Book Review: Last Will and Testament by Dahlia Adler

This review is part of Melody’s Summer Reading: Diversity Spotlight. Enjoy!

Last Will and Testament by Dahlia Adler
Release Date: December 9, 2014
Publisher: Smashwords
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
ISBN: 978-0990916819
Source: Bought
Add it to Goodreads

Lizzie Brandt was valedictorian of her high school class, but at Radleigh University, all she’s acing are partying and hooking up with the wrong guys. But all that changes when her parents are killed in a tragic accident, making her guardian to her two younger brothers. To keep them out of foster care, she’ll have to fix up her image, her life, and her GPA—fast. Too bad the only person on campus she can go to for help is her humorless, pedantic Byzantine History TA, Connor Lawson, who isn’t exactly Lizzie’s biggest fan.

But Connor surprises her. Not only is he a great tutor, but he’s also a pretty great babysitter. And chauffeur. And listener. And he understands exactly what it’s like to be on your own before you’re ready. Before long, Lizzie realizes having a responsible-adult type around has its perks… and that she’d like to do some rather irresponsible (but considerably adult) things with him as well. Good thing he’s not the kind of guy who’d ever reciprocate.

Until he does.

Until they turn into far more than teacher and student.

Until the relationship that helped put their lives back together threatens everything they both have left.

I’m going to go ahead and say right now that this is one of my favorite contemporaries I’ve read this year. Last Will and Testament follows the journey of a college party girl when she loses her parents and in her loss learns about responsibility, selflessness, and love. Not only does she find herself in the position of being a guardian to her two younger brothers, she finds herself falling in love with a guy who admired her all along. And it isn’t easy for him to make a move seeing as how he’s the TA in her history class. But the risks they take for love astonished me and gripped me on every single page.

Lizzie, who is half-Filipino (making this my first diverse NA read!) steps up to the plate when her parents unexpectedly die. I loved that she immediately fell into this role without hesitation because those are her brothers and she didn’t, couldn’t see things playing out any other way. That doesn’t mean that she wasn’t scared or overwhelmed. Because she certainly was. But her holding onto her family, her not giving up on the idea of a family when it seemed hers was ripped from them all… it was so beautiful to see. So human. I also loved seeing how her perspective on life and friends and fun and what matters evolved, especially when she went back to her old partying lifestyle for a night out with friends. Nothing like a gut punch of reality to see how much more there is to appreciate and focus on and relish in. I loved Lizzie’s arc from the very beginning. The enlightenment journey for her was and I’m sure will continue to be grueling but in her grief, she’s accepted her circumstance and refuses to let it define or shape what comes next and that is magnificent. In her grief, she found love and she fought to hold onto that love with every bone in her body and I know she’s not real but I’m so proud of her.

Then there’s Connor. Lizzie’s history TA. I admit, I did not connect with him for the first 40% of the book. But I commend Adler for portraying him the way that she did because it was so realistic! The depth that there is within these characters is not lost on me. And that’s why I really do appreciate the way Connor was portrayed. I couldn’t get a good read on Connor and he was just as frustrating to me as he was to Lizzie. I knew what he was doing and even knowing these two would get together eventually, I was still irked by his off putting vibe. While I want to say that he took his position a little too seriously, I know that he knew exactly what he was getting himself into and how it could all blow up in his face so he was just trying to protect everybody as well and as long as he could before his wall finally was knocked down. I get that. So I did finally really like Connor but it was an uphill battle. And I want more. The inner turmoil of Connor, man… I’d pay big money to get a prequel from his POV detailing the first few weeks of his interactions with Lizzie, leading into their first time.

Speaking of…whoa! This book is hot! *Fans self* Hot hot hot. They don’t call it New Adult for nothing. New Adult, unlike most Young Adult, doesn’t fade to black and all that jazz on the sex scenes. So. Woooo! Exactly what I said before. Hot. Hot. Hot. The sexual tension is my oh my! And the sex scenes will leave you parched. I read this book in the evening and in the morning, found myself staring at every guy in the bagel shop wondering where my imaginary TA was at and if I should buy him imaginary coffee like Lizzie once did for Connor. Ha ha ha. Long story short, Lizzie had a lot to be thankful for when Thanksgiving came around. It was very different with her parents gone but she got a good taste — or maybe Connor got a good taste of what’s to come for the following Thanksgivings.

That’s what she said jokes aside, I really found myself rooting for these characters and their character growth as well as relationship growth which was very important given their relationship was challenged SO much. Lizzie continued to go through the unthinkable. Every time she thought she had her head above the water, someone or something was there to pull her down but that girl fought and fought and fought and ladies and gentleman, this is how you build a strong female character.

I must also mention that I totally teared up twice. The first, during a moment when Lizzie’s brothers were giving her a hard time and she told one of them to go to her room or she’d call… her parents. She was going to say her parents but stopped when it hit her once again that they weren’t there. And would never be there again. The second time was towards the end of the book, when Lizzie makes a phone call to her parents’ best friend and her brothers retrieve to their rooms waiting for them to be called back out afterwards. I won’t give details on the call but yeah, those scenes had my tear ducts filled. I was a bit of a mess. I think this is the first novel I’ve read this year that really almost had me crying!

So in a nutshell, Last Will and Testament is a splendidly written story about mourning and love, regret and risks, trust and commitment and walking through fire with the one person who will always be there with you through it all. It’s so strange the binds that hold us back but even more fascinating that loves always wins and this is a story that wonderfully displays that truth. If you’re looking for a hot summer read that will also cause you to laugh out loud and may even cause you to shed a few tears, you’ve found the right book. Don’t say I didn’t tell you!

Last Will and Testament by Dahlia Adler is available today.