Review: Great start to a beautiful love story
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 2, 2014
So I will admit I read the prequel first since this is my first time being introduced to Marissa's stories. All this means is that the synopsis was a little confusing to me since I had no clue what was happening now. Having said that , it did not matter I really enjoyed starting Ryan and Alana's story from the beginning and not knowing what was to come while I went along on their journey. Classic example of boy from the wrong side of town meets girl from money on her way to greatness. Both living a life full of sadness for different reasons , but regardless they are both looking for something they are not getting from the ones they have loved to this point.Ryan is working more than 1 job to support his drug addict twin brother and alcoholic mother. He is taken advantage of by them on a daily basis but as the caretaker of his family he pushes through doing everything for them because he loves them. One night while learning the ropes at a new job his best friend Mac helped him get he spots her , Alana , the new reason for his world to spin. She is fiery , hot and although young they are drawn to each other and Ryan decides to throw caution to the wind and be whatever she wants him to be just to be with her.Alana comes from money but lives with a father that shows no love or emotion. Neither of them have gotten over the death of her mother. He is a big time judge and all he cares about is Alana doing her best and going off to law school and becoming someone he can be proud of. Alana has a great relationship with her cousin Emily and her Uncle John but she is still craving love despite not being able to open up to just anyone. For her it is the same , the moment she sees Ryan she is caught off guard and unable to control her desires to be near him.When these two wounded souls collide will their growing love be enough or will their families issues tear them apart ? Our answer to this comes as quite a surprise , and sadly after the best night of their lives Ryan makes a decision to leave Alana in the dark and keep him from the girl of his dreams for years or maybe forever all in the name of family. 3 years go by and Ryan may be free from his troubles but not from the one girl that haunts his every thought. After wallowing he decides to get back into the real world and back to work. His new job ends up taking an unexpected yet yummy turn. Spending late nights with alcohol and woman Ryan still cannot escape his thoughts of Alana. Little does her know this crazy job may just be the thing to bring them back together.Great read , I enjoyed reading it first , but even if you have already read Strip Me Bare I am sure you would be thrilled to read how it all started and fill in the blanks !! Not to mention it was a great length , not too short but still a quick yummy read !!