. (They totally were.) But, I finished with a smile on my face and a huge case of the warm fuzzies. I'm a fan of Ellie/Liz's new adult debut. I can't wait for more.

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

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

This book was jointly reviewed by myself and my co-blogger, Becca!

THE STORY:
Lisa: If I wasn’t intrigued enough with this friends-with-benefits story line, as soon as I found out this was Liz Czukas writing under the pen name of Ellie Cahill I grabbed this without another thought. I read Liz’s prior two books, Ask Again Later and Top Ten Clues You’re Clueless, which were both completely adorable and had story lines that flowed beautiful and without pause. I was beyond eager to see how she would approach writing her first new adult book. And guys… it was so good! It had Liz’s fun and free-spirited writing, mixed with the romance and feels you would expect in any new adult romance novel.

You have to take responsibility for your own happiness.

This is one of my very favorite types of romances. Any relationship that starts off as friends adds a whole new level of awesomeness, in my opinion. Joss and Matt meet at a party at college, and immediately they hit it off. Not on an emotional or physical level at first, just simply as friends. Matt is so sweet, and Joss is so welcoming, and the two make a great BFF team. Joss soon gets dumped by her boyfriend, who has already moved on to another girl, and she’s left lonely and heartbroken. Looking for any way to heal her broken heart, she sets off to find a one-night-stand guy. When that doesn’t go so hot, she ends up chatting with Matt and admitting to her problems.

“Why did you want to sleep with him anyway?”
“It wasn’t him! I just… I just wanted to… I don’t know.”
“Get your boyfriend out of your system?”
“Yeah.” I felt deflated, hearing it out loud like that. “I didn’t want him to be the last person I slept with anymore.”
“Like sorbet.”
I must have looked confused because he elaborated. “You know, at a fancy restaurant, you get sorbet between courses. To cleanse your palate.”
“That’s exactly it!” I slapped this thing with both hands. He laughed. “I need to ‘cleanse my palate’.” I made finger quotes. “Sorbet Sex.”

So that’s how they come up with an idea of Sorbet Sex, which is a friends-with-benefits type arrangement. The adorable Liz Czukas twist to this… there’s a list of rules! (Wouldn’t be a Czukas book without lists!!! :D) The rules are the most fun part to this arrangement, in my opinion, and kept me giggling every time a new rule was added. But wait… there’s more. This story wouldn’t be complete without FEELINGS to mix up this arrangement and have Joss questioning whether it’s worth it.

Becca: This was actually my first Liza Czukas/Ellie Cahill book but it was one of the ARC’s that I was the most excited for! Because of the concept and Lisa’s love for this Author. This book was sweet and fun and I loved the change of the typical “friends with benefits” scenario by adding the sorbet sex. The term and list of rules had me giggling throughout the book! I absolutely loved the writing style and the flow of the book was great! We start off with Joss and Matt in present time and then as we read Joss has flashbacks from when they first met and became friends all the way until the present time. I really liked learning about their personalities and friendship this way.

THE CHARACTERS:
Becca: I had so much fun with these characters! One thing that amazed me was how Cahill easily transitioned from past to present and was able to maintain the appropriate maturity levels. The Joss and Matt that we meet at the beginning of college were completely different from the adults we see in the present. I loved both versions of them and watching them grow into adults. Joss was a bit immature at the beginning of college, silly, naive and a bit idealistic. But she was such a refreshing and light character. I felt that she kept that silliness and idealism through to the end. Matt was just a sweet guy, the classic “good guy” and probably a typical friend zone type of guy. But there was so much more to him, he was witty, funny and adorable too! The friendship between these two had me wishing that I had a best guy friend throughout college! They were just always there for each other and had a shoulder to cry on… even when it crossed the lines to their more than friends “sorbet sex.”

Love was truly knowing someone, truly knowing him, and still wanting to be with him. Love was caring so much about another person that you willingly put his needs before your own. Love was sharing passion, history, trust. All of that, plus a fearless belief that life is better with your love than without. That everything that comes next will be made easier, happier, richer by his inclusion.

Lisa: I have to agree with Becca 100%! She said it all. :) The flipping back between past and present while maintaining the appropriate personality and maturity of each character was perfect! I personally really enjoyed the flipping between past and present. The majority of the story is told in the past, yet it flips back to present to basically tie in a small portion of the story, then back to past. It was really neat the way it was done, and very entertaining. I also loved to watch them each grow and change as the years progressed. They were such good friends, yet had this little Sorbet Sex addition that added a little wrinkle to any otherwise perfect friendship. I loved not knowing how this story was going to end, where these two were going in their friendship and in their lives. And no, I’m NOT going to tell you what happens, so don’t worry. ;)


OVERALL:
Lisa: I really didn’t know what to expect going into this story. When you adore an author writing in a certain genre, it’s always a bit nerve-wracking starting something new and different from them. At least for me. But man, I’m so happy to say this was exactly what I had hoped for. I’m so excited to see that an author I truly enjoy has even more in store for my reading pleasure. :)

Becca: Like Lisa, I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book. I was pleasantly surprised and ended up really enjoying it! I have not red anything else by Cahil/Czukas but I am definitely going to now! This was a very unique and fun NA contemporary and a such pleasure to read!

(Thanks to Ballantine Books for the review copy!)

Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

In the tradition of New Adult superstar Jessica Sorensen, Ellie Cahill’s debut novel is a charming friends-with-benefits story . . . with a twist! What if after every bad breakup, there was someone to help “cleanse your palate”—someone who wouldn’t judge you, who was great in bed, someone you were sure not to fall in love with? “Sorbet sex” could solve everything—as long as it never got too sweet. Joss and Matt have been friends since freshman year of college, meeting one night after Joss is dumped by her boyfriend. After a few drinks, Matt humors her with a proposition: that he’ll become her go-to guy whenever she needs to heal a broken heart. In return, she’ll do the same for him. The #1 Rule: They’ll never fall in love with each other. People scoff at the arrangement. But six years later, Joss and Matt are still the best of friends . . . with benefits. Through a string of boyfriends and girlfriends—some almost perfect, some downright wrong—Joss and Matt are always there for each other when the going gets tough. No strings. No attachments. Piece of cake. No problem. After all, since they wrote the rules, surely they can play by them. Or can they? Advance praise for When Joss Met Matt “Hands down, one of my favorite New Adult reads . . . Ellie Cahill is definitely one to watch!”—New York Times bestselling author Cora Carmack “This is one of those books that make you forget everything around you. Prepare to be consumed by this story.”—Sophie Jordan, New York Times bestselling author of Wild “Fun, sexy, and full of amazing chemistry, When Joss Met Matt is an entertaining escape that will leave you smiling with every turn of the page.”—Cassie Mae, author of The Real Thing

When Joss Met Matt

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