Review: SINFULLY WELL-WRITTEN!!! A Must Read.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 21, 2013
Enter one rich, somewhat spoiled young woman, Alexa Greene into the penthouse of Enrique `Ric' Castillo and the fire is lit between these two.Sure it was only on a dare but what Alexa had not bargained for was blackmail. Not the savage kind, but the sexy, searing kind.The beginning is priceless in this contemporary romance set in Marcella, Spain where sparks ignite between Alexa and Ric. Coming from two different worlds, they mask their initial attraction with a high voltage weariness that borders on frustration with each other. The push and pull of their romantic attraction coupled with their objectives, put them at odds with each other and their internal desire. Conflicts force them into corners as they other battle at every turn. The heat-factor of Sinfully Summer starts out with a crackling sizzle and steadily the temperature surges as Alexa and Ric struggle to keep their lust at bay.The story brings two people from vastly different upbringings together with what should have been a brief interlude. Yet Alexa, by her very nature, prickles Ric as well as one of his wealthy patrons during a "date." In undoing his efforts to obtain support for an upcoming charity ball (he's planning), Alexa is thrust into helping him further by his ability to manipulate her guilt. And this is where we begin to see the unveiling of the depth of these two characters.Ric, now a wealthy hotel owner, seeks to assuage his shame at having lived on the streets as a five-year old. He bears the invisible scars in learning how to survive (for ten years alone) homeless in Madrid. He seeks to fund a charity aimed at assisting homeless children suffering a similar fate is one of the driving forces of this plot.Over the course of the story, Alexa slowly comes to know the various facets that make-up Ric beyond his need for respect. In turn we get to see how his Type-A personality both needles Alexa yet also allow her to respond to him with a softer, caring side. This opposing of personalities intersects over and over.Ric is a man with deep pocket of passion capable of violence and yes a heaping of dark smoldering good looks that aptly set Alexa's blood on fire. With equal measure, Alexa tries Ric's patience from the clothes she wears, to her forth-rightful utterances, to her desire for a fun time while on holiday with her friends. But Alexa is more than a 23-year old party girl the press has painted her. She started her own company and seeks the same independence Ric does even if each of them goes about seeking to mold their identity in vastly polar ways. Ric is all about establishing his own footing away from his wealthy adoptive parents and Alexa refuses to touch her trust fund (which speaks volumes as to her family dynamics). So even though they both understand wealth, they have more than enough strength of character to want to make it on their own.Throughout the story, it was like the pencil skirt he forced Alexa to wear permitting small steps forward in which both hero and heroine uncover things they liked and nearly abhorred in each other...until they dug a little deeper. When the couple comes together, the sexy times are well written, hot and hammering.All is not well in romance town though and when Duffy brings on the problems, she does so in spades. This couple is given a chance to heat up the penthouse and then they fall out. Everything from night terrors to accusations to fear of falling/trusting is heaped onto the couple.Dialogue and scene changes throughout the story keep the pace brisk. There's never a dull moment and the angst is piled on keeping the tension tight and the romance hot and steamy. By the end of the story, the reader seriously wants to lock these two together in a room. They are so right for each other if they'd shut up and kiss. And kiss and kiss. Not to mention all the other things they've done along the way.Did I say it gets freaking HOT IN HERE?  I thoroughly enjoyed reading Sinfully Summer (The Brit terms were so well-played. I want to speak in an accent too!) and did so the exclusion of everything is it was that enthralling. Ms Duffy constructs one heck of love story, teasing the passion and tension from start to finish. Sinfully Summer is the official romance book of the summer.ONE OF MY FAVORITE RAMPING UP SCENESHis chocolate eyes, usually warm, now looked like they'd scorch the sockets. With a rigid jaw, he bent down so his lips were an inch from hers. Alexa's hormones exploded like fireworks, but the anger hadn't gone. No, the lust just ignited it further. She wanted to strangle him, wanted to kiss him and bite his lips, wanted... something.`You're walking down a dangerous path, querido.' The husky tone held a note of warning.