Review: H-O-T
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 27, 2013
The cover was very beautiful and I was crossing my fingers hoping that this book would live up to it. And it did - way, way more.Grace knew how to fake her way into living a happy life. But deep inside - she was broken. She has an ugly past that she would gladly forget if it were that simple. It was a nightmare that is constantly haunting her. She tries to managed by putting it at the back of her brain, bury it somewhere and try to live her life one day at a time. Readers will surely have the urge to jump into the pages just to give her a hug. Yet, I find her strong - because some would probably give up after what she experienced. Grace? She tries to live her life as normally as possible and even join her best friend Maci for some fun. If anyone deserves happiness and happy ending in this book - its gotta be her!Now here comes a potential prince charming for our happy ever after - Parker. He's hot, sexy, and has secrets of his own. He's a private investigator who was hired by a very important man to watch over Grace. The moment he took the picture out of the envelope that was handed to him - he's a total goner. Being a professional, he knew he must not mix business with pleasure. That night when they officially met at the bar, the chemistry was undeniable, the attraction was overwhelming that he forgotten (ahem) professionalism. So he did the second best - protect the woman he learned to care for from pain and danger.Relationship between these two is a lot of hard work - not just because of the secrets that is looming above them like knives ready to strike down - but personal issues that is already present in each of the characters. Grace has been insecure and has problems with trust because of a very bad experience with a previous relationship. Parker had earned her trust, and knew he's about to lose it the moment Grace founds out about his secret. Despite this fact - their relationship did something good for the both of them. Grace helped Parker to overcome the pain his cheating ex-girlfriend left and Parker motivated Grace to open up and live life.It is not only the threat in their relationship, when Grace past suddenly came into the picture and throws in a lot of `secrets'  everything in their world starts to crumble, and one by one Grace learns the truth. Will she be able to surpass this and forgive Parker?One of my favorite things about this book is that it's in dual POV - I love being inside Grace and Parker's head. I was not held second-guessing about what might the other thinks. I love how the conflict was resolved - it was simple, real and not much drama. The ending? Wow. It was just great and everyone got what they deserved.A Graceful Mess got me from the cover page down to the last. It was HOT (if it gets hotter - my kindle would surely be in fire), steamy, sweet, maddening at times, and surprising. It will make you smile, cry, laugh and will have that strong urge of throwing punches every now and then. Trust me, you will keep on turning the pages until you finish this one!*ARC Copy was given in exchange for an honest review.