Reviewed:
"You didn't think it was gonna be that easy, did you?" -- O-Ren Ishii
"Benjamin, nothing ever stays status quo." -- Viktoriya Isakova
No, nothing in life comes easy for Ben, the protagonist of bluedragon's "Ordinary Sex Life" series. And nothing ever stays the same.
In "An Ordinary College Sex Life 2," bluedragon's latest -- and perhaps finest -- entry in the coming-of-age series, Ben finally finds himself exactly where he wants to be, in a relationship with his life-long friend and true love, Dawn Evans, as he begins his junior year at UC Berkeley. After years of learning about love and life through experiences both thrilling and devastating, he can't help but think about the prospect of eventually settling down with the love of his life.
Of course, every stab at monogamy that Ben has ever taken has come with qualifiers. In this case, it starts with younger sister Brooke and Dawn's sister (and Ben's former girlfriend) D.J., both freshman who have come to join their siblings in the rented house in Berkeley . . . and pick up right where they left off with Ben. He finds himself immersed in a complicated relationship with a faculty member and a classmate. He has to withstand family relations and revelations both bitter and sweet. He finds himself weighing what's fair, reasonable and acceptable in his core relationship.
But there's a ticking time bomb in Ben's life . . . one he never sees coming and which has most significant consequences.
Bluedragon is at his best in AOCSL2. He starts off by dropping a bombshell that greatly alters the way long-time readers will approach this instalment. His writing is as tight and as clean as it's even been, and he winds the many storylines and themes of the sex-charged tale of young adult relationships in a seamless manner. The sex scenes are plentiful and riveting, as are those powerful scenes that chart Ben's emotional ebb and flow.
Fans of the series who missed Ben's high school "crew" in the previous book will enjoy a gathering of those favorites for an important event, and another regular character finally gets a star turn in this book. If all that isn't enough, bluedragon fans will be delighted by the appearance of a much-loved character from his universe of stories.
All of this sets the stage for the remainder of Ben's college career in "An Ordinary College Sex Life 3." It's a story that just keeps getting better and better, if not any easier for Ben.