Review & Excerpt Tour: WICKED DIRTY by J. Kenner

Review

Wicked Dirty is the second book in the Stark World series. I have yet to read Wicked Grind, so I can confirm that this book can be easily read as a complete standalone. I enjoyed the characters and romance in Wicked Dirty, and it’s made me want to go and one-click book one asap! Sugar Laine- who preferred to be called Laine- was a likable heroine. She was extremely hard working, independent and kind. Laine is about to lose the last piece she has left of her family, and the only home she has ever known to foreclosure. Desperate times called for desperate measures, which is what brought Laine to the hotel room of ‘Mr. Z’ one evening as a hired escort. By the end of the night she would be ten thousand dollars closer to paying off her loan to keep her home. Only things don’t go quite as planned. ‘Mr. Z’ turns out to be Hollywood hotshot Lyle Tarpin. But that’s not what had her changing her mind about this night. She saw the pain, anguish and turmoil behind Lyle’s eyes. She recognized his need for her as an outlet to channel his pain, and she knew that she just couldn’t be that person, no matter how attracted and drawn to him she was. Lyle was not your typical Hollywood Grade-A ahole. He was very generous, respectful, kind, considerate, and didn’t have an ounce of the “celebrity ego” you might expect from a rising star. But there were also two different sides to him- neither bad per se- but one was the persona he played in public and the other the real him who he wanted to keep hidden from everyone. But two things happened that he didn’t count on. Laine saw through him and someone else, saw them. A paparazzi captured photos of Lyle with Laine and once they surfaced online, what was supposed to be one night, turned into a fake relationship. It was necessary to protect his career, his reputation and to ensure that his co-star kept her hands to herself. What they didn’t know was what started out as a fake relationship, would soon develop into something very real. I loved Laine and Lyle together. From their first meeting, I thought that they had great chemistry! Their relationship slowly blossomed over time and it was very sweet, I was rooting for them every step of the way. I thoroughly enjoyed as they got to know one another and began to trust each other enough to share painful memories and secrets of their past. Lyle was especially swoon-worthy and I adored him. There wasn’t a major amount of conflict, more so that the main character had to stop being the roadblock in his own life. Lyle needed to come to terms with his past and believe that he deserved to be happy. I enjoyed seeing the growth in his character, as he slowly let himself fall for Laine and began living life for himself. If you love the fake-relationship troupe, I recommend Wicked Grind. If there’s another one to come in the Stark World series, I’ll be reading it!