Review: The Thrill of It by Lauren Blakely

My Rating:
4 out of 5 stars!

Synopsis:
A new adult story of Love. Sex. Addiction. Blackmail. And Power…


The Thrill of It 
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?

My Review:
I REALLY liked this story. I’m finally starting to dabble in New Adult fiction, which does mean there are a LOT of graphic sex scenes, depending on the author. I, personally, have no problem with that so I jumped at the opportunity to read another genre.

This story is not just about sex, even though it is. It’s about a girl named Harley, who is a sex addict looking to break herself from that habit. She’s a sex addict, but she’s a virgin. Which is the part that intrigued me. As I read the book, I learned what it meant to be a virgin sex addict and that it is a very real thing. So right off the bat, I’m introduced to an aspect that I am not familiar with. Score one for Blakely.

Harley comes from a background of being mistreated by her mother, but not in the way that you’d think, which is another fascinating point. But her mother’s treatment or mistreatment of her is the primary reason for Harley becoming the way that she is. Her mother is a real card throughout this book. And is one of the biggest hypocrites I’ve ever had the displeasure to read about.

Trey, Harley’s love interest, is also a troubled guy who finds himself addicted to sex. Which is how he meets Harley (for the second time) — at a Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting. He has his own issues that stem from family and what not, thus leading him to go down the wrong path as well. He is actually a really legitimate guy who just needs to heal.

Together, Harley & Trey lean on each other for support and comfort, initially as friends. But, of course, there is attraction between the two and the dynamic of their relationship begins to change. But given their particular circumstances, they struggle with doing the right thing.

This plot, having the potential to be very cheesy and underdeveloped, actually turned out to be one of the better NA books I’ve read. It’s a fairly short read, so Lauren Blakely had a lot to cover in fewer pages. I’d say she did a decent job. I love the characters, Harley & Trey. I was never too annoyed with either of them, I think they’re decently developed. Don’t get me wrong, Trey annoyed me more often than you’d think, but he redeemed himself. As did Harley.

The sex scenes, though fairly graphic, were written rather well. I wasn’t disgusted. I didn’t feel like she gave us too much. I felt like I got what I expected when reading a NA book.

I would like to say that the ending wasn’t predictable, but it was. But I was okay with it. Given the characters, I’m actually interesting in how the story is going to progress from this point.

Good book. I definitely recommend it, if you’re into the New Adult genre.

Ron Swanson

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