Tragic (Rook and Ronin, #1)

by J.A. Huss

[Berls]

This review appeared first at Fantasy is More Fun.

I can easily see why this is a favorite for Hussies and non-Hussies alike - Rook and Ronin are great characters and the scenarios they are thrown into are quite great reading. I do think you have to be ready to set aside realistic expectations because it's just not at all believable to me. From how Rook ends up in this job to how the shoots go, it just didn't seem real at all. I think it's a combination of having watched lots of America's Next Top Model (I know, it's a very different kind of modeling, but still) to just my own expectations (right or not), but I just couldn't like at it as even slightly realistic. Also, am I the only one who was thinking that all that hair washing had to be drying her hair out horribly? LOL!

Okay, so the fact that it's extremely unbelievable is my one and only criticism and here's the kiker- once I realized it was THAT KIND of story, I just went with it and had a blast. I quickly stopped caring that this was way too easy or unreal, etc. and I just got lost in loving what was happening. It's like an R rated fairy tale is all! And who doesn't love a good fairy tale?

I loved Rook the most - she's our Cinderella basically - I loved her determination and struggle to hold on to herself. Learning her back story in bits and pieces was really great - and her backstory is one of the most believable parts of Tragic by the way. Despite the unrealistic scneario - Rook was VERY real. I laughed at how the clawfoot tub that seemed awesome at first quickly became a pain in the ass- because they really are pretty but annoying. Little details and Rook's reaction to them made this a great read.

Not to forget, of course, Ronin and her chemistry with him. Yeah - there's some serious sparkage there. Like Rook, I was a bit turned off by his bossiness and possessiveness, part of his job or for her own good or not. But I enjoyed getting to know him and the chemistry between him and Rook was fantastic. All the sexiness was great, as can be expected from J.A. Huss of course :)

I'm super super excited to continue the series and if I didn't have reading commitments I probably would have started Manic right away. But I suspect I'll be getting to it very VERY soon!