Review: Like a rose he blooms...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 1, 2014
Slade.... Where do I even start?When I first read the synopsis for this book it peaked my interest. I thought it was going to be a fun and light read. I did not at all expect what I got. Like a rose he blooms...When I first started digging into this book I was introduced to Slade. Slade is a sex addict or well, by standard definition from the female population. I wouldn't classify it in the actual state of a mental illness. There were times reading through his introduction as a stripper at Walk of shame I had these amazing visuals of one hot hunk of a man grinding on my body, slumped down in a fold out chair like the one in the image above. There were times I had to fan myself, times I thought HOLY HELL WHERE IS MY BOYFRIEND WHEN I NEED HIM, and other times where I branded to my female version of a spank bank the images that were floating around in my head as I was reading. DON'T JUDGE AND DON'T ACT LIKE YOU AREN'T DOING THE SAME, AHEM. I promise not to tell.Just when I finally get past the fact that I have this amazing visual of a sex stud muffin grinding away for the women he has to open his mouth...Can I just say sometimes a filthy mouth on a man is all we need. I read this line and immediately I was like OH. MY. HELL... damn you, Slade.. Now for me, I love a man that can talk dirty. Take Hero first meets heroine. Sometimes it tends to be boring... Boy meets girl, boy likes girl, girl becomes sickly in love with boy. Well, insert Aspen and Slade... Slade sees Aspen, Slade walks over to Aspen almost naked, Slade asks Aspen to touch his cock... talk about getting a case of the smut and I love it whip lash.. S*** that was hot.. and this is why I love my book boyfriends.Throughout the story Slade gets a little cocky, but let's face it, what extremely hot guy isn't? What makes a cocky guy even hotter is when he admits to himself that he has it equally as bad as the female counterpart in question. This is where we begin to get a feel for what's actually going on in that head of his other than "I'm a stripper and I want to F*** you, but come tomorrow I'm tossing you out like the morning garbage because it's my rules and I'll do what I want to"... NOW NOW BEFORE YOU TAKE THIS AS A SLAIN TO SLADE'S CHARACTER HEAR THIS.. what male heroine that is awesome in the sack AND is lick worthy doesn't whore around until the one who's worth changing his ways for comes into the picture?Throughout the story the two fight their feelings for each other. Sometimes I wanted to slap the two of them and say  "Wake up!" The tension was so clearly outlined you could slice it with a knife. They wanted each other, but consequences kept them both fighting it. It was amazing to watch their feelings grow and to watch them finally give in to their wants.NOW FOR MY REAL REVIEW AFTER GETTING MY HOT EROTICA FLASHES OUT OF THE WAY...In the beginning you get this sense of the front Slade puts on for the world. Meet Slade, the hot stripper playboy that only screws each quest once and moves on. He has these rules to keep anything real hidden away; buried deep down inside. At first you wonder what in the hell is eating at him so bad that he's a total ass to the woman he brings to his bed. The cocky bastard that thinks he's God's gift to women. Sure, it's hot but most women want something that brings the character to life. WELL, KEEP READING.I'm one of those people that love books with rounded characters. I have a very big LIKEBOX when it comes to books. My all time favorite are the characters that have layers; layers that you can peel back one at a time. Erotica is great, but what separates a good book from a great book is a character that is originally misunderstood; a character that can piss off the reader and make him/her hate him and then turn around and grab ahold of your heart and shatter you; make you feel the way they feel. There is nothing I love more than a character that presents himself as shallow and then in the end is a character so lovable that you thrive for more. Slade is that character. The journey through his head is one that will forever hold him in your heart of characters. Slade has many, many layers. As you discard each one, you will think he just gets better and better.NOW ON TO ASPEN...Well what do I say about Aspen. In the beginning she comes across as weak, headstrong, and the bitch will drive you crazy... JUST SAYING. There were times I wanted to slap sense into her but the more you get to know her the more you understand her. I love characters that grow from page one to THE END. There was one character that if I could, I would stab with a six inch stiletto and I said this aloud on more than one occasion. In the end though she became a strong, loving, and admirable character.. You really should take the journey through their story...Now for the author:I have followed Victoria Ashley since I stumbled upon her first book, Wake up Call on Amazon. Girl, I must say you have grown tremendously as a writer. It has been an absolute honor to read each and every one of her books. The plots get better, the characters get better, and the books as a whole get better. I am a fan for life. I like to pick and play as you can tell in my review, but this book is definitely one I would recommend reading. I don't usually read novella's because I like to have time to fall in love with the characters. It takes the right author to execute a Novella in a way that doesn't piss off the reader or rush the characters. I wasn't sure how this would turn out at first because of this reason, BUT was absolutely blown away at how she handled this story. The characters were developed, the story was developed and the ending was bittersweet in the sense that you long for another installment, but the ending was good enough for it to stand alone. If you read this review I will say that I generally don't read many reviews because I like to form my own judgement, but if you base you purchase decisions off of reviews my HONEST opinion is that you should read this book. Don't take my word for it, read it yourself. You'll be glad you did :)