A new adult story of Love. Sex. Addiction. Blackmail. And Power...Some say love can be an addiction. Others say it's the thing that makes life worth living. Let me tell you everything I know about love...Love isn't patient, love isn't kind. Love is a game, a chase. A thrill. Love is wild and war-like, and every man and woman must fight for themselves. At least that's how it was for me. A high-priced virgin call girl by the time I started college, I was addicted to love and to sex. Even though I've never had either. I controlled love, played it, and held the world in the palm of my hands. Then I fell down from those highs, and I'm being blackmailed for all my mistakes, forced to keep secrets from everyone, except the only guy I don't regret.
Trey...
With all the other women, I knew what they were. They were temporary. They were pills, they were bottles, they took away all the pain, and numbed the awful memories that wore down my ragged, wasted heart. Until I met Harley. She's the only girl I ever missed when she walked away. But now she's back in my life, every day, and there are no guarantees for us, especially since I don't know how to tell her my secrets. What happened to my family. All I know is she's the closest I've ever come to something real, and I want to feel every second of it.
How can you love with no regrets when regret is all you know?
4 Edgy, Sexual, Scandalous STARS
Review by Faith Dotson
Let
me just say this is a side of Lauren Blakely that readers don’t see. She is
edgy, gritty, dark, and heartbreaking. But have no fear; she is still as classy
as she ever is, too. There are so many sweet and sensual moments that melted my
heart.
“She’s a
girl. And I only know women, and I only know sex. I don’t know what to do with
someone who’s not a game, a conquest, a way to numb the pain. With her, I’d
have to be myself, to be honest, and truthful, and let her all the way in.”
Trey
and Harley meet when she goes to get a tattoo and they have one night together
but never take it all the way. Then they meet again, in a place you would never
suspect, since Harley is still a virgin. I was thinking Trey was going to be
full of demons and hate, but that’s not the case. He is emotionally broken by
one of the people he should trust, his mother. Once his emotional pain comes to
surface, you might find yourself in one big ugly cry. (It’s okay too, I did!) The
tatted up, broken man has such a connection with Harley but fears that he will
tear down all that she has worked hard to rebuild.
“The guy
from last night who inked my shoulder, and kissed my body, and who gave me
something I’ve never felt before – touch without agenda. A true and real want.
He didn’t want anything more from me than me. It was such a foreign feeling,
but such a wondrous one.”
Harley
is a big HOT MESS! Her mother basically tries to push her towards any man and
all she can talk about is how beautiful her daughter is. She talks to her
daughter as if she is her best friend and doesn’t care if she is in the home
when “visitors” come. This leads Harley to find her other side, Layla. Layla is
there to get rid of the demons that Barb, her mother, has planted in her. When
Harley meets Cam, her pimp, she also meets someone who will truly protect her.
Whatever Layla says goes with her clients. Honestly, I think she actually
controlled Cam’s heart, too.
“…how
can I live with being vulnerable, with wanting, with feeling? I don’t know how.
I don’t have a clue. Love isn’t a quilt. Love isn’t patient, love isn’t kind.
Love is a game, a chase, a thrill. Love is wild and war-like, and every man and
woman for himself.”
I’ll
admit…how can you be a virgin and be a call girl at the same time? And be
addicted to Love and Sex? Well…I’m not going to give that away!!
She
feels that she is tainted. That nobody will want her because of the things she
has done. But Trey, waits. He is so patient, kind, and builds her self esteem
up. Harley, even with Trey building her up, still craves her old life and Cam.
“I didn’t say that. Because
you’re not. You’re not a whore, you’re not a slut, you’re not anything but the
most amazing, resilient, badass, tough, cool, hot, smart and brave person I
have ever known.”
Now
Cam…you will either love him or hate him. Personally, I loved him. He took
Layla and gave her the power she so desperately needed. I’m not saying it was
right in the way it was done, but you can tell that he truly cared for her.
There
are other factors that play into this story…blackmail!! Her mother’s editor
finds out that Harley (Layla) is a call girl, so she blackmails her into
writing memoirs. She will tell her mother if she doesn’t, and even after all
Harley’s mom puts her through she still wants to protect her.
I
shouted at characters in my head, I wanted to claw one character’s eyes out,
and I’ll admit it again…I had an ugly cry. These characters' POV's help you get
into both of their heads. It starts out slowly, pulling you in , giving you the
finer details of Trey and Harley’s lives. Then it keeps you engaged completely
in the darkness, shame, pain and love that they feel.
Thankfully,
even though we read how these two grow and face their demons their story is not
over yet…so yes there is a cliffy!!!
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