Review: Double Clutch by Liz Reinhardt (Brenna Blixen #1)

Title: Double Clutch

Author: Liz Reinhardt
Publication date: September 6th 2011
Age group: Upper Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Cover rating: 5/5
Content rating: 4.5/5
Buy: Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Description via Goodreads:

Brenna Blixen spent her freshman year homeschooling in Denmark; now that she’s back in the States, she’s determined to make her sophomore year unforgettable. And by unforgettable, she imagined awesome classes, fun friendships, and maybe a little romance. 
What she got was a whole lot of romance, and all at once. 

The same day that dark, brooding Saxon Maclean charmed her with his killer good looks and whip-smart wit, Jake Kelly stole her breath away with his heart-wrenching smile and intelligent, thoughtful focus. 

But Saxon is a proud player who makes it clear that he doesn’t know why he can’t get Brenna off of his mind and out of his system, and Jake’s sweet and humble attitude hides a secret past life that might be more darker and more complex than Brenna’s willing to handle.
Complicating the matter is the fact that Saxon and Jake were once best friends and are now arch-enemies... and the more Brenna finds out about their connection to each other, the more intrigued and worried she becomes.

My thoughts:
I went back and forth for a while about whether or not I wanted to read Double Clutch. I had heard a lot of good things about it, but love triangles are not a favourite of mine and the entire plot of this book is a love triangle. However... wow! I am so glad I read it. It's an instant favourite and Liz Reinhardt certainly has a new fan. Double Clutch was an awesome, fun and exciting novel that I can't get out of my head. It would have been a massive mistake to pass this one up.

Our protagonist is teenager Brenna Blixen, who has just moved back to the US after spending a year with her parents in Denmark. I liked Brenna almost instantly. Her voice is really different and definitely stands out. She's a very sweet girl who has a lovely relationship with both her mother and her stepfather. She's intelligent and level headed albeit a little lost now that she's back in her old town and a very different person to the one she was when she left. This book is about Brenna growing up and trying to figure out what she wants and who she wants.

Then there's the two boys, who are so very different yet very similar at the same time. Saxon is your typical bad boy. He's got a large ego and always seems to speak his mind. I definitely liked him best. While he can be a bit of a jerk sometimes, I found him to be the most interesting and amusing. There's also more to him than meets the eye. I think he's a big softie inside. Jake is a lot sweeter at first and seems like a regular nice guy. However, Jake has plenty of his own secrets and his own demons to battle. I liked Jake but I didn't find him as fun or entertaining as Saxon.

Double Clutch was just brilliant! There are so many intriguing characters and a lot going on. We get to see how Brenna's relationships with her parents, friends, Saxon and Jake grow and change. Brenna is so direct and tough it's hard not to love her. Her life is certainly hectic and it was thrilling to read about. I would certainly recommend this novel and I'm so excited to read the next two books. Also, this book is definitely 'upper' YA as it has some very mature scenes in it.