Two for Tripping – Lasairiona E. McMaster

Snow Pirates
5

Awkward. Adrift. Alone. Fresh out of college, Will Morrison finds himself at a loss. Graduating top of his class was all well and good, but with no idea of what to do next, it’s all meaningless, and his recent mistakes have put him on tenuous ground with his best friend and sister. His championship hockey teammates are moving on without him, he has too many choices for what to do next, and no clue what makes his heart sing… Until a one night stand with a fiery red-head turns his world upside down. Quinn’s everything he’s not: outgoing, brave and driven. Being with her shines a light on his dark side. But following the road to redemption means more than making amends with friends and family. Can he forgive himself, and accept that he doesn’t need to know the full path to take the first step? Or will his inability to love himself mean losing her, too?

This book contains:

References to and descriptions of statutory rape/assault and their after effects
Minor discussion on the effect of teen abortions
Slut shaming (calling out and not allowing this behaviour to continue).

Will is the older brother of Molly and best from of Finn from Two for Roughing, and after that book, it’s hard to think about how we could possibly want to root for Will to get his own happily ever after. If you haven’t read that one, you really need to read it before jumping into this one otherwise you won’t get the full emotional impact Lasairiona gives us in this roller coaster.

Quin is a character that’s been referenced in previous books, but not someone we really know anything about just yet. While we find out that she’s confident and knows what she wants out of life, she’s also highly conflicted in ways that don’t quite make sense until we get to know her better.

Quin saves Will from random girls hitting on him while at her weekly karaoke session, and unintentionally falls into “bed” with him. The guy she’s had a crush on for a few months but somehow lost his number after he gave it to her and so thought he was gone for good.

Only problem is, Will goes on to slut shame her and since it’s not his first offence, things seem pretty dicey until we get to know Will better. As Quin can’t keep herself away from Will, we inevitably learn more about him and somehow we go from hating his guts in Two for Roughing, to somehow rooting for him, disbelief at what he’s gone through and a sincere hatred for an unexpected character.

I really enjoyed this, despite not wanting to. While I was warned from Lasairiona’s emails that we’d like Will by the end of this book, I was sceptical coz I just didn’t think anything could make up for how Will had behaved previously. And yet, she pulled it off!

We also got such a cute little throw back to Austin which made my heart sing just a little. I loved his character from Two for Boarding (the previous book), so reading him make the appearance he did made me happy. Even if it was only for that very short moment in time!

But you should also be prepared for either tissues or a punching bag to get out all the emotions you’ll feel by the end. If you don’t have those handy, I don’t recommend going past like… the first third of the book?

It’s an amazing read, breaking stereotypes while also highlighting the very real and scary side of society and what humans can be capable of. I also highly recommend reading Lasairiona’s acknowledgement at the end to understand why Will’s character was so important to her.