Title: Giving It Up
Author: Amber Lin
Published: June 2012 Loose ID
Format: Ebook received by author and Sizzling PR for review
Allie prowls the club for a man who will use her hard and then ditch her. Hey, it's not rape if she wants it. Instead she finds Colin, who looks tough but treats her tenderly, despite her protests.
He tempts her, but kindness and a few mindblowing orgasms aren't enough to put her back together again. Allie has no hope for a real relationship. Two years ago her best friend betrayed her in the worst possible way – she’d be stupid to trust a man again. Besides, she has her daughter to think of, the only good thing to have come from that dark night.
But when her rapist returns, threatening her sanity and custody of her daughter, Allie turns to Colin. Under his protection and patient touch, Allie begins to heal and learns to hope. Colin’s no saint, though, and his criminal past draws danger of its own. Allie must fight to protect her child and the man she loves, hoping her newfound power will be enough to save them all.
When I first signed up to do this tour, I
thought this book would be more of a dark erotica type book. I was wrong!
Oh, its definitely dark and its definitely got some steamy scenes. But there is a lot more to it than that. This book was a real page turner and I could
not put it down.
One night Allie picks Colin up in a bar,
thinking that because he looks hard and tough she will get the roughness she
needs. Because of some things that have
happened in her past, rough rape fantasy sex is what feels normal to her. In my opinion it is like a self-punishment. She feels bad and hasn’t dealt with things
properly, so she seeks out punishment.
Then she leaves thinking she feels better. But she doesn’t, she ends up feeling worse
about herself and this is a huge downward spiral she is setting herself up
for. And I digress… Allie picks up
Colin, thinking he will give her the pain she feels she needs. But he is surprisingly gentle and tender and
attentive. The man is confusing, a
definite dichotomy.
Allie has issues. So many issues. She has a lot she needs to deal with, on top
of being a single mom to a two year old precious girl. Maybe I felt like I really connected with her
on that level, being a single mom, myself.
You definitely get to know Allie as a momma bear, the mother lion. And life for her daughter, Bailey, will be
different than her own. Allie makes a
lot of bad decisions. But the woman is
not bad. She is doing the best she can with what she
has – and its not much by a long shot.
But she has a golden gem of a friend by the name of Shelly. Shelly lives upstairs and helps Allie as much
as any person could. In fact, the things
that Shelly ultimately does to help Allie is a true testament to the beautiful
soul that she is. Shelly is proof that
you can not judge a book by its cover.
Heck, both of these women are that proof. I really respect and admire both of them.
So when Colin swoops in with promises of
helping and easing the load, Allie can’t refuse. But there is a lot to Colin that she doesn’t
know. But what she does know is that he
makes her feel good, wanted, and cared for.
And that is worth the price of anything in her world. There are times when Colin crosses the line
and blurs it in terms of what he should and shouldn’t do. But still, I like him. I like him a lot. You pick up tidbits of information on him along
the way. You learn he just some hired
muscle.
This book really came out of left field and
surprised me on so many levels. I wasn’t
expecting such a deep story. There are
so many traumatic things that happen to all of these people, and they don’t
always do the right things. But
sometimes you just have to play the cards you are dealt. We don’t have crystal balls, we don’t have
millions of dollars. But as long as you
face everything head on and head up, well, you will come out the other side
better than when you started. At least that's the hope, right?
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