Title: How To Date A Douchebag: The Failing Hours
Author: Sara Ney
Genre: New Adult, Sports Romance, College Romance
Release Date: January 31, 2017
Zeke Daniels isn't just a douchebag; he's an asshole.
A total and complete jerk, Zeke keeps people at a distance. He has no interest in relationships—most assholes don’t.
Dating? Being part of a couple? Nope. Not for him.
He's never given any thought to what he wants in a girlfriend, because he's never had any intention of having one.
Shit, he barely has a relationship with his family, and they're related; his own friends don’t even like him.
So why does he keep thinking about Violet DeLuca?
Sweet, quiet Violet—his opposite in every sense of the word.
The light to his dark, even her damn name sounds like rays of sunshine and happiness and shit.
And that pisses him off, too.
"Best Read of 2017! A one click must for any lover of hot, sexy romance done RIGHT ! [This] story is the quintessential slow burn effect...Zeke will come to own your body and soul--I am OBSESSED with this series and The Failing Hours has just shot to my 'Best of All Time' list. Be prepared to fall in love with a douche bag and the woman who sets him straight. " - Books and Boys Book Blog
“That was EVERYTHING I expected, wanted, dreamed of. . . this is a MUST FREAKING READ. UNFORGETTABLE goodness. NA romance at it's best.” - Angie’s Dreamy Reads
"Sara Ney has delivered a sexy, jerkwad douchebag with soul-deep feelings and the sweet, kind, unassuming girl to reach his hidden heart in one of the best NA romantic comedies I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Ney's impeccable writing, fresh characters, and feel-good story will stick with you forever." - Bestselling Author Staci Hart
"I took so much pleasure in Zeke’s looming destruction (insert evil laugh)...." - The Reading Belles
5 Stars!
The second installment of the How to Date a Douchebag series, The Failing Hours, tells Ezekiel’s story. The angry asshole roommate to Oz in the first Douchebag book. I was intensely curious as to what Zeke’s deal was in the first book and just as excited when I learned this was his book. He was so irrationally angry in The Studying Hours, and I kept asking myself why? Zeke was the epitome of douchebag and now I know why!
Wrestler Zeke Daniels is a douchebag with a capital D. Even his friends don’t know why they’re friends with him. He’s angry, irritable, and incredibly rude. Needing help in biology, he enlists tutoring help, only to be stood up by the tutor. Adding insult to injury, his coach has signed him up in the Big Brother program, hoping to teach him some humility.
Violet DeLuca is the stuttering tutor who stood him up. Being incredibly intimidated after meeting him, she lies and says she didn’t know where his tutor was. When she finally owns up to who she really is, Zeke is (surprise!) angry that she lied. What begins is an uneasy tutoring relationship, with Zeke being an asshole and Violet trying to find the good in all encounters with him.
With Zeke’s Little and Violet’s babysitting charge becoming friends, they start to spend more time together. Zeke doesn’t understand what he is feeling, because feeling any kind of feelings besides abandonment and irrational anger is foreign to him. Violet is so innocent to him, and he starts to feel highly protective of her and can’t for the life of him figure out why.
Violet is no crushing violet either. Though much more innocent, she is anything but naïve. She senses that there is more to Zeke than he or anyone realizes and can’t help of falling for him when his good bits break through the anger. Orphaned at a young age, she’s had a harder life than most, but doesn’t let it get her down. She’s kind and sunshine and everything nice. The opposite of Zeke in every way.
Zeke must come to terms with what Violet is to him. When he predictably hurts and embarrasses her, he finally realizes what she means to him. But will it be too late or will this douchebag change his spots?
I’m not gonna lie. It was really hard to like Zeke at first, and even a little into the middle of the book. I was rooting for him the entire time though. Violet was an enigma to him and he had to get past his own emotional hang ups before he would be able to deal with the emotions of other people. Even though I didn’t necessarily like him at first, I understood him. Violet was exactly what he needed.
I loved Violet. She was everything that Zeke needed as well. Patient, kind, and optimistic, she showed him a different side to life. She was the yin to his yang, the peanut butter to his jelly, etc. Once Zeke had his epiphany, he became the guy who deserved to be with someone like Violet. I fell in love with him. It was gradual and crept up on me, much like it happened to Violet. A true love story of opposites attract.
A fantastic addition to the series! I look forward to more Douchebags in the future! Kudos Sara Ney! A job well done!
The clock on the wall counts the seconds, steady as the rhythm of my beating heart, which thumps wildly within my chest until the glass door to the library opens, propelled by a gust of wind.
Some new fallen leaves flutter in, the heavy doors slamming from the draft.
Along with them? Zeke Daniels.
He shuffles in, dark gray sweatpants hanging low on his hips, black Iowa Wrestling hoodie pulled up over his head, the university’s bright yellow mascot screen-printed across the chest. Backpack slung over one shoulder, black athletic flip-flops, and a pair of black sunglasses perched on the bridge of his strong nose complete the overall ensemble.
He is utterly…ridiculous.
Unapproachable.
Daunting.
His arrogance knows no bounds; I can see it in his loose gait, the exaggerated swagger, and the too-casual way he’s dragging his flip-flops across the cold, marble tile floor. It’s noisy, irritating, and completely uncalled for.
In the moment, my mind drifts to his personal life, and I theorize that he listens to heavy metal music to sooth his foul temperament, drinks his coffee black—as black as his soul—and his liquor straight up. I imagine once he’s had sex with someone, they’re never invited back. I go one step further and theorize that they’re never invited to spend the night at his place, either.
Zeke Daniels makes his way to a table at the far end of the room, near the periodicals, one out of the way with plenty of privacy.
Sets his bag down in one of the four wooden chairs. Flicks on the small study lamp. Plugs his laptop cord into the base and stands.
Turns.
Our eyes would have met then were it not for those ludicrous sunglasses. I choose the exact moment he lifts his gaze to look down at the ground. Busy myself with shuffling papers on the counter. Count to ten instead of chanting, Please don’t come over, please don’t come over, please don’t come over…
But luck isn’t on my side because he most decidedly does.
Makes his way over like a predator at a pace so deliberate, I’m convinced he’s doing it on purpose. As if he suspects I’m watching from under my long lashes, dreading his imminent arrival.
He basks in my discomfort.
The distance between us closes, his strides purposeful.
Twenty feet.
Fifteen.
Ten.
Eight.
Three.
His large hand reaches up, pushing down the hood of his sweatshirt, his fingertips pinching the earpiece of his sunglasses and pulling them off his face. My eyes follow the movements as he folds them closed, hanging them on the neckline of his hoodie.
His gaze lingers—those clear gray eyes famous around campus—and finds the shiny silver bellhop bell perched on the counter with the sign next to it that reads, Ring for help.
Ding.
The tip of his forefinger presses down on the small bell.
Ding.
He hits it again, despite me standing not three feet in front of him.
What an ass.
Purveyor of all things witty & romantic, I love: iced latte's, traveling, and bright, bold colors. On any given day, you can find me in my office, lovingly gazing at my bookshelf or shuffling my Bic felt-tip pen collection. I love hand writing letters, and sarcasm. I live in the midwest, but "Will Write for Travel," and believe everyone should follow their dreams, no matter how big or small. My favorite authors include Cindy Miles, S Walden, Suzanne Enoch, Tessa Dare (to name a few). I am a glutton for Historical, RomCom, Sports and MC romance.
One husband. Two daughters. Plenty of chaos.
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