Release Day Review & Giveaway: Taking Something by Elizabeth Lee

Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance

Publication Date: February 18th 2014

Series: Companion to Give Me Something

Format: ARC

Source: Provided by author for review

 I know what you're thinking. “You were such a jerk, Nick!” Believe me, I know I screwed up the best thing I had going in my life, but that was kind of my thing. I’d learned how to run cons before I could even form complete sentences, and I'd always been selfish. But I changed. Lila forgave me, my brother and I were getting along, and I was trying to make a name for myself in the music world. At least that was what I was trying to do when I negotiated my way into the recording studio with pop superstar Sadie Sinclair. I thought it would be a piece of cake—charm my way into her heart and into her record label's good graces. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, I got mixed up in a web of lies, manipulation, and deception. A web that had me questioning my motives and desires altogether. Was the fame and fortune really worth the price?    

My Review:

Nick Kline was not a character I liked very much while reading Give Me Something so going into his book I was skeptical he could make me change my mind. I mean, there has to be a villain in every story right? Otherwise we wouldn't love certain characters so much. One thing I realized going into this one was that losing Lila, the only girl to ever make him care about anyone but himself really messed him up and changed him in a vital way. While licking his wounds over the loss he realizes he can't just be a club DJ, he wants more. Fame. Fortune. Notoriety. In search of what he KNOWS will make him happy, finally, he heads to L.A. to prove his worth as a music producer. He bites off more than he can chew with his hands full of Hollywood's hottest pop princess Sadie Sinclair. Against his better judgement and the advice of his family he jumps into the fire...but as we all know when you play with fire, you get burned.

This was a classic case of Nick being...well... Nick! He's cocky,  extremely self assured and when he wants something he usually gets it. Getting himself invovled with Sadie was a total Nick move. He expects his charm to get him by with her and it does for a little while but he doesn't realize he's in the big leagues and Sadie is just as good if not BETTER at getting what SHE wants. Seeing Nick meet his match in female form was epic. I had wondered for a long time what it would take to finally knock him on his ass and Sadie gives him a run for his money. When he gets a taste of what she's really like behind all the glamour and hot sex though the scales start to fall away from his eyes and show him just how vapid he's been. Nothing opens your eyes to your own behavior until you watch someone act the same way and it bugs the hell out of you. I thought it poetic justice watching him struggle to keep Sadie happy and try to maintain his own sanity and thoroughly loved how frustrated he became when everything wasn't as cut and dry as he first thought it would be.

Of course the best part for me was watching him interact with Sadie's assistant Gia. When she comes into the picture it's the first time Nick's charm doesn't get him very far. Gia doesn't fall for his good looks or his bullshit lines and that challenges him on so many levels he isn't used to experiencing. From the first time they met I was rooting for them so hardcore because I hated Sadie's character with a passion. She was such a vapid, spoiled and bitchy character I couldn't see how even someone like Nick could stand her. It took someone like Gia to show Nick there was more to life than just using people to get what you want and I loved her character for that. Gia had some baggage that Nick couldn't just charm his way around, it really helped open his eyes to life and how he wanted his to go. She had an insane backstory involving Sadie's brand of crazy that surprised me and really showed a nasty side to not only Sadie as a person but the ruthless way the music business can be when toes are stepped on. Throw in Landry Westwood, another famous musician Nick works with into the mix of the already drama filled plot and you have yourself a juicy cluster fuck just waiting to happen.

Taking Something is written entirely in first person narrative and normally I don't enjoy just one POV in a book but Lee gave me what I wanted with Nick. I got to get inside his head to see how he thinks, and feels and reacts to whatever gets under his skin. I didn't think I could ever like him but I was proven wrong with his story. Nick turned out to be a pretty stand up guy with a deeper personality once you dug beneath his layers. Putting someone else's needs before his own showed tremendous character growth for someone so narcissistic but it felt genuine and honest to me. It was nice to see him knocked down a peg or two and finally find what he was looking for in life. LIla and Tucker were a brilliant addition to the story as well so getting to see what they have been up to was great. I loved the overall theme of a close family unit I got with this book. People make mistakes but the redemption at the end of the tunnel made this a special story for me. Both Give Me Something and Taking Something are really great reads with flawed and human characters that you can't help but fall in love with. 

Quotes:

Fuck. I was developing a damn conscience. How in the hell had that happened? I had a sick feeling that I knew exactly how. It was nearly impossible to spend time with someone so completely humble, and selfless, and amazing without questioning what the hell I was doing with my life. ARC 40%

 “Why couldn't you just keep being an asshole?” “Sorry,” I said, but it came out more like a question. “I think.” “Don't be,” she placed her hand on mine. “When you're not being an asshole, I kind of like you.” ARC 50%

 The moonlight spilled through the windows in my room, casting a soft light across her face. She was breathtaking. The quiet sexiness of her lying there, her eyes asking me to love her. She reached her hand up and caressed my face. “Can we forget about everything else for one night?” she asked, her eyes pleading and hesitating all at the same time. ARC 68%

Giveaway:

We here at Globug and Hootie love Elizabeth Lee and we want to celebrate the release of TAKING SOMETHING by giving away two $5.00 Gift Cards to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble!!!!

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  Elizabeth Lee Bio:

 When I'm not writing or playing the part of wife and mother, you can find me dancing back-up for Beyonce, singing back-up for Miranda, or sunning myself on the beach with a drink in hand. Here's the thing about being born and raised in a small town—you have a very vivid imagination! Now, I channel it all to create stories where the girl always ends up with the right guy, first kisses are magical, and a happy ending is just that!   

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To celebrate TAKING SOMETHING Elizabeth Lee is offering the companion GIVE ME SOMETHING for FREE on Amazon right now!! ( still .99 cents at B&N and KOBO but it's a dollar well spent!) Grab it then get Taking Something for only $2.99!!