Eve1972
Written on Dec 3, 2018
Straight up...this book had too much OW sh!t in it. It torpedoed what could have been a 5-Star read for me. The first 5% had us hearing details about the chick he hired to sell his house and her c*ck sucking skills (and goody for us, she shows up halfway through the story to be a bitch as well). Then we get a nasty scene with a different random giving the hero a BJ in a bar bathroom (gag). After that, the book got loads better, and I thought things were looking up. Oh, we still had to hear too many details about how much of a player this guy was (which continues throughout the whole figging book), but the connection between him and Peyton was building nicely. That is, until 35% when he decides to take some random out behind the bar to f-ck her. He doesn't go through with it, but the intent was there, and again I was turned off.
I. JUST. CAN'T. ANYMORE. I am SO over this type of cliché drama in books. I want to like the hero. I want to root for the hero. I want to believe in the connection between the hero and the heroine. When you shove sh!t like this in my face, you make it impossible for me to feel any connection. The book started with me thinking the hero was a nasty asshole, and even though there were glimmers of a decent guy throughout, it wasn't enough to get me past my first (second, and third...) impression(s) of him.
So yea, If you take all the cliché OW stuff out of the equation, the book was decent. Hence why it is getting 3-Stars and not a DNF. The mystery aspect (which actually turned out to be a little anticlimactic), along with the hero's secret (which I figured out very early on). Along with how much I adored Peyton kept me hooked enough to keep turning the pages. I loved the setting. The sex scenes were hot. There were some interesting secondary characters as well (especially Coda).
As I mentioned, I ADORED Peyton. She was an awesome character. Quirky. Sweet. Smart. Rutledge was a mixed bag. He had moments when I really liked him. He had the whole "Babe...do what I say" alpha speak that I LOVE, but I think I am just tired of the "damaged asshole hero that uses OW, talks to them like they are garbage on the bottom of his shoes, and then throws them away like used tissues." If they are good enough to stick your dick into then they deserve at least a smidge of respect...sigh. I wanted to love him. I tired. I really did, but I just never got there. The author's set him up for failure right from the opening of the book.
Last, the ending of this one was SOOO rushed. We don't even find out the hero's secret until 90% in, then all hell broke loose. I legit thought this was going to end on a cliffhanger! That late into a book we should be gearing up for a happily ever after. 90% is WAY too late to be dropping huge secret bombs, not to mention a ton of other sh!t that gave me whiplash. Anyway...I am sure most readers won't be bothered by the OW stuff as much as I was, and I usually love L.A Fiore's writing...so do be sure to read a few more reviews before deciding on whether to give this one a go or not. I am but one opinion in a sea of many (lol).
SIDE NOTE: Oh, and just a funny side note. The hero and heroine go to have sex for the first time and he tells her he is clean (because he doesn't feel like going out to the truck for a condom), and of course, she is all OKIE DOKIE. Nevermind the fact that he was letting some random go down on him in the bar bathroom like a week earlier without any protection. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but oral herpes can be transferred to the genitals via oral sex. So he really didn't know if he was clean or not...sigh.
