Three Chicks and Their Books: Review and Giveaway: Real Ugly by C.M. Stunich

Turner Campbell is an asshole.
I f*cking hate him.
But I can't get enough either.
He sings like an angel and f*cks like a devil.
If I could, I'd run away and never look back because to tell you the truth, I think this man might be the death of me.

***

Naomi Knox is a bitch.
I can't f*cking stand her.
But I can't stop thinking about her either.
She looks like an angel and plays like a devil.
If I could, I'd f*ck her good and forget all about her, but to tell you the truth, I think this woman might be my last saving grace

4 Star Review

“Life is real, and it's ugly, and it hurts. I've only ever loved three things in my life, and none of them worked out for me.”

Naomi Campbell is a 23 year-old bass player that opens for Turner Campbell’s leading act. Naomi has had a rough life growing up in the foster care system. At the age of 16 she thought she had found her way out of her dark life by falling in love with an image (one of the three loves in her life), but she soon found she was thrust deeper into the abyss of being alone. She also has two secrets that she is hiding and one of them is known by her band’s lead singer who uses Naomi to her benefit in order to guarantee that Naomi’s secret stays safe. Naomi is a loner. Naomi resorts to drugs as her coping mechanism when she needs to feel better. She has no friends to pick her up when she’s down. She keeps herself closed off from her band members as well.

“I think Blair and I could be bury-the-body best friends. Too bad the walls I've put up are taller and longer than the Great Wall of China.”

Turner Campbell is 28 years old and doesn’t do the girlfriend thing. He is a tattooed love ‘em and leave ‘em guy. Speaking of which, his tattoos are all over his body…if you know what I mean. *wink, wink*

“I've got one in my bed every night, same as the f*cking pillow under my head. Unfortunately for her, the pillow's the only one that gets to stay.”

Turner and Naomi definitely have strong emotions towards each other, and they aren’t ones of love either. Oh man do these two despise each other. But they can’t seem to fight the pull they feel towards each other. Turner especially is drawn to Naomi…he feels like he knows her from an earlier time and wants to get as much information as he can on her.

Did I mention that these two can’t stand each other??

“I know of Turner. I've read articles about him, watched him onstage, listened to his music. That doesn't mean I know a damn thing about the real guy hidden underneath – other than that he's a complete and total asshole. A whore. A drug addict. There's just nothing to like basically.”

Turner is the first to admit that his feelings of hate have evolved into something more significant. Naomi isn’t willing to let her guard down too quickly. The novel is told in alternating points of view between Turner and Naomi. The author really lets us know what each character is thinking and it is enjoyable to read their inner thoughts and feel the utter hatred that they feel towards each other and when they discover that perhaps it’s not all hate that they are feeling. Turner’s inner dialogue is laced with humor.

“I've gotta get mentally prepared for this falling in love crap. This shit's a lot harder than I first thought.”

This is not a hearts and flowers romantic read. This is raw. If you are offended easily by drugs, sex and foul language then I would suggest you not read this. If you are a fan of the above then you will not be disappointed. I have read CM Stunich’s other novels and this one exceeds her previous writings.

I’ll also warn you that the ending is a cliffhanger, but we shouldn’t have to wait too long for the sequel.