First Touch (First and Last, #1) by Laurelin Paige Series: First and Last #1
Published by St. Martin's Griffin on December 29th 2015
Pages: 384
Amazon
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?
Well, that was… provocative? Disturbing? Aggravating? Intriguing? Yes, to all. What a compelling premise. Out of the blue, Emily receives a seemingly benign voicemail from her former best friend, Amber. What’s troubling is that Amber uses a safe word to indicate she’s in serious trouble. Emily tries to track her down only to discover Amber’s missing. Her search leads her to Reeve Sallis, a rich playboy with a dangerous, dubious reputation.
My main issue is I didn’t care for Emily. Quite honestly, she seems to be a few fries shy of a Happy Meal. Even though she repeatedly reminds herself that she’s supposed to be looking for Amber, Emily is easily side-tracked from her mission whenever she’s around Reeve. He’s undeniably threatening, but also alluring. There’s magnetism between them she can’t deny, and he feeds her sexual proclivities. But despite potential dangers, Emily fails to use basic common sense and self-preservation instincts when she’s actively snooping for answers. Stealthy, she is not.
While I can’t confess to always understanding Emily’s motives in the present, I was fascinated with the revelations of her past history with Amber. I connected with that Emily and what influenced her behavior prior to meeting Reeve.
Reeve is one of those alpha assholes who gives very little emotionally and expects a great deal in return. His past has made him guarded, but he can’t seem to stay away from Emily. Reeve remains somewhat of an enigma, which is just fine because it left me wanting more.
A good first half of the book felt like it dragged on, but once I hit the 75% mark the pacing picked up and the mystery really kicked in. More revelations are made, stakes are raised, and the story becomes gripping.
This book is dark, dark, dark, and there’s a lot of graphic BDSM, so I don’t recommend this if you are faint of heart. It ends on the mother of all cliffhangers, and I’m really curious to see where the next book leads.
To sum up, I give First Touch:
♥ 3 stars for execution of the first half
♥ 4 stars for execution of the second half
♥ 4.5 stars for the plot
♥ 2.5 stars for the protagonist
♥♥ Overall: 3.5 stars
Recommended for fans of:
BDSM
Mysteries
Alpha assholes
** ARC provided in exchange for an honest review. **
Last Kiss (First and Last #2) Releases June 14th, 2016
Last Kiss Pre-Order Links
Amazon US| Amazon UK | iBooks | Nook | Kobo
Giveaway
$50 Amazon Gift Card & Swag Pack
About Laurelin Paige
USA Today and New York Times bestselling author Laurelin Paige is a sucker for a good romance and gets giddy anytime there’s kissing, much to the embarrassment of her three daughters. Her husband doesn’t seem to complain, however. When she isn’t reading or writing sexy stories, she’s probably singing, watching Game of Thrones or The Walking Dead, or dreaming of Michael Fassbender. She’s also a proud member of Mensa International though she doesn’t do anything with the organization except use it as material for her bio. She is represented by Rebecca Friedman.
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