Monday, September 2, 2013

Price Of A Kiss by Linda Kage {Review}

Genre: New Adult
Publication Date: August 15th 2013
Series: Stand Alone
Pages: 373
Format: Mobi/Kindle
Source: Provided by author for review



I don’t care what my cousin says; I am not the queen of impossible relationships. I mean, just because my last boyfriend tried to kill me and left a bit of a scar on my neck, then forced me to move across the country and legally change my name to Reese Randall to escape him, does not mean—Oh, who am I kidding? For a freshman in college, I have to have the worst dating track record ever. It’s no wonder love is the last thing on my mind when Mason Lowe enters my life. But the chemistry between us is like bam! Our connection defies logic. And he’s just so freaking hot. Being around him makes me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt before. I even like bickering with him. He could be my soul mate...except for one teeny tiny glitch. He's a gigolo. Boy, do I know how to pick them. *new adult romance* **explicit scenes and language**

My Take:
I love books that are funny, charming and heartfelt with characters that make you fall in love with them. A book that catches you off guard and takes you out of reality for a while.  Price Of A Kiss did just that for me. 

I knew just by reading the prologue and becoming increasingly pissed off that this book would get under my skin. We get a glimpse into the life of Mason Lowe at 18, living with his wheelchair bound sister and his mother who works two jobs to support the kids. Mason is approached by his mother's landlord who propositions him with giving up his virginity in order to settle the back rent his mother owes. This is the part I hated, I'm gonna climb on my soapbox for a second because I was so enraged that Mason had to trade his virginity at the hands of an old horny cougar. I can't stand old women who prey on younger guys. I think virginity is something that should be your choice as to who you give it to not used as leverage to satisfy your own demented desires. It's one thing to look at younger guys and appreciate their looks but to go to the lengths this character did just disgusted me. To me the cougar thing is probably worse than older men hitting on younger girls for some reason. Just Sayin' *Steps off soapbox* 

 Needless to say I was instantly in love with Mason's character despite the fact that he remained a well paid male prostitute throughout most of the book. I was in agony for him having to sell a piece of his soul to make ends meet but seeing how much he loved his disabled sister was beautiful for me. The lengths he went to in order to make sure Sarah had what she needed was the most endearing character trait to witness. What I hated was having to watch him be treated like a soulless piece of meat by every woman he met. They either heard about his reputation and wanted a freebie from him or wanted to buy him. I hated how all those old bitches felt like he was theirs, like they owned him. It was almost like a form of slavery and I hated that aspect of the story because Mason was an amazing character. He was sweet, charming and just a downright good guy who was down on his luck. Even though he was 18 at the time he gave away a piece of his innocence because his mother wasn't making it on her own. I was angry with his mother for turning a blind eye to what was going on and not acknowledging what her son was going through for her. I felt like she let him fall on the sword for his family without trying harder to do anything about it. I would have been furious and probably gone to jail after beating the shit out of my landlord for exploiting my son because she basically pimps him out. 

Mason's sister is what brings Reese into his life when she becomes the girl's babysitter in the evenings. I loved experiencing this book from Reese's perspective. She was witty, sarcastic, mature, tough and very relatable despite the whole psycho ex boyfriend she was running from. Her attraction for Mason was instant when she saw him across campus but once she finds out what he is she tries to keep her heart out of it. Especially after surviving her most recent ordeal with her ex that left her with a painful reminder. She's got her own issues she is trying to deal with so getting involved in another relationship so soon isn't one of them. I fell hard for Reese watching her try to fight her feelings for Mason and watching her not only grow close to his sister but the budding friendship between her and Mason was one of my favorite things about the book. You could see the chemistry between them as their relationship deepened from friendship to more and I loved how Reese decided for herself that his reputation and occupation didn't matter and was still his friend. She defended him and tried her best to protect him and help him get out of the lifestyle. It was hard to watch her ache over trying to help him and trying not to fall for him. I could really feel her conflicted emotions throughout the story.

The romance between Mason and Reese was very well paced out. The push and pull angst between them kept me on the hook waiting to see how things would turn out for them. Like I said they had amazing chemistry and when they finally came together it was pretty hot. I was surprised to see how inexperienced Mason still was even after years of selling himself. It was a pleasant surprise for me because I expected him to be a dynamo in the sack but he was just as new at it as Reese was, having only been with her ex. These two had lots of issues to face together and I loved how Mason sacrificed a piece of himself to protect Reese and it broke my heart by how bad it hurt them both. What made me love her character even more was how she overlooked what he does to protect her and helps him heal. I love couples like this. Strong, resilient lovers who walk through fire holding hands the entire way. The story had several surprises I didn't see coming and scared me during certain parts not knowing how things would turn out. Reese's cousin and most prominent supporting character, Eva, threw me for a loop several times and I am hoping to get a book about her because she pissed me off and intrigued me enough to want more from her.

Price Of A Kiss was a total win for me and gave me everything I love in a book and a slight book hangover when I was done. The characters were engaging and real, the story was heartbreaking and unique and the romance was emotional and intense. Despite my severe hatred for the whole Cougar storyline there wasn't one thing I didn't love about this book. Without the conflict of Mason having to prostitute himself I don't think his genuine nature would have come across so believable had it been any different. If Reese hadn't been nearly killed by her ex I might not have believed her plight either. Everything in this book just worked so well for me and I can't say enough wonderful things about it. If my highlight's are any indication of how much I loved this book then take my word, it took me ten minutes to scroll through them! Price Of A Kiss is a definite must read and I highly recommend you grab a copy as soon as possible!


Quotes:

Holy guacamole. Was that a double entendre? I swear that was a double entendre. Someone hold my panties on for me because Mason Lowe was freaking flirting with me, using double entendres. Loc. 840

“I respect you,” he grated out the words. “I admire, and adore, and respect you, Reese Randall. I will not do this.” And just like that, his body went lax and his hand eased from the waistband of my shorts. Loc. 2355

“Thinking of me first. That’s so sweet. Thank you.” “Yeah, I’m a frigging saint. Now will you please touch my dick like you mean it before the damn thing explodes?” Loc. 3724



About The Author:
I grew up on a dairy farm in the Midwest as the youngest of eight children. Now I live in Kansas with my husband, daughter, and our nine cuckoo clocks. My life's been blessed with lots of people to learn from and love. Writing's always been a major part my world, and I'm so happy to finally share some of my stories with other romance lovers. 

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5 comments:

  1. I'm going to read this b/c of your hilarious screencaps. Price of a Kiss sounds awesome! Love your review!

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  2. I love this book and this author--great review!

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  3. Awww, thank you for the amazing review! I'm so glad you liked it! Totally made my day. :)

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  4. I know you loved this and so did Erin! I can't wait to read it!

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  5. I have it! Can't wait to read it.

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