Tragic by JA Huss: A Review

Rook Walsh is TRAGIC

Because life so far – just sucks. Some girls get parents. Rook got the foster care system. Some girls get Prince Charming. Rook got an abusive frog. Some girls get lucky…

Rook got a second chance.

And she took it. Because when fate throws you a bone – you grab it with both hands and run.

Antoine Chaput knows the minute he spies Rook in his photography studio that she’s got The Look. The dark and desperate look he must have to land the exclusive TRAGIC media contract.

Rook is paired up with top model, Ronin, and he’s everything her abusive ex-boyfriend wasn’t. Patient, gentle, happy, attentive, and sexy! He knows exactly what to do to make Rook blush for Antoine’s camera.

Rook’s luck changes in an instant and suddenly she’s the darling of the modeling world. It’s a dream job to go with a dream guy and all she has to do is look pretty and follow directions. But there’s always a price to pay – and Rook is about to get the bill.

New Adult Contemporary Romance *Mature Content* Recommended for ages 17+ due to sexual situations and language usage.

 

I participated in the Release Day blitz for this and I did receive a copy from the JA Huss (she's awesome). For some reason I could only open it on my computer at work, though, so I ended up buying it from Amazon for .99 cents. ;)  I read it in a day. That's a feat for me, given time constraints. But anyway. 

I really enjoyed the story and the characters. I had no trouble diving right in. We meet Rook, we know she's jobless instantly; we know she's broke, homeless, and running. But she's strong. Despite everything, she not living as a victim of her circumstances, she's fighting. She meets Ronin, and we know her past has broken her just by her reaction. She's thrown into this world of modeling as she tries to save money and get her life back on track.

I did feel her acclimation to being touched constantly in this model setting seemed a bit rushed, though, given how she had reacted to hearing the argument when she arrived at the studio. She quickly accepted the idea of being touched in varying ways rather quickly, which took me out of the story as I pondered how realistic that was. 

Ronin is the quintessential bad boy. He's dark, edgy, and an asshole (I could quote from the book for that one), but he's also caring, patient, and gentle. I loved that he wanted to take care of her, more than was just his job. He wanted her to feel she deserved to be loved and cared about. I did enjoy the relationship building as it did. It was intense and smoldering.

A pitfall for me: The length. I felt some things were a bit rushed, like I already mentioned above. I think the story could have been developed a little more to allow for the changes Rook needed to make.

Overall I really enjoyed this story. JA Huss did a great job of telling us a story and making it believable, plausible. I am definitely looking forward to reading more when Manic comes out in August.