Review: Loved Fin, Rees and Dusty!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 18, 2012
"I love you," I whispered.His face went soft and God, God, he was so f****** beautiful."I'm a guy," he stated bizarrely, then went on equally bizarrely, "I don't live and breathe clean. But I prefer it. Have I just bought myself a life of pickin' my way through your jeans, tees, belts,bras and panties to get to the bathroom?"4.5 stars."Don't play games of the heart, honey, even if you're doing it to protect one."God, God, God, I love Fin (Dusty's nephew) and Rees (Clarisse)! And Dusty. Oh, yeah, I love them. Bunches. I'm gonna say this straight forward. Kristen would have been an amazing Mom! I don't know how she does it but...well, she does it perfectly. All the time. Rees and Fin's characterizations, their feelings and behavior felt so real and palpable. On top of that, Dusty was an outstanding heroine. It happens not all the time but I have to say that Dusty was the backbone of Games of the Heart along with two wonderful "kids" (Fin and Rees). She clearly overshadowed the hero. Dusty is such a kind-hearted, warm, gentle yet determined, independent and feisty woman. The interaction between her and Rees was so amazing! I absolutely adored the romance between Fin and Rees. Very cute! Gosh, I have a little crush on him. Kinda sick, I know, but I can't help it. Such a fine young guy! I really liked Mike but I had a hard time to warm up to him despite his heart-melting, stomach-plummeting, mind-numbing, soul-enriching kisses. I'm not sure why I had issues with Mike because he is a good father. It was just not insta' love for me. Ultimately, he grew on me, though.Rees is shy and insecure. Further, she has absolutely no idea of her beauty and she thinks she's got no talent at all. Her brother's talents are very obvious and visible. But Rees's have yet to be discovered. Even though she's very loved, something is holding her back. There's one negative force in her life and that's her mother. Since she leaves a lot to be desired, Dusty is there to talk to Rees. And she does it with great care and is very sensitive and perceptive when it comes to any topic but specifically intimate female topics. I can't say this enough, Kristen does a very fine job in outlining all those little and very thoughtful details!Fin. Aw, so young and so swoon-worthy! He takes care of Rees. He protects her and he never overstepped the boundaries. Fin and Rees enriched this story in an absolutely wonderful way. I'm grateful for the privilege to having witnessed their sweet love story.Dusty cares deeply for Rees."There she is.""Who?" Clarisse whispered back.Dusty leaned in and answered. "You. Thank you for giving her to me."Ohmigod! That was so nice.Clarisse bit her lip then murmured, "Uh...you're welcome."Then Dusty Holliday did something beautiful.The kind of thing she felt from her Dad all the time. Sometimes from No (that her brother's nickname). Sometimes from her grandparents. Rarely from her mother.She lifted her hand, cupped Clarisse's cheek and said gently, "You should let her out more often. Your Dad misses her."Fin is a lucky strike for Rees.Her eyes dropped down to the table. "I don't get a lot of stuff," she muttered at the paper. "Reesee,," he called again and she looked at him. That was when he did it. Leaned in and got super close. Super close. So close all she could see were his eyes!"You get s*** that matters," he whispered."What?" she breathed."You said your Dad was happy. Aunt Dusty was tight with my Dad. They talked all the time. But she's singin' and dancin' and laughin' and bein' crazy and it's crazier than the usual way she does it. You gave her that."Of course Dusty and Mike have to deal with the expected, stalker-ish j*** (Dusty's ex).You got me and you gotta know you got me when I'm buried deep in Dusty, f*****' her hard, she's facedown in bed, lovin' every stroke and I know this because she's purrin' for me like a cat. And when I make her come, she's gonna say my name. So with that, you also gotta know you are done. If you don't get this, Rivera's out and it'll be me who explains it to you in a way you'll finally f*****' understand."Well, Mike and Dusty got kinda sidetracked. Against all odds, the seed is planted, though.His tight arms gave me a squeeze and he whispered, "That seed you're talkin' about is planted, Angel. We got some s*** we gotta get through but it isn't about this," his arms gave me another squeeze, "it isn't about us. As far as that seed's concerned all you and me gotta do is tend it and watch it grow."Games of the Heart is not really action packed and there's hardly any suspense. It's a rather quiet story and pretty character-driven. Then again, you'll witness a few unsettling moments as well. Games of the Heart started out a little bit slow and I didn't feel all that wowed but boy, the second half of the story was fabulous! Finally, All's Well! Games of the Heart is so beautifully wrapped up by another A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. epilogue! Kristen can't write a bad epilogue, that's for sure. If you're a KA fan then do yourself a favor and read this book. There's so much to love about this story and I'm gonna say it in KA speech...Fin, Rees, and Dusty are the s***! Enjoy!