Reviewer: Holly Reckless by Skye JordanJoan Swan
Series: Renegades #1
Publication Date: 2013-08
Genres: Fiction
Pages: 304
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Series Rating:
A couture wedding dress designer to the rich and famous, Lexi LaCroix's image means everything. Raised on the wrong side of the tracks, her years of polish and hard work are finally about to pay off. But crossing paths with a sexier-than-sin, bad-boy biker who makes her realize how much living she's sacrificed for her success, one touch is all it takes for Lexi to turn reckless.
Jax Chamberlin has been screwed over by gorgeous gold-diggers one too many times. Though he runs his own stunt company, all of America knows his Hollywood face even years after he's given up acting. Finding a woman who doesn't plan to use him as a stepping stone to success is virtually impossible, so when the charming and mysterious Lexi offers him a chance at a totally anonymous hook-up during an out of town trip, Jax accepts.
Only Lexi is more sextacular than charming, and Jax wants more. But Lexi's got a major hang-up over his renegade lifestyle. And if she finds out his connections could catapult her to the top of her career, he's afraid the fantasy woman he's falling for might just end up like all the rest.
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Jax Chamberlin is a former Hollywood star turned stuntman who hasn’t had the best of luck with women. In fact, his most recent hookup used information he shared with her in bed to get someone else to underbid him on the movie of a lifetime. His best friend and employee, Wes, finally sits him down and tells him he needs to stop dating women who just want to use him for their own purposes. He’s been looking at exterior beauty and ignoring the more important interior stuff. Jax hates to admit his friend is right, but he’s forced to face the truth. He has horrible judgment and he’s terrible at relationships. Which is too bad, since he sees someone he’d definitely like to get close to about 5 minutes after his conversation with Wes. Walking away from her is hard, but he does it.
Lexi is trying to build her couture wedding dress business for years. She’s in a good place now, but she wants to reach the next level. Which means focusing on nothing but work. When her best friend asks her to test a new app she’s developing, which farms people’s phone numbers, Lexi reluctantly agrees. Which is how she ends up texting stranger in the airport. A sexy stranger who makes her laugh and turns her on. The problem is, not many men want Lexi for who she is on the inside. As a former model, she’s used to men looking at her as arm candy and nothing more. She doesn’t want to meet Jax and realize he’s the same.
So when he suggests a hookup she reluctantly agrees..as long as the lights stay off and her identity remains a secret. Jax wants to look into the eyes of the woman who’s turned him inside out in just a few hours, but he can’t deny her request. They’re meant to have one night together, but neither of them expected the attraction they’d feel once the morning came.
Both Lexi and Jax have trust issues. Lexi because she’s often used for her looks and Jax because he’s used for his connections. In Lexi’s case, Jax’s bad boy rep could really hurt her business. Since she grew up dirt poor and doesn’t have any connections to fall back on, it’s important for her to keep her image pristine. Her high-end clientele won’t work with her if there’s even a hint of scandal attached to her. As a matter of fact, the designer she’s hoping to form a partnership with has even gone so far as to investigate her and suggest changes she needs to make in her personal life. Jax was raised with a family in the business who paid little attention to him and treated him as a second class citizen. He has hang ups about being someone’s dirty little secret. But Lexi can’t risk her career for a hookup.
Because of Jax and Lexi’s trust issues, it was hard watching them navigate their relationship at times. The book slowed down a bit in the middle, but the sex was hot and the story pulled me back in before long.
The story was well-written and I liked the main characters. Lexi’s relationship with her best friend Rubi also stood out for me. I was cracking up early in the book because of their antics. Similarly, Jax’s friendship with Wes and some of the other secondary characters were well done.
Free books can be hit or miss. I’m happy to report this was an unexpected gem. I’m looking forward to the next book.
4 out of 5