Wednesday, December 4, 2013

The Thrill of It by Lauren Blakely {Review & Giveaway}



Synopsis:
A new adult story of Love. Sex. Addiction. Blackmail. And Power...

Some say love can be an addiction. Others say it's the thing that makes life worth living. Let me tell you everything I know about love...Love isn't patient, love isn't kind. Love is a game, a chase. A thrill. Love is wild and war-like, and every man and woman must fight for themselves. At least that's how it was for me. A high-priced virgin call girl by the time I started college, I was addicted to love and to sex. Even though I've never had either. I controlled love, played it, and held the world in the palm of my hands. Then I fell down from those highs, and I'm being blackmailed for all my mistakes, forced to keep secrets from everyone, except the only guy I don't regret.

Trey...

With all the other women, I knew what they were. They were temporary. They were pills, they were bottles, they took away all the pain, and numbed the awful memories that wore down my ragged, wasted heart. Until I met Harley. She's the only girl I ever missed when she walked away. But now she's back in my life, every day, and there are no guarantees for us, especially since I don't know how to tell her my secrets. What happened to my family. All I know is she's the closest I've ever come to something real, and I want to feel every second of it.

How can you love with no regrets when regret is all you know?




Globug's Take

Why is it that young children feel so responsible for the emotions and at times failures of their parents? It seems at times that children are willing to be more accountable for things than most adults are. The author tells the story from both characters POV. We get pieces of both characters stories in the form of Trey's memories or excerpts from Harley's memoirs. They are both emotionally damaged due to their mothers.

Harley was determined to make her mother happy after her dad left them. She just wanted to please her mother. She became her mother's pretty little show piece at parties. Their relationship gets twisted and Harley and her mother begin interacting more like friends or sisters instead of mother and daughter. In a way, her mother was her first pimp pushing her into dates and relationships at just thirteen years old. Her only purpose was to be pretty for her mother. I can't help but feel like Harley suffered from child abuse because she had to hear and discuss her mother's sexual relationships. All of this leads to Harley becoming a highly paid escort. Even though she remains a virgin she feels like a dirty slutty whore.

For reasons it's better for you to learn as you read, Harley is forced to leave the escort business and attend SLAA (Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous). There's nothing like a good SLAA meeting to bring a couple together. Harley was having a hard time getting the tattoo artist that inked her the night before out of her thoughts when surprise!,he walks into the meeting. His name is Trey and he also has a past he needs to put behind him but he was at the meeting by choice. 

Trey and Harley become nearly inseparable. Harley is an open book with Trey. She's never allowed anyone to know her so completely. And Trey is always honest with Harley but keeps one piece of his past hidden from her. Their desire for each other grows daily but neither feels worthy of the other. As part of their recovery in SLAA they are supposed to avoid relationships. Both characters are such puzzles and the author gives you pieces perfectly timed so that you can't see the whole picture until BOOM!, and everything is clear and in high def. 

There's romance,struggle and heat in The Thrill of It. The meaning of the tattoos adds so much depth to the story. I wish illustrations of the tattoos had been included. I loved the supporting characters Cam, even though he's a sleazeball pimp, and Harley's roommate/best friend Kristen. I love that Harley and Trey confront their mothers in the end and find closure. And just as the author is bringing home the happy ending I love so much, Harley pukes and I felt like joining her. That means I'm highly anticipating the next book in the series, Every Second With You releasing in winter 2014.



Author's Bio

Lauren Blakely writes sexy contemporary romance novels with heat,
heart, and humor, and her books have appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks bestseller lists. Like the heroine in FAR TOO TEMPTING, she thinks life should be filled with family, laughter, and the kind of love that love songs promise. Lauren lives in California with her husband, children, and dogs. She loves hearing from readers! Her novels include Caught Up In Us, Pretending He's Mine, Playing With Her Heart, Trophy Husband, and Far Too Tempting. On November 21, she'll release the edgy new adult novel THE THRILL OF IT. She also writes for young adults under the name Daisy Whitney.


           
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