I See London (Internationl School #1) by Chanel Cleeton – Review

I See London (I See London #1)

by Chanel Cleeton

Release Date: February 3rd, 2014

Summary from Goodreads:

Maggie Carpenter is ready for a change— and to leave her ordinary life in South Carolina behind. But when she accepts a scholarship to the International School in London, a university attended by the privileged offspring of diplomats and world leaders, Maggie might get more than she bargained for.When Maggie meets Hugh, a twentysomething British guy, she finds herself living the life she always wanted. Suddenly she’s riding around the city in a Ferrari, wearing borrowed designer clothes and going to the hottest clubs. The only problem? Another guy, the one she can’t seem to keep her hands off of.Half French, half Lebanese, and ridiculously wealthy, Samir Khouri has made it clear he doesn’t do relationships. He’s the opposite of everything Maggie thought she wanted…and he’s everything she can’t resist. Torn between her dream guy and the boy haunting her dreams, Maggie has to fight for her own happy ending. In a city like London, you never know where you stand, and everything can change in the blink of an eye.This is a New Adult romance recommended for readers 17 and up.

 Review:

*I received an eCopy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed I See London, it was fun, flirty, and had just the right amount of drama to keep things interesting!

Maggie had her sights set on Harvard most of her life, but when she is rejected she finds herself at the International School in London. Surrounded by the rich and elite, Maggie is dazzled and a bit overwhelmed by the people and sights around her. In addition to a new city, a new set of friends, and the pressure of collegiate life, Maggie has also found herself on the radar of both Samir, a half-Lebanese playboy, and Hugh, a charming Brit with a successful bar. Now Maggie must choose who she thinks she needs and who she really wants.

 There were a lot of things I really enjoyed about I See London, for one, I enjoyed the diversity among the characters. Each character brought a little flare of their own culture to the mix which was a breath of fresh air. I felt that the characters painted a more accurate picture of not only big cities but of collegiate life, in general. Additionally, I thought that the main cast of characters (Maggie, Samir, Fleur, and Mya) were fairly well developed. Maggie wasn’t my favorite character, mainly because she was so misguided and slightly immature. I thought she handled a lot of the situations thrown at her poorly. However, she did have some redeeming qualities. Sometimes her naivete was authentic and it was interesting to see how she dealt with various situations. I really enjoyed her friendship with Mya and Fleur. Fleur  or the “Ice Queen”  was definitely one of my favorite characters when she wasn’t making poor choices spurred by her ex, Costa. She was funny, honest, and actually a really loyal person. I loved seeing her develop as a character and can’t wait to see what she gets in to in book 2!

The love-triangle between Samir, Maggie, and Hugh drove me a little batty. Mainly because I felt that while Samir was well-developed, Hugh lacked any real character development. I kind of just felt like Hugh was there to be the competition without really providing any real competition. As for Samir, he was arrogant and often rude but I think, much like Fleur, he really developed as a character. His chemistry with Maggie was palpable and I loved the moments between them. This is what  made the book for me, Samir showed moments of tenderness and also moments of being a real nuisance to Maggie’s relationship with Hugh which was always entertaining.

What I did not, however enjoy was Maggie’s rather hypocritical behavior. She continued to color herself as the “good girl” among her friends but when the time to make the honorable decision came along she completely disregarded another woman’s feelings and happiness in order to take what she wanted. I thought this was really disrespectful to not only the other girl but herself. I’m hoping book 2 will show Maggie develop into a woman that is more respectable and confident. Additionally, I have a hard time believing someone on a scholarship would be so flippant about their education. Maggie spent a lot of time partying and travelling to other cities instead of studying. Her once pristine academic record is now colored and she didn’t seem to care as much as I would think someone in her position would. While these things annoyed me about Maggie, I don’t think she’s a lost cause and hopefully will redeem herself!

Overall, I enjoyed I See London and would definitely recommend it to someone looking for a fun and quick romance. I think it was a strong debut and I look forward to London Falling!