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Review

4.5 hot and steamy stars

If you’re looking for a quick read that is hot, sexy and romantic with great chemistry and lots of feels, this is your book! Candace and Brian’s story has become a bit of a classic in its genre, and though there is some (irritatingly unnecessary) drama, it’s a great read that I have enjoyed many times.

Candace Andrews is a good girl. Raised by strict parents she has lived her life to please others, never creating waves or stepping out of line. Now, it’s her 23rd birthday and she’s finally ready to exert some independence. In an act of gleeful rebellion, Candace decides to get a tattoo, and she knows just the man to give it to her, the ex-boyfriend of her cousin, and her long-time unrequited love, Brian Ross.

Brian is one of those special book characters. One of the ones where you say his name and hundreds of romance readers simultaneously swoon. Tall, gorgeous, heavily tattooed and pierced, and a bit of a metal-head he looks like a bad boy but is actually an absolute sweetheart who apparently “fucks like a god”. What’s not to love?

From the moment Candace walks into Brian’s tattoo parlour, you can see that there is a special bond between the two of them.

“Somebody better be dead or dying.”
He froze mid-step when he saw her. It might have been wishful thinking but she could’ve sworn his face lit up.
“Or just sitting there looking pretty,” he finished with a heart-stopping grin.”

Candace and Brian have been friends for years, but with them getting all close up and personal with the tattooing there’s a new tension between them now, and as they both revel in seeing each other again after a long absence, their effortless friendship becomes something a whole lot lustier, the hotness explodes, and OH. MY. DAMN! Ridiculously sexy but still sensitive and gentle, Brian absolutely rocks Candaces’ world, and the steamy time is sizzling! Full of insane chemistry, Brian’s smooth moves, and a whole heap of dirty talk, this is one sexy, sexy little read!

“I love it when you look at me like that,” he murmured, his fingers kneading into the plump flesh of her cheeks.
“How am I looking at you?” she managed.
“Like you want to eat me alive, but you don’t have a spoon.”

“You touch yourself in front of me and I’ll pull over and have your knees crammed around your ears in a fucking nanosecond.”

But more than just their physical attraction, Brian and Candace share a deep connection. Candace loves Brian unabashedly, she wants him and she does nothing to hide that fact, and I really liked that about her. And more than that, she is desperate to break out of the confines of her life, out from underneath her parent’s shadow and really live life. She wants to know who she is, and Brian is just the man to help her explore that. And I LOVE that Brian doesn’t get scared off by that. He accepts her as she is, and is completely open and honest with her and he gently guides her through everything that she wants to explore, giving her the courage to break free for the first time in her life.

“She looked at him, watched the lights from the stage flicker over his expression, in the dark depths of his eyes. There was a whole other world in there, she thought and it was hers to explore forever if she would stop being so afraid.”

“I’d rather look back and regret something I did when I was young and crazy, than look back and regret something I never had the courage to do, and realize it’s too late”

And for his part, Brian’s always felt something ‘more’ towards Candace but it’s nothing he’s ever acted on, but he quickly finds himself falling. Things between them are easy, and their friendship quickly and effortlessly shifts into something more, and the romance is gorgeous! But Brian is everything that Candace’s family doesn’t want for her, and when they make that abundantly clear it will put them both to the test like never before.

God, this book is like sexy romantic crack. I’ve read it over and over, and every time I still get sucked into the insane chemistry between these two and the pure awesomeness that is Brian. With all of the drama going on in Candace’s personal life, she does get a little hard to handle at times. Her constant back and forth is supremely irritating and the way she tries to deal with the whole situation just makes me want to smack her! Especially when she’s unnecessarily hurting them both.

“Please don’t look at me like that,” she said.
“How am I looking?”
“Like your heart is breaking.”
“It is, sunshine.”

*sniff*

But true love and hormones conquer all, and it’s not too long before they get the happy ending that we all want for them.

This is such a great read. Short, sexy, and romantic with a bit of an edge. Yes, it’s got some stupid behaviour in it, but the sexy times and the awesomeness that is Brian help to make up for any shortcomings, and I absolutely love it!

4.5 stars.