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aimeelio's review against another edition
i started this book in the morning, but put it away because i thought it was going to be erotica, and frankly, i can't read stuff like that at work. hahaha here's a surprise though, so not erotica!! there were some hot scenes, but mostly this is a love story between two damaged people. Allie is a single mom whose child is the product of a rape. Colin is criminal bad boy who wants to go legit. their relationship is messy, confusing and they both make a ton of mistakes but they both know what they feel for each other is different.
this was a rather quick read. as i mentioned, the first few pages are super sexual, but not in a totally good way. Allie has some serious issues. it did hook me though and i wanted to know where the story was going. it's not light, but not as heavy as say cj roberts captive in the dark.
this was a rather quick read. as i mentioned, the first few pages are super sexual, but not in a totally good way. Allie has some serious issues. it did hook me though and i wanted to know where the story was going. it's not light, but not as heavy as say cj roberts captive in the dark.
anasatticbookblog's review against another edition
3.0
Read more of my reviews and ramblings at Ana's Attic Sexy Tales and Toys
This book was sent to me by the author as an ARC in exchange for a fair review. Being fairly new to blogging, I didn't want to read any reviews before accepting it. I should have because I probably would not have chosen it on my own. Though many of my trusted reading buddies loved it, it was not for me. It is a very dark, gritty tale with a woman who continues to punish herself for be raped. This was not a pretty book, but it was real. Too real and gritty for me. 2.5 stars for story 2 H for Heat.
Allie was raped by one of her best childhood friend Jacob,! When she found out she was pregnant, she and her best girlfriend, Shelly took off. Shelly became a hooker to help Allie and her baby out, and Allie got a crappy job at a bakery. Allie is so damaged that she has a need to go out, once a month, pick up a strange, rough looking guy and have random, rough sex with them. To be treated like she was during the rape, but on her terms. One night, she picks up Colin. He treats her differently--maybe not the way she wants, but the way she needs. Colin owns a restaurant but does some criminal work for his mob-like brother. At first, Allie wants to stay away for her daughter's sake, but when her rapist returns, she turns to Colin, and moves in with him and allows him to basically be a sugar daddy for her & her and her daughter.
With Colin, Allie is coming out of the "beat me, I need it" attitude, but has so many dark recesses in her mind, those feelings haunt her. She feels she needs to please him because of all he does for her. But yet we never really hear Colin in this book. He is a looming presence, but we never really hear his voice, just Allie's fucked up thoughts of what he is thinking. I have never read about such a taciturn guy. When we read Colin may be responsible (or is) responsible for some messed up stuff, it doesn't seem congruent with the personality we have read about.
Overall, I can't go above 2.5 stars for this. There were just too many things that I didn't like. Here are my largest likes and dislikes:
Liked:
-Bailey. She was adorable, and I would have actually liked more of her.
-Allie tried to be a good mom
-Colin taking a single mom and a baby in and being great with them
-The older neighbor
-That Allie grew and developed a backbone
Disliked:
-Not hearing Colin's voice enough (I prefer first person, but this was too one-sided)
-Allie keeping stupid stuff from him that always makes things worse
-Colin's work behind the scenes to "steal" her
-The book was way too dark for my tastes
-Too many bad cops
Largest dislike:
-This was supposed to be erotic, but I never felt that, at ALL. There was no passion and very little chemistry. Almost every scene we were in her fucked up head too much.
Thank God there was a happy ending and some growth or I would be really pissed I wasted 2 days in a dark mood.
This book was sent to me by the author as an ARC in exchange for a fair review. Being fairly new to blogging, I didn't want to read any reviews before accepting it. I should have because I probably would not have chosen it on my own. Though many of my trusted reading buddies loved it, it was not for me. It is a very dark, gritty tale with a woman who continues to punish herself for be raped. This was not a pretty book, but it was real. Too real and gritty for me. 2.5 stars for story 2 H for Heat.
Allie was raped by one of her best childhood friend Jacob,
Spoiler
then raped again in the hospital by the attending copWith Colin, Allie is coming out of the "beat me, I need it" attitude, but has so many dark recesses in her mind, those feelings haunt her. She feels she needs to please him because of all he does for her. But yet we never really hear Colin in this book. He is a looming presence, but we never really hear his voice, just Allie's fucked up thoughts of what he is thinking. I have never read about such a taciturn guy. When we read Colin may be responsible (or is) responsible for some messed up stuff, it doesn't seem congruent with the personality we have read about.
Overall, I can't go above 2.5 stars for this. There were just too many things that I didn't like. Here are my largest likes and dislikes:
Liked:
-Bailey. She was adorable, and I would have actually liked more of her.
-Allie tried to be a good mom
-Colin taking a single mom and a baby in and being great with them
-The older neighbor
-That Allie grew and developed a backbone
Disliked:
-Not hearing Colin's voice enough (I prefer first person, but this was too one-sided)
-Allie keeping stupid stuff from him that always makes things worse
-Colin's work behind the scenes to "steal" her
-The book was way too dark for my tastes
-Too many bad cops
Largest dislike:
-This was supposed to be erotic, but I never felt that, at ALL. There was no passion and very little chemistry. Almost every scene we were in her fucked up head too much.
Thank God there was a happy ending and some growth or I would be really pissed I wasted 2 days in a dark mood.
anacarter's review against another edition
5.0
Just received an ARC courtesy of Amber Lin!
Review to come...
Post will be up shortly:
http://somanybookssolittletimebookgroup.wordpress.com/2012/09/05/giving-it-up-by-amber-lin/
Review to come...
Post will be up shortly:
http://somanybookssolittletimebookgroup.wordpress.com/2012/09/05/giving-it-up-by-amber-lin/
booklovinmamas's review
4.0
Full Review posted on Book Lovin' Mamas
I love Amber Lin’s writing style. After reading “Giving it Up,” I’m looking forward to Amber Lin’s next books. She is a whole writing style. I’m always reading the happy, sweet stories, but she wrote a book that was a major roller coaster for me. One minute I’m smiling, the next I’m about to punch a character in his face for Allie.
Once you realize what happened to Allie and why she is the way she is, you will understand her better and feel sympathetic.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants an erotic romance that has dark, tense suspense to it. Be prepared to want to hurt some of the characters though. I know there were a few times, I would’ve loved to kick some butt for Allie.
I love Amber Lin’s writing style. After reading “Giving it Up,” I’m looking forward to Amber Lin’s next books. She is a whole writing style. I’m always reading the happy, sweet stories, but she wrote a book that was a major roller coaster for me. One minute I’m smiling, the next I’m about to punch a character in his face for Allie.
Once you realize what happened to Allie and why she is the way she is, you will understand her better and feel sympathetic.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants an erotic romance that has dark, tense suspense to it. Be prepared to want to hurt some of the characters though. I know there were a few times, I would’ve loved to kick some butt for Allie.
bodebeabay's review
2.0
Could not take the stupidity of the female mc anymore! Nor the writing of story.
I used to love Skye Warren a.k.a. Amber Lin, but this was just to much TSTL for me to take.
More later
I used to love Skye Warren a.k.a. Amber Lin, but this was just to much TSTL for me to take.
More later
wilovebooks's review
5.0
I was a little nervous when I started reading. This is a bit darker than what I normally read. Allie is a character with a lot of issues and deals with them in ways that are pretty self-destructive. She is a damaged individual who is trying to cope with her past the best way she knows how. Then Colin comes along, who is an enigma but wants to take care of her. The story has explicit sex and language and deals with rape. If you are not offended by those things, I recommend it. I really liked the story and how it deals with the issues. Overall, it is a story about healing and how damaged people can find happiness and love.
sassygremlin's review
4.0
This was a very emotional book for me to read, but I'm glad I stuck with it and finished it. Allie and Colin don't have a traditional romance, but it's a love story all the same. It's departure from the typical makes it that much more real. Highly recommend this to anyone who likes a dark, gritty story with a happy ending. (:
shellygreninger's review
3.0
Review originally posted on my blog {Dive} Under the Cover
I had a hard time with this being classified as erotica, somewhere it even has a BDSM tag which I also think is misleading. To me, Allie's preferences are nowhere near a BDSM classification. I think that with the popularity of The Fifty Shades series this tag on a novel is an attention getter, but not something that is always used properly, if that makes any sense! This was a contemporary romance with some dark undertones, but it wasn't erotica in my opinion.
I actually had to sit on this review for a couple days and thing about how I wanted to talk about it. I went so far as to take notes while reading it so I could see if my feelings changes as I kept reading. For the most part they didn't. It's hard to post a review like this without spoilers so I am going to use the summary as a guide and try not to give anything away.
My main feeling is that the story here had really good potential, but it was lost somewhere in little details and things that weren't developed quite enough. I liked Colin at first, but I didn't really form a connection with any of the characters. I think that so much time was taken plotting out the story and focusing on Allie's "addiction" to being hurt that the character development just wasn't there. I never really did like Allie, there was something off about her and I think it's that I just didn't "get" her need to be hurt by men. In order for that to work in the story I needed to understand why and I never really did.
I didn't feel the connection between Colin and Allie either, at all. It didn't even feel like a love story to me. It was more like she needed someone, he was there, the end. That spark just wasn't there for me. Even the love scenes were strained and not sexy for me. She kept saying throughout the story that she trusted him even when it was clear that she didn't and she had no reason to trust him because she didn't really know him.
What was the worst thing for me was that out of all the men in the story, Jacob was the one that I felt was the most decent and had the most potential and he was a rapist. That may be a little spoilery, but it's a point I need to make.
Here is the deal...I think that too much focus was put on Allie's problem with men and her date nights. I think that the book would have been better if the characters and their relationships would have been better developed. I really think that the whole story of her being raped, trying to move on with her daughter, meeting Colin, the stuff with his brother, etc...would have made a really good story on it's own. I think that trying to make it more of an Erotica title is what threw it off.
I know it doesn't make sense at this point to say that the story was well written, but it kinda was. It's just missing a vital component. What is there is written well. I think it just needed to be fleshed out a little and tightened up. For me, character development is a HUGE thing. If I connect to the characters and I feel for them then I love them. If I don't, no matter how good the idea is, it's just not a great story for me. I do think that Amber Lin has great potential, I saw it in this story, most definitely. I wanted to love this book, there was just something crucial missing for me. With a little more work it would have been really great, in my opinion.
I had a hard time with this being classified as erotica, somewhere it even has a BDSM tag which I also think is misleading. To me, Allie's preferences are nowhere near a BDSM classification. I think that with the popularity of The Fifty Shades series this tag on a novel is an attention getter, but not something that is always used properly, if that makes any sense! This was a contemporary romance with some dark undertones, but it wasn't erotica in my opinion.
I actually had to sit on this review for a couple days and thing about how I wanted to talk about it. I went so far as to take notes while reading it so I could see if my feelings changes as I kept reading. For the most part they didn't. It's hard to post a review like this without spoilers so I am going to use the summary as a guide and try not to give anything away.
My main feeling is that the story here had really good potential, but it was lost somewhere in little details and things that weren't developed quite enough. I liked Colin at first, but I didn't really form a connection with any of the characters. I think that so much time was taken plotting out the story and focusing on Allie's "addiction" to being hurt that the character development just wasn't there. I never really did like Allie, there was something off about her and I think it's that I just didn't "get" her need to be hurt by men. In order for that to work in the story I needed to understand why and I never really did.
I didn't feel the connection between Colin and Allie either, at all. It didn't even feel like a love story to me. It was more like she needed someone, he was there, the end. That spark just wasn't there for me. Even the love scenes were strained and not sexy for me. She kept saying throughout the story that she trusted him even when it was clear that she didn't and she had no reason to trust him because she didn't really know him.
What was the worst thing for me was that out of all the men in the story, Jacob was the one that I felt was the most decent and had the most potential and he was a rapist. That may be a little spoilery, but it's a point I need to make.
Here is the deal...I think that too much focus was put on Allie's problem with men and her date nights. I think that the book would have been better if the characters and their relationships would have been better developed. I really think that the whole story of her being raped, trying to move on with her daughter, meeting Colin, the stuff with his brother, etc...would have made a really good story on it's own. I think that trying to make it more of an Erotica title is what threw it off.
I know it doesn't make sense at this point to say that the story was well written, but it kinda was. It's just missing a vital component. What is there is written well. I think it just needed to be fleshed out a little and tightened up. For me, character development is a HUGE thing. If I connect to the characters and I feel for them then I love them. If I don't, no matter how good the idea is, it's just not a great story for me. I do think that Amber Lin has great potential, I saw it in this story, most definitely. I wanted to love this book, there was just something crucial missing for me. With a little more work it would have been really great, in my opinion.