PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED AS ‘CATCH ME’

This review is for ‘Catch Me’ as it was published in 2013.  The Wilde One (published 2017) is the same story, but with a new title and cover and an additional scene from an alternate POV (Shea).

 

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Review

Slow and steady, but ultimately a beautiful story.

Brooklyn is the beautiful, rich and successful daughter of a music legend and a model. She is also emotionally damaged and battling huge demons. Told entirely from Brooklyn’s POV, there is a lot of time spent in her head, and it’s sometimes heavy reading. She’s very emotional, sometimes suffers from depression, carries a lot of sadness, rejection and guilt, and she spends a lot of time ruminating about it all. But I really liked her.

“I read somewhere that by the age of twenty-five, women are more sure of themselves, more comfortable in their own skin. Sometimes I want to find the person that wrote that and stab her in the eye with a rusty fork”

Yep, Brooklyn has issues, and while some of these are revealed early on, others are hinted at and are uncovered as the story progresses. But pretty quickly we learn that Brooklyn has lived in the shadow of her parents, and been pretty much ignored by them unless her mother is criticising her or they need her to ‘perform’. She has also had to deal with the tragic loss of a loved one, as well as people latching on to her because of her family, and therefore, justifiably, has some pretty big trust issues. So she has a very small group of people around her that she keeps close – her big brother Hendrix, cousin Nina and her rock star best friend/ex lover, Shea. And what an absolutely sensational bunch of characters!! All very different, they each bring so much to the story, and I love each of them.

When Brooklyn’s father sends her to New York to work as Director of Talent for his recording company, as much as she doesn’t want to leave her home in LA, she sees it as an opportunity for a fresh start. So she goes, moving in her brother, partying with Nina, and catching up with Shea who is in town recording an album with his friend – the very sexy Producer, Nick.

From the moment Brooklyn and Nick meet there are serious sparks and a whole lot of discrete touches and eye fuckery going on. Nick is smooth, confident and oh so sexy, and he makes it very clear that he wants Brooklyn. But while the UST between them is steaming, things take a while to progress, and it’s frustrating as all hell! I wanted to scream at them ‘JUST GET IT ON ALREADY!’.

“Have you worked with her?”
“I hope to,” he says with a smile that makes jealousy bubble up inside of me, which is so stupid…
“Professionally,” he adds, near my ear again in a way that makes my insides tingle at his voice.
“I didn’t say anything,” I protest quietly.
“You didn’t have to,” he responds just as low.

I have to say, I got a bit annoyed with all of the time spent in Brooklyn’s head while she thinks about how hot Nick is. There is some good banter between them, but it’s fleeting. And even when they do talk, there will be one line spoken, and then there is so much ruminating about how sexy he is and how he makes her feel, that by the time somebody else says something, I had to flick back to remind myself what they are responding to so that I could follow the conversation.

But thankfully, when their hook up finally comes, it felt like the entire mood of the book changes. For a start, they are absolutely gorgeous together! Brooklyn is a lot happier, there is less of her inner musings, there is more dialogue between them, and we get to see just how incredible Nick is. The man is absolutely amazing, and he is exactly what Brooklyn needs – dominant but incredibly caring and supportive of her, they have fun together, they are good for each other, and things are certainly rocking in the bedroom!

“Tell me you’re mine,” he says, his voice a strained whisper. “Tell me that this-,” he says, fully sliding his cock into me, the fullness it provides making my legs shake uncontrollably. “Is mine”

Oh yeah! There is much hotness to be had! But Brooklyn’s past still haunts her and she still has a lot to overcome, as well as new challenges to face, and I LOVE the way that Nick is there for her the whole way. He doesn’t play games, he admits how he feels, and he ‘gets’ her and is not prepared to give up on her, and the swoon is absolutely beautiful.

“I’m going to take her home with me every single day to remind her that my heart beats only for her. That my day starts with her running through my mind and ends with her sleeping in my arms.“

Definitely a worthy addition to my collection of book boyfriends!

I really like Brooklyn, too. She’s a complex character, and even though I was annoyed with her at times, you have to admire her tenacity and her determination to keep going. Yeah, she has her meltdowns, but she’s been through some really tough times and she drags herself up and is brave enough to grab what she wants, and I really like that about her.

One of the best parts about this book, for me, was watching the dynamic between the characters. They aren’t just side characters, they are incredibly important to the story, and I thought that each of them were really well developed, and I loved every moment with them.

Shea, in particular, plays a huge part in the story. A manwhoring rock star, he and Brooklyn have an incredibly history, and I love that things between them have developed to the point where they are best friends, and are each other’s rocks. They have a huge soft spot for each other, and you can see the genuine love and tenderness between them – he even calls her “my girl” *dreamy sigh*. This book follows Shea’s journey as well, and my heart broke for him a few times. But I thought the shift in dynamic when Brooklyn and Nick hook up was really well done, and I loved watching it all play out.

Brooklyn also has a fantastic relationship with her big brother, Hendrix. He is gorgeously protective of her, but he doesn’t take any shit, and he has a brilliantly sarcastic sense of humour. And then there is her cousin Nina who is rude, crude and has absolutely no filter. She’s freaking hilarious, and pretty much everything that comes out of her mouth is pure gold!

“Men are fucking stupid. That’s why they think women are complicated. Women want three things: Keep your dick in your pants. Be honest with us. Worship us. That’s it. That’s all. You motherfuckers can’t do all three without getting your brain mixed up”

There are a few surprises in this book, and my heart broke a few times. And at one point I think it actually shattered. I think I actually wailed ‘OH MY GOD!’ out loud. But never fear! There is a happy ending, and no cliffhanger – although I thought it finished a bit abruptly, and I flicked the page expecting it to go on. So I wouldn’t be surprised if there are going to be further books about some of the other characters.

There’s a lot that goes on in this story, and I really liked it. It’s emotional, it’s got a great mix of drama, (minimal) angst and light moments, with a gorgeous romance, and incredible friendships. Claire Contreras does relationships really well, and she nailed that part of it brilliantly. It’s a beautiful story, and I still can’t stop thinking about it the day after.

4 stars.