Hard Feelings #3
Kelsie Leverich
Contemporary Romance
272 pages
NAL
Available May 6th
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review
THE STORY
Nothing’s more dangerous than a bad boy with a broken heart…
First Sergeant Rafe Murano did everything to the extreme. He trained harder, he fought harder, and unfortunately, he loved harder. But he fell for the wrong woman and it nearly destroyed him.
Back home from a deployment, with no mission to consume him, Murano’s ravaged by memories of his past. So he drinks until he’s numb and drowns himself in meaningless one night stands. But they only take the edge off…
Until he meets Fallon.
Fallon Kelly learned the hard way not to take risks with her heart, But she sees something irresistible in the tatted-up bad boy one more punch away from a ride in the back of a squad car. She offers a distraction. And he quickly becomes an addiction. Little does she know, this bad boy could love so hard it could break her…
MY THOUGHTS
A Beautiful Distraction is a fairly straightforward contemporary romance where a pair of individuals with dark pasts and an impressive amount of emotional baggage are forced to sort through their various hang-ups to determine whether possibility of love is worth the possibility of heartbreak. Though the story itself is nothing new, Ms. Leverich writes characters who communicate well and spare us a lot of the drama and angst that often results when two people forget how to use their words. Both Rafe and Fallon are honest with one another about their pasts as well as their expectations for the future, and while that’s not to say they don’t argue or occasionally let their insecurities get the better of them, they impress throughout with the way they talk things through.
Fallon in particular is a highlight, coming from a world of wealth and privilege only to have that world ripped away from her and a new, darker reality take its place. Though the circumstances of her past have convinced her to keep people at arm’s length, she thankfully doesn’t spend the entire book fighting to keep her walls up. She’s fully aware her defenses begin to crumble the minute she meets Rafe, but instead of pulling him close one minute only to push him away the next when she remembers she’s supposed to keep her distance, she simply accepts that he’s something different and decides to see where the ride will take her.
While Fallon is a strong heroine and the chemistry between her and Rafe is beyond sizzling, the relationship itself is not without a few small issues. Those readers who don’t necessarily like too much detail when it comes to intimate moments should know this story sits slightly more on the erotic side of the romance line, the sex between Fallon and Rafe frequent and explicit. While certainly not a problem for everyone (as it wasn’t for me), it does lead into the main flaw that kept this book from a higher rating. Rafe communicates almost solely through sex, using it to convince Fallon her doubts have no place in their relationship, to apologize for any wrongdoing, and in the end, to express his love for her. Though sex is obviously a form of communication, the way Rafe consistently defaults to it in times of tension between them makes it a touch harder to believe his feelings extend beyond the physical.
Overall, A Beautiful Distraction is a quick and very hot read, and though Rafe isn’t entirely convincing in his profession of love at the end, his and Fallon’s journey is still an enjoyable one.
Rating: 3.5/5
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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a
review.
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.
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GIVEAWAY
Thanks to the fantastic team at Penguin, I have a copy of A Beautiful Distraction to give away on the blog today! To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to US residents only.
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