Birthday Girl
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-09-27 08:53:28
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Penelope Douglas
- ISBN：8378898342
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Reviews
Reinne
，
I'm in a Penelope Douglas marathon and I must say she writes good stories。 Though I like the dynamics and chemistry of Misha and Ryen in Punk 57 more， this was a breath of fresh air。The book was very sweet， it made me feel giddy unlike Punk 57 which made me feel excited。 Though I shouldn't compare the two since the only thing they have in common is that they were written by the same author （and have a lot of sex scenes which I'm frankly， indifferent on， but that's a different story for another d I'm in a Penelope Douglas marathon and I must say she writes good stories。 Though I like the dynamics and chemistry of Misha and Ryen in Punk 57 more， this was a breath of fresh air。The book was very sweet， it made me feel giddy unlike Punk 57 which made me feel excited。 Though I shouldn't compare the two since the only thing they have in common is that they were written by the same author （and have a lot of sex scenes which I'm frankly， indifferent on， but that's a different story for another day。） The age gap was weird at first， the main heroine was freaking 19， but I got used to it （plus this is fiction I don't really care）。 Again to compare the two books since Im so fond of the two， Misha felt dangerous， well atleast Masen did， but Pike felt like home。 I think that perfectly describes those two books well。P。S。 I should really stop writing reviews here like I wast tasked to write a book report for school。 I can't help it though so if anyone reads this， no you didn't。-reinne 。。。more
Angeles Espinoza Maraboli
，
AAAAAAAA pero es que la tensión de los personajes en este libro es otra cosa。Definitivamente este es mi libro de Penélope Douglas， hasta el momento。Como se desenvuelve la historia es muy realista， es un romance prohibido que tarda en desarrollarse， pero vale la pena cada página que tardo en llegar al momento esperado。Los personajes se conocen， establecen una relación de confianza， pasan tiempo juntos， todo antes de llegar a una relación。 Pyke es tan perfecto， lo tiene todo， a pesar de la diferen AAAAAAAA pero es que la tensión de los personajes en este libro es otra cosa。Definitivamente este es mi libro de Penélope Douglas， hasta el momento。Como se desenvuelve la historia es muy realista， es un romance prohibido que tarda en desarrollarse， pero vale la pena cada página que tardo en llegar al momento esperado。Los personajes se conocen， establecen una relación de confianza， pasan tiempo juntos， todo antes de llegar a una relación。 Pyke es tan perfecto， lo tiene todo， a pesar de la diferencia de edad， y comprendo todo lo que hace y sus acciones durante el desenlace de la historia。 Y por otra parte， Jordan es muy especial y se merecía alguien como Pyke， ambos se complementan muy bien。Me pasa con otros libros， con dos puntos de vista diferentes， que me interesa uno más que el otro， pero con los libros de esta autora eso no me sucede。 Este libro tiene dos puntos de vista y ambos muy interesantes。 << Sé que todo lo que hacemos está mal， y no sé cómo voy a explicar esto a alguien， pero aquí mismo -en este momento- no quiero estar en ningún otro lado。 Ojalá pudiera morir tan feliz como lo estoy ahora。 Aquí， en la oscuridad de la noche， en esta habitación oscura， detrás de una puerta cerrada， no necesitamos explicarle nada a nadie >> 。。。more
Emma
，
This book was actually really terrible and basic， and the cliches were sometimes so obvious that it hurt to read。 I was mostly here for the smut， of which there was plenty。 As bad as this book was， I did give it two stars because it was still really addicting （I finished it in like a day and a half） and my best friend and I read it together and had an absolute blast。 Still， it was like reading a poorly-written fanfiction， but at least I had fun reading it。
wewerb0rntodie
，
Well I love penelopes work doesn’t matter what she writes tbh 。 I was doing to give this 3 stars but I loved the last 80 pages so …。
Paxton Tilghman
，
Good lord。 My most favorite book yet。 So captivating to mix sad， sweet， taboo， love， hate， growth and pride all in one little book。 LOVED。 All hail Penelope Douglas the queen。
Amy
，
I read Credence before this title and knew the character arc that was likely to happen。 In all honesty Penelope had me guessing right up until the end whether the big blow out was going to happen and at what magnitude。 Fantastic read。
Popuri ⍟
，
Well。。。 this is done。 Penelope Douglas is a great writer and this book had a lot of very good scenes。 However， I had a hard time getting into it （only after reading about 30% did I become truly invested in it and couldn't put it down） and the last ~20% really annoyed me。 Slow beginnings don't bother me as much as an ending that doesn't completely satisfy me， though。 My favorite genre is Fantasy， after all--I can deal with taking some time to feel invested in a story。 I just become very frustrate Well。。。 this is done。 Penelope Douglas is a great writer and this book had a lot of very good scenes。 However， I had a hard time getting into it （only after reading about 30% did I become truly invested in it and couldn't put it down） and the last ~20% really annoyed me。 Slow beginnings don't bother me as much as an ending that doesn't completely satisfy me， though。 My favorite genre is Fantasy， after all--I can deal with taking some time to feel invested in a story。 I just become very frustrated when the last chunk of a book annoys me， because that means the last contact I've had with the story was a bad one， and it leaves a sour taste in my mouth。 Here's the thing， both Pike and Jordan made me mad here and there， but by the end I couldn't take Jordan anymore。 This book tries to portray her as a kid who is much more mature than the average 19 year old because of the things she's been through， but while she has a bigger sense of responsibility because she can't afford making stupid decisions， she is very much just a kid still （no， liking 80s music and movies doesn't make her an old soul）。 To me， the only reason she works with Pike is because he has a temper which leads him to be pretty immature sometimes。 So it's not like Jordan is this amazingly mature 19 year old， it's more just that they kinda meet each other in the middle。 Oh， and we can't forget that Pike does treat Jordan as if she is a child and he is her guardian， sometimes， which is weird， to say the least。 By the end， however， I do understand Pike better， since he has much more to lose with this relationship than she does。 But Jordan acts like the ball is totally in his court and he should be the one to go after her and fight for her because she has been burned one too many times。 I get it， it makes sense for her character， but I don't think it's fair for him or mature of her。 I was so ready to be done with this book and with this couple。 I went from liking them together to feeling indifferent--I only wanted it to end， Jordan and Pike together or not。I did really enjoy the middle chunk of this book， though。 The steamy scenes are nice， too， and like I said， Penelope Douglas is a very good writer。 Not only when it comes to her writing style， but also when it comes to the structure of the book。 This story didn't feel like just an amalgamation of little moments， but flowed really well from plotpoint to plotpoint and wrapped everyone's plotlines properly。 It's a nice story。 。。。more
Jennifer
，
Worth reading I was really hesitant to read another one of Penelope’s books，but this one was everything that Credence wasn’t。 Let me clarify that both books were well written，but I just didn’t care for the Credence characters， but I liked the characters in this book。 I can see this happening and understand where they are coming from。 There’s big age difference， but I will say being lonely is hard and being happy is everything， so really what choice did they have。 That being said is author planni Worth reading I was really hesitant to read another one of Penelope’s books，but this one was everything that Credence wasn’t。 Let me clarify that both books were well written，but I just didn’t care for the Credence characters， but I liked the characters in this book。 I can see this happening and understand where they are coming from。 There’s big age difference， but I will say being lonely is hard and being happy is everything， so really what choice did they have。 That being said is author planning on writing a book on Jordan’s friend and the mysterious man with his sisters （lol）hope so。 The biggest complaint on this book is I think they should have included Cole and Jordan having a talk about everything that happen between them。 。。。more
Meirina Soe
，
This is going to be an unpopular opinion。The only reason I'm not giving this book a one-star review was because I enjoyed it for at least 75% of the book。 I am dragging through the rest because of how unrealistic and disappointing the ending is。I read it because I saw it on social media and a forbidden age-gap relationship does appeal to me on a conceptual level， and a friend who gave it a five-star recommended it to me。 But I couldn't be more pissed at that ending。No， I don't buy that they are This is going to be an unpopular opinion。The only reason I'm not giving this book a one-star review was because I enjoyed it for at least 75% of the book。 I am dragging through the rest because of how unrealistic and disappointing the ending is。I read it because I saw it on social media and a forbidden age-gap relationship does appeal to me on a conceptual level， and a friend who gave it a five-star recommended it to me。 But I couldn't be more pissed at that ending。No， I don't buy that they are in love。Other people have pointed out the problematic aspect of Pike treating Jordan like a kid， but there's another thing that I don't buy that two people are truly in love after knowing each other for less than a month， and the only interactions they've had are only the ones revolves around sexual tensions and sex， and sex， and even in the epilogue （view spoiler）[ it still implies that their whole relationship still revolves around sex。 （hide spoiler）]No， they are not in love， they are in lust。 Their brain is just so pumped up with adrenaline， which is so much more appealing to the boring lives the main characters have led so far。 I cannot like two characters who are thinking with their genitals instead of brains。And anyone， anyone who makes a parent choose between their children and themselves isn't someone worth rooting for。 I cannot support a woman who calls a man a coward for not wanting to jeopardize his relationship with his son。Pike keeps making excuses that it's a "small town" for not being able to find the woman of his dreams。 Well， it's 2018 ffs， and you're 38？ Can't you broaden your scope of friendship？ Online dating？ Anyone？Honestly， it's fair to them to let off some steam。 But I expected them to later part ways because Jordan went away for a scholarship or something， and they could see each other again in a better stage of life。 Jordan having completed a higher degree of education with a well-paying job， and Pike having a family with someone who's not a teenager and not his son's girlfriend， for example。 And still， they could reminisce about their affair as some kind of a "nice dream" because that's what it's supposed to be！ But no， PD really had to make Jordan （view spoiler）[ get married at 20， be a soccer mom and live some idyllic 1950s household life。I am happy for Cole， though。 He's now in the military and married a Japanese girl。Now that's an upgrade。 Good for him。（hide spoiler）]Now I am going to pick up Stalking JTR in my TBR， cause I need to rinse my eyes。Even unrealistic people in fantasy make more realistic decisions。 。。。more
Heather
，
Don’t ask me why I keep reading Penelope Douglas books， because I couldn’t tell you why。Her writing is not for me， it reminds me a lot of my wattpad days， and I just don’t really enjoy the age gap in her stories。It’s an interesting storyline， don’t get me wrong！ But I feel like she doesn’t do a good job of convincing the reader why we should be rooting for these characters。She writes a lot about taboo romances （age gap， incest， etc。） and the narrator often thinks about the reasons why the couple Don’t ask me why I keep reading Penelope Douglas books， because I couldn’t tell you why。Her writing is not for me， it reminds me a lot of my wattpad days， and I just don’t really enjoy the age gap in her stories。It’s an interesting storyline， don’t get me wrong！ But I feel like she doesn’t do a good job of convincing the reader why we should be rooting for these characters。She writes a lot about taboo romances （age gap， incest， etc。） and the narrator often thinks about the reasons why the couple doesn’t work together。 But then， they still end up with each other， even though those problems still exist。 And many times， the reasoning why they do is because they have this “undeniable connection，” which I feel like is just sexual tension。 So most of the time， I end up not really rooting for the characters or their romance， and instead， wanting the girl to just run away and live her best life。 It was a fun read， but I definitely lost some brain cells along the way！ 。。。more
Nina
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Cute and sexy romance with significant age difference （which I enjoy a bit too much）。 For the first half of the book I was really enjoying myself and I though I would end up rating it 4*。 There's a few reasons why I didn't:-The story started getting really repetitive from some point onward。 Same mistakes were made， same responses happened， same fears were there without getting talked about。 Lack of communication in general。-I got annoyed with Jordan towards the end。 Even a 19 year old should rea Cute and sexy romance with significant age difference （which I enjoy a bit too much）。 For the first half of the book I was really enjoying myself and I though I would end up rating it 4*。 There's a few reasons why I didn't:-The story started getting really repetitive from some point onward。 Same mistakes were made， same responses happened， same fears were there without getting talked about。 Lack of communication in general。-I got annoyed with Jordan towards the end。 Even a 19 year old should realize that a 38 yo man who has a difficult relationship with his son （her ex） and whose choices have been mostly about that son， would choose him over a 'relationship' where neither knows what the other wants。 It started as horny ppl having sex， and noone ever talked about where they were going。 So， even with her background， I felt her reaction was unfair。 。。。more
Molly
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OBSESSED with Penelope Douglas
Rose
，
Initial reaction:My rating for this is probably going to be maybe 2 or 2。5 stars。 I will admit that I still like Penelope Douglas's writing style as a whole and there were parts of this story I thought were good character exploration， but this story was。。。a lot to say the least。 Long review coming soon。Full review:So how on earth do I rate this book？ *exhales slowly* I think most people who know me know that my first two （possibly three？ I can't remember the title of the other work of hers I pic Initial reaction:My rating for this is probably going to be maybe 2 or 2。5 stars。 I will admit that I still like Penelope Douglas's writing style as a whole and there were parts of this story I thought were good character exploration， but this story was。。。a lot to say the least。 Long review coming soon。Full review:So how on earth do I rate this book？ *exhales slowly* I think most people who know me know that my first two （possibly three？ I can't remember the title of the other work of hers I picked up， but I still need to review it） experiences with Penelope Douglas were not good。 I still don't like either "Bully" or "Until You" to this day， though I acknowledge at least that Douglas's writing style really pulled me into each book so that I could actually get through them。 Albeit with the situation/plot/characters， the experience of reading it was a bit like pulling teeth。 It was everything that I wanted to fling as far away from me as quickly as possible。 I still don't get Jared's appeal at all， but you know - let's set that aside and talk about my experience with this book。I've heard from multiple people about this - telling me to try "Birthday Girl" to get another go about Douglas's work （This and "Punk 57"， which I will read eventually。） The sum of my thoughts were as follows - it covers a VERY taboo subject matter， but the character work and dialogue was realistic so I kind of thought （upon initial reflection） it was good for what it was？ I'm surprised myself that I ended up following this as well as I did。 I was not expecting to。 I still have very complicated thoughts about how this book ended up and hopefully I can unpack all that in this review。 I will try to stealthily tap dance around massive spoilers。To start， this book is told in a dual-perspective between Jordan and Pike。 Jordan is a 19-year old club waitress who loves 80s culture。 I don't mind that since it's a quirk of hers and she seems into it enough to where I could believe that she genuinely loved the aspects of 80s movies and music culture that she talked about。 She's unfortunately waiting for her boyfriend who never shows to pick her up the night of her birthday。 She spends the last remaining hours expecting to be alone at a movie screening。 Yet， Jordan meets Pike that night， a guy she doesn't know but shares a connection with while seeing "Evil Dead"。 Relatively quickly you realize not only is Pike older than Jordan by quite a bit （he's 38 as you later learn in the context of the story） but he's also the father of Jordan's current boyfriend。 Oof。 Yikes。If you want to run away screaming now into the void， I would not blame you。 Since this is the premise of the book， I knew what I was picking up， but I do not like that age gap。 I do not like this context and how they end up under the same roof。 Just nope to the umpteenth degree on ALL that。 But I'm at least seeing where it goes。 It ended up becoming a lot of ongoing drama。You learn a lot about many of the challenges and hardships that Jordan and Pike have to contend with to start。 In many New Adult novels - such development is normally lacking。 Here the backstory is done about as well as it can be。 Between Jordan trying to be fiscally responsible where her boyfriend Cole is not。 Pike has to contend with his ex-wife， being a supportive father to Cole despite their strained tensions， and juggling responsibilities at his job。 There are pretty solid scenes of mental connection between the characters that aren't just thrown in with no thought to them， you see why things transition to what they do and the internal struggles they have on multiple levels。 With this kind of attention to detail， I can usually follow a narrative even if it doesn't sit well with me。 I did like that this was a progressively developing novel for the characters it showcased， which is something I'll give it credit for。Still， the usual tropes of New Adult romance are all here （i。e。 sexual shaming， misogyny， emotional abuse， cheating） and they definitely aren't all addressed in the measure where they needed to be for wrestling them out。 I flew through this novel narratively speaking when it came to the writing style on its own， but the tropes had me sinking down into my chair while cringing （alongside。。。well you know）。 Cole was absolutely TERRIBLE to Jordan and it makes sense why their relationship was contentious from point one。 Pike acted how I thought he would with a sense of parental-like protectiveness over Jordan but it was still icky that he thought he was entitled to do that， particularly with some of the crap Jordan gets put through in this novel。 （I'm hyper aware that I'm closer to Pike in age while reading this novel， which makes some of what he says and thinks at odds to me。） Like Tate in "Bully"， I was rooting for Jordan to get into a better situation that she was given， and I followed her well through her perspective pieces in the novel。Even reflecting on how the relationship ends up and the ending the characters ultimately receive， I'm torn on how to reflect on this novel as a whole。 Parts of it I could follow for what they were， and parts of it had me wanting to throw my Kindle against the wall。 I don't outright dislike "Birthday Girl" when I take it as a whole， though there are parts of it that really drive my nerves， so I'm torn on how to rate it。 Because there were things upon reflection that didn't sit well with me as I'm winding down my review， I think 2 stars is where I'll leave it。 It's not the worst novel I've read given the subject matter， and there are pieces of it that I think are done better than its peers， but it never moves to the point where I would pick this novel up again to re-experience it for value， and that I think is what puts me at where the rating landed。Overall score: 2/5 stars。 。。。more
Coco
，
I absolutely enjoyed the story。 I didn't want to put it down。 This age gap romance has a good balance between the narrative and steamy scenes。 It wasn't cheesy at all。 Overall， I highly recommend。 I absolutely enjoyed the story。 I didn't want to put it down。 This age gap romance has a good balance between the narrative and steamy scenes。 It wasn't cheesy at all。 Overall， I highly recommend。 。。。more
Reem
，
dnf @ 20% ex bfs dad is just not for me。
Shailen Leverett
，
Yes
Vanessa
，
Just loved it！！This book was recommended by some book Besties and they swore I would love it。 They weren’t wrong。 I was automatically hooked in， Pike won me over even when I felt he should have caught more against his fears and their story gave me all the feels which is always an awesome thing。 Their story may have had heartbreak written on it from the very beginning but it definitely was a journey to finding the person that just speaks to your soul。 Their story is just that。 It was hard to put Just loved it！！This book was recommended by some book Besties and they swore I would love it。 They weren’t wrong。 I was automatically hooked in， Pike won me over even when I felt he should have caught more against his fears and their story gave me all the feels which is always an awesome thing。 Their story may have had heartbreak written on it from the very beginning but it definitely was a journey to finding the person that just speaks to your soul。 Their story is just that。 It was hard to put down every time life got in the way but I picked it right back up because it was just that hard not to。 I definitely recommend this book to others and you won’t be disappointed。 。。。more
Rosa
，
2。5/5⭐️
Julieta Gerlein
，
Daddy？ Sorry Daddy？ Sorry
Alexandra Rivera
，
I enjoyed it very much！！！The steam and plot were on point， Miss Douglas never disappoints！
Lumieretoile
，
Started reading this because of the hype and quickly realized it was not my cup of tea lol。 I finished it， but I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would， but I think it’s just because its not one of my favorite tropes。 I do love this author’s other books though :）
Dayis Caraballo
，
I mostly like this book but I found it problematic and I hate that bc I’m not the type of person that almost never find taboo things problematic 😂。 Anyways just read Punk 57 by this author。
talia
，
did not finish
Bailey H
，
（4。5/5 Stars）
Sophia
，
im sorry but ive finished this WAYY SOONER and uh DILFS？ HI？？？
Amanda
，
Well， this was。。。。🔥 Holy smokes。 I don't even know what to say except this was sexy and well written。 I did the audible and really enjoyed the performance。 Well， this was。。。。🔥 Holy smokes。 I don't even know what to say except this was sexy and well written。 I did the audible and really enjoyed the performance。 。。。more
Meegz Reads
，
*3。5 Stars* This one was a bit slow to ramp up for me。 Maybe it's my frame of mind lately， I'm not sure。 But it just seemed to take a really long time to sort of get somewhere between the two main characters。 And I can even understand why， considering the circumstances of the characters in the novel。I definitely enjoyed the last 20% of the book the most， but overall I didn't enjoy this as much as I enjoyed Punk 57， which I recently read by this author。 Follow me on:FacebookTwitterInstagramTikTok *3。5 Stars* This one was a bit slow to ramp up for me。 Maybe it's my frame of mind lately， I'm not sure。 But it just seemed to take a really long time to sort of get somewhere between the two main characters。 And I can even understand why， considering the circumstances of the characters in the novel。I definitely enjoyed the last 20% of the book the most， but overall I didn't enjoy this as much as I enjoyed Punk 57， which I recently read by this author。 Follow me on:FacebookTwitterInstagramTikTok 。。。more
Jessica Piggott
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3。5 x
Bookswithcas
，
3。5 actually。This book was so taboo it shouldn't even exist。 But GOD did I love it。When I first heard about it was like "nah。 I would never read a book about a 38 year old falling in love with his son's 19 girlfriend。 What type of shit is that？"But then I met Pike and Jordan。GUYS。 the ANGST。 The sexual tension。 thesexscenesomgggfff。 I dont know what Penelope had for breakfast on the day she wrote the smut but I need to get me some of that。Pike is 38 but he could get it lmao 😭😫😂 I'm not in the le 3。5 actually。This book was so taboo it shouldn't even exist。 But GOD did I love it。When I first heard about it was like "nah。 I would never read a book about a 38 year old falling in love with his son's 19 girlfriend。 What type of shit is that？"But then I met Pike and Jordan。GUYS。 the ANGST。 The sexual tension。 thesexscenesomgggfff。 I dont know what Penelope had for breakfast on the day she wrote the smut but I need to get me some of that。Pike is 38 but he could get it lmao 😭😫😂 I'm not in the least bit ashamed。 He didn't even seem 38 more like 28 or 30 or something。 But guys I didn't think I would like it but I did and yeah。 If you dont read it for the plot read it for the smut 😏 。。。more
Suzi Reid
，
I loved this so much！ It's right up there with Punk 57 for me。I loved Jordan and Pike， loved their relationship and how it felt natural despite the age difference。 I also liked how the conflict of Cole finding out was handled。 Just loved it all！ I loved this so much！ It's right up there with Punk 57 for me。I loved Jordan and Pike， loved their relationship and how it felt natural despite the age difference。 I also liked how the conflict of Cole finding out was handled。 Just loved it all！ 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Birthday Girl
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Birthday Girl&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Birthday Girl&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0