Review: Have ice handy. Or a fan. Or both.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 08 16, 2013
"I'm not an LA girl. I'm not an actress or someone sexy and confident and sure of who I am. I'm a mess. A confused, embarrassed, shameful mess. And he's the god of Hollywood."Some love stories put your heart through a whirlpool, some make you dream with your eyes open and make you never want to wake up, and some stories gently touch the long-gone innocence in you and remind you of what it was like to fall in love for the first time. But when Jasinda Wilder decides to write a story like that, she also infuses it with so much chemistry between the characters that their every scene together ignites you like a firecracker, and very swiftly turns you into an insatiable addict of her deliciously sinful brand of erotica. Stripped is a relatively angst-free but extremely hot romance story between a young virginal heroine struggling to make it in a world that is foreign to her, and a jaded movie star with the world at his feet but only emptiness in his heart and soul."You make me feel like I'm someone, not just because I'm Dawson ####ing Kellor... You make me feel alive, Grey. And... I love that feeling."Grey Amundsen is a pastor's daughter, a long way from the safety of her family home, forced to strip in order to finish college and make her dreams come true. But Grey is nothing like the sexy vixen she plays on stage - Gracie - her every provocative act deeply marking her and leaving her distraught and ashamed of herself. But her desperation and desire to find her place in the world push her forward, every single day taking her further and further from the nave little girl from Macon, Georgia. And then one day her alter ego, Gracie, steps into a VIP room to perform a private dance for a bored Hollywood actor and his friends, and her whole world stops spinning."He sees too much, his eyes pierce my soul and see what I want when I don't even know myself."Dawson Kellor is a troubled movie star, struggling to determine his own identity and life purpose, hungry to feel genuine emotions and stop faking them, but stuck in a cycle of emotional numbness. Grey's innocence strikes him at his core, jump-starting his jaded heart and all of a sudden making him feel everything. He senses her inner struggle, how much it hurts her emotionally to do what she does and every protective and possessive bone in his body goes on full alert. He offers her the world, he offers to take her away from it all and take care of her in every sense, but as much as Grey wants to let him be her saviour, everything she starts feeling for him, every iota of unrestrained passion and desire, tears her apart and makes her question her own beliefs of right and wrong that were instilled in her since birth."I don't know what to do with his desire, or how to feel, or what to feel."Two very different people from two very different backgrounds, but with one thing in common - an instant connection that makes them gravitate towards each other from the very first time they lay eyes on one another. This is a story of two lost souls, stripped from everything they have ever been, felt, thought, believed, desperate to find a place to belong to and finally finding it in each other's arms. It's a story of emotional discovery, sexual awakening and love at first sight. Through sexual exploration and gradual acceptance of her innate sensuality, Grey becomes a woman - a woman in love, a woman aware of her own potential, a woman capable to take on the world."I want him to own me. I want him to do whatever he wants, I want to give in to my own shaking need and trembling desire. I want him to show me what I've never known."This is a romance first and foremost. There is no heartbreaking climax for the characters to overcome together. The linear development of the storyline allows us to sit back and enjoy the mouthwateringly sexy romance developing between two people hungry for each other in every possible way. The first part of the story is a lot more anxiety-ridden than the rest - once Grey and Dawson embrace their connection, it's relatively smooth sailing until the end. The drama junkie in me would have preferred a touch more angst and less emphasis on their frequent sexual encounters (I know, wash your mouth, Natasha!), but only because I loved the multifaceted dimensions of these two characters and would have enjoyed even more depth."Are you ashamed of what you do?"This story is pure food for the romance glutton. If you are looking for a delicious read to rock your naughty socks off, this is your book. You will need fans, ice, Valium!!!!! I wish I were kidding. It sizzles, it scorches and it leaves you a hot and bothered mess in its trail. A finger-licking delight."I want to kiss you, whenever I feel like it. I want to tell you when you're being ridiculous. I want to make love to you. I want to #### you. I want to hold you. I want to be yours."