Review: Another excellent Jasinda Wilder book!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 24, 2013
There is something about Jasinda's writing that pulls me in and leaves me on the brink of turning into an emotional mess. While Stripped is nowhere near as deep as Falling Into You or as emotionally crippling as Wounded, it still somehow managed to tug tightly on my heartstrings.I really liked Grey's character and enjoyed watching her growth and development. She was raised as a preacher's daughter but she didn't share all of her father's beliefs and wanted to be her own person. She was tired of being judged for who her father was and she was tired of having her father tell her who she should or could be. She had dreams and they meant something to her. I loved that she stood up to her dad and she went after those dreams. She did what she had to do in order to become the person she wanted to be and while it was hard and lonely, she never gave up or quit. It was so emotional when she had to start stripping and I really felt her sadness and shame deep inside my soul."A single tear drips free to mingle with the sweat on my upper lip. I'm officially a stripper."Dawson was incredibly sweet and charming and I liked that he wasn't some bad boy man whore that reformed for Grey. He had been that guy at one time but changed long before he met her. He was working on being a better person before he met her but being with her made him want to try even harder. There was something about Grey that drew him to her and he had this need and desire to take care of her and protect her. He could see the innocence in Grey and see past the wall and faade that she created to protect herself. I also loved the way he pursued Grey and didn't allow her to run. He knew when she was pushing him away and he fought that much harder to hold on to her."The reality is that I gain more of myself when he kisses me. As if layers of lies and confusion and shame fall away, and everything is just him and me and our mouths and the sensation of his kiss."One of my favorite things about this book is the way it flows. The events in the beginning happen long before the heart of the story develops but they are a necessary element to understand Grey and all that she has been through that led her to Dawson. The way the book transitions through time is done perfectly. We don't need every little detail of Grey's life from the time she boards the plane to LA up until she meets Dawson. The real story is about the love between them and they way they open each other up to new experiences. I absolutely adored the way the story followed their path from the beginning to the end and watching them fall in love was magical.  The passion and sexual tension between Grey and Dawson is explosive from the moment they meet. The sex is steamy and the story is beautiful."There has never in life been pleasure this intense before. Not ever. I alone know the meaning of true heavenly bliss."I'm not sure I adequately described how this book made me feel or how much I enjoyed it but I was once again absolutely enthralled with a Jasinda Wilder book. It was everything I expected and more. It was moving from beginning to end and the conclusion was fabulous and left nothing to be desired.