Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Drop Everything Now (Picturing Perfect #3) by Alessandra Thomas {Review}

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: September 12th 2013
Series: Picturing Perfect #3
Pages: 275
Format: Kindle
Source: Amazon


Andi rushes home from college to Vegas after a serious car wreck leaves her mother severely injured. Unable to stay with her mother and stepfather in their small townhouse, she bunks down in a seedy hotel and meets Ryder Strong - stripper extraordinaire. Liking him - or anyone like him - wasn't in her plans. Will she let him in enough to change them? Ryder hasn’t had a single genuine thing in his life since he started stripping, teasing and pleasing for a room full of partying girls – even though what he really wants is a real job and a normal life. Could Andi change his fortune? Things heat up fast between them, until an ill-informed encounter with a penis pump leaves Ryder's sexy ass couch-ridden and jobless for more than a week. The only joystick Andi can use is the one on Ryder's video game controllers. Getting to know Ryder leads to falling in love – and Andi realizes she might actually like being in Vegas for the first time in her life. But her languishing grades back in Philly and her mother's rapidly improving health tell her it's time to go. When life takes the scariest turn imaginable, can these two turn it into a happy ending - for both of them?





My Review:

This book was complete and total surprise to me because I didn't even know it would be next in the series until I just happened to see it on Goodreads. It was like the bestest surprise ever! I fell in love with the first book and it's sequel was a huge win for me with Joey and Hawk so when I found out this one was ready I was freaking excited! True to this author's M.O. Drop Everything Now lived up to it's name and that's exactly what I did when reading it.

After meeting Andi in Subject To Change when she inadvertently helped Joey decide what career path she wanted to chose, I knew her character would be interesting and fun. Andi is a young student well on her way to earning her degree in child development when her mother is in a terrible car accident that calls her back to Vegas to be by her side. It's rough going at first having to deal with her awkward step dad and a mother who barely remembers anything before the accident. Poor Andi had a lot on her plate in this book and I could sympathize with her by how life dealt her a shitty hand time after time. When her timeline to get back to her classes after the accident comes and goes she's left floundering without knowing what to do. Andi struck me as the type of woman who knew what she wanted in just the brief appearances she made in Subject To Change and I really thought this would be a piece of cake but she was more complex than that. She did love what she was going to school for and loved helping families with sick children but her heart wasn't fully in it. I loved seeing this side of her and how she coped with all the stress of the situations she was involved in. Especially how she handled Ryder Strong. 

I get a little giddy when I mention his name because A) he's a stripper. B) He's beautiful with a hot body and moves like yo' mama ain't never seen. And C) He's one of the sweetest and most sexy book guys out there. He shocked me by how amazing he was and there were so many moments where I fell in love with him. Andi really needed a friend and Ryder stepped up and helped her find a place to stay while in Vegas and showed her the ropes of a temporary job to help her make some extra money. Despite him being a stripper and showing his goodies for a living he wasn't the typical manwhore I have come to expect from reading other books about Male strippers. He's still nursing a wounded heart over an ex and has kept himself out of the dating scene until Andi comes along. I seriously adore this guy because he took such amazing care of Andi not just physically but emotionally as well. He took his time getting to know her and proved to her he was a complete gentlemen. 

Their relationship wasn't a cake walk like I had thought (Still don't know why I was so deluded) but they both were dealing with intense issues between them. Andi was trying to gain her bearings as her mother tried to basically relearn her whole life after the wreck left her memory scrambled and Ryder had family ties that were incredibly hard to let go of for him. Andi at times would frustrate me and made me want to shake her by how stubborn she was and reliant she became with her mother's illness. She had a tendency to use it as a crutch and kept herself tied in knots because of it. Ryder, although an amazing guy would let his family life rule his relationship with Andi and I wanted to smack him a bit too. I knew exactly where they were both coming from because their issues were pretty relatable in the grand scheme of things. I enjoyed watching Andi make new friends and open up in a way she didn't even know she needed to until she met Ryder. I did love this couple despite their combined issues. They steamed up the pages pretty damned good several times and bless his too damn sexy heart, Ryder knew what he was doing. I loved the chemistry these two had from the beginning and watching it build was a nice treat also!

Drop Everything Now was a perfect example of why this series never ceases to amaze me. The characters are diverse and interesting, the romance is hot and sweet and the issues between the characters don't feel out of touch or forced, it just feels natural. Like you could be reading about your best friends. I'm not sure if the author plans to write another book in this series but I certainly hope so because each book has captured my heart in a way few books and series' have been able to.The story between Andi and Ryder was very romantic and at times hurt my heart for the characters but I wouldn't have it any other way. The journey throughout had it's ups and downs but the final destination was better than I could have hoped for. I think if you are like me and enjoy stories with a fantastic couple you can root for and some steamy sex then these are the books for you!



Quotes:

His faux-leather-wrapped package was a rock that dug into my belly button, and suddenly, I almost didn’t care that we were surrounded by a middle-aged lady, a fat DJ, and two hundred of Vegas’s horniest women. I wanted Ryder Strong, whether that was his real name or not, and I wanted him now. Kindle 56%

“You’re the first thing in my life in a long time that’s been one hundred percent real. I know you don’t know how long you’ll be here, and that’s okay. But promise me you won’t take reality away from me until then, okay?” Kindle 62%




About The Author:
Alessandra Thomas is a New Adult writer who swears she was in her twenties yesterday. Since she's not, she spends her time looking back on her college years fondly, and writing sexy stories about guys and girls falling in love and really living life for the first time. When she's not writing, you can find her with a spoonful of ice cream in one hand and the newest New Adult release in the other.





2 comments:

  1. I really need to catch up on this series. I love those quotes!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the reminder to read this one!

    ReplyDelete

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