Review: 3.5 stars
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 17, 2014
A complimentary copy of this book was received for reviewI was first drawn to this book when asked if I wanted to review by the beautiful cover - I am a sucker for a man with tattoos.The story inside is not always so beautiful.Josie has had amnesia for 9 years, and to deal with the every day she uses sex and drugs.She is barely hanging on most days, until she is inexplicably drawn to a guy in an alleyway one night - not that way!! - and for whatever reason she can't keep away.Tristan once loved a girl called Mackenzi, until she moved away, and soon after died.  Or did she?Beautiful Addiction is a story that although some of the storyline is pretty much in the cookie cutter mould, it is enough different that it kept me interested right through.There is a heck of a lot going on in the background of this story, but I don't want to give anything away by talking about it.  But gees louise these are some complicated lives these two are living!You are just going to have to read it yourself to find out what it's all about.This is Ms Vining's debut novel, and she has not done a bad job of it at all.  The main characters kept me intrigued with their stories, the secondary characters added to the story rather than detract from it, and I felt they were integral to the main storyline.At times I felt the pacing was a bit off, and occasionally I had to double check whose POV I was reading, but this was not too bad, just that I noticed it a couple of times.Beautiful Addictions is a story of love and loss. Reconnection. Addiction. Chance and fate play a big part of the story. It does talk about abuse so you have been warned.Overall Ms Vining has given a book that does not go by the run of the mill romance story, and the characters all had a bit of substance to them.