Review: Won Over by the Hero
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 12, 2014
** 3.5 stars **I have a strange knack for picking books up, mid-series. I've heard a lot of good things about Jessica Clare's books, and when my notoriously picky librarian cousin mentions she enjoys the Bluebonnet series, I decided to give The Virgin's Guide to Misbehaving a try.It's kind of funny that this is the book I started the series with because a few days prior, I was droning to my friend about how sick I was of "virgin books". I know that makes me sound like an ass. I mean, I hold nothing against the idea of the heroine being a virgin at all, which is a good thing because it's fairly prevalent in NA. I'm just tired of reading about it. I'm kind of over books where losing it is a ruthless mission, or a challenge that's meant to thrill me. In Virgin's Guide, we do have a virgin heroine in Elise, a sweet, painfully shy young woman with awful self-esteem issues, who wants to finally give her virginity. But what made this book work for me was, once she a Rome began to know each other, and fall for each other, it was a journey, not a destination. Meanwhile, Elise begins to step out of the shadows and begin to truly live. And Rome, he finds a woman who loves him whole-heartedly, for the man she knows he truly is.Another asset to the story was Rome. Here we have a bad boy who's really anything but. Rome is a hard-working, kind man with a rough childhood and an ill-deserved past. He looks dangerous, but has a huge heart and a soft spot when it comes to sweet Elise. And get this...Rome is a pierced, tattooed, motorcycle-riding ex-con who can count all the women he's been with on one hand. Yes, you read that right! If nothing else, knowing that little tidbit would have me picking this book up.As far as the romance goes, Rome and Elise's relationship was endearing. As I mentioned, Elise has poor self-esteem. She was born with a port wine stain that covered a large portion of her face. She eventually had it removed, though it did leave a faint stain. By that time, she'd also had corrective surgery for scoliosis, leaving her in a cast and scarred. Those differences made her stand out in school, and that cruelty has stuck with her. No matter how beautiful Rome thinks she is, how much respect he shows her, no matter how many times he says it, she still feels like that girl she once was. And wow, Rome was so attentive and took time and care with Elise. I appreciated that the author didn't throw these two immediately into bed. Despite the reason they connected, it was a slow burn.Of course, Rome and Elise's story isn't smooth sailing. Rome's past continues to haunt him, with his family always showing up to ruin things, and Elise's well-meaning and overbearing brother pushing Rome to make impossible choices about their relationship. This drama was so good and had me turning the pages like mad. The resolution worked for me and I believed in these two as a lasting couple.The Virgin's Guide to Misbehaving was a fast-paced, endearing and sexy story. If I was going to dive into the deep end of the Bluebonnet series, I picked a good place to start.