Something Reckless [Review]

Something Reckless

(Reckless and Real Book 1)

By Lexi Ryan

Elizabeth joined the dating site Something Real looking for love and the possibility of settling down. When she started chatting with a man by the user name of Riverrat69, she found herself thinking about some less committal things as well. While the site requires it's users to reach a certain benchmark before they are able to share personal information, Liz suspects River is actually Sam Bradshaw, the guy she has wanted since she was a teenager. Liz is more than ready for Sam to confess that he's the man behind the words that keep her coming back for more. She wonders what his reaction will be when he finds out that she is Tink24, or if he knows already. Does he hate her after everything that happened during her Super Summer Screw-Up? And if the mysterious River isn't Sam, then who in their small town of New Hope could it be?

Violence Rating: PG13? Honestly, it doesn't matter because you wouldn't want your kid/teenager reading this anyway because of the next category's rating...

Romance Rating: R... NC17?... X? This book has very descriptive sex scenes.

Also I feel like I should mention that Sam gets a little possessive in these books. It almost got to the point that I was worried it had become an obsession, but he never actually acted on it aggressively or hurt anyone in any way because of it. I guess that kind of thing might be endearing to some women? Or maybe the possessiveness ties into the (light) bondage fantasy thing this book has going on. I dunno...

Comments: I was a little embarrassed to read this because the cover alone suggests what kind of book it is, but since it was advertised to me as a free download I figured I'd give it a shot. I am SO GLAD that I did. Yes, this book has sex scenes, enough that I felt a little uncomfortable at times, but that's just because I'm a bit of a prude. What I really enjoyed about this book was how surprisingly amazing the story was! I'm actually not sure why I didn't expect lots of sex and scandals, since the majority of the main characters either work as, work for, or are related to, politicians. What kept me interested was the mystery aspect or the 'who done it' of the story. Just when I thought I had things figured out, and that I knew who was playing what part in things, Ryan would throw another curve ball, revealing something new about someone that I didn't expect; and it changed all my previous assumptions. THEN she had to go and end the book on a cliffhanger, or rather, immediately after something MAJOR was revealed and right before we got a peek at the characters' reactions to this information. I finished this book at 1:00 am and didn't allow myself to download the next book, Something Real, until I got a little sleep. It. WAS. TORTURE.

But it was worth it because the next book was filled with just as many twists as the first. EXCITING!

I recommend reading the prequel novella “Something Wild” before reading this book. It's not necessary in order to enjoy the book, but it gives you a deeper look into the characters and their past interactions with each other. The book itself as well as the novella skip around as far as time is concerned, but I still feel like the Something Wild filled answered some questions that I would have had while reading the book.

Favorite Quotes:

(Aside from the awesome story I thought this book was very funny! I enjoyed reading Liz's cheeky point of view on things.)

“I don't want to have sex with just anyone. I don't need to be engaged or in love or anything, but it needs to be worth it. It's like eating a slice of deep-dish pizza. I'm no stranger to high-calorie foods –bring 'em on –but there's nothing worse than eating a thousand-calorie slice of pizza that leaves you thinking you could've had a V8.”

“Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.” I tap on my screen wildly as if there's some magical swipe-tap-hyperventilate combination that can take the text back.

Mom: “Are you hiding something? If you're doing something you don't want your mother to know about, you probably shouldn't be doing it.”

Liz: “I'm not a little girl anymore, Mom. There are plenty of things I do that I don't want you knowing about.”

“I am such an embarrassing cliché, but I really wanted to be the one who changed him. Like in the movies where the girl's hoo-ha is so spectacular, the player guy is blind to all other hoo-has after one taste of hers. I wanted to be the one with the magical hoo-ha.”

“He slides his eyes down my body and back up, and I have to reprimand my girly parts when they start in with a celebratory cha-cha.”

“I met Harry here for a drink, and he cornered me after I finished in the ladies' room, which was an expert seduction move on his part because nothing says 'sexy' like the smell of urine and stale beer.”

Harry: “You want me to put it in you, don't you?”

No, hairy Harry, I don't want it anywhere near me.

“You should have seen the way they were dancing together... Pretty sure you could have found the meaning of life easier than the space between their bodies.”

“I look at the message again and a shiver of anticipation races up my spine, followed by a healthy rush of what-the-fuck-am-I-getting-myself-into fear.”

“You're the most beautiful woman I've ever touched,” I whisper. My heart aches with emotion, as if it might burst if the pressure isn't released soon. I'm scared to love her. I'm scared to love anyone, but [her] more than most. She looks at me like Superman just walked into the room, and it makes me feel powerful and weak all in one confused breath.”

“My head sees this mess I've fallen into and knows the math doesn't add up. But my heart hurts with all this emotion I've trapped in there. Sooner or later, something's going to have to give.”

“We don't get to choose who owns our heart and we don't get to choose who has the power to break it.”

“Home isn't the place you never leave. It's the place where you return.”