Tuck Me in Tight

I had the same issue with this book as I had with the first. The mystery aspect was very well done. It held my interest throughout. It had good twists and turns. And it kept me guessing right up to the end. It had a good cast of secondary characters. The sex scenes were spicy (even if I hated Wes). I even managed to like Claire a lot more in this book.





That said, again the romance aspect was utter crap. I loathe Wes. The book opens with us (and Claire) finding out he cheated by letting a stripper rub all over him during a lapdance while he groped her and had his tongue down her throat. We then have to go back in time 48 hours and read sex scenes between Claire and Wes, all the while knowing what he did. And do not even get me started at the lame excuse given that the stripper kissed everyone at the bachelor party (and by the way, I am not talking a peek on the lips. He was full-on playing tonsil hockey with her) so it wasn't cheating since everyone did it? Hate to break this to you author, but sticking your tongue down someone's throat and groping them when you are in a relationship, stripper or not, is the very definition of cheating...sigh.

Plus, the entire incident just gets swept under the rug like it was no big deal. Wes gets mad and claims “he did nothing wrong,” Claire's brother says Wes did nothing wrong. Claire herself apologizes for misunderstanding, like making out with a stripper isn't cheating because everyone else made out with her??
For those interested here is the scene that everyone claimed WAS NOT cheating... I shuffle the pictures sliding the top one to the back of the stack so that I can see the next one. This one is zoomed in. His head is tipped back and his face is distorted with both lust and passion as she straddles his lap. Her hands hold his to her breasts and I can see the play of tendons flexing through them as he grips them tight. It was only two nights ago that his hands were on my own breasts in much the same way as I rode his cock on the sofa. “Claire, did you hear me?” he asks but I shuffle the stack again. In this picture, he has his arms wrapped around her back and he's pulling her close, her breasts mashed up against his strong chest. Her hands with long, red painted talons press in on either side of his face and as they kiss hungrily, their mouths open as their tongues tangle.





So basically all three stars for this one are because of the mystery aspect. This could have been a five-star read had the author toned down the drama llama relationship angst. It wasn't needed. It added nothing good to the story. In fact, for me, it took a lot away from the story. And, because of that, this author has lost me as a reader (of this series in any case). I am kind of bummed out by that, but what can you do? It is what it is. Life is too short to waste it on books that leave you frustrated.