Review: Double Clutch by Liz Reinhardt

Double Clutch (Brenna Blixen #1)

by Liz Reinhardt

Publisher: self-published

Publication Date: September 28, 2011

Pages: 267

Source: Purchased









(from Goodreads)
What happens when you fall in love with the perfect guy... twice... in one day?

Brenna Blixen spent her freshman year homeschooling in Denmark; now that she’s back in the States, she’s determined to make her sophomore year unforgettable. And by unforgettable, she imagined awesome classes, fun friendships, and maybe a little romance.

What she got was a whole lot of romance, and all at once.

The same day that dark, brooding Saxon Maclean charmed her with his killer good looks and whip-smart wit, Jake Kelly stole her breath away with his heart-wrenching smile and intelligent, thoughtful focus.

But Saxon is a proud player who makes it clear that he doesn’t know why he can’t get Brenna off of his mind and out of his system, and Jake’s sweet and humble attitude hides a secret past life that might be more darker and more complex than Brenna’s willing to handle.

Complicating the matter is the fact that Saxon and Jake were once best friends and are now arch-enemies... and the more Brenna finds out about their connection to each other, the more intrigued and worried she becomes.

Between keeping the peace with her lovingly over-protective parents, designing t-shirts for her high school’s rising punk band, keeping up her grades in both academic and technical high school, and running the track like a maniac, Brenna has enough to worry about with out juggling two guys who make her heart thud and drive her crazy all at once.

She has to make a choice. But how can she when giving her heart to one of them might mean breaking the other’s?

My Thoughts 

This review started out to be just about Double Clutch, but there are mentions to the other books in the Brenna Blixen series. Don’t worry - there are no spoilers to the follow-up books.

Double Clutch is a story about finding love, but it neither plain or simple. On her first day back to school, Brenna meets two very interesting and very different boys, Jake and Saxon.  I wouldn’t say that she is boy crazy, but she is all about these two boys. This is straight up about a love triangle, but the story is more than how she decides which one she likes the most.

Brenna is a fun girl - smart, creative, witty and has a lot going for her.  And the boys are smart too, and sexy and mysterious - definitely appealing to fifteen year old Brenna.  

There’s Parental Involvement. At first, I was just a little bit annoyed by Brenna’s mom which was completely uncalled for because she was a caring and involved, and it is realistic portrayal. She had a strong influence over a lot of Brenna’s decisions and even made many for her. I’m just so used to the absent parent or utterly flawed parent in many books that I read (and they do exist in Double Clutch too through other characters).

Things I loved: Brenna, Jake, Saxon - those are a given. Her self-designed T-Shirts - I want to see them! Characters who are always reading (when they weren’t kissing). There are many books mentioned and discussed. ALL OF THE KISSING. Liz Reinhardt writes some of the best kissing scenes EVER!

Things I didn’t love so much: The continuity seemed off - this is a reference to other books of the series. There were events that seemed to happen within days of each other, but then you were supposed to believe that it happened weeks before or weeks after. This was distracting but not a deal breaker.

Double Clutch is just the beginning of the wide ride for this series. I’ve already read the other 2 books: Junk Miles and Slow Twitch, and am in love with their story and hope that there will be more. I was entertained and got caught up in Brenna’s life and friendships. There is a lot of kissing and reading and making out and traveling and fighting and sneaking out and kissing and sneaking in and even more kissing. The series evolves to be more than just a love triangle as new characters are introduced and new friendships and relationships are formed.

Disclaimer: This review is based on the e-book version which I purchased for my personal library. I was not compensated in any way for providing this review. Thoughts and opinions are my own.