Certified Bed Reader...

...willing to go all night!
Against the Ropes - Sarah Castille Do you see the hot guy on the cover? Scrumptious, right? Well, he's the best part of this book! I didn't really like the writer's voice; the humor, dialogue, and situations never really pulled together enough for me to fully enjoy it. It's unfortunate because I really love a shit-hot, filthy rich, alpha bad ass. He's no dominate, though, and the BDSM aspects are yawn-worthy.

Makayla/Mac is a cookie-cutter heroine. She's another Anastasia Steele in a sea of clones. I hate this. Why, oh why, can't we have a heroine with some kind of clue as to who she is? I'm all for an innocent, naive, heroine, but I want to see a smidgen of backbone! Mac just ruined the whole book with her hot/cold, confusing, reactions. She has a tortured (surprise, right?) background that haunts her. I'm always sensitive to characters with traumatic past and careful to dissect their behavior. In the end, she just came up lacking for me.

So, why the 2½ rating? Because despite all the negative, I found myself intrigued enough to keep right on reading til the end. I wanted to know what happened with Max and Makayla. I have a feeling Sarah Castille will continue to develop her writer's voice and her books will get better each time!

· 2½ Stars
Contemporary Romance

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca in exchange for an honest review.