I picked up my first Ella James read and it wasn't a bad beginning to her creative writing. The characters had history, and faced some difficult issues in their pasts.
Title: The Boy Next Door
Author: Ella James
Series: Off-Limits Romance #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
The boy next door. That’s what he was. Dash Frasier—my hero from the day we met, when I was six and he was nine. His sister was my best friend, the three of us one happy crew. Then one sweaty summer night changed everything.
No one understood me like Dash. No one made me feel so loved. That’s why, when he skipped town, it wrecked me.
Now I’m older. Wiser. I’ve just snagged my dream job, writing at a film studio. The lead animator on my project? You guessed it.
He’s not the boy next door. Not anymore.
I’m guarding my heart this time.
But Dash has secrets that could break us both.
No one understood me like Dash. No one made me feel so loved. That’s why, when he skipped town, it wrecked me.
Now I’m older. Wiser. I’ve just snagged my dream job, writing at a film studio. The lead animator on my project? You guessed it.
He’s not the boy next door. Not anymore.
I’m guarding my heart this time.
But Dash has secrets that could break us both.
I picked this one up for just 99 cents and I was quite eager to get into it. I haven't read Ella James before, so I was excited to dive into her world. The beginning of the book really hooked me, the Prologue and the early years, getting to know Dash and Am, seeing their young feelings for one another grow, and the turmoil they were both going through. But I could tell there was more to their story that hadn't been revealed yet.
Then I began to watch them back in the present as they skirted around their feelings and acted upon their desires. Am was a bit blasé, trying to ignore the demons from their past, and Dash was reluctant to open up. They didn't have any problem acting on their attraction, so I knew it was going to get ugly.
And how ugly did it get!! There were a few twists thrown in, and a few I didn't expect. My heart ached when the secrets and lies were revealed and it became difficult for both Dash and Am once again.
I was hoping that I would enjoy this a little more, but unfortunately I didn't. I know some of the subject matter was sensitive, but these two had history and they needed to work through it, not cover it all up and hump like bunnies. The writing was done well, I just didn't like how these two avoided the issues they had.
Here are two quotes that show you the depth of heartache and loss that these two had.
“I'll call you in a few hours,” he says, giving me a long kiss, open-mouthed and drugging.
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
“If you don’t, you’ll wreck my world,” I tell him, trying to sound teasing. “Remember what I told you—about Mom.”
“I would never wreck you, Ammy. I’ll sneak over to see you or we’ll meet somewhere tonight. You have my word.”
By that night, his truck is gone. His word is worthless. And my heart is broken.
Kindle Loc 825
Once upon a time, this girl loved me. I never deserved it, but she gave it to me anyway. She gave me her heart and her body, and I broke her.
Kindle Loc 1114
Hosted by Anna @ Herding Cats & Burning Soup
Ella James is the USA Today bestselling author of seventeen teen and adult love stories. She's an angst-a-holic who loves exploring difficult situations and the emotions of the people caught up in them. Also, smut. But always, always romance.Ella's obsessions include vanilla cream soda, hiking, other obscure, crunchy stuff like rock collecting, and the antics of her three little monsters.
To find out more about Ella's projects and get dates on upcoming releases, sign up for her newsletter: http://www.ellajamesbooks.com/newslet... You can find her on Facebook at facebook.com/ellajamesauthorpage and online at www.ellajamesbooks.com. Questions or comments? Tweet her at author_ellaj or e-mail her at ellafjames@gmail.com.
