Review: HOT HOT read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 5, 2014
Melanie's 4.5 Star Review:In this big, complicated world, we all secretly hope that somewhere out there lives the one person we are meant for. In Beth Michele's Rex, both the female and male protagonist never considered that such a person existed, because hey, Love Sucks.Beth Michele writes an incredible tale of two people, haunted by their pasts; living everyday with their heads just bobbing above water with just enough air to keep them alive. Not knowing that upon stumbling into each other, the breaths they soon breathe into each other would become just the thing to not only keep them alive, but for the first time, actually give them a reason to live.Rex Grayson though physically stealth is anything but. Inundated with guilt and loss so unrelenting, he has punished himself by believing himself unworthy of happiness. He keeps his distance by having meaningless relationships, ones that consist of a slew of faceless women as a way to keep his demons at bay. I loved, Rex. His dirty mouth, his very masculine persona had my tongue wagging right out of my mouth. But truly what I fell in love with came as Vanessa walked into his life-- I thought THIS, THIS is who Rex Grayson is. A delicious mix of everything I could ever want in a book boyfriend-- naughty (Rex is like WHOA), amazingly passionate about his creative profession, self-assured yet completely vulnerable, and by golly, he is incredibly sweet.Vanessa Hilliard was quite a heroine in this book. Equally haunted by her past, she has sworn off the idea of love-- so much so that she had the full intention of making that testament permanent on her porcelain skin. But as luck would have it, the very tattoo parlor she chose to walk into would be the best decision in her lifetime. I really admired Vanessa's character. Given everything that she has had to deal with at such a young age, she fights against it and makes a life on her own the best way she could. Beth Michele did a wonderful job showing us that like Vanessa, our past shouldn't define the future we choose to have. Vanessa had such grace, an unforced beauty with a loving heart.The chemistry between Vanessa and Rex was out of this world. I was honestly blown away by some of the scenes and kept shooting out text messages to my blog partner at how hot and bothered I was. Everything between them just came so naturally, as if these two were meant to be on the pages together. I was not at all expecting the level of hotness I got out of this book. What a pleasant surprise this was!Beth Michele did an incredible job with Rex. This had many, many of the elements I look for in a great book. She gave us the perfect background for both Rex and Vanessa, I knew exactly what the demons they were fighting against and why those have shaped them to be the way that they are. This allowed me to connect with the characters and I was highly invested in their chance of a happily ever after. I was honestly so impressed with how well written and well versed all the pages were-- I was drawn in right at the very beginning and that gave me such a high, knowing that this was something I wouldn't be able to put down.And so you I'm sure you're asking why I couldn't give this the full 5-stars... There was something which I can't fully wrap my mind around that just missed this mark for me. Before continuing this review, I was debating with myself because I hate not being able to pin point as to exactly where it didn't all align for me. It may have been the pace of the book where it made it seem as if Vanessa forgave too easily, taking away from the seriousness of the situation for me or it could have been how readily "curable" Rex suddenly became after years of turmoil... Having said that, I enjoyed their story so, so much (so much so I couldn't stop messaging the author squealing about certain parts) and I would highly recommend this HOT HOT read.