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somanybooksineedmoretime's review
5.0
Method: ebook
Rating: 5/5 stars
H rating: 4/5 - Joel
h rating: 4/5 - Annika
Drama: 3/5
Thoughts: Read this forever ago, really enjoyed this!!
bribookish's review
5.0
**4.5 stars
I loved this book! I have been so excited to read this one and Kandi Steiner's new book since they released their books together.
I loved that this is based from reality TV. I can't honestly say I've ever read a book like this, if I have, shame on my horrible memory. Plus, Annika and her family is Russian!! I've always been fascinated with Russia!
I loved this book! I have been so excited to read this one and Kandi Steiner's new book since they released their books together.
I loved that this is based from reality TV. I can't honestly say I've ever read a book like this, if I have, shame on my horrible memory. Plus, Annika and her family is Russian!! I've always been fascinated with Russia!
katrinamarie's review
5.0
This review was originally posted on Bookish Things & More
I didn't think I could love anyone more than I loved Tricky... That is until Joel came into the picture. I absolutely adore him. We always knew he was a stand up guy, but this story shows just how awesome he is. He loves fiercely, and will protect those he cares about tooth and nail. And that doesn't change when he meets the ice queen.
Annika is a force to be reckoned with. She's smart, hot as hell, and able to compartmentalize everything. She knows she has a show to do, and doesn't let anything stand in the way until she meets Hairy.
I loved the banter between Joel and Annika. They give what they get, and I loved that they didn't back down from each other. There were many times where they found a compromise. I loved reading all the starry-eyed looks, and goofy grins when they thought nobody noticed.
They are intense, and learn so much about each other during the course of the show. I kind of wish Joel was real, so that he could tattoo me. And of course, his crew at Tonic is amazing. I love their friendship and how they are willing to risk everything to protect their own.
And don't get me start on the sexy scenes... Anyone have a fan???
I love this book so hard, and I hope we get more stories about the team at Tonic.
katrinamarie's review against another edition
5.0
This review was originally posted on Bookish Things & More
I didn't think I could love anyone more than I loved Tricky... That is until Joel came into the picture. I absolutely adore him. We always knew he was a stand up guy, but this story shows just how awesome he is. He loves fiercely, and will protect those he cares about tooth and nail. And that doesn't change when he meets the ice queen.
Annika is a force to be reckoned with. She's smart, hot as hell, and able to compartmentalize everything. She knows she has a show to do, and doesn't let anything stand in the way until she meets Hairy.
I loved the banter between Joel and Annika. They give what they get, and I loved that they didn't back down from each other. There were many times where they found a compromise. I loved reading all the starry-eyed looks, and goofy grins when they thought nobody noticed.
They are intense, and learn so much about each other during the course of the show. I kind of wish Joel was real, so that he could tattoo me. And of course, his crew at Tonic is amazing. I love their friendship and how they are willing to risk everything to protect their own.
And don't get me start on the sexy scenes... Anyone have a fan???
I love this book so hard, and I hope we get more stories about the team at Tonic.
mells_view's review against another edition
4.0
I need a tattoo and a hot bearded teddy bear to give it to me :)
Joel owns a tattoo shop with his brother and works with a tight group of his friends. He hasn't had a real relationship in a very long time, and has kept the woman in his life pretty much in his bed and out of his heart. Hes a big bearded tattooed teddy bear and maybe a little bit of ice is just what he needs.
Annika is a bit of an ice queen. She's sweet and caring with her family, but that's where it ends. She works in production and in order to get where she wants in her career she remains focused, a bit cold and manipulative. Eyes on the prize and all that jazz. Personally I think all she needs is a bear hug to warm her up a bit :) see what I did there!
When Joel and Annika first come together their romance is very reluctant from one party. There is a definite attraction, but Annika's ice keeps snuffing out the sparks. So much happens between these two, it's a bit forbidden, but it's BEYOND passionate, from the very first go round! I don't want to ruin anything, but I will say that there are some sweet moments, some very angsty moments, some moments where I even laughed. I admit I even cried at one point in the story. *Sigh*. This story had a little bit of everything!
So I REALLY REALLY liked this one and highly recommend it! The writing was great, felt really natural, and the story was interesting without being over the top!
Staci Hart took a book that I assumed would simply be about a reality show and made it so much more than what I had expected. What I also need to mention is that I LOVE the interconnected world that Staci has created between the Habit's gang, Wasted Words, and now this story. It's like keeping the setting familiar without using the same group of friends over and over! She is amazing at keeping you in the same world without it getting redundant. That is amazing writing in my opinion. Being able to take the NOT so obvious choice for a story, and still executing the story flawlessly!
Great job! Can't wait to see what comes next in this world!
brinchen's review against another edition
3.0
3 Stars
Read this and other reviews here: Brina and the Books
Tonic was a classic Staci Hart novel. It was full of diversity, the love for unconventional but amazing characters, their backgrounds, and jobs, and tasteful sexy times. There is no other author quite like Staci; an author who doesn’t shy away from diversity and unconventionality. This is why I love her books so much: Every single one of her characters is unique and perfect and his/her own way.
I loved the setting of Tonic, a tattoo shop. It was fun to have a look behind the scenes and see how tattoo artists work as well as getting a behind the scene view of a reality TV show. Joel’s and Annika’s story was okay but it didn’t blow me away. The characters were unique and intriguing but I couldn’t identify myself with them one bit.
The story itself was nice but nothing I haven’t read before. It was simply another one of those enemies-to-lovers concepts.
Tonic is a nice book; something for in between but definitely something for Staci Hart fans.
Read this and other reviews here: Brina and the Books
Tonic was a classic Staci Hart novel. It was full of diversity, the love for unconventional but amazing characters, their backgrounds, and jobs, and tasteful sexy times. There is no other author quite like Staci; an author who doesn’t shy away from diversity and unconventionality. This is why I love her books so much: Every single one of her characters is unique and perfect and his/her own way.
I loved the setting of Tonic, a tattoo shop. It was fun to have a look behind the scenes and see how tattoo artists work as well as getting a behind the scene view of a reality TV show. Joel’s and Annika’s story was okay but it didn’t blow me away. The characters were unique and intriguing but I couldn’t identify myself with them one bit.
The story itself was nice but nothing I haven’t read before. It was simply another one of those enemies-to-lovers concepts.
Tonic is a nice book; something for in between but definitely something for Staci Hart fans.
ivanatg's review against another edition
3.0
Como solemos encontrar en este tipo de historias, que estamos acostumbradas, todo comienza con ese cuestionable jueguito de no-te-soporto-pero-hazme-tuya. Hechos que producen una oleada masiva de ojos en blanco, porque, mierda, no es nada nuevo. Y aunque parezca mentira, por más queja que tenga con ese aspecto, lo devoré en un día.
Adentrémonos en el asunto.
Joel es un tipo de los que podemos considerar un “remador de la vida”. Con la inesperada muerte de sus padres, tuvo que hacerse cargo de muchas responsabilidades a muy temprana edad: cuidar a su hermano menor, tomar el control de la tienda familiar, casarse con su novia de aquel entonces para darle a su pequeño hermano una familia. No todo le resultó como esperaba, al menos, en el plano amoroso. Años después se divorció, no en buenos términos. El negocio prosperó y la oportunidad de grabar un reality de su tienda de tatuajes se hizo posible. Joel no quería saber nada, pero a su hermano le entusiasmaba tanto, que aceptó escuchar la propuesta.Y la llegada de Annika fue el empujón final para que aceptara.
Aquí entra en escena Annika. Proviene de una familia de inmigrantes rusos. Sabe lo que es el trabajo duro y el esfuerzo por tener una mejor calidad de vida. Sus padres escaparon de la guerra y pasaron por muchos momentos difíciles para poder llegar a América, por lo que Annika se siente con la obligación (y aplaudo por eso), de ayudarlos para que puedan retirarse y descansar. Pero hasta aquí termina la Annika agradable, porque es una tipa con dos caras. Por un lado, encontramos a la preocupada, amable y relajada que comparte con su familia; y por el otro, la insoportable perra fría que no me agrada en absoluto. Llega a la tienda como una de las productoras del nuevo programa, y dispuesta a hacer lo que sea para que se convierta en un éxito. Joel se siente inmediatamente atraído por ella, y se pone en plan conquistador, cosa que no funciona en absoluto con perra-fría Belousov. Lo que no sabe, es que a él le encanta sacarla de sus casillas, y comienza un jueguito en donde siempre uno quiere y el otro no. Falta de comunicación, ponele. Le decís que no te interesa, pero cuando el otro baja la guardia, querés que siga. Déjate de joder, decidite de una fucking vez.
Ya que estamos en el baile, eso fue principalmente lo que me molestó de la historia: el histeriqueo entre personas adultas. Quizás fui yo, o tal vez no fue el momento de leerlo, pero sentí que me opacó la lectura. La personalidad bajo cero de Annika no me agradó para nada, y me costó adaptarme a sus cambios. Joel es un gran personaje. En la sinopsis da a entender como que es un poco “violento”, y no lo sentí así en absoluto, sí en plan “hombre de las cavernas”, pero le quedaba bien.
No quiero aguarles la lectura. Hay mucha más historia de la que planteo.
Dejando de lado esas cuestiones, que no me simpatizaron del todo, es una lectura entretenida y llevadera; un romance contemporáneo divertido y fácil de leer.
Si te gustaron la serie Marked Men de Jay Crownover, o Masquerade de Nyrae Dawn, este libro te puede gustar.
¿Me gustó? Por supuesto, es una buena idea dentro de este tipo de historias, sin caer en el mega drama, mezclando mundos que quizás ya hemos visto en la televisión, ese juego en el que para ganar audiencia algunos ganan y otros pierden.
Adentrémonos en el asunto.
Joel es un tipo de los que podemos considerar un “remador de la vida”. Con la inesperada muerte de sus padres, tuvo que hacerse cargo de muchas responsabilidades a muy temprana edad: cuidar a su hermano menor, tomar el control de la tienda familiar, casarse con su novia de aquel entonces para darle a su pequeño hermano una familia. No todo le resultó como esperaba, al menos, en el plano amoroso. Años después se divorció, no en buenos términos. El negocio prosperó y la oportunidad de grabar un reality de su tienda de tatuajes se hizo posible. Joel no quería saber nada, pero a su hermano le entusiasmaba tanto, que aceptó escuchar la propuesta.Y la llegada de Annika fue el empujón final para que aceptara.
Entonces decidí dos cosas. Uno: Mi nueva misión en la vida era hacerla reír. Dos: La rompería si eso era lo último que haría.
Aquí entra en escena Annika. Proviene de una familia de inmigrantes rusos. Sabe lo que es el trabajo duro y el esfuerzo por tener una mejor calidad de vida. Sus padres escaparon de la guerra y pasaron por muchos momentos difíciles para poder llegar a América, por lo que Annika se siente con la obligación (y aplaudo por eso), de ayudarlos para que puedan retirarse y descansar. Pero hasta aquí termina la Annika agradable, porque es una tipa con dos caras. Por un lado, encontramos a la preocupada, amable y relajada que comparte con su familia; y por el otro, la insoportable perra fría que no me agrada en absoluto. Llega a la tienda como una de las productoras del nuevo programa, y dispuesta a hacer lo que sea para que se convierta en un éxito. Joel se siente inmediatamente atraído por ella, y se pone en plan conquistador, cosa que no funciona en absoluto con perra-fría Belousov. Lo que no sabe, es que a él le encanta sacarla de sus casillas, y comienza un jueguito en donde siempre uno quiere y el otro no. Falta de comunicación, ponele. Le decís que no te interesa, pero cuando el otro baja la guardia, querés que siga. Déjate de joder, decidite de una fucking vez.
Porque eres mía, y yo soy tuyo. Te daré mi nombre, mi corazón, mi alma. Cualquier cosa que desees, siempre y cuando me devuelvas el favor.
Ya que estamos en el baile, eso fue principalmente lo que me molestó de la historia: el histeriqueo entre personas adultas. Quizás fui yo, o tal vez no fue el momento de leerlo, pero sentí que me opacó la lectura. La personalidad bajo cero de Annika no me agradó para nada, y me costó adaptarme a sus cambios. Joel es un gran personaje. En la sinopsis da a entender como que es un poco “violento”, y no lo sentí así en absoluto, sí en plan “hombre de las cavernas”, pero le quedaba bien.
No quiero aguarles la lectura. Hay mucha más historia de la que planteo.
- Joel y Annika son personajes con buena química y atraviesan oleadas de tensión sexual.
- Me gustó el día a día en la tienda.
- Las fricciones que se generaban con otros personajes.
- Hablando de eso, tiene unos muy interesantes, en particular dos que me cayeron bien al instante: Roxy, la prima de Annika, y su pequeña hija. Creo que sus partes fueron las más divertidas (quitando las de Joel, que me encantaron todas).
Dejando de lado esas cuestiones, que no me simpatizaron del todo, es una lectura entretenida y llevadera; un romance contemporáneo divertido y fácil de leer.
Si te gustaron la serie Marked Men de Jay Crownover, o Masquerade de Nyrae Dawn, este libro te puede gustar.
¿Me gustó? Por supuesto, es una buena idea dentro de este tipo de historias, sin caer en el mega drama, mezclando mundos que quizás ya hemos visto en la televisión, ese juego en el que para ganar audiencia algunos ganan y otros pierden.
jordanbates91's review against another edition
5.0
The Best Parts:
A lot of the times people think when you read romance novels that you won’t find a backstory, you won’t find history, you won’t find a storyline that will sink into your soul and consume you. Well, if you think that then this book will prove you wrong.
Annika and Joel’s story is such a refreshing one to read. It’s not just because they are hot for each other, but don’t get me wrong, that’s pretty awesome too, no it’s because they both literally have the same damn stubborn personality. When these two get together they clash, but then again they compliment each other in a way that I have never read before. These characters souls, and yes I know they are fictional people, but they have souls too!, are magical in the fact that they call to one another. Even in their time of need and hate they are still bound together. The bear and the fox.
If you have read one of Staci’s other books, Last Call, you got to see a glimpse at Joel, well what I love is that even with that glimpse you still don’t get his full story, and it’s not fully that Joel tells it form his perspective, but we get his story through Annika’s perspective, and get to see the emotion behind that. It’s so different for Annika’s story though. Annika tells it in pieces, but her parents are the ones who glue the whole story together. That right there it what I love most. The history behind who Annika’s character is and how that history makes her, her. Getting to see her parent’s and their love for each other and their wisdom shinned down on Annika and Joel was truly humbling to read. It is moments like this that when reading you realize that romance novels don’t just have to be fiction, that they can be real. That this can be someones life out there in the world. Sitting with someone they truly care about and listening to their parent’s story in life.
This. This is what an amazing story is supposed to be like, and trust me when I say that this will move you. Not in the, I’m going to change my life and the way I look at things, no. It will move you in the sense that you find peace in the realization that who you are and the things you do impact everyone in your life. That every decision you make has a consequence and that sometimes those consequences can be bad, but sometimes they can also be good. This is a book that will make you look at life and go damn, I’m actually doing pretty well for myself, and I actually have my shit together.
The Worst Parts:
Now for the not so fun part to tell you all. This book will make you hate characters. Not just like oh I am only mad at them for a chapter. No. Like I’m pretty sure I wanted to kill and disown Annika AND Joel for almost the entire book, but not for reasons you would think, and here is why I think some of you may not like them either, but that is ok, because you will also love them so much.
Annika is an independent woman who doesn’t need a man to lean on, and is head strong in her career. Remind of you anyone? Annika is the women of today. I will even say it myself, I am driven in my work. But why would that make me hate her you ask? Because when reading this story and seeing the choices Annika makes, I see a lot of myself in her. I see a lot of the women in the world in her, and I hated the choices she made, because I knew I would have made the exact same ones. I would have made those hard choices that people would have judged me for, but so would you. So when you are reading this book and you think WTF is she doing, step back and look at the choices you made to get where you are in your lief and career, and tell me you wouldn’t have done the same.
Now for Joel and his little indiscretions, well, we’ve all been there. We have all lied to ourselves and the ones we care about to save face. To save the hearts of everyone else, while destroying our own. Yes I want to kill him, and slap him, but Ic an’t because I’ve done the same thing. I’ve said no, it’s all fine, when it hasn’t been.
I looked back on these characters and realized that even though I hated them so much for their decision in life, that I couldn’t help but love them that much more. These characters had flaws, not just one or two, no they had real human flaws, and that is a hard thing to accomplish. You will absolutely love to hate these characters.
Final Thoughts:
This book was beyond what I expected to get. I know I was going to get fun, sassy, and sexy, but I didn’t expect to get feelings, all the freaking feelings, and not just about Annika and Joel together, no, but things just about them separately. I found myself laughing at not just funny parts, but funny personality traits, and I found myself crying at a random ass part to this book that literally was just so random and awesome all at the same time.
Staci outdid herself with these two, and the fact that it was done with such grace that allows you into BOTH Annika and Joel’s mind is just ten times better.
A lot of the times people think when you read romance novels that you won’t find a backstory, you won’t find history, you won’t find a storyline that will sink into your soul and consume you. Well, if you think that then this book will prove you wrong.
Annika and Joel’s story is such a refreshing one to read. It’s not just because they are hot for each other, but don’t get me wrong, that’s pretty awesome too, no it’s because they both literally have the same damn stubborn personality. When these two get together they clash, but then again they compliment each other in a way that I have never read before. These characters souls, and yes I know they are fictional people, but they have souls too!, are magical in the fact that they call to one another. Even in their time of need and hate they are still bound together. The bear and the fox.
If you have read one of Staci’s other books, Last Call, you got to see a glimpse at Joel, well what I love is that even with that glimpse you still don’t get his full story, and it’s not fully that Joel tells it form his perspective, but we get his story through Annika’s perspective, and get to see the emotion behind that. It’s so different for Annika’s story though. Annika tells it in pieces, but her parents are the ones who glue the whole story together. That right there it what I love most. The history behind who Annika’s character is and how that history makes her, her. Getting to see her parent’s and their love for each other and their wisdom shinned down on Annika and Joel was truly humbling to read. It is moments like this that when reading you realize that romance novels don’t just have to be fiction, that they can be real. That this can be someones life out there in the world. Sitting with someone they truly care about and listening to their parent’s story in life.
This. This is what an amazing story is supposed to be like, and trust me when I say that this will move you. Not in the, I’m going to change my life and the way I look at things, no. It will move you in the sense that you find peace in the realization that who you are and the things you do impact everyone in your life. That every decision you make has a consequence and that sometimes those consequences can be bad, but sometimes they can also be good. This is a book that will make you look at life and go damn, I’m actually doing pretty well for myself, and I actually have my shit together.
The Worst Parts:
Now for the not so fun part to tell you all. This book will make you hate characters. Not just like oh I am only mad at them for a chapter. No. Like I’m pretty sure I wanted to kill and disown Annika AND Joel for almost the entire book, but not for reasons you would think, and here is why I think some of you may not like them either, but that is ok, because you will also love them so much.
Annika is an independent woman who doesn’t need a man to lean on, and is head strong in her career. Remind of you anyone? Annika is the women of today. I will even say it myself, I am driven in my work. But why would that make me hate her you ask? Because when reading this story and seeing the choices Annika makes, I see a lot of myself in her. I see a lot of the women in the world in her, and I hated the choices she made, because I knew I would have made the exact same ones. I would have made those hard choices that people would have judged me for, but so would you. So when you are reading this book and you think WTF is she doing, step back and look at the choices you made to get where you are in your lief and career, and tell me you wouldn’t have done the same.
Now for Joel and his little indiscretions, well, we’ve all been there. We have all lied to ourselves and the ones we care about to save face. To save the hearts of everyone else, while destroying our own. Yes I want to kill him, and slap him, but Ic an’t because I’ve done the same thing. I’ve said no, it’s all fine, when it hasn’t been.
I looked back on these characters and realized that even though I hated them so much for their decision in life, that I couldn’t help but love them that much more. These characters had flaws, not just one or two, no they had real human flaws, and that is a hard thing to accomplish. You will absolutely love to hate these characters.
Final Thoughts:
This book was beyond what I expected to get. I know I was going to get fun, sassy, and sexy, but I didn’t expect to get feelings, all the freaking feelings, and not just about Annika and Joel together, no, but things just about them separately. I found myself laughing at not just funny parts, but funny personality traits, and I found myself crying at a random ass part to this book that literally was just so random and awesome all at the same time.
Staci outdid herself with these two, and the fact that it was done with such grace that allows you into BOTH Annika and Joel’s mind is just ten times better.
pavi_fictionalworm's review against another edition
5.0
This review was first posted on For The Love of Fictional Worlds
First Staci Hart book and I. AM. BLOWN. AWAY! No, seriously, this book just – I HAVE NO WORDS. I am Speechless and that is very rare for an opinionated reader like me!
First, let’s talk about what attracted me to this book – THE COVER, THE BLURB, AND HOT BEARDED TATTOOED MEN!! So basically, everything was pleasingly aesthetic to me and the picky reader in moi! Plus, somehow I had been on a binge of “opposites attract” tropes, so this one fell right into my trap!
Tonic is a fun entertaining read – not only does it have oodles of charm, romance, hilarious and sexy times that was brilliant in not only it’s conception but it’s execution as well!
"She looked like a doll, a cold, beautiful doll that belonged on a shelf where no man should touch her."
Joel Anderson is the owner and the brains behind “Tonic”, one of the best tattoo shops in town and has been recently approached been approached by a big network to do a reality show about his shop. Considering his past experiences, his private life needs to be private for him, so while he is on the fence for the show; his brother trying to convince him, it only when he meets the Executive Producer and the Show Runner that he changes his mind (and we all know why!!).
Annika Belousov, is the Executive Producer for the network who over the years has learnt to mask her emotions under a remote exterior to deal with the demands of her job. She is a serious and definitely a cautious woman, for she understands the sacrifices her family made to make sure she found the success she has had till and there is no way she will let anyone derail the train of her life.
“That guy. That hairy fucking guy. That hairy fucking guy with those stupid fucking eyes that looked at me like he could see me naked.”
From the first moment Annika and Joel meet, the attraction is not only smouldering but also freaking off the charts sensual that even as a third person, I felt right to my bones. Both know (or at least believe) that they are opposites of each other. Both have plans for their life, but plans have a way of derailing exactly at the right moment at the right time; even if we believe it to be the wrong moment with the wrong person.
“Don’t call me sweetheart, asshole.”
“Don’t call me asshole, princess.”
Joel sees right through the cold exterior that Annika projects to the worlds – from the first moment he sees her, it became an instinctive need to actually make her life, to crack that exterior open to understand what makes this girl tick. But somehow, Annika seems to be actually holding her own with him and that just makes him all the more interested in her!
Almost throughout the book, they have this ‘push and pull’ relationship – I FLOVED that both these characters were headstrong and stubborn enough to actually make their relationship quite interesting. Not to mention, the secondary characters are freaking brilliant, adding a dimension to the romance in a way that makes the reader feel like a part of their family!
"This is maybe the best surprise I’ve ever gotten. A hot, bearded, tattooed, apologetic man with a kitten. How could I say no?”
But the best part about this romance? THERE IS NO OBVIOUS VILLAIN!!! Seriously, no one in the story is purely evil or a purely a saint – what they are, are human with their perceptions, their assumptions and their insecurities paving the way for heartache. What they, in the end, become are real.
"It was like the universe had been knocked off kilter without her, and now, everything had been set straight. The rightness of her, the peace I found, it was more than I’d ever known before, not through everything I’d been through. I’d been missing her my whole life. And even after I’d found her, I’d lost her. But not again. Never again."
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First Staci Hart book and I. AM. BLOWN. AWAY! No, seriously, this book just – I HAVE NO WORDS. I am Speechless and that is very rare for an opinionated reader like me!
First, let’s talk about what attracted me to this book – THE COVER, THE BLURB, AND HOT BEARDED TATTOOED MEN!! So basically, everything was pleasingly aesthetic to me and the picky reader in moi! Plus, somehow I had been on a binge of “opposites attract” tropes, so this one fell right into my trap!
Tonic is a fun entertaining read – not only does it have oodles of charm, romance, hilarious and sexy times that was brilliant in not only it’s conception but it’s execution as well!
"She looked like a doll, a cold, beautiful doll that belonged on a shelf where no man should touch her."
Joel Anderson is the owner and the brains behind “Tonic”, one of the best tattoo shops in town and has been recently approached been approached by a big network to do a reality show about his shop. Considering his past experiences, his private life needs to be private for him, so while he is on the fence for the show; his brother trying to convince him, it only when he meets the Executive Producer and the Show Runner that he changes his mind (and we all know why!!).
Annika Belousov, is the Executive Producer for the network who over the years has learnt to mask her emotions under a remote exterior to deal with the demands of her job. She is a serious and definitely a cautious woman, for she understands the sacrifices her family made to make sure she found the success she has had till and there is no way she will let anyone derail the train of her life.
“That guy. That hairy fucking guy. That hairy fucking guy with those stupid fucking eyes that looked at me like he could see me naked.”
From the first moment Annika and Joel meet, the attraction is not only smouldering but also freaking off the charts sensual that even as a third person, I felt right to my bones. Both know (or at least believe) that they are opposites of each other. Both have plans for their life, but plans have a way of derailing exactly at the right moment at the right time; even if we believe it to be the wrong moment with the wrong person.
“Don’t call me sweetheart, asshole.”
“Don’t call me asshole, princess.”
Joel sees right through the cold exterior that Annika projects to the worlds – from the first moment he sees her, it became an instinctive need to actually make her life, to crack that exterior open to understand what makes this girl tick. But somehow, Annika seems to be actually holding her own with him and that just makes him all the more interested in her!
Almost throughout the book, they have this ‘push and pull’ relationship – I FLOVED that both these characters were headstrong and stubborn enough to actually make their relationship quite interesting. Not to mention, the secondary characters are freaking brilliant, adding a dimension to the romance in a way that makes the reader feel like a part of their family!
"This is maybe the best surprise I’ve ever gotten. A hot, bearded, tattooed, apologetic man with a kitten. How could I say no?”
But the best part about this romance? THERE IS NO OBVIOUS VILLAIN!!! Seriously, no one in the story is purely evil or a purely a saint – what they are, are human with their perceptions, their assumptions and their insecurities paving the way for heartache. What they, in the end, become are real.
"It was like the universe had been knocked off kilter without her, and now, everything had been set straight. The rightness of her, the peace I found, it was more than I’d ever known before, not through everything I’d been through. I’d been missing her my whole life. And even after I’d found her, I’d lost her. But not again. Never again."
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