Review: The Studying Hours by Sara Ney

Posted November 19, 2020 by Kate

Review: The Studying Hours by Sara NeyCheck out on Goodreads | Buy on Amazon
Genres: New Adult, College Romance
Also by this author: The Failing Hours (How to Date a Douchebag, #2), , The Learning Hours (How to Date a Douchebag, #3)
Series: How to Date a Douchebag #1
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Source: Kindle Unlimited

CRUDE. ARROGANT. A**HOLE.
No doubt about it, Sebastian ‘Oz’ Osborne is the university’s most celebrated student athlete—and possibly the biggest douchebag. A walking, talking cliché, he has a filthy mouth, a fantastic body, and doesn’t give a sh*t about what you or anyone else thinks.
SMART. CLASSY. CONSERVATIVE. Make no mistake, Jameson Clarke may be the university’s most diligent student—but she is no prude. Spending most of her time in the hallowed halls of the library, James is wary of pervs, jocks, and douchebags—and Oz Osborne is all three.
She’s smart, sarcastic—and not what he expected.  …EVERY DOUCHBAG HAS HIS WEAKNESS.
He wants to be friends. He wants to spend time with her. He wants to drive her crazy. He wants… Her.

I’ve seen How to Date a Douchebag all over everywhere for about a year now. The title alone is enough to pull me in, to be honest! It’s a series, (one I’m definitely going to be pursuing this fall, so stay tuned!) and I started with book one, The Studying Hours. I started this and I had my eyebrows up for the first… two chapters? We have a douche-y hero who is dared to kiss the pearl-and-cardigan-wearing nerd in the corner of the library for $500 bucks. But…

 

What I liked… 

I think it’s safe to say that I definitely fell straight in love with Jameson and Oz! I’m always a bit leery with new adult romances that have a nerdy heroine in shapeless, baggy clothes, or uptight cardigans, but then she takes her glasses off later and puts on a dress and KER-POW HOTNESS! But thank god, Jameson was not like that.

She was who was she was the whole book, and she never apologies for it. She was all class from head-to-toe, and even though I rolled my eyes at the pearls and cardigan (and, let’s be honest, continued to do so throughout the book), she had my heart. She’s a competitive snowboarder, she’s blunt, confident, and is so nice to her friends. I would honestly liken her to a cat and feel very comfortable with the comparison – a nice cat. She’s super unapologetic, she likes what she likes, wants what she wants, but is still a compassionate soul and was just a joy. 


“I want to spend the night. This isnt’ a booty call.” She rattles off demands. “This isn’t a one-night stand. I want respect. You do not get to kick me out afterward, or in the morning. I want breakfast and I want you in the kitchen cooking it for me.” 


Oz also had a learning curve for him. “How to Date a Douchebag” is a series aptly named because he was definitely a total douche. Attending college on a wrestling scholarship, he had Olympic scouts watching him and was a big man on campus. Like he said his name four times because she didn’t react when she heard his name because he’s lowkey famous-kinda-famous.

But he’s also working 20 hours driving a forklift to afford the rest of life that his full-ride doesn’t cover, talks frequently with his sister, wants to pursue a career in HR to defend against workplace harassment, and is honestly such a sweet guy. Horny, yes, but so sweet … even if he definitely had his douche-y moments.

I JUST LOVED THEIR FRIENDSHIP OKAY??? SO SWEET

 

What I didn’t like… 

So I completely loved this book, with the dislike-to-friends-to-lovers trope, a there’s-only-one-bed moment, and two great people that I honestly loved together! Buttttttttt… yes you heard that coming didn’t you? The book was a steady coast, with no real climax at the end, even if the time jumps were a bit confusing at first. But I do wish we had a more well-rounded story, hearing about their life, their childhood, and moments outside of direct plot-progressions or between each other. It did feel a bit insular.


“A little friendly advice?” Her lips part and I’m drawn to them as they mutter, “Never judge a girl by her cardigan,” just loud enough for me to hear. 


We didn’t actually ever see the characters outside of their interactions with one-another, or doing something relating to the other person. There was no mention of their childhoods, no wrestling practice scenes, no scenes of him at work, not many with friends, so although their lives were said to be super busy… it really didn’t appear that way. To be honest, I didn’t notice until I finished the book, so that isn’t enough of a reason to not read this, but it still would have stepped this book up to ~absolutely amazing~ if those moments had been included.

 

final thoughts…

I loved watching their friendship (and then their relationship) develop, and mostly I loved watching them be total shits to each other. They’re so teasing and sarcastic, I want to be in their friend circle! It was so freaking funny, I was so giddy while I read this. I do totally recommend, although I do think it suffers from the first-book syndrome, and I’m so excited to see how the next hero gets redeemed ?

Other books you may enjoy…

Book blog kateadreamer Kate, a dreamer Kate a dreamer Book Blogger Book blog reader reading The Hardest Fall Kindle Unlimited by Ella Maise College neighbors roomies friends to lovers   

What are some of your favorite Let me know in the comments down below, I’d love to hear from you!


2 responses to “Review: The Studying Hours by Sara Ney

  1. I read this because of you! It was a fun read. But yeah you’re right, it was kind of shallow with how it only looked at the events of the story. Which I was fine with because I wanted an easy fluffy read and this was perfect

    • The best compliment ever ? I love influencing others with new adult!! It’s such an underrated genre. People ask for an “older YA” all the time in the community and I’m like… hello? New adult? We *can* have new adult fantasy and the like. Sigh ? This is the perfect fluffy read, I agree! Can’t wait to continue with books 3-5 ✨

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