Lauren Blakely's THE THRILL OF IT is being released TODAY and what a Thrill it is! I am so excited to
join in the release day launch for it. THE THRILL OF IT is a Contemporary Romance unlike anything you
have ever seen from Lauren Blakely before. Check out my review below and then enter to
win in the release day launch giveaway!
The
Thrill of It
(No
Regrets #1)
Author:
Lauren Blakely
Publisher:
Self-published
Publication
Date: November 21, 2013
Genre:
New Adult
Source:
eARC from Lauren Blakely
~Synopsis~
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?
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?
~Review~
This book is so different from anything Lauren has written before
and you know what? I LOVED it! This is further proof that Lauren is a super
talented writer. Lauren is known for her fun, romantic contemporary novels and
The Thrill of It is a bit edgier and more new adult. I loved how raw and gritty
this novel is. I’m not sure if I’ve met two characters more perfect and right
for each other than Harley and Trey are.
Oh my gosh, I was enthralled with Harley and Trey from the
beginning. The chemistry between them was written all over the pages and I
could feel it in my bones. There was something so sweet and tender in their
relationship and I felt butterflies from touches as simple as holding hands.
Considering their chance meeting again after an incredible night together, it’s
as if they were written in the stars. However, overcoming the vices that have
marred their pasts takes precedence and they must fight their desires for one
another as they build a friendship.
Harley made me so damn sad and I really felt this despair radiate
off of her. Her mother is a piece of work and she has always treated Harley
more like a sister than a daughter and some of the things her mother shared
with her APPALLED me. I would rather cut
my ears off than hear those things from my mom. Despite all this, Harley
clearly loves her mother and wants to please her. I think she still holds out hope that her mom will actually be a mom. She has never really known
true, unconditional love and I definitely felt like she was skeptical to believe it existed. It also played a huge role in her decision to be a call girl. She needed the power and control and thrill it brought with it.
“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.”
Trey’s family has suffered a lot of loss and his parents didn’t
grieve in a healthy way, which ultimately trickled down to Trey. He uses sex
and pleasure as a way to cope and numb the pain. Like many people in addiction
therapy, Trey hit his rock bottom and he is trying to climb his way out.
Meeting Harley is both a blessing and a curse because she may be exactly what
he needs but to heal he has to curb his desire for her and that becomes harder
the more time they spend together. However, I could tell that Harley wasn’t
just another “fix” for Trey. She is so different from the other women and she
won’t just numb the pain, she can completely alleviate it.
“Life. It’s what’s happening now. It’s the real, scary,
dangerous, amazing possibility in front of me. There are no guarantees.”
One of my favorite things about this story is the fact that Trey
and Harley are upfront with one another about all of their secrets and the
sordid details of their past. They build this amazing friendship and fall for
each other with eyes wide open, no ugliness to come between them. However, they
both have a lot of self-worth issues and neither believes that someone could
actually LOVE them. They are both tempted every day, especially Harley,
to go back to their old ways but they help each other, make each other stronger.
Trey opens up and learns to let someone in and cope with his grief. Harley
learns to confront her past and stand up to her mother.
“But at some point you have to stop running from your past. You
have to stop letting it define you. You have to puncture it before it swells so
big and full that it takes over you.”
I was so conflicted by Harley's mother at first because she seemed
to love Harley but she had a very weird way of showing it. Harley is ashamed of
the things she's done and never wants her mother to know her secret but I feel
like her mother is the one who should be ashamed. She made Harley who she is
and then has the nerve to judge her. This was where I decided I was no longer
conflicted and decided I despised her. I loved it when she finally stood up to
her mother. It was pure vindication and I may have done a fist pump for Harley.
While I wasn’t a fan of Cam and the way he exploited and manipulated Harley, I
felt like he cared for her and respected her more than her mother. He was a bit
sleazy and he saw the dollar signs that Harley produced but he also wanted her
to be happy and I saw that when he let her go. Kristen was a good friend and I
was glad that Harley was able to open up to her and that she didn’t judge her.
Harley finally had people in her life who loved her for her and not for what
she could do for them.
“I am not my past. I am my present. I am my future. The past can
chase you if you let it. You can spend your life trying to outrun it or you can
stop running, turn around and look it in the face.”
Despite
the vast difference in style from Lauren’s normal novels, the intimacy screams
Lauren Blakely; hot and sexy. The passion between Trey and Harley is palpable
and I was on edge every time they were alone together. Despite the darkness that
surrounded them, they brought light and color to each other’s lives. They
decided not to let the past define them and instead chose the future, they chose
happiness. However, it isn’t quite HEA yet because their story isn’t over and the
ending, HOLY CRAP! I definitely wasn’t expecting it and my heart may have beat
right out of my chest when I finished. While it isn’t exactly a cliffhanger, it
definitely left me wanting more Trey and Harley now.
~IPOD
Picks~
“Tonight”
by Boyce Avenue
“All
We Are” by Matt Nathanson
“Why”
by Second Hand Serenade
PURCHASE LINKS:
*Amazon* *iTunes* *Barnes and Noble*
About Lauren Blakely:
Lauren Blakely writes sexy contemporary romance novels with heat, heart, and humor, and her books have appeared on the New York Times, </
span>USA Today, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks bestseller
lists. Like the heroine in FAR TOO TEMPTING, she thinks
life should be filled with family, laughter, and the kind of
love that love songs promise. Lauren lives in California
with her husband, children, and dogs. She loves hearing
from readers! Her novels include Caught Up In Us, Pretending He's Mine, Playing With Her Heart, Trophy Husband, and Far Too Tempting. On November 21, she'll release the edgy new adult novel
THE
THRILL OF IT. She also writes for young adults under the name Daisy Whitney.
Links:
Website:
http://www.laurenblakely.com/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/LaurenBlakely3
Lauren
Blakely Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6860216.Lauren_Blakely
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