Taryn Plendl

The Complete Philadelphia Series by Taryn Plendl
Three novellas in one
Source: Author for a fair and honest review
My Rating: 5/5 stars

Good golly, Miss Molly is Philadelphia a hot place to live and Taryn Plendl all kinds of proves this in her three separate but connected novellas the make up the Philadelphia Series box set. In an effort to streamline this review and not giveaway too much, I’ll briefly discuss each novella and then add my overall impressions of the entire series in the bottom line section. Here we go . . . .

In My Arms: the Philadelphia series opens in a bar with Ava, reeling from a recent (and ugly!) break-up and nursing a drink as she watches her best friend Talia tearin’ it up on the dance floor. Just when Ava thinks her night can’t get any worse, she is approached by Trevor, a sexy and slightly arrogant man who shares a dance and one smoldering kiss (though no contact information!) with Ava before the night is over. Having shared nothing more than the bare minimum of information, Ava is blown away Monday morning when she discovers that Trevor is not only a new employee at the ad agency she works for but he is to be her new partner! Determined to be both successful and nothing more than friends, Ava and Trevor begin to work on a new campaign for a string of local night clubs. In order to do research for their project, Trevor and Ava enlist their various friends to hang out at the clubs with them and before long it is simply too hard to deny the attraction. After all kinds of steamy hot sex, one seriously well-deserved punch in the nose and more than a few misunderstandings, Trevor and Ava get their HEA and best of all, they bring their friends together.

A Part of Me: ah, Talia! Hands down my favorite character in the entire series! Talia is a feisty, strong-willed, slightly wild, nurse who revels in her sarcasm, thoroughly enjoys putting Trevor’s friend Nick firmly in his place and, dancing with Trevor’s other friend, Tom. Talia works hard so any time she has a chance to hang out with Ava and the gang, Talia is ready to go. For months now she has been dirty dancing with Tom and she is certainly interested in him but the feelings don’t seem to be reciprocated. Tom is the quiet member of the group; he is a school teacher and soccer coach by day and a fancy dancer (but only with Talia!) by night. Unfortunately, after one very serious (nearly fatal) accident, everything changes for Tom and Talia. Talia is on duty the night Tom is brought in and he is so badly injured she doesn’t even recognize him. After surgery to repair the damage and remove part of his leg, Tom wakes to find Talia by his side. In the following weeks, the two begin to get closer as Tom learns to adjust to his very new and very uncomfortable circumstances. As with Trevor and Ava, there are some serious highs and some even more serious lows for Tom and Talia but in the end, they find one another as they are meant too. The best is saved for the last with this read and all kinds of awesome happens right at the very end. I may be a tease but I am no spoiler – you’re just gonna have to find out for yourself what the awesome involves.

Out of My Element: Novella number three is the story of the man-whore Nick and the beautiful and athletic Chelsea. Nick is a slut and though he is always completely clear and honest about his intentions, he often has a hard time remembering the women he has been with. Nick may be the same age as his best friends, Trevor and Tom but he has yet to really grow up. He is all about the fun: wham, bam, thank-you ma’am and then, he meets Chelsea and something wholly unexpected happens, he likes her and wants more than a quick tumble. Chelsea is beautiful, intelligent, and athletic and, waiting for Mister Right. A few weeks ago, she thought she had met Mr. Wright when she shared some steamy moments with Nick. However, when she went to get her bag in order to leave with Nick, Chelsea comes back to find him sucking face with a big-boobed blonde. Though Chelsea can’t forget the sight, Nick doesn’t remember it until one very uncomfortable dinner with the gang. From that moment forward, Nick vows to change his ways and prove to Chelsea that he is more than a man-whore. When Chelsea is forced out of her apartment thanks to a fire, she turns to Nick for a place to stay. Woo whee do these two have some chemistry and like their predecessors, Nick and Chelsea finally work things out after some serious dumbassery on Nick’s Part. Believe it or not, a leopard can change its spots.

The Bottom Line: Each of the three novellas tells the individual story of two of the collections six major characters. Each story is unique but tied together by the overlapping of the characters. This overlapping is smooth and easy and welcome and there is no awkwardness at all. In fact, it is nice to see all of the characters making appearances within one another’s individual stories because each character is fully-developed and a welcome addition to each story. The characters run the gamut from down-to-earth, to funny, to sarcastic, to intelligent, to loyal to stoic. It is a credit to Plendl’s writing style that she is able to fully-develop so many characters in such a short amount of time and space. Each novella is filled with excellent dialogue, character-appropriate naughty bits, a very smooth writing style and plots that are both individual and interesting. If you are looking for an easy and entertaining read with some seriously good naughty bits then I highly recommend Taryn Plendl’s Philadelphia Series.

Favorite quotes:

Ava from In My Arms: “I was perfectly happy sitting at home in my I-hate-you-screw-you-I-hope-you-get-a-serious-diseases-and-die-or-get-hit-by-a-truck-wish-I-never-met-you-hope-she’s-worth-it kind of mood, but Talia wasn’t taking no for an answer. (Location: 22 of 1090)

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Trevor to Tom from In My Arms: “Seriously, Tom, is your ass jealous of the shit that comes out of your mouth? Just wondering.” (Location: 41 of 1090)

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Ava to Talia from In My Arms: “Why, that’s such a lovely shade of whore you have going on,” I whispered in her ear. (Location: 208 of 1090)

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Talia to Nick from A Part of Me: “Seriously Nick? There you go again, opening your mouth and letting the stupid come pouring out.” (Location: 441-1090)

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Ava to Tom from A Part of Me: “Seriously, you have your whole life to be an asshole, are you trying to use it all up in one day?” (Location: 612 of 1090)

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Talia to Nick from Out of My Element: “Wow, Nick. I’ve met quite a few pricks in my lifetime, but you my friend, are the freaking cactus.” (Location: 767 of 1090)… (mehr)