Hey there, bookworms! Happy Thursday! I’m sure you’re just chomping at the bit for the weekend to arrive and I’m right there with you. I feel like I’m working overtime between my day job and the blog, but that’s fine. I have a lot of fun things coming your way so I’m stoked.. exhausted but stoked! I’m learning how to make banners of my own, market products, and even created a book club. It’s a good time!
Yes, I said book club! I’ve never been a member of a book club nor have I ever run one, but I wanted to finally read books WITH people.. at the same time. I’m always swapping recommendations with you guys and with my friends, but we’re never reading the same book at the same time. Plus, who doesn’t want to be in a book club? I’m still navigating how it’ll all run, but we’re 35 members strong so far, so if anyone is looking to join a group of friends to read and talk about books, head to The Blabbing Book Club and get ready to start our first book this May!
Anyway! The whole point of this post is to bring you all a review. As usual I have to get sidetracked and blab about other things first. Let’s get to the latest read from one of my favorites, J. Daniels, and talk about Bad For You, the third installment in the Dirty Deeds series. If you need a refresher from the book boyfriends in books one and two in the series, you can read those reviews here and here.
Stitch and Shay. My goodness gracious.. Stitch and Shay. I know what you’re going to say if you’re an avid Daniels fan as a romance reader, I’m late to the game. I am. I was behind on my reading and review requests, so it took me longer than I had anticipated to enjoy every agonizing moment with these two. I knew going into it that this book would cause massive emotions, and let’s just say, I was triggered right at the prologue.
My heart just constricts in the most painful way for Stitch. He was genuinely dealt a bad hand in life and he spent much of his young life being kicked around, then, in his later years, every time he tries to right his wrongs, he seems to wind up in even more trouble.
When it seems he’s finally at a point of smooth sailing with a steady job and a home improvement project, absolute trouble crosses his path in the form of a ray of sunshine that is Shay.. or Shayla.
Shay is the polar opposite of Stitch. She’s bubbly, outgoing, friendly, flirty, and ambitious. Stitch is on the verge of being mute and the king of minding his own business. However, they work together, so they can’t help but notice one another and feel a twinge of intrigue.
Stitch does everything in his power to push Shay away, but when he finds her in tears one day, he can’t help but come to her rescue. She was in need of assistance with a family situation, and he proved that through his practically untouchable exterior, that he still had kindness buried in his heart, and he directed all of it towards her.
A favor transforms into a friendship which slowly but surely blossoms into something far more in intensity. Opposites attract more than ever when Shay takes Stitch’s burdens as her own, and in turn, her love and affection allow him to have utter happiness he deserves so much.
The flashbacks to Stitch’s past were gut wrenching, and brought actual tears to my eyes from time-to-time, but it somehow made their love story and his happily ever after even that much more worthwhile. Stitch spent his whole life getting kicked while he was down, so I was grateful for him to find his person in Shay. I loved how her warmth radiated out to him, and she turned into an absolute grizzly if anyone tried messing or misunderstanding her man. She even goes so far as to sacrifice her feelings and happiness to give Stitch things she thinks he wants more than her. She’s completely selfless in her devotion to someone she cares about, and I just adored how they wound up balancing one another out.
I’m pretty sure I’ve read everything J. Daniels has published, and I’ve never been disappointed. Bad For You just upped the ante on my meter of emotions and chemistry. I absolutely devoured this book, and even weeks after having finished it, thinking of this pair has me completely warm and fuzzy on the inside. Bravo!
My Final Rating: five out of five stars
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