Review: Unscrupulous by Avery Aster
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 10, 2013
I just have to start with saying I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!  I only hope I write something that will do this story justice. It was well written,  hot and sexy, heart-warming, tender, sensual and erotic, frustrating, laugh out loud funny, and will definitely keep your interest. Although it was extremely erotic and definitely written for mature adult readers I felt it was a well-rounded character driven romance of the best kind. One of my favorites of the year and I am a voracious reader.*Here is a good place to say I was lucky enough to have received this book to read for free from the author in exchange for my honest review.*One thing that kept coming to me as I read it was the contrasts between Unscrupulous and Undressed, so I'll approach it that way starting with the men. I really, really enjoyed Undressed and thought Prince Masi was hot, sensual in that gorgeous laid-back European gentleman way. However, he'd not had someone to truly love him or teach him how to love up to that point. The concept of love and with it monogamy was foreign to him and to be avoided at all costs as something that was too painful to hope for so he kept all his relationships casual and purely physical. And yet, once he accepted his feelings of love for Lex he gave his all to keep his girl and win her over. I was totally smitten! But Big Daddy Warner, OH MY GOD!! Warner was tall, football stud built and gorgeous, sexy, intense, sensual, sensitive, loving, and a gentleman completely focused on his mission of finding and then pleasing "His Red". But what really won me over was his back story. He found his first love at seventeen with an older woman who he married and spent ten wonderful years building a life with until she was taken from him by cancer. This is a man who has been brought up in a loving home and who knows how to love and be loving, to stand by his woman, and to be faithful, which I found sexier and more alluring than his billions. The other thing I found very attractive in his character was his refusal to treat (or allow others to treat) Taddy in any way other than as a lady.And speaking of the ladies, Taddy wasn't just your typical redhead, she embodied the passion, fire, sexuality and drive of being Red and made no excuses for her choices. She had accepted it was up to her to take charge of her life at a young age and never looked back. In this way she was very similar to Lex. Both admiral, self-made women and great heroines. Lex, still has Birdie to contend with and has a slightly more vulnerable side. Where they differed and as Taddy herself says, Lex's insecurities were with money and hers were with trust and therefore commitment (paraphrased). She valued the people who had stood by her over the years and protected them fiercely with the vengeance of a mama bear. She was amazing!What I noticed as the biggest difference between the two books was the pacing of the story. While I found Undressed to be like a thrill-ride in it's intensity and emotion (which was perfect for Lex and Prince Masi's story because it matched their personalities).  I felt Unscrupulous was completely different, not slower and certainly not less intense, but more focused and a deeper, more emotional story. Which was why I loved it so much more.  For Taddy it was a story of growth, learning to trust, and overcoming the pain of abandonment that had basically crippled her emotionally. Although she had a big heart and gave her all to her friends, she didn't feel she had ever experienced real love. Again, to paraphrase the text, Taddy had used the LOVE word to her parents and friends many times, but had never heard it directed back toward her from any of them.  Warner was the perfect man for her because he not only matched her in sexual intensity and intelligence, he knew how to love. He saw Taddy's strengths and needs beneath her walls and gave to her the love he felt for her and made her realize she did deserve to be cared for in that way. He didn't try to change her. He just offered his faithful support and respected who she was while demanding she give him the same in return. He dominated without controlling. Is it a wonder I'm completely in love with him myself?Lastly, what remains steady for both books in the Manhattanites series are the friends and family. We get a little more insight into Vive, Lex, Blake, and Birdie. Are introduced to Warner's brother, Sheldon, and his entourage. And they of course, help to balance the book with humor and drama of their own. I do have to say here, in their defense, that the moral support and actions of Taddy's friends prove over and over that they do indeed love her unconditionally. My favorite line in the whole book comes when Warner finally meets Taddy's "people" and introduces her to his brother. To set up, Warner has just been introduced to Vive and is a little stunned by her shall we say, vivacity and boldness. He walks over to the bar to buy her the two drinks she requested when in walks Blake who comes right up to Warner and introduces himself and says, "It's nice to meet the man responsible for my best girl's new smile... (and then warns)... "If you ever hurt Taddy, you'll leave me no choice but to sic Vive on you. Understand?"~Complimentary copy received from author in exchange for an honest review.