"Against the Wall"' by Julie Prestsater

"Against The Wall", by Julie Prestsater

Description:

Shelly Gelson had it all...a job teaching English at Carver High, her best friend, Mel, working by her side and engaged to her high school sweetheart, Chase Marino. That is until Chase breaks her heart and leaves her for another teacher at the school. Now Shel is left broken hearted and trying to figure out what she wants while watching Chase and the home wrecker make moon eyes at each other. Enter Matt Fuller, Shel's friend for the past 5 years and the perfect rebound. He's gorgeous, smart, funny and fits into Shel's idea of the right guy. Only problem is there may be more there then just a simple rebound. Is it a way to fill a void left by Chase, or is there more smoldering between these two friends? 

This was a free book I downloaded from www.smashwords.com

Over all, this was a fairly good story. The characters are well written and have a lot of depth to them. There are many scenes that had me laughing and other parts where I wanted to also rip out someones hair. At first I was kind of annoyed at how Shelly was still hung up on Chase. However, as I continued to read through the story, I gained a better understanding of what Shelly was attempting to do, she wanted to know for sure if her feelings for Matt were because he was a "rebound" guy, or were they genuine. Matt was a pretty strong guy for not giving up and sticking in for the long haul. Most guys would have been done with that kind of BS within a few weeks. I especially loved the ending, I felt the setting was totally appropriate to the story.

My only problem with this book was the language of Shelly and her friend Mel. I didn't have any issues with the profanity at all, but the high-school slang being used by a pair of high school teachers in their early 30's just felt like they were trying desperately to hang onto their own youth and rebelliousness. I understand that Shelly and Mel had been friends for quite a long time and this was showing how close a relationship they have. However there were several times when I thought I was reading about a pair of 16 year old girls, instead of a pair adult women. 

I would rate this book 3 1/2 out of 5 stars for realistic, likable characters and good plot line.