Review: A Little Better than OK ***Between 3 and 3 1/2 Stars***
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 02 23, 2014
Overall I liked this story.  The writing is decent, although the book does need editing.  There were a number of errors, especially with the use of incorrect punctuation; for example several times question marks are used where periods should be.  Furthermore, at times I found it difficult to follow the story, due to the author's practice of having different characters speaking and acting within the same paragraph.  It was often hard for me to decipher which character was saying and doing what.  Oftentimes I would have to reread paragraphs to make the determination...other times I simply gave up.Then there is the author's habit of "head hopping" (I borrowed that term from another reviewer who used it in her review of another book. LOL)  Head hopping is where the author hops from the thoughts of one character to the other, usually within the same paragraph.  I would have to try to figure out whose thoughts were being portrayed at a particular time...which just made the reading onerous.  Between the head hopping and the inability to determine which character was saying or doing what, the story was, at times, very confusing.As for the characters, I liked Piper and Rockwell well enough, but I didn't feel a connection to either of them.  IMO, Ms. Matthews characters are not relatable; they are all too perfect--and that for me was the biggest issue--Piper is extremely beautiful; Rockwell extremely handsome, not to mention extremely wealthy and rakish; then there are Pipers brothers, both of whom are also extremely handsome and wealthy; Piper's sister, Poppy, is also extremely beautiful and; Poppy's husband extremely handsome, and wealthy (Poppy and her husband are the protagonists from the first book "Ruin Me Please.")Moreover, I found Piper's constant giggling off-putting, it made her seem a bit ditzy.  Frankly the giggling gave the story a somewhat young adult feel, which was completely incompatible with the graphic sex scenes, and over-the-top sexual tension between the protagonists.As for the story itself, I thought it was entertaining; although by the time I came to the halfway mark I was ready for it to be over.  There is a lot of sexual tension between Rock and Piper, and though I enjoy sex in my romance novels, it became a bit tedious after a while.  It just seemed that every encounter between Rockwell and Piper, they were ready to tear each other's clothes off.  The sexual overtones so overwhelmed the story that I had to wonder if they were really in love, or merely in lust.Furthermore, I did not find it the least bit believable, that after spending Piper's first three seasons fantasizing about each other, Rockwell had no idea who Piper was.  I could believe that they had never been introduced, but for him not to even know her name?  She's supposedly one of the Diamonds of each season, and she's his best friend's sister, not to mention all her brother's other rakish friends, who were also Rock's friends, knew Piper, consequently, in my view, at the very least he should know who she is...especially when you consider the casual way in which he did learn finally learn her name, through a remark made by one of the mutual friends.Intrigue is added to the plot with nefarious schemes, vengeance, and kidnapping, as there is a man who is determined to get to Rockwell through Piper.After reading book one, "Ruin Me Please," I could see definite improvements in this book.  Nonetheless, this story was for me just a little better than ok.  Ms. Matthews shows definite promise as a writer...she has a wonderful creative ability.  Maybe the next book will be better, one can hope.  As for this book, I'd say it is somewhere between a 3 and 3 1/2 star read.  BTW, it is not, by any stretch of the imagination, a clean romance.  LOL  Happy reading.