Hard Knox by Nicole Williams
Book description:
Knox Jagger. The name inspires resent in every male at Sinclair University, want in every female, and contempt in Charlie Chase.
Charlie can be summed up in three words: independent, independent, and independent. To Charlie, Knox epitomizes everything that’s wrong with college males: prolific one-night stands, drunken senseless fights, and a body that hints at prioritizing gym time over study time.
As an up-and-coming writer for Sinclair University’s newspaper, Charlie’s tasked with getting to the bottom of who’s been dropping little white pills into girls’ drinks at parties. In an ocean of All-American boys sporting polo shirts and innocent smiles, Knox is the obvious suspect. As evidence piles up against the bad boy of Sinclair, Charlie becomes more and more certain it isn’t Knox. But when her drink is dosed at a party and she wakes up on Knox’s couch the next morning, Charlie’s left with more questions than answers when it comes to Knox Jagger.
How can Charlie ever hope to uncover the truth behind a guy so closed off he’s become . . .
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Giselle’s Review:
“Do you realize space is fast becoming a shrinking commodity? Maybe you should stop wasting some of it with your presence on this planet.”
So I’ve never started a review with a quote but I felt that this book was worthy of it because Hard Knox was probably one of the most quotable novels I’ve ever read, and definitely has one of my favorite heroines of all time. If Nicole Williams wasn’t one of my favorite authors before Hard Knox, now she most definitely makes the cut. Hard Knox is hilarious, sexy, sassy, mysterious, and so, so witty. I can not think of one thing I did not love about this novel.
My love and connection with the heroine of a book usually plays a big part on what my opinion of the book will be. With Hard Knox not only did I freaking ADORE Charlie Chase, I also LOVED Knox Jagger. And together? No words for how much I loved these two together.
Nicole William’s deserves an award for the comebacks in this novel alone! As well as several others for the amazing dialogue and just all around great writing. If you’ve read some of my other reviews, you may know that good dialogue, wit, sass, and good humor are things I love in my books and Hard Knox gets a HUGE Nike checkmark for all of those!
The chemistry between Knox and Charlie was SO PERFECT AND AMAZING. The characters as individuals were pretty different, but I feel like they bonded a lot through their similar sense of humor and since I could totally connect with the humor and sass that Knox and Charlie shared, seeing how their relationship progressed throughout the novel was just…A++!!
Now a little bit about the main characters. Charlie Chase is independent, strong, real, witty, sassy, she could care less about what other people think of her and I absolutely LOVED that. Her personality was absolute PERFECTION, and I mean absolutely FLAWLESS, people, at least in my eyes. Charlie isn’t in anyway the “perfect” girl but her flaws and quirks made her perfect in my eyes.
“Wise up, Charlie. Before you get knocked up.” “That was beautiful. Was that Hawthorne or Poe?”
Knox Jagger is mysterious, sexy, quick, and a bit of a loner, feared by many men and lusted after by many women. He is quite an enigma and a mystery that I was desperately trying to unravel throughout the novel. He constantly had a wall up that you just wanted to tear down, but the few times he showed his vulnerable side…well that just made trying to break down that steel wall worth it.
“Sometimes I can’t decide if you’re the angel someone put in my life to make it better or some device of the devil here to take away the last few pieces of my soul.”
The relationship Knox and Charlie had (even as just friends) was truly worthy of that hashtag, #relationshipgoals. Some people might not think so because their relationship was definitely not all sunshine and rainbows, but I think that’s what I loved about it. They both stuck to their own opinions and did what they wanted even if the other person didn’t agree with it. They argued, they disagreed, but in the end they still had a relationship worth writing and reading about.
Hard Knox also deals with some serious topics giving it that suspenseful and mysterious feel. Aka, another factor that contributed to me thinking this novel was pretty perfect.
Hard Knox by Nicole Williams is a 5 STAR, WITTY, MYSTERIOUS, SEXY, MUST READ. I absolutely fell in love with the characters, writing, and just about everything else in this novel.
About the Author
I’m the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the CRASH series (HarperTeen, S&S UK), LOST & FOUND series, UP IN FLAMES (S&S UK), The EDEN TRILOGY, and a handful of others. I write stories about everyday kinds of people who find themselves in extraordinary kinds of situations. I tell love stories with happy endings because I believe in making the world a better place, and that’s one tiny way I can make it so. I’m one of those people who still believe in true love and soul mates, and would rather keep my head in the clouds any day over having my feet firmly on the ground.
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