Review: Belle Aurora's "Raw."

~ 5  Hearts Review  ~

Amazon.com:   http://amzn.to/19Oqw2a
Amazon UK:    http://amzn.to/19Eim1T

Synopsis:

*Author Note: This is not a love story. This is a story of love gone wrong.*

Growing up the way I did, you’d think I’d be more screwed up than what I actually am.

Soon as I turned sixteen, I left that bump in the road I called home and took my chances on the street. Best decision I ever made.

Now, at the age of twenty six, I’m educated, employed and damn good at my job. My friends have become my family. Like me, they know what it’s like to grow up unloved. But the saying is true. The world makes way for those who know where they are going. That’s me. I know where I’m going and I’ll get there eventually. On my own terms and at my own pace.

But then there’s him. I feel his eyes on me. I see him hiding in plain sight. He watches me.He makes me feel. It’s unconventional. But it’s real. I’m sure you’re wondering how a person falls in love with their stalker. So am I. 

This isn’t a story. This is my life.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18468559-raw?ac=1

Review: Kirsty Lander

YAY, this book was so good! A real winner for me and my first 5* read of 2014!

I wasn't sure what to expect going in to this book, I knew nothing about it apart from the fact that there was a lack of HAE. I tried to put that to the back of my mind and just read, and that worked out so well for me.. until the end! The ending was sad but I have high hopes for a sequel, or.. something.

It's hard to talk about a book like this without giving too much away plot wise, but what I can talk about is the characters. I loved them. The good, the bad, the RAW and the gritty! Alexa Ballentine is your average female lead. She's survived a pretty crappy upbringing and has come out the other side better. She is an American living in Australia, working as a case/social worker and life is good, easy, non-complicated.. apart from the person 'stalking her'. She notices him always, never knowing who he really is.

"Monsters don't always lurk in the shadows... 

...sometimes they hide in plain sight."

And Lexi's monster is Twitch. I know I shouldn't have loved Twitch to start with, I mean, a man stalking a woman day in, day out, is hardly normal, but there was just something about him that I was drawn to, something that made me want to read about him more and more to get to know him and why he is as is he. I had to find out the reason he was so hell bent on stalking Lexi and keeping tabs on her. 

The book is told in dual POV, giving us the perfect insight in to both Lexi and Twitch's world. We get to know straight away what Lexi's feelings are towards Twitch, her stalker, and at the same time we slowly learn why Twitch is so fixated on breakingLexi. I loved witnessing the relationship grow between these two. It certainly wasn't your 'normal' relationship, but who needs normal? I don't want to constantly read about the billionaire and the innocent virgin. I want broken characters, complicated characters and characters so complex that it takes you an age to work them out. That's exactly what we got with this book. 

"The thing is, I'm selfish. And I don't give a fuck about what I deserve. All I care about is

 what I want. And I want you so fuckin' bad that I'd do almost anything to keep you."

I don't know if there is a sequel to come, but I am hopeful and will forever keep my fingers crossed until I get one! ;) I am new to Belle Aurora's work but I look forward to discovering more.

I rated "Raw" 5 Hearts