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Review
4 stars!
I really enjoyed this book! Funny, sexy, sweet, and more than a little bit dirty, I fell in love with the characters and loved their back and forth, and the sizzling chemistry that became something so much more than they expected.
“You’re one of the most annoying things that’s ever happened to me.”
Charlotte has just moved from a comfortable life into a run-down apartment complex in a shitty part of town. Her twin sister is trying to escape from her dangerous boyfriend, so Charlotte thought nothing of selling her condo and giving all of her money to her twin so that she can make her escape. Now, she’s left with practically nothing and is desperately trying to rebuild.
The world and its humans dented me and chipped my paint, and tore off a layer of my skin and made me feel…damaged.
And to make her situation worse, her new neighbour is a total jerk. He may be gorgeous, totally ripped and turn her on like nothing ever has before, but he’s aggressive, dismissive, blunt and tactless and their few interactions have been extremely unpleasant.
His eyes skated across my body, taking in my paint-splattered overalls and the hot pink tank top I wore underneath it.
He couldn’t see that my tank top had Big Bird on it. But he looked at me like he knew.
I love Charlotte! She’s an introvert, a bit of recluse, and she has some insecurities, but despite all that she has been through and continues to endure, she’s so funny! She knows she’s a bit quirky, but she owns it, and I laughed out loud at her inner monologue.
He carried himself like a guy who lived in his whole body. Like every molecule was under his control. I lived in exactly 12% of my body. I wasn’t even sure what my hair was doing.
Jesse is a complex character. He’s an underground fighter with a shady past and questionable family ties and he doesn’t connect to anybody or anything. He lives his life on his own terms, never letting anybody get close. But there’s something about Charlotte – she is enticingly soft but with a smart mouth, and that appeals to him, and when circumstances keep pushing them together, he starts to relax towards her as she works her way under his skin and things start to change.
“Don’t be nice. It’s confusing. It’s easier when you’re an asshole.”
“Easier not to like me?”
“Oh no, not liking you is pretty easy.”
“Easier not to want to fuck me, then.”
But the real change comes late one night when Charlotte goes to Jesse’s apartment to confront him over making too much noise, and she discovers that in addition to being a total jerk, he’s also a kinky bastard. And she’s even more surprised to discover that she likes it. Jesse can see that she wants him, and her shyness actually makes him want her more and with just a little push to her boundaries, he knows that he can make her his.
“I’ve never…” she whispered as I kissed her neck. Her ear. The skin under her chin. She really was soft all over. “This isn’t like me.”
I leaned back. Looked deep into her startled and wary blue eyes.
“You looking for permission to fuck the way you like?” I asked. “It’s yours.”
Holy hot damn, this book is all kinds of steamy. Clearly, Jesse is into the kink, and he opens Charlotte’s eyes to new things and she starts to discover a completely new side of herself – a side that she’s only too eager to explore. And with Jesse by her, she finds the courage to become the brave, bold, confident woman that she never knew was there.
With Jesse I lived in a hundred percent of my body. Just like him. I felt him in every inch of my skin. I felt him inside my skin. He was in my skin and bones.
I loved watching Charlotte and Jesse’s love story develop. It starts off as a major case of lust but grows into so much more. After their antagonistic beginning, each grin, each friendly word, and each moment of sweetness is so meaningful, and I loved watching them both open up to each other and change as they finally become comfortable enough to let somebody in. But they are both keeping secrets – secrets that have the potential to blow apart everything that they have found together.
I really enjoyed this book. Like other books by this author, it’s raw, gritty and intense with a strong love story and a touch of angst that is well-done and never overwhelms the story. But the surprise for me, that I absolutely loved, was the humour in this book. I wasn’t expecting it, but there were several moments that had me laughing out loud at Charlotte and her narration. She completely stole my heart with her quirks and the thoughts that run through her head. My favourite moment…
Charlotte and Jesse go on an intense journey together and I was captivated through all of it. From the chemistry-filled hostility to smutty banter, to sizzling sexy time that becomes heartfelt emotion, I loved the way their story unfolded.
“I want to be falling in love with you for the rest of my life.”
Loved this one, and I’m looking forward to the follow on book featuring two of the side characters that is set up really nicely.
4 stars.
An Advanced Reader Copy was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Excerpt
Deep breath, Charlotte, I told myself. Deep breath.
He was out a second later, standing in the doorway of my bedroom, thick and square. His damp shirt clung to every muscle. And he had…he had a lot of muscles. Thick round knobs of them. Lean, hard planes of them. He was made of muscles.
He’d been running, or working out or something. He wore running shoes and athletic shorts that were frayed in the same well-used way his shirt was. White earbuds had been tucked into the waistband of his shorts, and dangled down by his…well. Shorts.
His black hair was buzzcut short, down practically to his scalp. And his face, now that the flush was gone and the sweat had slowed down, looked like it had recently taken a beating. His eye was dark and his lip had a cut. His nose looked like it had been broken a few times.
He carried himself like a guy who lived in his whole body. Like every molecule was under his control. I lived in exactly 12% of my body. I wasn’t even sure what my hair was doing.
“You done?” he asked.
“Moving?”
“Staring.”
All the blood in my body roared to my face. My stomach curled into a ball like a wounded hedgehog trying to protect itself from further harm.
“Thank you,” I said, staring intently at the edge of a tile in my kitchen. It was chipped, the white enamel long gone. “That was nice of you to help.”
“No big deal.” He stepped into the living room and I went back against the wall, giving him a wide, wide berth. Wanting to keep as much distance between us as I could.
He stopped. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
“You think I’m going to hurt you?”
“I’m not sure what you’re going to do.”
He made a grunting noise and stood there like he was waiting for me to look at him, but I did not. I burned under his gaze and fussed with my sheet, wishing Izzy was set up so I could just work, instead of… this.
Instead of being human with humans.
And then he was gone. Leaving behind the smell of man. And sweat. And it was not a bad smell. It was just different, and it did not belong in my space.
Bad Boy Romance
