2 stars When I get a free book from Netgalley, I feel an obligation to finish it, even if I don't like it very much. I forced myself to finish this book. (There are times when I cannot.) To begin with, there was nothing endearing about Travis. He was simply a pig, telling Skyla what he planned to do to her within moments of conversing in the bar. He was exactly the sort of man most women would avoid, and in fact, that's what Skyla tried to do. Skyla was so painfully insecure (except while having sex, when she became brazen and unbelievably confident), I lost patience with her. Of course, as luck would have it, they were thrown together and had to escape a mobster together. I thought the story had some potential, but the bulk of it was made up of scenes where Skla and Travis "went to town" on one another. Seriously, the author used that phrase. But that was not the only uncomfortably immature description of intimacy. The writing was so full of cliches and clunky phrases, I literally wanted to scream. And when I say literally, I mean that literally, unlike the author, who used the word literally (on several occasions) when she really meant figuratively. The other thing she did was use the phrase "of which," a handy phrase for avoiding ending a sentence with a proposition. Unfortunately, "of which" usually prefaced a sentence ending in a preposition, again, making me want to literally scream. An example: "... of which he was grateful for." Vocabulary choices were questionable, at best. "Smarted" was used, frequently, to convey that someone said something clever. Characters gave one another "withered" looks rather than "withering"ones. I couldn't figure out what it meant when someone "mulled exasperatingly." Maybe smiled? Travis sat at a bar and "continued to nipple his beer." I think that was supposed to be "nurse." Bequethed was used when I think she meant requested? Nonplussed was used when I suspect she meant unbothered. Rile was used as a noun rather than a verb. Cajoled was used instead of joked, I think. A few pet peeves : They're instead of their! Had ran instead of had run! Sat instead of set. Characters winked at one another an awful lot, I guess to convey playfulness or a secret. I don't know. It was very off-putting after the first few times. Travis' tribal tattoo turned into an ink-sleeve. It was a mess. I didn't really like either of the characters much, but I tried. I thought the mobster theme might make this more interesting, but it only served as a back story to Travis and Skyla having sex as often as possible. Finally, the ending was simply appalling. It’s not exactly a cliffhanger, if only because I don’t really care what happens next. What it is, if I’m being honest (and why stop now?), is a segue into the next book in the most obnoxious manner possible. I turned the final page of the story, only to discover a preview into the next book. C’mon, man. I won't be looking for more from this writer. September 14, 2020
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