By Referral Only by Lyla Payne ~ Character Interview & Review

So excited to have Ruby from By Referral Only with me today!

Hey Ruby! Thanks for hanging out with me on StuckInBooks today.

I haven’t read your story yet but soon.  Tell me a little about it. 

I guess it’s the story of how one guy with a ridiculously sexy accent made me believe in unicorns. In a nutshell.

I’m so wondering about this rating system.  When you made it, did you ever think about what the guys would think about it? 

You know, not really? Except I kind of hoped it would make them think twice about their bedroom behavior. I wasn’t worried about damaging their egos. I don’t need a full time job.

Tell me something about you that we wouldn’t find out in the book.  

I have a black belt in judo.

Tell me about your first kiss. 

I was nine, and it was a little bayou brat named Webster…can you believe that? Anyway, I bit his lip and then worried for two years that his mom was going to voodoo hex me.

Wondering about when you meet Liam.  What was your first impression? 

I met Liam doing Shakespeare in the Park, so we were playing off one another. First impression? Attractive and easy to categorize.

Can you describe him in 5 words for me? 

Talented, insecure, adequate, sarcastic, funny

What about Cole?  What was your first impression of him? 

Good Lord above, sexy as the day is long. Dangerously so.

5 words for Cole? 

Honest, kind, sexy, intelligent, unnerving

Describe the perfect day for me. 

Waking up late, sitting on a big, wraparound porch with a cup of coffee and Cole – preferably somewhere in the South, though Scotland is growing on me. One of Emilie’s art shows in the afternoon, maybe a happy hour with her and Quinn, an early dinner. An evening performance. Insert getting laid in there at least once. ;)


This or that?

Sweet or salty Salty
Day or night Night
Movie theater or DVD DVD
Blue eyes or Green eyes Trick question! Cole’s eyes. Perfect, perfect green.
Skittles or M&Ms M&Ms
Brown hair or Blonde hair Blond hair
Kissing or cuddling  Kissing. All day long.

Thanks for hanging out with me today.

~~~~~~

****GIVEAWAY*****

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Source:  Received eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review

Book Description:

After being unceremoniously dumped freshman year because of her family’s “new money” status, Ruby Cotton has taken care not to put her heart on the line. No matter how enticing Emilie and Quinn make it look, relationships are scary and hard—while a string of flings is easy and fun. That’s what Ruby wants. Easy and fun. The only problem is, when it comes to satisfaction in the sack, most of the boys at Whitman are nothing but pretty window dressing and false advertising.

Ruby takes it upon herself to make campus life more fulfilling, creating a referral database that allows female students to rate their sexual experiences, thereby informing girls of what they’re getting into before agreeing to a date.

When her acting partner, Liam Greene, finally shows some interest, Ruby figures she won’t need to utilize the helpful gossip. He’s handsome, fun, and most importantly, not a guy she’d ever fall for hard enough to let him break her heart.

Not only that, but dating Liam gives Ruby the perfect excuse to say no to Cole Stuart.

As a star swimmer and heir to honest-to-God Scottish royalty, Cole sits at the top of Whitman’s A-list—but he’s also the lowest rated referral on Ruby’s website. The ratings make rejecting his repeated requests for a date a no-brainer, but her real reason for avoiding Cole runs deeper than a string of unsatisfied exes.

He’s gorgeous, he oozes sweetness and charm, and the electricity between them could power half of Whitman, but Ruby knows it will only last until his family or friends convince him she’s not good enough. 

Before she knows it she’s falling anyway, waiting for the other shoe to drop but clinging to a tentative hope that Cole might be as different as he seems. When the secret behind his low ratings comes to light, that hope is torn apart, and Ruby wonders if she was right to give him her heart…and whether she has the strength to let him keep it.

 

My Thoughts

 

4 stars - 

Ruby Cotton is interesting.  She's comes from new money at an old money school.  That means some people look down on her.  Not all people but it might as well be all people because Ruby believes it is.  So she acts the way they expect her to act - uncouth and uncultured.  I'm not sure if it's that I have absolutely no way to relate to that problem or what, but it took me a while to like Ruby.  I think her snarky attitude may have been what won me over.  She doesn't really take anything from anyone.  She says what's on her mind.  I liked that about her.

The little rating system that Ruby comes up with was a surprise to me.  I was surprised that the school didn't figure it out and take it down.  This is the teacher in me, I know.  I really had to set this part of the story aside, because I disagree with what she did.  These things do happen and I do think Ruby learned from it.  I, also, think that it brings this type of thing to light.  I must make it clear, though, that I really didn't like this part of the story.

As for Liam, he's a major jerk.  At one point, he was asked if she was Ruby's boyfriend.  His response had me fuming.  He's supposed to be this way, but I really wanted to drop kick him right out of the book.

Now, lets get to the very BEST character in this book.  I'm just sure  you are SHOCKED to find out that it's Cole.   I adore him! His is sweet, kind, thoughtful, and gorgeous!  He has a secret and I didn't figure it out till he told Ruby what it was.  Love it when I'm surprised.

The steam leave of this book? HIGH!  These two have chemistry and boy do they bring the yummy!  Of course, that makes this a New Adult, over 18 kinda book.  But if you love that new category as much as I do, don't miss this one.

About the author:

I’ve long had a love of stories. A few years ago decided to put them down on the page, and even though I have a degree in film and television, novels were the creative outlet where I found a home. I’ve published Young Adult under a different name, but when I got the idea for Broken at Love (my first New Adult title), I couldn’t wait to try something new – and I’m hooked. In my spare time I watch a ton of tennis (no surprise, there), play a ton of tennis, and dedicate a good portion of brain power to dreaming up the next fictitious bad boy we’d all love to meet in real life.