White Fur: A Novel by Jardine Libaire

(Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!)

about book:

A stunning star-crossed love story set against the glitz and grit of 1980s New York City 

When Elise Perez meets Jamey Hyde on a desolate winter afternoon, fate implodes, and neither of their lives will ever be the same. Although they are next-door neighbors in New Haven, they come from different worlds. Elise grew up in public housing without a father and didn’t graduate from high school; Jamey is a junior at Yale, heir to a private investment bank fortune and beholden to high family expectations. Nevertheless, the attraction is instant, and what starts out as sexual obsession turns into something greater, stranger, and impossible to ignore.

The unlikely couple moves to Manhattan in hopes of forging an adult life together, but Jamey’s family intervenes in desperation, and the consequences of staying together are suddenly severe. And when a night out with old friends takes a shocking turn, Jamey and Elise find themselves fighting not just for their love, but also for their lives.

White Fur follows these indelible characters on their wild race through Newport mansions and downtown NYC nightspots, SoHo bars and WASP-establishment yacht clubs, through bedrooms and hospital rooms, as they explore, love, play, and suffer. Jardine Libaire combines the electricity of Less Than Zero with the timeless intensity of Romeo and Juliet in this searing, gorgeously written novel that perfectly captures the ferocity of young love.

“Each page crackles with the intensity, fury, lust, and pure insane pleasure of first love. Jardine Libaire has written a chronicle of one couple’s wild romance: its highs and lows, its delights and contractions, its beauty and its messiness. A delight to read.”—Nathan Hill, author of The Nix
 
“Brilliantly written and deeply felt, this is a love story by turns comic and tragic, but always moving. Whether her characters are on the social register or the welfare roll, Libaire is a keen observer of human nature.”—Philipp Meyer

“White Fur is glorious: dark, dirty, and sexy, lit up with yearning and raw, young love. Libaire’s sentences left me breathless. This is a Roman candle of a novel. I absolutely loved it.”—Amanda Eyre Ward, author of The Nearness of You and What Was Lost
 
“This sexy American fairytale about a star-crossed couple solidifies Jardine Libaire’s status as poet laureate of late nights and young love.”—Ada Calhoun, author of St. Marks Is Dead 


my thoughts:

NYC in the 80s - what more could I want in a book? How about a dark and twisty romance?  Well, White Fur had it all and I absolutely LOVED reading every single word.  Talk about fiction at its best!

Intense, emotional, gritty, and raw - White Fur is an engrossing story that you won't be able to put down. Its chock full of the good and bad times that Elise and Jamey experience on their roller coaster ride of a love story.   He's rich, she's not.  He's expected to act and behave in a certain way.  She's loud and open about her past and who she is.  Their attraction is white hot.  Combustible is the word to describe their relationship.  Told from dual perspectives (which I LOVE), we get the find out what Elise and Jamey are both thinking about each other, themselves, and their future.  An intoxicating read that tugs and tears at your heartstrings.  These characters are not the ones you root for, but then again why can't they be?  Flawed and broken, Elise and Jamey make for quite a romance story.  A story that I won't soon forget.

I LOVED White Fur and can't wait to read more by Libaire.  I would happily recommend this book to fans of Libaire and anyone looking for their next great read - you won't be disappointed!!

Here's the link to the TLC Book Tour schedule for: White Fur

Thank you to the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!