Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas Review

 Hey ForeverBookers, 

How are you all today? I hope you’re good! 

I’ve just finished reading “Birthday Girl” by Penelope Douglas and I LOVED it! If you know my tastes in books, you’ll know that I love a good forbidden, explicit romance and that’s exactly what this was. The explicitness wasn’t that major but towards the end there were a few more sex scenes than I was expecting! I welcomed them, though! 

“Birthday Girl” is told from both our FMC, Jordan and our MMC, Pike’s POVs. I liked seeing the action from both points of view as it made the story feel more realistic to me. 

“Birthday Girl” starts with Jordan going to the movies for her 17th birthday on her own because her waste of space boyfriend, Cole can’t be bothered to go with her. When she’s there she talks to sits also the same row as another man. This man, Pike, only turns out to be Cole’s father! The action goes from there, as Jordan and Cole move in with Pike because they can’t afford the rent on their own apartment any longer. This means forced proximity between Jordan and Pike. The plot is really simple but it didn’t take away the enjoyment of the read for me. It just made me focus on the romance even more!

I read this for a few readathons, which were:

Reading Rivalry - Genre Highlight - Contemporary

Spoilers Below…

“Pike’s kind of a mystery. 

I saw pictures of Cole in the living room—as a baby and as a kid—but other than that, the house doesn’t have a lot of his father in it. I know he’s a single guy, but there’s no coffee table books displaying his interests, no souvenirs from vacations, no pets, no art, no knickknacks, no magazines, no parafanalia indicating his hobbies like sports, gaming, or music… It’s a beautiful home, but it’s like a showcase house where a family doesn’t really live.” 

At this early point in the book we see Jordan having moved in with Cole and Pike. She doesn’t really understand Pike at this stage or how he can live so on the cusp of the world. She doesn’t have a decent family, herself, so when she moves in with Pike and Cole, she doesn’t expect what she gets. 

“You know you don’t need to hide up here, right?”

I look up, straightening my spine. “I’m not hiding,” I laugh a little for good measure, but I think he’s on to me. 

“You’re doing chores,” he states. “You’re paying for your right to be. In the house. So if you want to use the pool or have a friend over or like… leave the bedroom, it’s fine.”

I lick my dry lips. “Yeah, I know.” 

Pike is trying to establish that the house is just as much Jordan’s as it is his or Cole’s. She should feel free to do whatever in it. I thought Pike was very sweet throughout. He never came across as harsh or abusive, although there is a age difference between him and Jordan of around 19 years or so. He was always there for her, when Cole, his son wasn’t. He was the responsible one. I liked seeing this is the men I read.

“He hit her. He fucking hit her. My fists curl, and my lungs ache. Every muscle burns. 

Motherfucker. 

And Cole was at the same party? Did he send him to pick her up? What the fuck? How can he stand to be anywhere near a shitbag like that?

A vision of some cowardly little punk grabbing Jordan, hurting her, making her cry… I…

I close my eyes.

I just made her cry.

“She’s a good kid with a good heart,” Shel continues. “And she deserves a hell of a lot better than the assholes in this town, including your son. I hope she leaves you all to it and never looks back.”

Jesus Christ. What was I thinking?

I spin around and follow to where Jordan disappeared down the hallway. I have to talk to her now. Everything in my gut that made sense minutes ago now seems ridiculous. Why would I jump to conclusions I have no proof of?

Dammit, Cole! I can’t believe him.” 

This is Pike’s reaction to finding out that Jordan had to stay at the pub where she works over night because Cole, Pike’s son didn’t come to get her. She literally had no place else to go. Of course, Pike flies off the handle with her first and makes her go and cry by herself before he realises he’s actually the one in the wrong. I also love a man that can admit when he’s wrong! 

The smut in Birthday Girl was brilliant! It happens towards the end of the book but it becomes more frequent towards the end too. 

“When you left the party with that little shit tonight, I was so pissed.” I bite her bottom lip between kisses. “Like I was fucking seventeen again and someone else was taking what was mine.”

My cock swells, and God, I can’t stop touching her. She’s so damn beautiful. Her smooth skin and mussed hair. The little triangle of red fabric between her legs where I was already see she wasn’t lying about being turned on. She’s wet, and I’m fucking starved to taste her.

Another man to do my job better… Bullshit.

I brush the hair out of her face as she grinds on me, and we both hold each other’s eyes. Hers say everything I’m feeling, and we’re both falling.

Dammit.

“What do you see in me, girl?” I ask, shaking my head. I couldn’t keep a nineteen-year-old woman happy when I was nineteen. Does she think I can do it now?

“You have no idea, do you?” She cups my face, kissing me, “When we first met and we watched that movie together at the theater, I felt so guilty,” she kisses me again, “because when you mentioned the Poltergeist showing, I…I was tempted, because I wanted to see you again,” she confesses. “There was something there, even then.”  

Pike is laying claim to Jordan here. Will she let him take her body and soul, or not? I’ll let you read for yourself but it’s very good! 

Overall then, I really, really enjoyed “Birthday Girl.” There isn’t much plot, but when I know a book is a romance without any fantasy element, to be honest that’s what I prefer. I liked how both Jordan and Pike were there for each other through and through. I also liked how Cole was very much on the outskirts of the story. He was barely present. The main focus was definitely on Jordan and Pike as it should have been. I now want to buy another couple of Penelope Douglas books because I really enjoyed this one!