Reviewer: Tracy Tryst by Alex Rosa
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: March 17th 2015
Genres: New Adult
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With an abusive relationship behind her, Skyler moves out of her Orange County apartment, changes her phone number, cuts ties with her friends, and moves in with her brother Josh, a talent agent with a spare room in his incredible house in Hollywood.
Josh is happy to take Skyler under his wing, but he has one rule: she can’t sleep with his roommate, Blake. That’s fine by Skyler. She doesn’t want a man in her life right now—and certainly not cocky Blake who’s with a different girl every night. But his all-American boy charm and his ripped model physique are difficult to refuse. Josh will never know if no one ever tells him. And a little secret now and then never hurt anyone…
Tracy’s review of Tryst by Alex Rosa
Skyler was in an abusive relationship but managed to get out of it and is now moving in with her brother who is an up and coming Hollywood agent. His roommate is Blake who is a model/actor who seems to be doing alright for himself. When Skyler moves in the one thing that her brother, Josh, asks of her is not to get involved with Blake. He says the same to Blake and they all agree. The problem is…Blake and Skye are incredibly attracted to each other. They get along great (after a rocky start) but know they’re supposed to stay away from each other.
While that sexual tension is hopping with those two, Skyler is also dealing with her abusive ex who she believes she still loves – even though she knows he’s bad for her. From what the book said she had been with him for 2 years but the last 6 months she had put up with the physical and emotional abuse (it doesn’t say how long they it had been since they’d broken up). On top of that she has her study partner Rich who is an East coast guy going to school in sunny So Cal. Rich wants to date Skyler but she consistently says no because she believes he’s still hung up on his bitch of an ex-girlfriend and does continue to sleep with her on occasion.
One thing leads to another and Skye and Blake end up in bed together – agreeing that it will be a purely friends-with-benefits kind of thing and that neither will get attached. They do say that sex makes people closer so soon Blake and Skye are finding that they’re not as detached as either believe they are.
This book had a very good premise and one that I think could have worked well if executed properly. Unfortunately there were many things about this story that didn’t work for me and they just seemed to keep piling on the longer I read.
My main issue was with Skyler. She was incredibly immature and while she was book smart (she planned on being a doctor) her common sense was in short, short supply. She acted ridiculous at times – more like a high schooler than a senior at UCLA, flew off the handle and jumped to conclusions when things could have easily been figured out with a little communication, and frankly she had no idea what she wanted when it came to men or a relationship. One minute she was all about Blake and the next she’s crying over her ex and then she’s wondering about Rich and I couldn’t quite keep up with her. Then when I think she’s finally decided on Blake she asks Rich out and seems all happy about it. Make a decision already!
Blake seemed like a good guy. He was definitely the best part of the story, imho. He ended up being a reformed man-whore which is always a good thing. The reformed part, that is. lol Unfortunately we really knew nothing about Blake even by the end of the book. He was a man of few words and even when Skyler was trying to get to know him he never came out and told her. We knew where he was from and that he valued family above all else and…yeah, that’s it.
The brother, Josh, got little page time but my biggest beef with him was that he laid down the law about Blake when Skyler moved in but never told her why. He had his reasons, obviously, but until he went bonkers at the end of the book we had no idea what those were. This guy was supposedly his best friend but frankly he never ever spoke well of him. I couldn’t figure out their relationship or how they ever became best friends – or friends at all for that matter.
Tucker was Skyler’s gay best friend and co-worker and he was a bright star in this story. He was fun and friendly and he was there for Skye when she needed him – always a plus.
The characters needed to be fleshed out and frankly a lot stronger than they were. When it came to the romance I didn’t believe it for a minute. I believed that Blake loved Skye but honestly I think it was gonna be years before Skye knew what the hell she wanted. When she said I love you to Blake I just rolled my eyes and kept reading. I mean, even she wasn’t sure that’s what she felt, why would I as the reader be expected to believe it? IDK.
In the end I found the sex scenes to be hot and the time Blake and Skye spent in bed fun and sometimes funny. Other than that it was just an ok read.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5
This title is available from InterMix. You can buy it here or here in e-format. This book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.