Beautiful Addictions - Season Vining
Book – Beautiful Addictions
Author – Season Vining
Publication Date – January 28, 2014
Type – Stand Alone
Genre – Romance
Rating – 4 1/2 out of 5 Stars
ARC provided by St. Martin’s Griffin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis
A breathtaking New Adult romance filled with heartbreak, sizzling sensuality and redemption!
Josie Banks is a girl without a past. After being found unconscious with no memory, she was shuffled in and out of foster homes where she suffered years of abuse. An experience that left her broken, damaged, and clinging to drugs and meaningless hook-ups to numb her pain.
When Josie disappeared years ago, she took a piece of Tristan with her. She's the girl he thought he lost forever--the one he's never been able to forget. Now a twist of fate has brought them back together, and he never wants to let her out of his inked arms again. But Tristan is haunted by a dark past of his own. On the run from ruthless criminals that shattered Josie's world years ago, reentering her life puts them both in grave danger.
As Josie and Tristan's lives become tangled once again, they find themselves unwilling and unable to escape the relentless pull that draws them together. But will the past leave their love in ruins or bind them together for a lifetime?
Review
There comes a time in every reader’s life that the “cookie cutter” stories start to get old and predictable. I have been heading down that road for some time now….well that is until now!
Yeah, we have some concepts that are predictable, but this author threw in some very unexpected twists that had my jaw dropping to the floor! Normally I am good at figuring out the story within the first 25% but not this time! This is what a fantastic book consists of in my mind!
Another strong point of this book is that it is REAL….no billionaires, no perfect lifestyles and no “sweep you off your feet”. This is the nitty gritty of life – drugs, death, depression, homelessness, and craziness. Agreed that some of the storyline is a bit far-fetched (that’s why the ½ star is taken away) and I had a hard time grasping how Josie and Tristan could come back together after so many years apart…but I kept repeating my mantra…it’s just a book….it’s just a book!
And the last winning feature of this book is the fact that I cried…..yes, it’s been awhile since I shed a tear – in fact I think it was the last time I read a book which was unpredictable. My heart broke towards the end of the book and I loved how the author was able to draw me into the story and had me empathizing for Josie and her crew!
If this book is Season’s debut novel….then she has found a fan in me!!
Re-Cap
Josie is all alone and finds her solace in sketching, drugs, one night stands and graffiti. She is a poster child for abuse in the “foster system” and lives without any memories from her past. That is until she sees a devastatingly handsome boy/man in her alley having a breakdown and something draws her to him. She is infatuated by him and continues to show up at the bar he works in – Josie doesn’t know if she wants him a sexual conquest or for more because the pull on her heart is unbelievable.
Tristan spots her one night and can’t believe the resemblance to a girl from his past. The love of his life during his teenage years, but it’s not possible because that girl has been dead for years. When Tristan finally confronts her, he learns that Josie really is the ghost from his past without any memory of him.
These two fight through the pain and suffering they endured and are still living to find comfort and love with each other. Well, that is until Tristan finds out that his old boss is gunning for him and has a hit out on Josie.
Follow them through the angst of separating and fighting together to clean up the ghosts of their past and how Josie finally starts to find peace and true love in her life. Watch how she starts to open up to Monica (her social worker) and Alex (her neighbor). This is a story of love, friendship, and loyalty.
There are also back stories between Monica and the man who steals her heart along with Alex and how he deals with being a “street thug”.
Wrap Up
I never expected this book to grab a piece of my heart and not let go! I am still going through each of the characters and reliving this book over and over in my mind!
About the Author
A lover, a fighter, an author, a designer, a philanthropist, a bookworm, a cook, a wife, inked, and a night owl.
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