"His lips curl and he meets my gaze. "Brooke Dumas." He just fucked my name right in front of me."Without a doubt, there are very few books that are a sexually charged, as intensely lust-filled, on the verge of exploding as this one is. I kid you not, for the first half of this book, I had to actually put the book down a couple of times and take a deep damn breath, to calm myself. I thought for a minute that I had a manic episode myself b/c I actually got mad at one scene when this gorgeous couple didn't do the deed! I was that worked up!!So...don't misunderstand me...if the goal of the author was to make me want to hump my husband, my toy, or hell...the arm of a chair, then SCORE!!!!! Mission accomplished!!!I mean, this is pure fantasy, right? Every girl dreams of having the most sought after boy single her out at the dance, or choose her over the much hotter girls because he can see her better than anyone else...the REAL her. I get that fantasy. I like that fantasy. But this book itself started moving from fantasy to reality after the halfway point, and that's when the little things started to bother me. I would hope that there was more that I would like about the story than sex.Have you ever read a book and loved it to start off, and then one little thing bothers you...and it keeps bothering you...then another thing happens and it's not terrible, but it adds a little to your annoyance. So now you're starting to eye roll over those silly little annoyances, only now you're really annoyed? I started out LOVING this story! But then I started getting that sinking feeling in my belly and I knew it was all downhill from there. And it was so upsetting, because I really liked this couple!! Here's a quote from Remy, but it works for me, too."Wow. I think I just broke my own heart."-- First off, it was first person present tense. I'm not usually one to care all that much, because I can get into it and the flow of the narrator pretty easily. But when the narrator describes herself, it sounds vain to say things like, "my long, dark hair and glowing skin...my deep blue eyes..." That's not a quote, just an example of the way that Brooke has to tell us how hot she is. It just sounds awkward for someone to state all of their fantastic qualities, and I think that's a hard thing to do with this style of writing.-- The sister...that situation is resolved too damn easy. And I'm not talking about the fight. This chick is messed up on drugs to the point that she's not only abandoned her family, but also writing them multiple lie letters and making up this entire life for herself to fake them out. She's emaciated, drab, and drawn, has TATTOOED A SCORPION ON HER FACE!!!! Her man is an obvious abuser, and she's treating her sister like shit. Then when it's all over, she just bubbles back to herself, waltzes back to Brooke, and creates this amazing, oh my gah! life for herself? Got her tattoo removed, went to rehab, problem solved!!!! Whatever....--The melodrama...now, I knew going in that this New Adult genre is even more full of drama than most Young Adult books. But this book was one crazy drama fest! All due to Remy, really, and his issues. This guy makes Travis Maddox look like a choir boy!! Think Edward Cullen was a stalker? He ain't got nothing on Remington Tate!--Let's just throw out medical reality for....the entire book. Oh, but there are a few Anatomy lessons thrown in just to sound knowledgeable. I mean, saying words like Adenosine Triphosphate and telling the readers that ATP is how your body gets most of it's energy totally belongs in a romance book, right? Not at all awkward, and neither is naming odd muscles that no one cares about. Nothing says sensual massage like a nod to the supraspinatus or latissimus dorsi. I kept expecting Remy (or SOMEONE) to have a come to Jesus moment in which he realizes that he doesn't have to be TRANQUILIZED in order to be medicated. There are an absolute slew of medications for mental illnesses out there, and you can practically get one that's tailor made as your own personal crazy pill...I don't want to hound on the non-reality of the way this author handled the mental health issue, because I hate it when people break down what is supposed to be a fun, pretend romance and turn it into their own personal soap box. But I feel like there should be SOME responsibility that goes along with bringing an issue like this to light. This author repeatedly alludes to the cause of Bipolar Disorder as some sort of DNA or genetic "switch" that just randomly changes, somehow, somewhere. WHAT?!?! Did she do any research whatsoever? All you have to do is Google it...hell, Wikipedia is more reliable than this book. Most mental illnesses, including Bipolar disorder, are a mixture of the wrong chemicals, the wrong hormones, and the wrong neurons firing in your brain. The only thing that DNA has to do with it is that it is thought to be hereditary. There is NOT an on/off switch for your genes...gene expression is decided in the womb, not during your lunch break.Have I convinced you of my everlasting hate? I hope not, because this book also has some really beautiful moments, and I LIKE that the author isn't making Remy out to be a bad person. She isn't giving us a bad boy without a cause, she's giving us a man who's been broken down so many times by his loved ones that he's almost helpless to help himself. The man has a chemical imbalance, he's not crazy or mean! He's a loveable guy, and his devotion and complete adoration for his woman is heart-meltingly sexy! He just wants to know that she knows who his is, for REAL...not just the happy parts of him..."Why'd you want to have sex with me? To have a fucking adventure? What was I supposed to be? Your one night fucking stand? I'm every woman's adventure, damn you, and I don't want to be yours. I want to be your fucking REAL. You get that? If I fuck you, I want you to belong to me. To be mine. I want you to give yourself to me - not Riptide!"So Remy, you are dreamy, there is NO doubt!!! You could light up my world like none other, but boy...you need help, not a set of nice fluffy breasts...though comfort and quiet are probably one really good way of calming you, too. I hope that you and Brooke Dumas can settle into your relationship and heal.
