Good evening, bibliophiles! Happy hump day! Who is ready for a middle-of-the-week review? I know I am! Tonight’s review is of a book I’ve been meaning to read for months (again). It’s another one that’s been sitting in my iBooks library since it released, and I just didn’t get to it quick enough. Shame on me, because it’s from one of my favorite romance (and thriller) authors, Alessandra Torre. Just like many of her other books I’ve read, this one was a complete knockout! I’m obsessed with everything about Hollywood Dirt, and I’m actually regretting that I binged on this story and now it’s over.
This was the book I wanted to pick up and throw across the room.. and then retrieve it, only to snuggle it to my chest. Cole and Summer infuriated me like no other, but their fighting made my nausea over them totally worth it.
Cole is the big, Hollywood star coming to the podunk town of Quincy in the middle of nowhere to film his latest movie. The guy recently had his heart broken and likes to lose himself in work, a drink, or women. It’s when his lawyer, Brad DeLuca (hey, cameo!), tells him he needs to quit his hobbies cold turkey and stay on the straight and narrow, is when his life begins to change. His time away to film becomes so much more than he bargained for.
That “more” came in the form of a sassy, southern girl named Summer. She is in desperate need of hitting the road and moving on to the next chapter in her life, but she knew Cole would be trouble the minute their paths crossed. He could be a massive roadblock among her plans for a better future, and she had to do everything she could to keep from falling for him. I admit, this was the sole reason I disliked her character for such a chunk of the book, but I guess that was Torre’s goal, because my goodness, I wanted to smack Summer sometimes!
She resisted Cole at every turn, and he couldn’t help but enjoy the game they had somehow created. Not quite cat-and-mouse, it was thrilling, yet exhausting and emotional to try to witness them skate around and avoid one another when all I wanted to do was scream at them and lock them in a room together.
Their tension is off the charts, and when the proverbial shit hits the fan, I was nervous to see if it would all work out, or backfire after a risk.
This is why Alessandra Torre is a favorite of mine. She always knows how to make me thoroughly giddy while also keeping me frustrated beyond belief or on the edge of my seat. I go through so many emotions with her characters, and I enjoy every moment and adventure she throws my way.
Needless to say, the movie can’t come out soon enough!!!!
My Final Rating: five out of five stars
