Review: Love is Messy
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 22, 2013
"Unanswered questions can stay with you a long time, riding on your shoulders, wearing you down."Holy Crap.  What.A.Ride.I mean, can Karina write or what?  Christ she can deliver a cliff hanger but this book?  This book starts you off as on cliff dive!  Christ on a cracker, basically it's like reading an action film.One of the best things about this book was the dual POVs between Ellie & Camden.  If written correctly, a dual POV book is FABULOUS!So as book 2 picks up, we've got Ellie on the road with Javier.  But we don't know why just yet.  She's done a selfless act for the sake of Camden."I had given Camden a second chance at life, at love, at everything by taking a step backward with mine."Only...Camden isn't feeling that way as he stood there left in the dust with his ex wife Sophia and his son Ben."She left me in a cloud of dust, a swirl of crushed cherry blossoms that choked my heart."But after he shakes his head and gets his head back into the game, he gets the two of them, grabs the GTO and sets out on the road to get them to safety.  Only...what he doesn't realize is that safety, isn't what the vindictive ex has in mind.Back to Javier - what's his agenda?  Turns out he's gone rogue against Travis - the man Ellie wants revenge on so he believes they should work together to bring Travis down.  But as they go forth, Ellie battles with the "good" that Camden made her believe she could be and the desire for revenge she still wants just a little.Camden winds up in a shoot out with Sophia's brothers, escapes as a fugitive (in the papers) and ends up seeking help from the only person he knows can.  Gus!  Yay!!!  I Love Gus!  And, I SO love the character development that Karina can give us as readers.  She's so specific.  In the beginning, these two men who adore Ellie in such different ways were so skeptical of each other.  In a way, untrusting, disliking and Camden even wondered what he was doing.Gus KNOWS Ellie and her history with Javier.  "It's just, with someone like Ellie, it'll be really hard for her not to fall back into old habits.  Javier was her biggest habit of all."This does not please Camden."So far he was a steaming pile of dicks^%t"But after awhile...they evolve, maybe even to what some might call friends."Gus?"....do you think we are going to get Ellie back?"  Pause.  "We're going to try."Eventually Ellie is found and SHOCKED that Camden is there.  They meet up but he's angry - as he should be.  She's guilt ridden - as she should be and it's awkward.  But you can still sense the love between the two.Ellie goes through with the plan but holy hell curveball and it all goes to crap.  Leading us into another cliff hanger.  (cripes, I don't know if my nails will stick to my nailbeds this time)I spent a TON of this book angry at Ellie.  While I know she feels she gave Camden up for his own good, how could she not think he'd fight for her?"She'd embedded herself into my skin, like a tattoo I could never give myself.How could she come under Javier's blackmail and normal suave spell again?Oh wait...maybe this is how..."Angel, please don't sleep with him tonight.  I'd like to keep you as my possession for just a bit longer.  I want to be the only one inside you."Oy, Javier and his words.  I think my underwear just melted off.This has got to be one of the best love triangles I've ever read EVER.  Hands down.  I can't decide who I want Ellie to be with.  I still believe the story is ABOUT Ellie and her life as a con artist hell bent on revenge but these 2 men in her life.  My god. Just throw them into bed all together and lets call it a day.And as Karina states  "Love is messy"