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A review by vanessas_reading_list
Inked in Lies by Giana Darling
4.0
4.5 Stars!
"'Get that through your head, yeah? I don’t need another pathetic girl trailin’ after me lookin’ for scraps.'"
My thoughts when I read this?: Oh HELL NO! I was so pissed off at Nova and wanted Lila to make him regret those words. I get that Nova doesn't think he's worthy of Lila and he doesn't want to taint their relationship, but this was the worst way he could have handled this.
So, when Lila's fiance tells him this:
"'You want her,' Jake said, each word a whip lashed at Nova. 'And now you can’t have her. You should have loved her while you had the chance.'"
It was like he took the words right out of my mouth.
This seems to slap at least some sense into him and we start getting a bit more sexual tension between our leads.
Hence these text messages:
"Nova: Was in the mood for you.
Lila: I’m busy.
Nova: I’m always in the mood for you, if I’m bein’ fuckin’ honest."
Setting aside the romance for a second, can we take a moment to appreciate what a freakin' bada*s Lila is?! She is easily my favorite leading lady of this series. She puts herself in very dangerous situations, not because she's naive about the risk, but because she's willing to lay it all on the line for her loved ones.
Also, the Booths are the best. The way they welcomed Lila and Dane into their home (and their hearts) made me fall in love with them just as much as Lila did.
Okay, now back to the romance...Though Nova is willing to admit his attraction for Lila, he's still in denial about what his heart wants.
"'There’s no part of me worth even an inch of you, and you gotta get that, know it, and forgive me for pointin’ it out to you, yeah? You gotta believe I’ve always got you at my heart, on my mind, thinkin’ about what’s right for you. And me? I’m not it. But fuck me, that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. It’ll never mean that.'"
I mean COME ON, how is this girl supposed to keep things platonic when you say things like that?!
When he finally realizes what he wants, I was desperately hoping that Lila would make him grovel a bit, but sadly we didn't get that. But we at least get beautiful declarations that would make anyone go weak in the knees.
"'I hope you know, Li,' he murmured, stroking a hand down the long line of my hair. 'I do love you. It’s never gonna be enough, but it’s as much as I got in me to give, yeah?' He paused, sensing perhaps how deeply his words scored through me. 'But it’s more than anyone else in the whole fuckin’ world, okay?'"
This is my favorite book so far and I'm excited to see more of these two in later books.
Spoiler
These two have the strongest bond of all the couples (IMO). The flashbacks were great because we get to see just how much these two genuinely love each other. Though he doesn't see her as a romantic interest (at least not initially), to Nova, Lila is the most beautiful thing in the world, the light of his life, his "flower child"; and he is fiercely protective of her. Lila gets to see a side of Nova that he doesn't share with anyone else and this strengthens their bond. He shows her his love in so many ways that she really "had no choice but to grow to love him back." But he's also her biggest heartbreak."'Get that through your head, yeah? I don’t need another pathetic girl trailin’ after me lookin’ for scraps.'"
My thoughts when I read this?: Oh HELL NO! I was so pissed off at Nova and wanted Lila to make him regret those words. I get that Nova doesn't think he's worthy of Lila and he doesn't want to taint their relationship, but this was the worst way he could have handled this.
So, when Lila's fiance tells him this:
"'You want her,' Jake said, each word a whip lashed at Nova. 'And now you can’t have her. You should have loved her while you had the chance.'"
It was like he took the words right out of my mouth.
This seems to slap at least some sense into him and we start getting a bit more sexual tension between our leads.
Hence these text messages:
"Nova: Was in the mood for you.
Lila: I’m busy.
Nova: I’m always in the mood for you, if I’m bein’ fuckin’ honest."
Setting aside the romance for a second, can we take a moment to appreciate what a freakin' bada*s Lila is?! She is easily my favorite leading lady of this series. She puts herself in very dangerous situations, not because she's naive about the risk, but because she's willing to lay it all on the line for her loved ones.
Also, the Booths are the best. The way they welcomed Lila and Dane into their home (and their hearts) made me fall in love with them just as much as Lila did.
Okay, now back to the romance...Though Nova is willing to admit his attraction for Lila, he's still in denial about what his heart wants.
"'There’s no part of me worth even an inch of you, and you gotta get that, know it, and forgive me for pointin’ it out to you, yeah? You gotta believe I’ve always got you at my heart, on my mind, thinkin’ about what’s right for you. And me? I’m not it. But fuck me, that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you. It’ll never mean that.'"
I mean COME ON, how is this girl supposed to keep things platonic when you say things like that?!
When he finally realizes what he wants, I was desperately hoping that Lila would make him grovel a bit, but sadly we didn't get that. But we at least get beautiful declarations that would make anyone go weak in the knees.
"'I hope you know, Li,' he murmured, stroking a hand down the long line of my hair. 'I do love you. It’s never gonna be enough, but it’s as much as I got in me to give, yeah?' He paused, sensing perhaps how deeply his words scored through me. 'But it’s more than anyone else in the whole fuckin’ world, okay?'"
This is my favorite book so far and I'm excited to see more of these two in later books.