Title: On Dublin Street
Series: On Dublin Street #1
Author: Samantha Young
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: August 31, 2012
Format: eBook
Pages: 372
Reread: Lost Count
Spice Level: 4/5
Age Rating: 18+
Tropes: Billionaire Alpha Hero, He falls first and hard, Roommate’s brother, Forced Proximity, Angsty, Found Family, Friends with Benefits
On Dublin Street Book Review
On Dublin Street by Samantha Young is one of my all-time favorite romance novels. This novel instantly drew me in when I started exploring New Adult Romances.
Quick Summary
On Dublin Street follows Jocelyn “Joss” Butler, a young woman haunted by her past, who relocates to Edinburgh to start over. When she becomes roommates with Ellie Carmichael, she meets Ellie’s older brother, Braden Carmichael, a confident Scottish businessman. What begins as a casual friends-with-benefits arrangement slowly turns into an emotional, passionate romance that challenges Joss to finally open her heart.
First in the On the Dublin Street series, you’ll follow the story of the original characters who started it all. From the push and pull and the slow-burning romance between the main characters to friends-with-benefits arrangement, to healing, and to ultimately falling in love, this book will take you on an unforgettable romantic ride.
“Was I shy? No. Not shy. Just, usually blissfully indifferent. I liked it that way. It was safer.”
Jocelyn ‘Joss’ Butler has experienced a lot of darkness in her life. Losing her family when she was 15 and her best friend just a few years later, forming attachments with people has always been a no-go for her. The walls around her mind and heart were coated with steel, unpenetrable, emotionless.
Following the incident, she lived in various foster homes across the US before relocating to Dublin at 18 to make a fresh start.
A recent college graduate, she’s on the lookout for a new apartment to rent. She meets Ellie Carmichael, a charming woman living in a high-end luxury apartment. Joss reluctantly likes her and the apartment and moves in.
However, Ellie and her infuriating alpha male of a brother, Braden Carmichael, test her resolve to keep a distance from people.
Sometimes the clouds weren’t weightless. Sometimes their bellies got dark and full. It was life. It happened. It didn’t mean it wasn’t scary, or that I wasn’t still afraid, but now I knew that as long as I was standing under it with Braden beside me when those clouds broke, I’d be alright.
On Dublin Street is written completely from Joss’s point of View. I was rooting for her from the moment I started this book.
With that tense prologue – a glimpse of why Joss is the way she is – and her fear of the future, made me want to be her friend. She’s strong enough to realize that she needs someone to talk to, but stubborn enough to bury her head in the sand.
Although she sometimes made me want to wring her neck with her decisions, she was a realistic character, and her development is one of the best aspects of the book.
“You’re good with the words, I’ll give you that.”
“I’m good with my hands. Will you let me give you that?”
Braden Carmichael is the male protagonist in On Dublin Street, and will quickly become your favorite if you enjoy dominant heroes who are fiercely determined to win the heart of their guarded heroine, deeply protective and possessive, and devoted to their family.
He’s charming when he wants to be, and a little manipulative to make things go his way, but he always has the best interests at heart for Joss.
He is one of my favorite book boyfriends, and I re-read this book because of him.
“I love you. You’re mine. I’ll kill any bastard who tries to take you from me.”
On the surface, this book might seem like a steamy romance with lots of sexy bits, but honestly, it’s a book layered with so much more. Both our characters have faced darkness in their lives, Joss more so, and in every chapter, every interaction, you see the way they open up to each other.
Braden especially knows what he wants and goes after it. He wants Jocelyn, and he’s always ensured that while pursuing her, he doesn’t cross that invisible line. I loved Braden. He is highhanded, arrogant, and an asshole at times, but he was always about Jocelyn and willing to fight for her.
Their relationship is beautiful. It’s like Joss was just waiting for Braden to rush in and break down her walls and just love her. They were perfect for one another.
“I know you love me, Jocelyn, because there’s no fucking way I can be this much in love with you, and not have you feel the same way. It’s not possible.”
Braden and Joss have carved a space in my heart. I loved the story, the main character’s journey and their passionate romance, the secondary characters and their found family, and just about everything else.
It’s also the one book that always comes to mind whenever someone asks me for recommendations.
Now that you’ve read my review, go read it!
More Joss and Braden Content!
If you’re looking for more of Joss and Braden Content, here’s the list:
Books like On Dublin Street by Samantha Young
Here are some books similar to On Dublin Street, which I loved and reviewed:
- Wall Street Titan – The hero, a billionaire, is obsessed with the heroine who works as a librarian and a freelance editor.
- Bared to You – The hero owns a corporate empire and is obsessive over the heroine who works in his office building.
- Twisted Love – A dark new adult romance where the hero falls for his best friend’s sister.
This book is also listed in my post: Books like Fifty Shades of Grey
Other FAQs Around This Book:
Is there an On Dublin Street movie?
Unfortunately, not as of now, there is no official On Dublin Street movie adaptation.
Is On Dublin Street erotic?
Well, not as much as Fifty Shades, but it does have sexy, steamy scenes.
What are Joss Butler and Braden Carmichael’s ages in On Dublin Street?
In On Dublin Street, Joss is 22 years old at the start of the novel, while Braden Carmichael is in his early 30s.
Is On Dublin Street a series?
Yes, On Dublin Street is a series with the first book titled ‘On Dublin Street’. However, the series contains standalone romance books.
On Dublin Street Blurb:
Jocelyn Butler has been hiding from her past for years. But all her secrets are about to be laid bare …
Four years ago, Jocelyn left her tragic past behind in the States and started over in Scotland, burying her grief, ignoring her demons, and forging ahead without attachments. Her solitary life is working well – until she moves into a new apartment on Dublin Street, where she meets a man who shakes her carefully guarded world to its core.
Braden Carmichael is used to getting what he wants, and he’s determined to get Jocelyn into his bed. Knowing how skittish she is about entering a relationship, Braden proposes an arrangement that will satisfy their intense attraction without any strings attached.
But after an intrigued Jocelyn accepts, she realizes that Braden won’t be satisfied with just mind-blowing passion. The stubborn Scotsman is intent on truly knowing her . . . down to the very soul.
Purchase Links
About Samantha Young:
Samantha is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author and a Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee. Samantha has written over 50 books and is published in 31 countries. She writes emotional and angsty romance, often set where she resides—in her beloved home country Scotland. Samantha splits her time between her family, writing and chasing after two very mischievous cavapoos.
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