Sorority of Three – Freshman 101 by Melissa Brown Review

4 Smooches!

Synopsis

And you thought the hardest part of freshman year was scheduling…

Sunny McCormick is in love with love. She’s cute, romantic and convinced her Prince Charming is out there somewhere.

Grace McCarrion has never been in love. She’s shy, reserved and her own worst critic.

Claudia Mansour isn’t sure she believes in love. She’s confident, beautiful and hard to impress.

They’ve decided to go against the grain and, rather than pledge the Greek system at the University of Illinois, create an unofficial sorority of their own.

This is their story. The ups and downs, the trials and tribulations, the romance and heartbreak.

Welcome to freshman year.

Review

Diving head first into books without reading the synopsis seems to be my specialty these days and so far it’s worked wonders as with my latest literary adventure in Sorority of Three by Melissa Brown. With SOT I was treated to a really unexpected and unique love story because this tale may have had the trials and tribulations of College dating, Facebook relationship statuses and the art of flirting for shy girls but at the core of it all SOT was a love story involving three best friends, all diverse, all with completely varied personalities and attitudes and each struggling with some complex inner issue. The love shared and tested and formed through these three girls, Claudia, Grace and Sunny was so beautiful to read, the realism and emotion that Melissa poured into her words and how she shaped and moulded the characters individuality draws you in to their multifaceted lives.

“He’s not a bad guy. He was honest about his girlfriend.” I gave her a mock glare. “After we met, after we had coffee.”

“So he was confused. He’s human.” Grace shrugged. “I know you want the fairy tale, Sun but I don’t think either of us is getting rescued.”

Although I identified with socially awkward dating disaster Grace, often cringing in embarrassment at her poor character, Sunny’s often comical and perky nature added that light entertainment quality to the story with the raw emotional struggles landing on the stunning Claudia’s doorstep. All three girls face their own form of adversity whether it is social interaction, flirting, choosing the right man, trusting your own instincts, getting to know yourself, accepting and loving those beautiful differences in yourself or just what to wear to a Frat party, the sisterhood was so lovely to experience without the quintessential sorority house setting. The only thing lacking for me in the story was the romantic leads with the exception of Libby and maybe Ross. The men kind of fell flat for me, there was nothing redeemable or memorable about any aspect of them, they were average Joe’s with pretty bland personalities but I guess that offered up more realism to Grace, Sunny and Claudia’s stories because let’s face it not everyone is going to arrive at college and meet a ripped rock-star or an Adonis-looking business mogul.

The writing and dialogue was impeccable, Melissa sure knows how to construct a world of turmoil, angst and drama carefully balancing it with lighter moments, tender and often sweet times between not only the girls but in the romantic woes and wins they experience. It did leave it rather open ended and I hate to use the word cliff-hanger but it comes pretty close. Needless to say I cannot wait to continue my vicarious exploits with these girls in the next instalment.

~Nicole

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