• About Us
    • Disclaimer and Policies
  • Giveaways
  • Features
    • Pre-Order Deal Incentives!
    • Author Talk Podcasts
    • Flashback Friday
    • Whadda YA Know Wednesday

Fiction Fare

  • Banners
  • Reviews
  • Contact Us

Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

January 8, 2016 by Jaime 1 Comment

Firsts by Laurie Elizabeth FlynnFirsts by Laurie Elizabeth Flynn
(Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Published by St. Martin's Press on January 5th 2016
Genres: Dating & Sex, Love & Romance, Social Issues, Young Adult
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Add This Book to Your Goodreads TBR
three-half-stars
Seventeen-year-old Mercedes Ayres has an open-door policy when it comes to her bedroom, but only if the guy fulfills a specific criteria: he has to be a virgin. Mercedes lets the boys get their awkward fumbling first times over with, and all she asks in return is that they give their girlfriends the perfect first time-the kind Mercedes never had herself.Keeping what goes on in her bedroom a secret has been easy - so far. Her mother isn't home nearly enough to know about Mercedes' extracurricular activities, and her uber-religious best friend, Angela, won't even say the word "sex" until she gets married. But Mercedes doesn't bank on Angela's boyfriend finding out about her services and wanting a turn - or on Zach, who likes her for who she is instead of what she can do in bed.When Mercedes' perfect system falls apart, she has to find a way to salvage her own reputation -and figure out where her heart really belongs in the process. Funny, smart, and true-to-life, Laurie Elizabeth Flynn's Firsts is a one-of-a-kind young adult novel about growing up.

Mercedes… or Mercy to her friends wants to help the girls at her school have something she didn’t… the best and most amazing first time they could imagine, and she thinks she’s found the perfect way to make it happen.

She coaches and guides the boys through that awkward first time, offering them tips and suggestions to make their girlfriends feel special and make that first time absolutely perfect.

From the very first page of this story I basically was waiting for the shit to hit the fan… because you know it will, because how does something like this … involving teen boys… remain a secret?

There are a lot of issues at play here… not just a lot of teenagers having sex.  Mercy also has to deal with a very uninvolved parent… parents if you count the father who up and walked out of her life, and yes, eventual slut-shaming.

I’m not sure what I should say here.  I get it… I understand why Mercy wanted to do this, but I also don’t think she really thought about what she was doing.  The idea that everyone else deserved this and she was going to be the one to let them have it is all well and good, but what does it cost her each and every time she does it?  Not to mention the drama that arises when the shit does hit the fan.

Ultimately, it was hard not to feel sorry for her in all aspects of her life. I really liked Zach but I was totally on the fence with Faye. I wasn’t sure ultimately what her role was supposed to be until the very end.

Firsts definitely pushes the envelope on a lot of different points and realistically portrays a lot of what I imagine kids are experiencing.  I feel though that I sometimes lived a million years ago when I look at the issues kids are facing today vs the ones that I had to deal with all those years ago, so it makes it hard for me to relate… yet it scares me for what my child will be dealing with in 5 years as he enters high school!

Definitely an interesting read and one worth checking out if you are looking for a complex flawed character who truly grows from beginning to end.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

About Laurie Elizabeth Flynn

Laurie Elizabeth Flynn writes contemporary fiction for young adults. Her debut, FIRSTS, will be published by Thomas Dunne Books/St Martin’s Press in 2016.

Laurie went to school for Journalism, where the most important thing she learned was that she would rather write made-up stories than report the news. She also worked as a model, a job that took her overseas to Tokyo, Athens, and Paris.

Laurie now lives in London, Ontario with her husband Steve, who is very understanding when she would rather spend time with the people in her head. Laurie can mostly be found writing happily at her desk, with the world’s most spoiled Chihuahua on her lap. Laurie drinks way too much coffee, snorts when she laughs, and times herself when she does crossword puzzles.

Laurie is represented by the amazing Kathleen Rushall of the Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.

Website • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

Related Posts

  • Related Posts
  • Same Genre
  • 3.5 Star Books
The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord
What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera
Fiction Fare
REVIEW – The Falconer by Elizabeth May
The Fixer by HelenKay Dimon
Fiction Fare
The Summer Before Forever by Melissa Chambers
9 Days & 9 Nights by Katie Cotugno
Frazzled 2: Ordinary Mishaps and Inevitable Catastrophes by Booki Vivat
Fiction Fare
Waiting On Wednesday: Everyone We’ve Been by Sarah Everett
Fiction Fare
Family Jewels by Christine Bell
Blog Tour: The Impossible Vastness of Us by Samantha Young
The Good Luck Charm by Helena Hunting
Blog Tour: The Orchid Throne (Forgotten Empires #1) by Jeffe Kennedy
Fiction Fare
The Summer Before Forever by Melissa Chambers
Thumbnail
The Veil by Chloe Neill
Thumbnail
Until We Meet Again by Renee Collins

Filed Under: Book Review

About Jaime

Avid reader and book blogger, lover of music, writing, my kid & my cats. Master of sarcasm and snark and doing what makes me happy.

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • pinterest
  • bloglovin
  • custom1
  • goodreads
  • rss
  • custom2

Get Our Updates!

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

E-Book Deals!

E-Book Deals!


Author Talk

 photo author-talk_zpscsw6iy8a.png

Archives

What We’re Currently Reading

Jaime's bookshelf: currently-reading

The Trouble with Destiny
0 of 5 stars
The Trouble with Destiny
by Lauren Morrill
The Beginning of Everything
0 of 5 stars
The Beginning of Everything
by Robyn Schneider
Forget Tomorrow
0 of 5 stars
Forget Tomorrow
by Pintip Dunn

goodreads.com

Erin's bookshelf: currently-reading

Endure
0 of 5 stars
Endure
by Sara B. Larson
The Unquiet
0 of 5 stars
The Unquiet
by Mikaela Everett
Twist
0 of 5 stars
Twist
by Karen Akins

goodreads.com

Upcoming Reviews

None yet!

Ebates Coupons and Cash Back

Challenge Participant

Recent Comments

  • Lisa Loves Lit on Waiting on Wednesday: The Queens of Innis Lear By Tessa Gratton
  • bookbunny68 on Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Have Been On My TBR the Longest and I Still Haven’t Read
  • Kristy Petree on Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Have Been On My TBR the Longest and I Still Haven’t Read
  • MischaS_ on Cover Reveal: Beyond Pain by Kit Rocha
  • Maggie @ ReadingDiva's Blog on Blog Tour: Tempests & Slaughter by Tamora Pierce

Recent Posts

  • People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
  • Flashback Friday: Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk
  • Our Top Ten Most Anticipated Books to Screen Podcast Episode
  • Flashback Friday: The Highwayman (Victorian Rebels #1) by Kerrigan Byrne
  • Podcast Episode 81: #FicNews–March 2021

Recent Reviews

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
The Heiress Gets a Duke by Harper St. George
Crown of Bones (Amassia #1) by A.K. Wilder
Courting Trouble (Goode Girls Romance #2) by Kerrigan Byrne
Eventide by Sarah Goodman
All Scot and Bothered (Devil You Know #2) by Kerrigan Byrne
Deadly Curious by Cindy Anstey
Review: Rebel Spy by Veronica Rossi
The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant
A Dark and Stormy Knight (Victorian Rebels #7) by Kerrigan Byrne

Copyright ©2010-2015 Fiction Fare « All Rights Reserved « Site Design by The CreativeB « Login