Monday, May 29, 2017

Blank Space (Dirty South #1)

                Hello happy readers!  This weekend was not as productive as I would have liked for anything other than sleep and spending time with my bestie but I finish a book before I got really lazy.  That book is a newer, Blank Space (Dirty South #1) by Alla Kar.  This is a NA (New Adult) book and has adult language and sexual scenes.  This is my first book by this author though I see she has several titles listed on Goodreads and came out a couple months ago.  A copy was provided to me by Swoon Romance in exchange for an honest review. 


Rating:  3.5 Stars

                Sydney* Henry is former rich girl who left her families support but not the name as her party-girl ways bring lots of publicity—the bad kind.  She hasn’t been in a serious relationship instead enjoying casual nights which have lead others to associate her as the town slut and thus undesirable for anything more in the judgmental southern town.  Cash Jenkins was l about business with no time to spend on dating but when he is made an offer that would allow him to expand his business he was listening.  Sydney’s mother, tired of the bad press around her daughter, offers Cash a deal to date her daughter and bring her good publicity making her respectable again in exchange for money to expand.  Seems easy enough once he sees a picture and finds himself attracted to her.  What happens next isn’t what either saw coming.

                So from the start with Sydney I felt bad for her and her attitudes about herself and wanted for her to learn she was better than what others thought and for her to tell her parents where to shove it.  She wasn’t taking money from them and provided for herself so I never did understand why she subjected herself to having anything to do with them let alone weekly dinners.  I wanted her to say no and stand up for herself but I also could understand the damage that had been done to her emotionally.  It sucked.  Frankie though I adored from the start as a wonderful friend.  Though at times it did seem a bit less than equal (why you wouldn’t keep your phone charged or check it at least randomly if you know your friend is going through something is a no no) but for the most part they are sweet together.  I do kind of wish we had a bit more about Frankie and some of her story that was left unfinished which I figure will go into more as the series continues.

                Then we move on to Cash.  I was a bit slow to warm up to him.  I liked that he was interested in doing this more because he was attracted to her than because of her mother’s offer but not so much his reasoning that he was perfectly happy to use her.  Still it didn’t get better at first, his demanding and domineering personality set me off.  While I don’t mind a bit of dominance locking someone in and holding them captive is not okay, if someone tries to leave and you prevent that it’s kidnapping not all cute.  Personal pet peeve of mine when someone says NO, even if they are just denying themselves and secretly want to say yes that is not for the other party to decide no means no.  While trying to convince someone to change their mind by using your charm and power of persuasion is one thing in my personal opinion he took it a bit too far on occasion.  Again this could just bother me a bit more because it is a pet peeve.  That aside as the story progressed I did grow to like him a bit more and actually wanted things to work out.  After one particular scene in which he really turns a corner. 

                 Overall the story was a quick read. I enjoyed the authors writing style and I did like that Cash didn’t try sleeping with her from the start but instead they got to know one another some first.  This let me grow to like him and also had me rooting for her to resist him.  We got to see some depth to the characters, though I feel we got to know more about Sydney than Cash and what she got to know of him came in a less intimate way (ie someone else telling) but I look forward to seeing what will happen from here.  There is some good old fashioned country fun happening, things I have done and don't see often in books which made me laugh.  I went in not knowing if this was going to be a series or not and it stands pretty well on its own but there are some things that are left open.   I’m curious to see how the next story will play out and it’s something I wouldn’t mind continuing on.  I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys some steamy build up and sexy times with a very alpha male/domineering type.

                Until next time…

*my version of the book had the female character as Sydney but I see it in the description as Shelby. 
             

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