want – mylittlebookblog

Helllllo readers, another book for you today from the wonderful J.D Brick. I read this when I was struggling with a classic reading block. Some days you just need something a little lighter and I thought a steamy romance might help. Was I right? Hella yes and today I can bring you another exciting review. I won’t go on here because the blurb is supppper long so let’s get stuck in shall we?

Blue

The last thing I need in my life is another damsel in distress. No f*ing way I’m going down that road again. All I want is someone to help pay the rent. All I want is to party like there’s no tomorrow. Get my degree. And forget the past.

But then she shows up, running through me just like a freight train. She’s definitely a distressed damsel, and all my hero instincts start kicking in. I try to play it cool; I try to resist. Somehow, though, she burrows deep under my skin, and I can’t even think straight. It’s not just that her body turns me into a walking, talking boner. The thing is, I’m wrestling with demons I can barely control. What happened in Afghanistan, what I did over there, it never really leaves my mind. Being with Keegan, though, soothes my soul. I can’t explain it any better than that.

I want this girl. I need this girl. Deep down, I know that having her could destroy us both. But I just can’t stop myself.

Keegan

I’ve got no time for the playboy party animal who has suddenly become my accidental roommate. Even if he’s hot. Even if every other girl on campus wants him. Even if he is intense and seductive and so passionate about his music that watching him play makes my heart sing.

Because he’s exactly what I don’t need. Except that, dear God, Blue turns out to be everything I’ve ever wanted. He turns out to be so much more than I could have imagined that day I moved in with him.

But then, he becomes an agonizing mistake. At least that’s what most people would say. And I’ve got one hell of a choice to make…

Pretty exciting if not, long blurb although it doesn’t give too much about the plot. The book follows Blue (gah that man is a hot mess) and Keegan. They are opposite through and through but as soon as they meet the sparks begin to fly. It’s not going to be easy though; both are hiding secrets. Blue is hiding the damage caused by the events surrounding the deaths of his best friends while serving in Afghanistan. Keegan is hiding the reason why she moved from the campus; a stalker is becoming more and more of a nightmare and their threats are becoming more dangerous. Throw in the raucous parties, a few nightmare housemates and you’ve got one hell of a story.

Apparently the genre of this book is New Adult Contemporary? Ignore that, this book is hot and heady. I hate to say this but it pulled me in from the first page and I didn’t put it down much to the annoyance of my parents who I was visiting at the weekend. I thought the idea of throwing the delicate Keegan into such a party house was a really strong idea. It helped to make her come out of her shell and develop which is what we want. In terms of character she is gutsy, sarcastic, but also delicate and easily hurt she’s a darling of a character and I loved her. Blue is just, well *sighs.* Any man who pens a song for a friend and then sings it almost exclusively for her is just, well, pretty goddamn sweet. Through he is this constant changing character; hot hunk to utterly sweet and thoughtful, I thought he was a delight.

The plot is really strong; we have a multitude of different plots. The relationship between the two main characters, the stalker storyline and the back stories of both our main characters as well as a number of supporting characters. I thought the stalker storyline was handled well although I was surprised how well Keegan dealt with it. I would have been a shivering wreck of a human being. Through all of the dilemmas we get to watch their relationship develop and it is good, really, really good.

In terms of writing it is told as a dual POV which is something I don’t normally like but here it really worked. The plot moves with pace and the author knows how to build suspense. The characters fall for each other pretty quickly but there are so many things that could cause it to all blow up so you’re constantly wondering whether it will all go to plan. The writing is evocative and descriptions deep, and the erotic scenes. Well I wouldn’t want my mother to know what I was reading. My only real wobble was that the tale ended on a cliffhanger and the second book isn’t out yet! Lkjkjfahgauhg *groans.*

It is cheesy, it is a little perfect, it is what I would normally rave about, but I loved this. Gah damn it where is that second book!

(Additionally I believe the cover has changed but I much preferred the one I was sent so that’s why I’ve included it! ^^^)

Linnnnnnks

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Afternoon readers, lunch break time for me, and I thought I would finally get this review written up. I didn’t want to write this review but I’ve decided to give it a go. I have a confession; I didn’t make it half way through this book, but I’ll explain all in the review below. I once got asked what my thoughts were on negative reviews and they are completely necessary. I would never lie to anyone about how I felt about a book because I would hate for someone to go out and buy a book and be utterly disappointed. This is a book that I disliked from page one and I am now going to tell you why.

Andrew Manning is one of celebrity’s back room boys. He’s spent twenty years repackaging and reviving celebrities whose careers have been overshadowed by scandal and is now the very special agent to a stellar list of stars. Andy is a wealthy and powerful man. He knows where the bodies are buried. Don’t fuck with him. Shelley Bright, chart-topping singer, fashion icon and foul-mouthed homophobe wants a divorce from her closeted gay Premier League footballer husband. She calls on Andrew to organise it. Reality TV star Joey Camp’s career goes into free-fall after he launches an expletive-laden attack on The Queen on live television: he needs Andrew to save him. And Janey Jax, international Pop Goddess…well, what she wants is so twisted and bizarre that it shocks even Andrew. And as Andrew’s partner and lover, Johnny, begins a descent into celebrity-induced psychosis and a blackmailing paparazzi appears on the scene, things look set to become even more complicated. With lashings of suicide, murder, drugs, blackmail and general bad behaviour, I REALLY, REALLY WANT IT is a dark, irreverent and no-holds barred take on celebrity-obsessed culture.

As the above paragraph states the book follows a range of different character as they bustle around trying to get to the top, no matter what it takes. Following Andrew Manning an agent who will help you hide almost any scandal for a price, he is helping Shelley Bright to gain a sizeable reward for her impending divorce from her closeted gay husband. Now, I love dark and brooding books with ghastly characters, but there is a limit to what I can stomach. From the very first page the language is shocking; the swear words are blasted out every other word and they are not limited to the stereotypical words used. I’m not going to post them here but using the C word so frequently for me is inexcusable. The author, oddly, apologises for this, saying to the reader maybe they should not be so uptight or easily shocked. I am not easily shocked, I’m a reader, I have read of frightening murders, grisly plotlines and horrifying characters but this doesn’t mean that I am happy to read a book that openly thinks that swearing at the reader every second is okay. I can’t really give you anymore because I don’t want to read any more of this book. The writing is basic and there are grammatical and spelling mistakes from the word go which is always exhausting. I also disliked the way Andrew Manning talks to the reader, it becomes a diary style form, but we are also right in the action. It quickly becomes tedious and feels old-fashioned.

So, honestly I found this book utterly disturbing; the characters although strongly written are twisted with no moral compass, are shallow, cruel, rude and utterly pitiless. You might be wondering how I came to this decision so early on in the book this may explain; at one point the book describes a character that would like to mash up aborted fetuses and eat them as some kind of health kick. When I turned the next page, (page 28) and hit another barrage of C words, I gave up honestly. What’s most upsetting is that I was so excited about this book; the plot line sounds brilliant but for me it was just too much. The author seemed to be desperate to upset me, and make me feel uncomfortable. I went online to see whether I was the only one to feel this way and it seems I am not. Sometimes a bit of dark humour is brilliant and sometimes it gets too much. Maybe I should have kept reading but scrolling through I found myself feeling more and more dejected. I don’t know how to end this review but this might work; you honestly couldn’t pay me to give it another go.