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anasatticbookblog's review
4.0
Love in Rewind (Audio Fools #1) by Tali Alexander
1st in a possible series. Can stand alone. Adult contemporary/erotic. Interactive.
Wow, Love in Rewind by Tali Alexander was a roller coaster for me! There was so much I loved about this book, yet there were a few things that really bugged me enough to start thinking I wouldn't rate it that well, then BAM--I was hooked to the point of forgetting to post sales and make dinner. I ended up overall loving this book, and I think my issues with it are completely different than what others had to say.
First of all, don't judge by the cover. Although it's a beautiful cover, it doesn't fit the book to me. This book is HOT!!!! I mean there is a LOT of detailed sex throughout the book, but there is no sacrifice of story. Mr. Ana was a happy man (that's why it took 3 days to read. I was..ahem...busy).
Love in Rewind had a few very unique features that I just LOVED. If you have a choice of reading device, this is one book where I would suggest reading on a tablet or even a phone over a kindle. Why? Well this book is interactive! How cool is that?
Emily and her friend Sara have their own special language--they tell each other things with the titles of songs from the eighties that would express what they want to say. Each of the titles lead to the video and lyrics of the song with just a click. It was really brilliant, and so much fun to click. Some of the pop culture references went to wikipedia as well. The book doesn't really take place in the 80s though, the girls just love the music!
Another unique thing. We start in the present day, with 29 year old Emily thinking her ten year marriage to the love of her life is over. Then we flash back 11 years to when their love began, and the book tells the full story from there. So I read the whole book with a little trepidation, thinking that maybe they won't get that happy ever after.
REWIND...
Emily is 18 and a virgin. She never did anything with anyone beyond kissing. She never even did herself. She just never found herself attracted to anyone (she grew up in private schools of NY--a pretty fast crowd, this part was a bit unrealistic for me). But when helping her older sister and her husband cater an affair, she caught sight of 29 year old host, playboy Louis Bruel (dark and David Gandy-esque but better). *Note: I was 19 and my husband 27 when we met, so the age difference was fine with me.
They eyed each other surreptitiously around the room that night, but never spoke, and suddenly Emily became a horny animal masturbating to her visions of Louis. She couldn't get him out of her head, and even bought a dildo and used it thinking of him. (I must admit, this part was a little much for me). She was a woman obsessed.
"I couldn't stop thinking about him. I was becoming pathetic and totally obsessed. I called Sara; I had to talk to somebody.
"Every Breath you Take by the Police," I said as soon as she picked up the phone.
"Are you fucking kidding me? Have you been stalking him, you idiot? He could be married or gay or both."
Louis booked Emily's sister for 4 more jobs just so he could see Emily again, clearly as obsessed as she was. But she was having teenage fantasies of him, while he was all man.
"We would first take a naughty shower together and then he would carry me to bed and finger me until I screamed out his name. After that, we'd sleep happily ever after. THE END."
As she is fantasizing while cleaning dishes at the next event, she's caged in by Louis, saying his first words to her.
"Are you trying to make me come in my pants in front of all my clients, little girl?"
She agreed to have coffee with him in the hotel lobby. OMG, at this point I was SOOOO relating to the character! Mr. Ana took me to a hotel on our first date (remember? I was 19, he was 27). I wanted to seem older and was too chicken to say no. I never even told anyone where I was. (Then proceeded to have an amazing, amazing night, and I was in love. That was 27 years ago).
"I was sitting next to him trembling on the inside, yet desperately trying to appear clam, cool and collected...what in the world am I doing with Louis Bruel alone at a hotel?"
But it was clear they wanted each other, and he couldn't keep his hands off of her.
"Emily...Em...where did you come from? And what are you doing to me? I'm too old for you, but I can't stop. I can't think. I can't even play it cool. I want to be inside you so fucking bad. I think I'm gonna explode."
Though Emily was willing to do everything else (in great detail) with Louis, he held off on taking away her virginity for a long time...but it didn't matter, these two were all over each other and couldn't spend a moment apart from the second they met. The problem? Emily lived at home and they didn't do sleep outs. But the charismatic guy even won over her parents. There was no doubt Emily was it for him. But she never understood it, never quite believed it herself. What would this gorgeous, rich as sin "most eligible bachelor" who used to have several women at a time want with an 18 year old virgin? (That doubt always haunts her.)
"I wake up every night thinking you're right there with me, and when reality hits I try to go back to sleep as quickly as possible to make the night go by faster so I can see those incredible eyes again. Emily, you erase all the rest. You're my life and you have my heart."
I was reading a whole book about this perfect love, with an AMAZING sex life (they can't keep their hands off of each other for years, and Tali details it) but we know there is trouble in paradise coming. So I was reading it a little heartbroken that they aren't always perfect. But when we get back to present time, nothing was pulling me away from my iPad. NOTHING.
Likes:
- •I loved the interactive feature of the book! It made it so much fun to read!
- •The 80's songs were perfect the way they were worked into the story.
- •Hot as hell sex!!! I mean really hot!
- •His home, I'd love to see that!
- •She captured the feeling of being a young girl with a much older, experienced, possessive, obsessed, very physical guy so perfectly. It was exactly the way I felt. I felt like I was reading my story. SO MUCH.
- •TONS of dirty talk.
- •I know some people didn't like that he called her "little girl", I loved it.
- •The story is told in rewind, so you think you know how it will end, and it keeps you a little on edge the whole time.
- •The twist at the end.
- •Rarely found Jewish characters (though it was hardly mentioned at all, in fact, it wasn't brought up at times it should have been).
- •Good set up to a second book, but can still stand alone.
Dislikes:
- •The beautiful cover really didn't work for this story for me.
- •The beginning was a little rough for me, her obsession and masturbation were a little much, and it seemed a bit rushed. Though I totally believe in instalove, since I had it, he seemed to have it before they even spoke.
- •Though there was only one minor error, the book really can use a good editor, not a proofreader. The sentences are very short and choppy, and the author uses periods instead of commas often. There is some repetition and excessive use of ellipses and exclamation points (I do that too!). It made the writing seem kind of immature.
- •At first it felt like she took every good part of every romance book and made it her own. It had a very Fifty Shades feel without the BDSM (though I wish there was a little more kink, it would have definitely worked), just the obsessive, sex obsessed older billionaire. But when it came into it's own after the initial setup, I really enjoyed the story.
- •It was all a little too easy for them. Everyone seemed to accept an 11 year age difference without issue.
Rating: 4.25 stars, 5 heat
Though I have listed a number of dislikes, don't let that deter you. I think the most common issues other readers may have would be the age difference between the characters and the love at first sight. But since both of those things happened to me, it was actually part of what I loved about the story, and the author captured that feeling of being young and overwhelmed by an older man perfectly. Tali told a story of a very physical love that lasted for years and was lovely to read about. Their love for each other seemed so unbreakable, so knowing from the beginning that something may happen to was always there in my mind, making it a very different type of read. Capping it off with those awesome links to 80s songs that blended perfectly with the story, and you have a unique, very hot, very addictive story! I really look forward to the next in this series!
Purchase Love In Rewind (Audio Fools #1) by Tali Alexander
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | BN.com
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ladynae's review
5.0
pagesofbellerose's review
voula's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jessreads82's review
2.0
The storyline sounded interesting, but 20% through I couldn't go on. Found it to be shallow, and did not enjoy the writing style
thehaylflayl's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
denaesheree9's review
5.0
I loved this book! I had a constant smile on my face the entire time I was reading it. I have been facebook stalking the author waiting for her next book. I would recommend everyone reads this book. I loved the relationship between the H and h.
foksha_1996's review
4.0
Author: Tali Alexander
Genre: NA, Romance
Stars: 4/5
What an awesome book!! It was exactly the kind of book I was looking for. The story started off as sexy, sassy, and swoony with an intriguing story and great banter. Then it turned hot and heart-warming, right before a huge twist that brought all the angst and feels!! It was the perfect blend of everything I could hope for in an addictive romance! I loved it!
The books starts with our main character Emily, waking up from a nightmare about her husband. In her dream, he was sleeping with other woman and cheating on her. then Emily wakes him up to tell him about her nightmare so can he comfort her but instead he gets angry and gives her the cold shoulder. So Emily start’s to rewind her life back and show us how they meet and how they got to this point.
Right from the start you can sense there is a strong attraction between Emily and Louis. Not unexpectedly, there was plenty of heat between these two. They really made each other better people. Louis, especially, had lots of room to improve. Together, they just worked. Opposites attract and all that.
“It appear that we share a birthday, my sweet Emily. You see you are made for me.”
My only problem was that I thought the main character Emily was so young, childish and naive. There is an insta-love going on. I felt the book was too rushed, they only met 3 or 4 times and he already thinks she’s the one? and then in less than 2 months, she moved in with him….
“I asked you to move in yesterday. I met your parents today. I told your brother-in-law I want to marry you and I just confessed to you that I love you. It’s safe to say I’m whatever you want me to be.”
See what I mean? there was no chasing between these two at all. It wasn’t fun at all watching Louis not trying so hard to win Emily over. Everything between these two progressed in a very rushed way, everything was unbelievable. Basically the book was so rushed and started with insta-love.
“Please tell me you’re at least eighteen. I really don’t want to go to jail. But I think it might be worth it even if you’re not.”
The second half of the books? AMAZING!!!! It was the reason why I gave this book 4 instead of 2 to be honest. And that cliffhanger?? DID NOT EXPECT THAT! I read the first 2 chapters of book 2 (Lies In Rewind) and honestly I can’t wait to read it!!
All in all, this was a wonderful love story with the perfect amount of romance, drama, and laughter. It was a great mixture of everything I want in my romance reads.
Highly recommended.
gabbyreads's review
1.0
Unfortunately this book just wasn't for me. This book has every cliche thing that I dislike in new adult novels. The girl is a virgin and she spends her life being unnoticed by men, but yet she is so unbelievavbly beautiful in the eyes of a rich and succesful businessman. A man who is a total player and never wants to be tied down but of course he suddenly falls in love with an eighteen year old virgin and within 2 days of being with her he decides he doesn't ever want to live a life without her. It's just so unrealistic. He is close to 30 years old and she is 18. Age gaps have never been a problem for me, but it's the way Louis talks to her that gives me the creeps. He calls her little girl all the time. It's his pet name for her, and I found it so creepy and disgusting. Every time he called her "little girl" I was just like:
Emily is 18 years old, but her voice as a narrator sounds closer to 13. She is always overexaggerating and I rolled my eyes at her inner thoughts all the time. She says things like this: "Oh. My. God. Louis agreed to have coffe with me!" I don't know if I'm just nit-picking here but I can't stand her voice in this book. Also, she is always referring to Louis as Mr. Drop Dead Gorgeous, or Mr. Drunk and Sexy or Mr. Sexy Event Coordinator or whatever the fuck. It's so fucking annoying and juvenile for her to keep talking about him in this way. I couldn't stand it.
Can we also discuss how ridiculous their first time meeting each other was? The first thing he ever says to her is: "Are you trying to make me come in my pants in front of all of my clients little girl?" Like what the fuck??? What a creeper. Then the second thing he says is: "I've been jerking off to the vision of your tits in that white tank top for the last two weeks." Then after this fucking ridiculous scene, we are expected to believe this was "love at first sight" and not lust at first sight. They are literally only together for two days before he decides he's in love with her and he doesn't even know anything about her. He doesn't ask her any questions about her life and he doesn't seem to care about anything unless it has to do with getting her naked.
The insta-love is so present in this book and it's insane.
Overall, this book just wasn't my cup of tea. I spent most of the time cringing or rolling my eyes. The inta-love is just one of many things that bothered me about this book. I didn't like Louis at all and I never felt attracted to his character at any point in this book, he mostly gave me creeper vibes and the way he called her "little girl" all the time freaked me the fuck out. That shit is not cute, especially because of the significant age gap, it just made it worse. Maybe if you are a fan of Fifty Shades of Grey then you'll enjoy this book more than I did, but I really don't care for the alpha male controlling creepy douche bag male characters that I'm supposed to be attracted to just because they are "sexy" and rich. I don't get it.
bayougirl85's review
5.0