(First and Last #1)
by Laurelin Paige
December 29, 2015
384 pages
Goodreads Summary:
When Emily Wayborn goes home to visit her mom while on hiatus from her hit TV show, she receives a voicemail from her former best friend, Amber. Though the two were once notorious party girls, they haven't spoken in years. Although the message might sound benign to anyone else, Amber uses a safe word that Emily recognizes, a word they always used to get out of sticky situations during their wild days. And what's more chilling than the voicemail: it turns out that Amber has gone missing.
Determined to track down her friend, Emily follows a chain of clues that lead her to the enigmatic billionaire Reeve Sallis, a hotelier known for his shady dealings and play boy reputation. Now, in order to find Amber, Emily must seduce Reeve to learn his secrets and discover the whereabouts of her friend. But as she finds herself more entangled with him, she finds she's drawn to Reeve for more than just his connection to Amber, despite her growing fear that he may be the enemy. When she's forced to choose where her loyalty lies, how will she decide between saving Amber and saving her heart?
Determined to track down her friend, Emily follows a chain of clues that lead her to the enigmatic billionaire Reeve Sallis, a hotelier known for his shady dealings and play boy reputation. Now, in order to find Amber, Emily must seduce Reeve to learn his secrets and discover the whereabouts of her friend. But as she finds herself more entangled with him, she finds she's drawn to Reeve for more than just his connection to Amber, despite her growing fear that he may be the enemy. When she's forced to choose where her loyalty lies, how will she decide between saving Amber and saving her heart?
Review
First a warning about First Touch: it's very explicit. It read like New Adult bordering on Erotica. On Goodreads, it's categorized as romance but I'm pretty sure it's more than that. There were some cringe-worthy scenes and heart-stabbing flashbacks but overall I enjoyed the book.
The premise of the story relied on Emily trying to find her missing former best friend, Amber. This led her to deliberately seek out Reeve (Amber's last known boyfriend). When they 'meet' the main storyline kind of evaporates. I was a bit dumbfounded since finding out what happened to Amber was suppose to be the story. Emily's ultimate goal. Right? (This isn't a complaint but merely me musing to myself.) What ensued was a game of tug of war between Emily and Reeve as they explored their attraction.
Emily had a lot of self-doubts. I didn't like how she was always questioning if she did something wrong (in regards to Reeve). At the same time, I liked her because she willingly acknowledges that certain preferences of hers were outside the norm. Reeve was a strong man who hid his vulnerability and pain behind his reputation. It's great that he has a soft and gentle side that does come out with time.
Second warning about First Touch: the story can be quite intense. Or should I say, Emily and Reeve's relationship was very intense. He's rich, powerful and dangerous. She's confident (physically), smart and provocative. Of course that led them into a relationship. One which I very much appreciated because it took time to develop. Reeve and Emily spent time together. The sexy times were scorching hot, sometimes a bit uncomfortable to read but the intensity of their relationship never faltered. As they tried to reign in their connection they slowly start to open up, even managing to disclose their painful pasts to each other. Thumbs up for a working relationship.
Omg that ending. The force of Reeve's bombshell reveal combined with the shock of an unexpected arrival had my stomach in knots. I swear I'm going to pull my hair out at the prospect of a love triangle. The inevitability has me unsure of everything I've read thus far.
A last warning about First Touch: it's got a killer cliffhanger. I'm not even joking. My suggestion is, if you're interested in picking up this book then you might want to wait closer to the release of the next book. I need Last Kiss now.
The premise of the story relied on Emily trying to find her missing former best friend, Amber. This led her to deliberately seek out Reeve (Amber's last known boyfriend). When they 'meet' the main storyline kind of evaporates. I was a bit dumbfounded since finding out what happened to Amber was suppose to be the story. Emily's ultimate goal. Right? (This isn't a complaint but merely me musing to myself.) What ensued was a game of tug of war between Emily and Reeve as they explored their attraction.
Emily had a lot of self-doubts. I didn't like how she was always questioning if she did something wrong (in regards to Reeve). At the same time, I liked her because she willingly acknowledges that certain preferences of hers were outside the norm. Reeve was a strong man who hid his vulnerability and pain behind his reputation. It's great that he has a soft and gentle side that does come out with time.
Second warning about First Touch: the story can be quite intense. Or should I say, Emily and Reeve's relationship was very intense. He's rich, powerful and dangerous. She's confident (physically), smart and provocative. Of course that led them into a relationship. One which I very much appreciated because it took time to develop. Reeve and Emily spent time together. The sexy times were scorching hot, sometimes a bit uncomfortable to read but the intensity of their relationship never faltered. As they tried to reign in their connection they slowly start to open up, even managing to disclose their painful pasts to each other. Thumbs up for a working relationship.
Omg that ending. The force of Reeve's bombshell reveal combined with the shock of an unexpected arrival had my stomach in knots. I swear I'm going to pull my hair out at the prospect of a love triangle. The inevitability has me unsure of everything I've read thus far.
A last warning about First Touch: it's got a killer cliffhanger. I'm not even joking. My suggestion is, if you're interested in picking up this book then you might want to wait closer to the release of the next book. I need Last Kiss now.
*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinion are my own and not affected in any way.
Sounds like it had quite the ending! I hope book two is here before you know it!
ReplyDeleteYes! It was pretty explosive XD
DeleteOh, I love cliffhangers, so this sounds like it is right up my alley! BUT, NA bordering on erotica kind of puts me off somehow. Anyway, thanks for putting this up on my radar. I'll have to check it our further because it does sound interesting. Nice review, Eileen!
ReplyDeleteSarika @ The Readdicts
You do? O.o That's so unique Sarika! Most of us can't stand them haha. I hope you give this one a try. The erotica wasn't too bad.
Delete