The first sentence quite literally had me clutching the pearls I wore for dinner with my momma and gasping, "Duuuuude." Then again, that's the trademark of any Jeanne St. James books: expect the unexpected. Your face will express many different human emotions as you read along, so tell anyone within your vicinity that crying and snorting within seconds is a natural reaction induced by a certain author.
I've read (and owned, digital and/or in paperback) every book that this author writes, and I'd been looking forward to Jayde and Linc's story ever since reading about their little defiant and rebellious little glances in Z's book. I won't summarize this story, because that's what book blurbs are for and this book deserves to be read from cover to cover. What I will discuss in the review is again, the amazing plot lines and characterizations that had me clutching my pearls, working hard not to spew coffee from laughter (anytime big Daddy D pops up), uttering "duuuuude" or "y'all" (come on, Mitch, duuuuude), and getting so many lumps in ny throat I need to schedule an appt with an ENT (Linc, you precious cinnamon roll).
I love Ms. St. James characterizations! She writes about deeply flawed characters whose actions and choices may have you cringing or frustrated with them, but she shows you deeper into those actions and decisions: the reasoning, the heart, the brokenness. So even if you want to whack someone upside the head (Aloha, dear Mitch), you still feel for them and that head whack is more an NCIS Gibbs rather than a Nate Diaz whack. She also shows growth in her characters subtlety, but in a way that packs a punch. Cases in point: Diesel, Bella, Axel, Linc, Jayde.
I cannot wait for Crow!
***I received a digital ARC of this book, but as you can see through my verified purchase, this book was so great that I ended up getting my own paperback copy.***