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Review
4.5 Deliciously “Phablous” stars
OMG, I have so much love for this book!
It’s a fantastically sharp, fun and hilarious romance with lots of heart and heaps of banter and sizzling chemistry between two beautifully flawed but incredible characters that I LOVE! And all of that love translates into a whole lot of quote whoriness, so consider yourself warned.
Bailey is 31 years old. Single, but desperately wanting to find somebody and get married, her love life has been a bit of a disaster up until this point because the men in her life struggle to deal with her OCD. Not the ‘my bookshelves are all lined up in order because I’m sooooo OCD’, but the actual disorder. Bailey has little tics and routines that get her through her day, but she’s not delicate, disabled or fragile. She’s an ordinary girl – a hilariously sarcastic, instantly likeable, quirky girl who just happens to have an issue that she is managing to the best of her ability.
When the new guy at work, Reece, catches his first glimpse of Bailey, he is instantly smitten. Sexy, cocky, and also hilariously sarcastic, Reece is all kinds of awesome. Of course Bailey has noticed him too, and a brief but unintentionally comical attempt at flirting on Reece’s part sparks a strong attraction. As they develop a sort-of friendship, Reece watches Bailey and starts to put the pieces together, but it doesn’t put him off, it only drives him on.
“I’m in love with a coworker,” Reece confessed…
“Not wise,” Camden replied, and chugged his beer.
“And I’m pretty sure she’s OCD,” Reece went on.
Camden stared at his friend. “Dude. No.”
“I find it uncomfortably sexy,” Reece admitted.
“That you like a coworker or that she’s OCD?”
“The second one. There’s something strangely erotic about it. What the hell is wrong with me?”
God, I love Reece! His candid manner and his unquestioning acceptance of Bailey just the way she is is absolutely beautiful. He doesn’t want her to change, but instead works hard to earn her trust, and his pursuit of her is gorgeous.
“You’ll run away,” I said softly.
“I’m a man. I don’t run,” Reece replied.
I smiled. “It’s made all the others run away.”
“Because they weren’t men.”
*dreamy sigh*
The two of them fall into a very natural relationship, and together, they are absolutely sensational! They tease and banter, they have fun, and they had me laughing out loud at their antics.
“Bailey . . .” he said. Like I’m some fucking kid. Like, “Bailey, I’m warning you.”
I fucking tapped that fucking pen all over my fucking desk.
He snatched it.
“What the fuck!” I yelled.
And then he scooped up all my pens and walked off.
“Motherfucker,” I spat, and went after him.
He glanced behind his shoulder and saw me coming. He quickened his pace. I marched right along, ready to catch up to him and give him an earful about the proper way to cope with my urges. He rounded the corner and disappeared into the copy room. I burst in and let fly.
“You’re not supposed to take my pens!” I shouted.
He came at me, slamming me up against the door, and kissing me hard.
“God, you’re so fucking hot,” he said into my mouth.
Well, this was confusing.
“You and your fucking pens and the tapping and . . . oh my God . . .”
They are so open and honest with each other– not only about her illness – but about how they are feeling, and the things they want from each other, and Reece makes it clear to her that he doesn’t love in her spite of her illness, he loves her because of it.
“I know I’m not the easiest person to love . . .”
“Are you kidding me ?” Reece hopped up from the desk and took hold of Bailey’s shoulders. “You’re too easy to love. That’s your real problem. You know how I know that? Because I can’t stay away from you. I just wanna be with you all the time. You’re my favorite person, Bailey. That’s not hard. That’s a cakewalk.”
And it’s not all one sided. Reece hasn’t had the easiest life, and Bailey gives to him just as much as he gives to her, and the love story is absolutely beautiful.
“I want to love you for the rest of my life. Will you let me?”
And, of course, there’s the sexy time. Holy hell, I wasn’t expecting this book to be as hot as it was, but Goddamn!!! Bailey and Reece’s sexy time is scorching hot and explicit! I was surprised at the level of kink and Reece’s domination in the bedroom, but it’s a great reflection of where they are at and what they are feeling and once again, something they are completely honest with each other about.
All that time I thought I was the one on display — open and vulnerable to my boyfriend. In reality, he was baring himself just as honestly to me, hoping I would accept the love he was so desperate to give.
And I did.
While Reece’s OCD is definitely a big part of the book, it’s handled really well, and it’s not depressing or overly deep. We certainly see the way it affects the characters, and the impact it has on Bailey’s life, but it doesn’t have the ‘woe is me’ feel to it that you might expect. In fact it’s quite the opposite, as Reece’s love for Bailey and his presence in her life makes a huge impact on her. Reece pushes her, but he also respects her. It’s a delicate mix which he manages really well.
But just when things seem to be going smoothly, Bailey’s life is thrown into turmoil and it puts the two of them, and what they have found together, to the test. And OMG – the feeeeeels!!!!! *sniff*
S. Walden has done an amazing job with these characters. They are so real, and their interactions are real – even the stupid little moments that may not have a lot of impact on the story, but just make up their everyday lives
. I highlighted entire pages of dialogue!“Bailey. I’m gonna make you live a little.”
“Hey! Now wait just a minute, buster! I do live. I recall being the surfer in this relationship. Not you.”
“Oh my God ,” Reece replied, his face lighting up. “That’s perfect! Let’s fuck on your surfboard!”
I stared at him.
“Seriously. Let’s just—” He thrust his hips forward a few times. “— just fucking go at it on your surfboard.”
“Oh my God,” I mumbled.
“What? It’s totally hot.”
And a huge shout out to the side characters! Bailey’s BFF, Erica is an absolute riot! Sarcastic, crude and with pretty much no filter, she had me constantly laughing. Reece’s friends Camden and Christopher were also great. Bailey’s Dad is beautiful, and even the rest of her family – although they needed to be smacked HARD – still brought a lot to the story.
I loved Bailey’s journey. Watching her open up to Reece and respond to him was gorgeous, and even though my heart broke seeing her hit bottom, and the impact that it had on both of them. Watching her climb her way back up to reclaim her life was fantastic!
The book was really well written but I found aspects of the writing to be a little strange at times, with the tense switching between first and third, and the POV frequently shifting. The timeline also skips a little bit, but I didn’t mind it, because we get the complete picture, and we don’t just get this couple falling in love and then leave them to their HEA – they fall in love, and the story continues for some time after that point so we get to see each little progression for them, and I loved every minute of it!
This is an absolutely delightful read! I laughed, I cried, I squeed and I swooned. It looks like it’s the first of a series, and I can’t wait to get my hands on more from this fantastic bunch of characters.
I loved it – 4.5 stars.