Review: Can a MC romance be a comfort read?  Because this one is
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 4, 2014
** possible spoilers **Gasp!  I actually loved this MC book.  And I do NOT like MC books because I find them generally full of cheating, skanky OW's and their games and disrespect towards the women.  I also hate MC books because the h's are weak sauce and cower and buckle in the presence of the mighty peen which just causes me to lose respect for them.This is not one of those books.  I was wary about reading it because 1) it's like, a gazillion pages long; 2) I HATE books with cheating, and it seems like most MC books have cheating; 3) I'd never read anything by Mariana Zapata.  However, the Amazon Romance Forum readers indicated that this book did not have cheating or the h being disrespected, so I took a chance.  I finished this book last week.  Since I completed it, I've gone back to it multiple times just to reread certain parts.  I finally realized after a week of random rereading that this book has somehow become a comfort read.1) the H is awesome.  He doesn't cheat (although for those sensitive, he does hook up with some random woman in the beginning of the book - but this is WAY before the h develops any feelings for him and still actively dislikes him because he was rude to her).  He's completely devoted to the h and does everything he can to shelter and protect her.  Aside from running his mouth when he loses his temper (usually when he's afraid for her), he doesn't disrespect her or smack her around or treat her like crap.  He treats her like the treasure she is to him.2) I liked the h.  I HATE h's who are TSTL.  And who whine all. the. time.  Did the h indulge in self-pity sometimes?  Yes, but it didn't annoy me.  Because she had legitimate reasons to - and it never lasted long because she would suck it up and forge ahead.  She was loving, she was smart, and she was a hard worker.  She just hadn't received a whole lot of breaks.  For those who care, she was also a virgin - but it was believable considering her background (cancer survivor - not a big secret because she reveals it to the reader early on).  The h was also hilarious - and as this was written in the first person, we see all the convoluted and crazy thoughts that race through her head.  I was thoroughly entertained.3) This was a MC novel on happy blissed out pills.  This was a cleaned up MC - for those who are wary of MC books like me - this is a safe bet.  If you liked Motorcycle Man by Kristen Ashley, you'll like this one.4) the slow build in the relationship between the H and h was a delight to read (I can't believe I used the word "delight").  While Locke was clearly attracted to Iris (even though he acted like a d*#k to her in the beginning because he was having a bad day and she got in the way), Iris couldn't stand him because he was rude to her and belittled her.  Even though she thought he was the hottest guy she'd ever seen, she was resistant to the magic peen and just the fact that he was hot didn't make up for being a jerk to her. Oh, she made him sorry.  And oh, he groveled to get into her good graces (I do love a good grovel).  But you see the relationship between them develop from antagonists to friends and finally to lovers.  It unfolded in a believable way and by the time they get together (WELL beyond the 50% mark) you KNOW they have a solid foundation between them.5) it's uh, not really 900 pages long.  I would peg it at closer to 600 pages - there are a lot of spaces between the paragraphs.Anyway - if you like books with super alpha super hot H's who are crazy protective and you like snarky funny vulnerable h's who aren't TSTL AND you like bad boys and MC's but can't stomach cheating and beatings - this is a pretty good one to read.