Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marriage. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

The Object of Your Affections by Falguni Kothari

* * * * *

Two best friends rewrite the rules of friendship, love and family…and change everything they thought they knew about motherhood

Paris Kahn Fraser has it all—a successful career as an assistant district attorney, a beautiful home in New York City, and a handsome, passionate husband who chose her over having a family of his own. Neal’s dream of fatherhood might have been the only shadow in their otherwise happy life…until Paris’s best friend comes to town.

Naira Dalmia never thought she’d be a widow before thirty. Left reeling in the aftermath of her husband’s death, all she wants is to start over. She trades Mumbai for New York, and rigid family expectations for the open acceptance of her best friend. After all, there isn’t anything she and Paris wouldn’t do for each other.

But when Paris asks Naira to be their surrogate, they’ll learn if their friendship has what it takes to defy society, their families and even their own biology as these two best friends embark on a journey that will change their lives forever.

Wry, daring and utterly absorbing, The Object of Your Affections is an unforgettable story about two women challenging the norms…and the magic that happens when we choose to forge our own path.
 


Source: audiobook borrowed from Hoopla


Paris and Naira couldn't be more different from each other and I spent almost the entire time wondering how these two could be friends. Paris is a dominant character with an iron will and one track mind that plows through anything in her way, and that can include people sometimes. She's so hardcore and ambitious you'd think she has a stone heart. The only person who can turn her to mush (sort of) is her husband, Neal. Neal is the only other thing in her life that consumes her besides her career. She's so in love with him that sometimes it feels like it borders on obsession. Naira, on the other hand is softer, more approachable. She's that person who'll put others ahead of herself and never want to impose on anyone even if she's in need of help. Floundering after her husband's death, she returns to New York hoping to reunite with Paris and have some of Paris' no-nonsense attitude give her a kick in the behind to straighten up her life. When Paris broaches the idea of being a surrogate for her and Neal ... suffice it to say it's not what Naira had expected.

The book incites so many feelings. I had the most confusing time with Paris. One moment I admired her strength and the next I'd get so annoyed about her ambivalence towards motherhood. She doesn't want to be a mother, or carry a child but wants to give this to Neal knowing he truly wants children. She sees it as a compromise yet she complained the entire time or would be jealous that it was taking attention away from her. So is it a compromise if it's done begrudgingly? That's what I kept asking myself. Yet as much as she irritated me in those moments I did find her backstory interesting which goes a long way in explaining what made Paris who she is today. And she is protective of the people she loves, including Naira whose backstory is equally interesting but also tragic. She went through her own tumultuous ordeal during the time that she and Paris were estranged. Her husband died amidst speculation about his business dealings and finances and now Naira carries that burden. I was desperate for her to confide in Paris sooner rather than later but though Naira is quieter and more introspective, she refuses to have other people fix her problems. Their friendship is fascinating and confounding. Throw in Neal and it's seriously nuts. He's such a saint about things that half the time I couldn't believe he was real. 

I long to have a serious discussion with someone about this novel, to dissect everything and honestly, laugh and cry over how much it has affected me. Paris is truly one of the most complex characters I've come across and I think that's one of the reasons why this novel is a hit with me because she challenged my views. And the Paris-Neal-Naira triangle tested my concept of a family - what makes a family, how people become a family, how they create a family that works for them. 

By the way, I also have to give a huge shout out to the narrators. Between the excellent writing and the narrating there are certain scenes that are so vivid in my mind, one of them towards the end of the story: a lively and penultimate scene that comes to a screeching halt. I froze in that moment along with the characters and that scene has stuck ever since. Kothari has delivered a profoundly authentic story here. This trio defies tradition and that's what makes The Object of Your Affections a compelling, addictive read. 


~ Bel

Friday, May 31, 2019

The Bride Test (The Kiss Quotient #2) by Helen Hoang

* * * * 1/4



Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions—like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better—that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.

As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working…but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.

With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.
 


Source: advance e-galley provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review


I, like so many readers in Romancelandia, fell so hard for The Kiss Quotient. It was one of the sweetest, sexiest and most tender novels from last year. With such high praise, The Bride Test has a lot to live up to.

First off, The Bride Test has a different feel. Where Stella wanted to experience romance in The Kiss Quotient, there's a lack of it in The Bride Test, at least initially. That's because Esme has been foisted upon Khai as a potential bride by his worried and well-meaning mother. Esme agrees to leave Vietnam for the States where she's expected to woo him and if all goes well, the family will be planning a wedding by summer's end. It's a tall order to expect of someone who's never met the potential groom-to-be and who also happens to have no interest whatsoever in getting hitched. Khai has autism which impacts his interpersonal skills so he doesn't get social cues or read people the same way someone who isn't on the autism spectrum would. The only person with whom he ever got on with and who understood him was his cousin. Khai's convinced himself that he's this dark, broken person unworthy of anything good. So he'd rather stick to his routine and be content with the way things are.

I'm a bit confused by Esme. She's sweet and stronger than I could've imagined. You'd have to be if you're going to uproot yourself for a mad plan like this. But she has a lot at stake back home so she can't turn down the offer Khai's mom puts in front of her. She doesn't understand Khai's behaviour and is unaware of his condition. All she can think to do is try to make his very bland bachelor lifestyle less bachelor-y and more home-y. She tries to introduce a little bit of home by introducing traditional Vietnamese things she likes in hopes that they'll catch his attention. I certainly was not expecting some of the other stuff she winds up doing such as assimilating herself into American culture and going to school. This is what I mean about how strong she is. She has no family here and misses those she left behind, but she's making the most while she's in America. And for all his complaining about her, Khai does get used to having her around and wouldn't you know, starts developing feelings though they feel pretty alien to him. Esme not only baffles him and tests him, she's also patient with him which is something that he's not accustomed to.

The Bride Test is like continuing education for me about autism, at least through the lens of Khai's character. Once again, simple interactions that we take for granted are significant for him. As Khai finds his orderly life changing, he's forced to learn to interact in ways he's never had to before. I felt as if I was also learning something new from a different perspective as well. This is what I love so much about Hoang's writing - that she takes these seemingly banal moments and brings deeper meaning to them. There's a scene where Esme gently touches Khai and his reaction is of pain. He can't tolerate soft touches and when he explains what that sensation feels like to her, he brings context to it and with that empathy.

I admire Helen Hoang's honesty in writing about how autism affects daily interactions. Any time an author can break down and illustrate human behaviour into different parts to make us see it in fresh light, is an accomplishment worthy of all the praise. I am so grateful to be able to read a romance that comes with its own set of unique circumstances. It's a bit of a slowburn that gradually gains traction as they start to click. The Bride Test is warm, funny, empowering and ultimately, a gem of a book. 

~ Bel


Tuesday, July 17, 2018

All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover

* * * * 1/2

Colleen Hoover delivers a tour de force novel about a troubled marriage and the one old forgotten promise that might be able to save it.

Quinn and Graham’s perfect love is threatened by their imperfect marriage. The memories, mistakes, and secrets that they have built up over the years are now tearing them apart. The one thing that could save them might also be the very thing that pushes their marriage beyond the point of repair.

All Your Perfects is a profound novel about a damaged couple whose potential future hinges on promises made in the past. This is a heartbreaking page-turner that asks: Can a resounding love with a perfect beginning survive a lifetime between two imperfect people?


Source: advance e-galley provided in exchange for an honest review

If you've read any of Hoover's previous books then you're no stranger to her emotionally-charged stories. All Your Perfects is no exception as we watch a couple at the blissful start of their relationship and at their worst when their marriage is failing. Welcome to Hoover's World, folks! She'll reel you in and then rip your heart out, shred it and even run over it for good measure. I LOVE HER!

Quinn and Graham meet on the worst day of their lives - finding out their significant others are cheating on them with each other. They walk away from that disastrous day but run into each other again a few months down the road. They begin this bizarre courtship that works for them and honestly, it's freaking cute. Those are the happy parts. Hoover alternates their before and after stories, and it's dysfunction and devastation in the after. Disconnected, unaffectionate and distant - this part was not pleasant to read and frankly made me frightened for where things were headed. 

All marriages have their ups and downs and sometimes it's hard to love in our worst possible moments. The story is told entirely from Quinn's point of view which for me was a challenge because you're stuck in her head where she's a depressed, closed off from her husband. I desperately wanted to feel things from Graham's point of view as well but much like Quinn, I was isolated from him. The big question in All Your Perfects is can you love someone when they're different from the person you fell in love with in the first place? A lot of their marital troubles stem from Quinn's insecurities and she is exceptionally hard on herself. There are possible triggers and to avoid giving away the plot I've added them to the labels of this post. I will say that this story did feel more personal to me as I have experienced a little of what Quinn was experiencing though not to that extent. But I understood where she was coming from and it is a hard place and once you go down that rabbit hole, you're kind of stuck there. 

I like Colleen Hoover because she challenges me. She doesn't always assure me that everyone will get their HEA, heck sometimes she even leaves me hanging, but I love that I don't know what to expect from her. Sure, my heart might get wrung out but I want those feels and I'm always guaranteed that with her. The only thing holding me back from giving it 5 stars is that I would've liked a small glimpse of Graham's POV throughout their unhappy period, and I realize that's just my personal preference. Otherwise, All Your Perfects is real and honest, and once again Hoover captures perfectly the commitments we take on and the complexities of love.

~ Bel


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


COLLEEN HOOVER is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Slammed, Point of Retreat, This Girl, Hopeless, Losing Hope, Finding Cinderella, Maybe Someday, Maybe Not, Ugly Love, Confess, November 9, It Ends with Us, and Without Merit. Colleen has won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance three times—for Confess in 2015, It Ends with Us in 2016, andWithout Merit in 2017. Confess was adapted into a seven-episode online series. In 2015, Colleen and her family founded The Bookworm Box, a bookstore and monthly subscription service offering signed novels donated by authors. All profits are given to various charities each month to help those in need. Colleen lives in Texas with her husband and their three boys. Visit ColleenHoover.com. 


FIND COLLEEN ONLINE:

Website   I   Facebook   I   Twitter   I   Instagram 



Buy Links:

Amazon   I   Barnes & Noble   I   Books-a-Million   I   IndieBound





THE ALL YOUR PERFECTS tour

07/17: Denver, CO
07:00 PM
TATTERED COVER BOOKSTORE

07/23: Portland, OR
07:00 PM
POWELL'S BOOKS
Call Store for details: 503-228-4651 or pre-order

07/24: Seattle, WA
07:00 PM
THIRD PLACE BOOKS

07/25: San Francisco, CA
07:00 PM
BOOK PASSAGE

07/26: San Diego, CA
07:30 PM
WARWICK'S

07/27: Phoenix, AZ
07:00 PM
CHANGING HANDS BOOKSTORE


07/28: Los Angeles, CA
04:00 PM
THE RIPPED BODICE

07/29: Dallas, TX
06:00 PM
HALF PRICE BOOKS

08/02: Atlanta, GA
07:00 PM
EAGLE EYE BOOKS

08/03: Asheville, NC
06:00 PM
MALAPROP'S BOOKSTORE/CAFE

08/04: Cincinnati, OH
05:00 PM
JOSEPH-BETH BOOKSELLERS

08/05: Chicago, IL
03:00 PM
ANDERSON'S BOOKSHOP

08/06: Detroit, MI
06:30 PM
SCHULER BOOKS & MUSIC, Okemos

08/07: Minneapolis, MN
07:00 PM
BARNES AND NOBLE/Edina
Call for more details: 952-920-2124


08/08: Kansas City, KS
07:00 PM
RAINY DAY BOOKS

08/09: Austin, TX
07:00 PM
BOOK PEOPLE

09/17: New York, NY (just added!)
07:00 PM
THE STRAND BOOKSTORE

Monday, October 16, 2017

I Don't Regret You by Jodie Larson

* * * 1/2



Regrets.

We all have them.

Like the Aqua Net hairstyles back in the 80's, the 90's grunge fad, or the person you lost your virginity to as a teen because you were "totally in love".

I have a few of my own. Specifically, marrying my rebound guy but staying married because I was too weak to fight for my own happiness.

He took me down and kept me there for far too long.

I'm done. Done living with regrets and done not pursuing what makes me happy.

Then you came along and showed me that I was worth more than who I had become.

You are not my regret.



Jocelyn (Joss) is stuck in a loveless marriage with her emotionally abusive husband, Mike. She had long ago given up on the ideal life she hoped for and is now simply living day to day trying to maintain a semblance of normalcy for her two children, and does this with no support system. She's a hostage to her husband's mood swings, parents live far away and she's always felt like an outcast since she doesn't have any friends in town. Joss has just grown to accept the status quo until the day she witnesses her husband lash out at the kids. That's all the convincing she needs to kick him out and start anew. Taking a second job, she works herself to the bone but the strangest thing is happening: folks are slowly coming forward offering her help and most importantly the kindness that she's been missing all these years. One of them is Henry, another divorcee, who hires Joss at his restaurant. He's always been the sole person in town who ever acknowledged her and offered a smile or a quick kind word here and there but kept his distance because she was married. He makes it clear that he's there for her if she ever needs anything. And so begins a friends-to-lovers journey that is second only to Joss' emergence as a woman in her own right.

This is an emotionally-charged read but any story about someone coming out of an abusive relationship would be. I was encouraged at least to see Joss take her life back, keeping her head up despite setbacks or tiredness. Her biggest lesson through it all is learning how to accept help graciously, something she's been reluctant to do until now. The abuse she suffers might be a trigger for some people and what I can say is that Larson shows us a woman who rises up, finds her people and gives love a second chance. Joss gets her happily ever after after all.

~ Bel


Friday, August 12, 2016

Results May Vary by Bethany Chase

* * * * 


She never saw it coming. Without even a shiver of suspicion to warn her, Caroline Hammond discovers that her husband is having an affair with a man—a revelation that forces her to question their entire history together, from their early days as high school sweethearts through their ten years as a happily married couple. In her now upside-down world, Caroline begins envisioning her life without the relationship that has defined it: the loneliness of being an “I” instead of a “we”; the rekindled yet tenuous closeness with her younger sister; and the unexpected—and potentially disastrous—attraction she can’t get off her mind. Caroline always thought she knew her own love story, but as her husband’s other secrets emerge, she must decide whether that story’s ending will mean forgiving the man she’s loved for half her life, or facing her future without him.

Source: advance e-galley provided by Ballantine Books in exchange for an honest review


Infidelity is not a pleasant matter, period. Even to read about it can make my skin crawl. I've definitely had strong opinions about it in the past, being of the mind that once that trust has been broken then there's nothing left to salvage. 

What Results May Vary has shown me is that it's not as simple as that. In Caroline's case, there's one moment when everything is perfect bliss and then the very next, it's wrecked. Even though she is blindsided and humiliated by her husband's betrayal, she's not entirely convinced that she should give up on her marriage. She spends her energy combing through their history, desperate for signs or clues that she missed. Her approach is analytical, like a CSI investigator, gathering the broken pieces to put together a new picture of her husband who is now a stranger to her. Caroline experiences everything from anger to disappointment to hurt and every other emotion in between. She surprised me with perspectives to ponder on and I must admit that this book was a learning curve for me.

I've been taken with Bethany Chase since her dazzling debut from last year, The One That Got Away. I just loved that she wrote about a smart, talented and ambitious heroine. I feel that she continues that theme here though she's giving us a heroine with a broken heart who is rebuilding herself from the debris. I liked the pace at which the story developed as it gave me a proper sense of the time that elapsed between the initial fallout and her eventual renaissance. She also has a core group of friends including her sister, who offer her comfort, support and gives her a little push when she needs it. They add substance to Caroline's narrative so it doesn't seem like she's in a vacuum. I also like the way Caroline marks key moments in her life through visuals. For example, the day that she learns of her husband's unfaithfulness, she describes how earlier in the day when the sun was at a certain point in the sky, her life was perfect and the world was the way she knew it. Hours later when the sun was at a different point in the sky, her world had changed. Marking that shift in such a way is so like something I'd do, how I'd think. It was kind of cool to see that put to words so poetically.

I adore Results May Vary and if you're looking to champion someone, Caroline is a brilliant character to root for. I think there's something in her that's in all of us; that resilience that we don't realize we have until we're forced to confront the worst imaginable. And sometimes remaking ourselves anew is the best thing that can happen to us but we'll only appreciate that after we've made it through that heartbreak.

~ Bel




Thursday, May 5, 2016

Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman

* * * *

From the bestselling author of A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, a heartwarming and hilarious story of a reluctant outsider who transforms a tiny village and a woman who finds love and second chances in the unlikeliest of places.

Britt-Marie can’t stand mess. She eats dinner at precisely the right time and starts her day at six in the morning because only lunatics wake up later than that. And she is not passive-aggressive. Not in the least. It's just that sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms, which is certainly not her intention.

But at sixty-three, Britt-Marie has had enough. She finally walks out on her loveless forty-year marriage and finds a job in the only place she can: Borg, a small, derelict town devastated by the financial crisis. For the fastidious Britt-Marie, this new world of noisy children, muddy floors, and a roommate who is a rat (literally), is a hard adjustment.

As for the citizens of Borg, with everything that they know crumbling around them, the only thing that they have left to hold onto is something Britt-Marie absolutely loathes: their love of soccer. When the village’s youth team becomes desperate for a coach, they set their sights on her. She’s the least likely candidate, but their need is obvious and there is no one else to do it.


Fredrik Backman has a gift for writing about quirky people in unusual situations thereby creating some memorable stories. He did it with AMan Called Ove (one of my Top 10 of 2015) and he’s done it here again. This time it’s about Britt-Marie, a woman in her early sixties who walks out on a rather dissatisfying marriage. In this new world, an inexperienced Britt-Marie has to find a proper job. The question is if she can find one that bends to her liking. See, she’s rather fastidious in her opinion that things have to be in a certain order or done a certain way. Anything otherwise would be considered “uncivilized”. For example, the cutlery drawer needs to be arranged as such: forks, knives, spoons. Or dinner should be eaten at 6 o’clock, no later and no earlier. Her adherence to social etiquette can test one’s patience but there’s just something so loveable about her that you wind up going with it.

Britt-Marie ends up accepting a temp position at a rec center in the small, run down town of Borg that’s seen better days. The main trucking business left, leaving behind many business to close down and houses to go up for sale. All that's left are the regulars who frequent the local convenience store that sees plenty of bizarre action, and the soccer-loving inhabitants, including some stubborn but well-meaning kids who have ambitions of playing in the cup but desperately in need of a coach to lead them. These are the people who will change her life.

At the heart of the story is Britt-Marie’s eagerness to find herself again. She had gotten used to setting aside her dreams in order to help her loved ones fulfill theirs. As the days go by in Borg, she pinpoints the pivotal moments in her life that have led her here. What she ultimately wants is to matter. After years of being made to feel inadequate she simply wants to feel that someone actually cares about her, that someone notices whether she’s in a room or not. In this town, with people equally as quirky as she is, where their outlook on life is associated with the soccer team they root for, she’s challenged to step out of her comfort zone and accept that things aren’t always black or white, and that there’s a place for creativity and imagination. The results are surprising and hilarious.

Once again, Backman succeeds at making seemingly mundane things fascinating. In Britt-Marie, he’s created a character who despite her social awkwardness manages to not only charm a small town but also the reader. In Borg, he has created a community populated by the most intriguing of personalities. The story doesn't end the way I thought it would but I definitely like the direction. Britt-Marie is the heroine of her own life and I dare say that she's a late-blooming feminist. There’s a lot to be admired about her. In fact, as an ode to her, I even made sure to arrange my cutlery drawer to her approval - forks, knives, spoons - because I am civilized like that. I highly recommend this read!

~ Bel

AUTHOR NEWS!!!

Fredrik Backman is undertaking his first US Book Tour! Definitely check out his books and go see him if he's coming to a bookstore near you! The tour dates are available on his website or click this link: http://www.fredrikbackmanbooks.com/news-events.html


Friday, October 30, 2015

Valentine (Brotherhood of Fallen Angels #1) by Heather Grothaus

* * *

Introducing the Brotherhood of Fallen Angels—an epic new series set in the medieval Holy Land, where four heroic Crusaders find themselves caught in the crosshairs of revenge, devotion—and love…

He’s a man of passion and principle. But would he kill for his convictions? That’s the question that has Valentine Alesander fighting for his innocence. He’s been accused, along with three other Brothers, of orchestrating the horrific siege at the Christian fortification of Chastellet. Could this fatefully-named Crusader be a lover, a fighter, and a traitor? One woman from his past is about to find out.

Gorgeous, free-spirited Lady Mary Beckham has escaped her guardians in England to travel across the world—and find the notorious Valentine. Years ago, she was promised to him…and now she wants out of their marriage contract. Mary wants to wed another and requires Valentine’s blessing—until she discovers they share a tempestuous attraction. But with a vengeful band of sworn enemies at Valentine’s heels, is desire worth the risk of losing…everything?


I have a deep fondness for history but unfortunately, I don’t get to read too much of it because for me, it requires concentration and taking notes and research. Yes, folks, I am THAT particular when I read a history book. Coming across TheBrotherhood of Fallen Angels series allows me to dip my toes into a time period and region that I have always been fascinated about but without my usual seriousness.

Lady Mary Beckham is all that's left of her parents' legacy and they died during her infancy. She has been lovingly raised by her governess. She passes her days at her estate by dreaming up lives for the passerby outside her window. Now that she has come of age, she is to marry. Months before her nuptials she comes to learn that she has already been betrothed and will need to have that contract voided in order to marry her love. However, the man she was promised to is currently a criminal, evading his family and other parties who have much to gain from his demise. Mary has to go find him, bring him back to England so they can null their marriage contract. This is a risky undertaking on its own being that Mary has never traveled much beyond her village, let alone England.

With a price on his head, Valentine has had little choice but to go into hiding these past years as many believe him responsible for the siege and downfall of Chasellet where many lives were lost. Valentine wants to prove his innocence and bring the real traitors to justice but he has to be cautious. There’s more at stake that just his name. While in hiding, he has befriended a small circle of friends who know his story. Their tight bond is one of the few things in the world, besides his own instincts that he can trust.

I delighted in Mary and Valentine’s chemistry. When they first meet, Valentine is very much the charming, flirty rogue who enjoys a beautiful woman. He’s taken in by Mary's beauty and innocence. After spending time with her, he’s impressed by her courage and sass. Mary is not so easily dazzled by this Crusader’s rugged looks and womanizing ways, though she catches glimpses of the real him. The Valentine that cares about his family and friends, the one who would lay down his life for those he loves. Their high-stakes escapades unite them, forging a deep connection between them. I enjoyed how Grothaus described their sexual tension; how much of it was left to my imagination. Sometimes that’s all that’s needed.

Grothaus gave me all my loves in one: adventure, romance and intrigue, against one of the most fascinating historical backdrops. Valentine as the hero is educated, resourceful, shrewd, passionate and strong. He’s a man’s man. Mary is no dainty, helpless thing though. She’s equally smart and resourceful, developing a flare for adventure. I got exactly what I wanted and that was to be whisked away to some other time and place. Now I cannot wait to read, Adrian next. I mean, have you seen these covers?

~ Bel



Thursday, July 4, 2013

Lick (Stage Dive #1) by Kylie Scott

* * * * 


(NA - mature content, recommended for readers 18 yrs+)




Waking up in Vegas was never meant to be like this.

Evelyn Thomas’s plans for celebrating her twenty-first birthday in Las Vegas were big. Huge. But she sure as hell never meant to wake up on the bathroom floor with a hangover to rival the black plague, a very attractive half-naked tattooed man, and a diamond on her finger large enough to scare King Kong. Now if she could just remember how it all happened.

One thing is for certain, being married to rock and roll’s favorite son is sure to be a wild ride.


I have a thing or a type – bad boys with dark hair, tattoos, brilliant taste in music, fast cars and motorcycles. The tattoo thing is a recent development. So when I happened upon Lick and saw the rather stunning cover, well let’s just say that I got slightly giddy and tore through the entire book within a day. (And seriously, how could I even pass up a book with a title like that?) To say I’m completely enamored with it is an understatement. 

When an utterly confused and hung over Evelyn wakes up to find out that she has somehow married a guy she barely knows, her life is turned upside down and inside out.  And in her less than stellar state she doesn’t recognize that she’s married to none other than David Ferris, rock god, songwriter and guitarist for the hottest band on the planet, Stage Dive. It's a rocky start to the nuptials when within the first few pages she wakes up married, pukes, requests a divorce and then pukes some more when she discovers that she’s got some ink too in a rather embarrassing spot. Yep, I was hooked.

The fun really begins when Ev goes out to LA to meet with David’s lawyers to hammer out details of the divorce/annulment. She gets a quick introduction to his crazy lifestyle and even crazier cohorts. When things get hairy with the paparazzi they escape to his beach house where they agree to take the weekend get to know each other. David encourages her to remember the night they met and what ensued before they tied the knot. The more they feel around each other, the more complicated it gets. Yet it just feels so inexplicably right.

While some details may seem a little out there, they don’t take away from how enjoyable this story is. I like Ev and David equally. The sparks fly constantly between them and they're so darn good together. They manage to annoy and intrigue each other. It’s obvious that even if she was a drunken mess when they met that something important happened between them.  And then there's the fact that they're going about their relationship in reverse which makes things even more perplexing and uneasy. There are hurdles in their way such as their past, trust issues and what their personal plans for the future are. But David attempts to put Ev's mind at ease when he talks about some new songs he's written since they've been together: 

"They're love songs, baby.  Love isn't always smooth or straightforward. It can be messy and painful. Doesn't mean it isn't the most incredible thing that can ever happen to you. Doesn't mean I'm not crazy about you."

Suffice it to say that each of them has had their eyes opened as a result of this. Both of them surprised me in their own way with the direction they go in.

Lick is fun and sexy! David and Ev's intimate moments are a thrilling mix of tender and hot! And it also boasts some very funny exchanges courtesy of Mal, who’s the band's drummer. I swear I couldn't bear to put it down. I'm loving this book so much that I’m reading it again already. And Ms. Scott, how soon can we expect the next installment?


~ Bel

Thank you to NetGalley and Momentum Books for the opportunity to review this title.