The Year We Hid Away by Sarina Bowen Series: The Ivy Years #2
Published by Audible Studios on May 26, 2014
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Nick Podehl, Saskia Maarleveld
Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
Genres: New Adult, Romance, Sports Romance
Amazon Audible
She’s hiding something big. He’s hiding someone small. Bridger Macaulley used to be a player both on and off the ice. But now, while his teammates chase the next hockey victory, Bridger worries that the dean will discover he’s housing his eight-year-old sister in his dorm room. Juggling a full course load and a big secret, it’s only a matter of time until the other skate drops.
Scarlet Crowley is the only freshman at Harkness College who had to sneak past TV news trucks parked on her front lawn just to leave town. Her name is as new as the shiny student ID it’s printed on. The only way to survive college will be to conceal her identity, even if it means lying to the green-eyed boy she's falling for.
Bridget and Scarlet form a tentative relationship based on the understanding that some things must always be held back. But when grim developments threaten them both, going it alone just won't work anymore. And if they can't learn to trust one another now, the families who let them down will take everything they've struggled to keep.
It’s weird to go back and read some of Sarina Bowen’s older work because I think she’s a much better storyteller now. Overall, The Year We Hid Away is a pretty decent story with likable characters.
The love story between Bridger and Scarlet is sweet, even though there is some really awkward sex talk. Scarlet actually has conversations in her mind with Bridger’s penis. I kid you not. I do wish the resolution of Scarlet’s conflicts wasn’t so rushed.
I probably would have enjoyed the book more if I had read it instead of listening to the audio book. For me, the female narrator is not very convincing and her performance detracts from the story.
About Sarina Bowen
Sarina Bowen is the award-winning author of more than thirty contemporary novels. She has hit the USA Today bestseller’s list nineteen times and counting. Formerly a derivatives trader on Wall Street, Sarina holds a BA in economics from Yale University.
Sarina is a New Englander whose Vermont ancestors cut timber and farmed the north country since the 1760s. Sarina is grateful for the invention of indoor plumbing and wi-fi during the intervening 250 years. She lives with her family on a few wooded acres in New Hampshire.
Sarina’s books are published in over a dozen languages on five continents.
I agree Bowen’s writing has matured, but I loved this book and series when I read it. Great review!