Smitten by Books

“I’m not sure what you have been told about me, but I’m not nearly as bad as they make me out to be.” His deliciously deep voice carried a little bit of ego.

I’m sure you are exactly as bad as they make you out to be….

Brad De Luca is used to getting whatever and whomever he wants. The premier divorce attorney in town, he’s a playboy who’s bedded half the city—including his own clients. And when the newest intern at his firm poses a challenge, his seductive prowess goes into overdrive.

Pre-law student Julia Campbell is fresh off a failed engagement and happy with her new independence. Even if she weren’t warned away from Brad at every turn, she’d know he was bad news. The last thing she needs is a man who could destroy her job prospects, not to mention her innocence. But before she knows it, the incorrigible charmer has her under his spell. His deviant tastes plunge her deep into a forbidden world of sexual exploration…but her heart may not survive the fall.

REVIEW

Hmmm. This is one of those books I’m not going to rate except to tell you the heat level is scorching/erotic. And it’s bordering on erotic not so much as what they do but because of who is doing it to who.

Let’s start at the beginning. The blurb. It caught my eye. But I can honestly say I absolutely missed “His deviant tastes” part or I probably would have thought twice about downloading it from NetGalley. What intrigued me about it was that Brad was the rake and would be taken down by Julia because he’d fall head over heels in love with her. At least that’s how the romance novels I read go. I was a tad uncomfortable with what I assumed was a pretty sizeable age difference but I shoved that aside  knowing I’d be getting the kind of story I really enjoyed. Love stories in an office setting–boss/worker, coworkers, I’m so there.

Well it’s no exaggeration to say that Brad, our ‘hero’ is a male slut. Boundaries? He doesn’t have many. He sleeps with his clients — and watch out there are SPOILERS galore in this review — he slept with one of his law partner’s wife. Julis’s boss’s wife to be exact. When I read that, it really set me back on my heels. I mean I knew Brad was a lot of things but geesh, that so crossed the line for me.

Now Julia was instructed in no uncertain terms to stay away from Brad. Her boss is adamant about that. And she does…for awhile. Of course circumstances come up and they meet up. Well that’s pretty much the end of staying away from Casanova. He’s on her like white on rice. Seriously. From then, he won’t leave her alone. And Julia, who has slept with only two guys in her entire life (her high school sweetheart and her fiance), starts falling and never stops. I bought this. The guy is super hot and oozes charisma. A girl can and will lose her head being the focus of a man like that. *snort* A girl can dream, right?

Somehow, don’t even ask me how because I’m not even sure as of now, he convinces her to fly to Vegas with him for a weekend shortly after they finally meet. This seemed rushed to me. I mean I think he’d taken her out to lunch once and cornered her in the office a couple times and she says yes. Go figure.

Let’s move on to their trip to Vegas. This is when I was finally clued in to what kind of a romance novel I was reading. Definitely not the kind I’m used to. So Julia tells him in a burst of panic that she’s not going to sleep with him. Pretty naive of her I think. Accept his invite to Vegas for the weekend and then fool herself into believing it. The next thing you know he’s pretty much dumping her on other people to be entertained. At this point I’m getting a really icky feeling in my gut thinking, oh dear, what have I gotten myself into.

The first night he takes her to a club, has someone entertain her while he has sex with a stripper he regularly goes to when he’s in town. I believe, we’re supposed to believe that when he has sex with her this time it’s different. His need for Julia is so great, the stripper remarks that there’s something different about this time. In the meanwhile, Julia is getting drunk off her ass and is soon making out with some woman, topless, both of them. The people in the club are hooting and hollering and getting a nice peep show. Brad watches her and is totally turned on.

And that is officially where the book loses me. I mean completely. Maybe it’s because I’m kind of prude when it comes to my romances. Or very traditional in my tastes. But I want a hero who would NEVER share or WANT to share the heroine and vice versa. I want a hero who wouldn’t screw someone else when he’s with the heroine. Did I read on. I skimmed to the end. I was still praying tht somehow, someway this romance could be salvaged. Please let the hero change.

Nope. Not even a little bit. How does this end? He convinces her she has to take a walk on the ‘dark side’ with him. Basically, he’s into swinging. He wants to watch her have sex with other men and women. What does formerly strait-laced Julia do? She agrees. The final scene is her in a hotel room blindfolded. Brad comes in with some guy she doesn’t know and never sees. They have sex with her and she loves it. Yes, you heard me, she has anonymous sex with a stranger. A guy she doesn’t know from Adam and a guy she never sees.

Needless to say, I won’t be reading the next book about Julia and Brad, MASKED INNOCENCE. Swinging and anonymous sex is just not my idea of romance. But if it is your thing and if you’re into a bit of kink, you will probably love this book. I was really enjoying it up until the point I figured out that it wasn’t a ‘traditional’ romance. I just wish I knew exactly what I was getting myself into before I started reading it. Lesson learned.

Heat Level: Scorching/Erotic