Review: 4.5 SEXY PASSIONATE STARS!!!!!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 19, 2013
"You don't belong here." He gingerly extends his hand, brushes a lock of hair away from my mouth. It's a tender gesture, and it confuses me, scares me. Hits me somewhere deep inside.I was so super excited to start Stripped that it totally cut in line in my TBR list. I was even more giddy after I started it because it was totally not what I expected. I was expecting a light, witty, sexy read and while it is most of those things, I wouldn't define this one as a light read...yeah, flip to me crying like a baby at oh, about the 12% mark. Yeah!Grey is a pastor's innocent daughter who grew up sheltered and over protected. Going into college, she's never even experienced her first real kiss. She is determined and persistent in pursuing her passions in life...something that I immediately loved this character for. So when events in Grey's life suddenly put her dreams ever more out of reach, she decides to take charge of her destiny with both hands. Soon, Grey finds herself alone across the country in California in college with very limited funds and a scholarship with an expiration date on it. Desperate times call for desperate measures and when Grey realizes how limited her options are, she does what she has to in order to be able to keep chasing her dreams.Enter Dawson Kellor and....hold on, sexy AS HELL book boyfriend name, no? Ahhhh.... Ok, let's continue; Dawson has a chance meeting with Grey while she is working one night and he is immediately mesmerized by her. He's never known anyone like her. He cares for her like no one ever has in a pure way that she cannot comprehend. I adored how sweet and loving he was with her...a true knight and shining armor. Oh, did I mention that Dawson is an "A" list actor and that the huge internship that Grey just landed herself, includes working for him?!?! Oh yeah....Dawson doesn't see her as a stripper and he immediately makes it his life's mission to protect her and get her out of this profession, even if it means going a bit caveman on her at times!!So, are the kids asleep? Can we talk sex now? Good, because hot DAMN!!!!! I was beginning to wonder because well, Grey is a virgin and Dawson is very sweet and respectful with her but when they finally got to this point, it was amazing!!! (Cue the fire works, pictures of birds going at it, and the weird images of waves crashing and shit that we used to get instead of a sex scene, like in the eighties.) It was more than a sex scene...it was a 30 straight page love fest, so intense that you could feel the enormity of the emotions between these two. It was hot and heavy yes, but also so intensely passionate and heart-felt that I literally had to take a "chapter break" after this scene and I totally could've gone for a cigarette!! To summarize, it was a sex scene done right!!!!Sequences of events continue though and Grey can't help but be conflicted and feel the pull of her southern baptist roots versus the new, intense feelings she is experiencing for Dawson.Growing up in an old fashioned Catholic family, I could really relate to Grey's struggle. I thought this part of the story was incredibly realistic and I was reminded of being a 20 year old girl myself and wondering all of the same things that Grey was struggling with.Ok, so this book was 5 stars all the way for me until about the 80% mark. For some reason, at that point, the flow became a bit rushed for me.  There were a few scenes that were alluded to, but skipped over in detail that I’d really have wished to read in full. At this point, the time jumps are also a bit jolting, making you momentarily disconnect from the storyline. I hated this, because otherwise, this was such an excellent read.Stripped was multi-faceted, very realistic, and literally, unputdownable. I read this one in a day and a half. Despite the somewhat rushed pace towards the end, the ending is beautiful and satisfying. Very glad that I read this one and I will definitely recommend!Categories: (out of 5)Plot/Concept- 5Writing style- 3.5Character development- 4.5Steam- 5