My Review: First off, let me say I read books one and two back-to-back, and I highly suggest that for any interested readers, because book two picks up right where book one left off. This makes it a very fluid transition from one to the other. And I will probably find myself re-reading book two before starting book three - because I will be desperately seeking book three when it releases. For me, book one felt a bit like walking through syrup - it's not that the book was bad, it just felt slow. Book two had none of those issues - I breezed through Hottest Mess, and couldn't put it down. I don't know if the pacing was better in the second book, or what, but it was a lot smoother.
It's hard to just review the second book, considering this is a trilogy and they're all so tied together, but I will do my best. I know this series is supposed to be a romance, and love is definitely a big factor, but for me, this feels more like a dark suspense than anything. I care far more about Dallas and Deliverance than I do about Dallas and Jane's relationship. And I have my suspicions about who The Woman is, but part of me hopes I'm wrong. This reminds me a little of Asking For It, by Lilah Pace - not the story, but the general tone of the book. And that's not a bad thing, the Lilah Pace books were amazingly well done. My heart breaks for what happened to Dallas and Jane - but especially Dallas, who suffered more (and longer) than Jane did. And I think this book does well showing how trauma suffered in adolescence can affect you in adulthood.
Cover Lovin': Fits well with the first book in the series.
Recommendation: This is a direct sequel, the middle of a trilogy, so you will want to read book 1, Dirtiest Secret, first. And be on the lookout for book 3, Sweetest Taboo coming October 2016!
Final Rating: I'm going to go with THREE AND A HALF out of FIVE stars (3.5/5) on this one. The pacing was better than book one, but I'm marking it down some because the romance just feels like sex and shame/awkwardness, not a true driving factor. It seems like the real story is the kidnapping, which should be a subplot (a major one, but still).
Disclaimer: I received a free copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.
The S.I.N. series continues with the seductive follow-up to the Stark International Novel Dirtiest Secret, from the New York Times bestselling author of “red-hot and angsty” fiction that “keeps readers guessing” (Publishers Weekly, on Under My Skin).
No one can know about our love—and hiding only makes it hotter.
Dallas Sykes has a reputation. He is known for his parties, his money, and the countless women on his arm. Yet the Dallas I know is a different man—darker, smarter, and unbearably sexy. Just one look from him can leave me breathless; the anticipation of his touch can make me lose control.
Inextricably bound by our past, we keep each other’s secrets. And while there are people who have the power to hurt us, it’s the truth that threatens us most of all.
Dallas can be mine only behind closed doors, our passion as searing as it is forbidden. Yet nothing in this world has ever felt so desperately, deliciously right.
Hottest Mess is intended for mature audiences.
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From the New York Times bestselling author of such “racy, sizzling Stark novels” (RT Book Reviews) as Release Me and Say My Name comes the provocative first Stark International Novel—the beginning of the S.I.N. series.
It was wrong for us to be together, but it was even harder to be apart.
The memory of Dallas Sykes burns inside of me.
Everyone knows him as a notorious playboy, a man for whom women and money are no object. But to me, he’s still the one man I desperately crave—yet the one I can never have.
Dallas knows me better than anyone else. We bear the same scars, the same darkness in our past. I thought I could move on by staying away, but now that we’re drawn together once more, I can’t fight the force of our attraction or the temptation to make him mine.
We’ve tried to maintain control, not letting ourselves give in to desire. And for so long we’ve told ourselves no—but now it’s finally time to say yes.
Dirtiest Secret is intended for mature audiences.
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Though known primarily for her award-winning and internationally bestselling erotic romances (including the Stark and Most Wanted series) that have reached as high as #2 on the New York Times bestseller list and #1 internationally, JK has been writing full time for over a decade in a variety of genres including paranormal and contemporary romance, "chicklit" suspense, urban fantasy, and paranormal mommy lit.
JK has been praised by Publishers Weekly as an author with a "flair for dialogue and eccentric characterizations" and by RT Bookclub for having "cornered the market on sinfully attractive, dominant antiheroes and the women who swopn for him." A four time finalist for Romance Writers of America's prestigious RITA award, JK took home the first RITA trophy awarded in the category of erotic romance in 2014 for her novel, Claim Me (book 2 of her Stark Trilogy).
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