Book:
Tattoo Thief by Heidi Joy Tretheway ** 1.8 Stars
"22-year-old Beryl doesn't know why Gavin Slater trashed his penthouse, abandoned his dog and fled the country. But as his house sitter, she must pick up the pieces for the front man of the white-hot rock band Tattoo Thief. When ultra-responsible Beryl confronts the reckless rock star, she wants to know more than just what to do with his mess. Why is he running? What’s he searching for? And is he responsible for the death of his muse? New York newbie Beryl must find her footing in Gavin’s crazy world of the ultra-wealthy to discover her own direction and what can bring him back. Steamy, sassy and tender, Tattoo Thief is a story of breaking from a comfort zone to find a second chance."
This book started so great, but it was such a disappointment. Zero conflict resolution, or even an approach of it. The lead female that I thought might be so authentic at first turned out to be just a copy of somebody else, I have a lot to say, but be warned there's going to be SPOILERS!!!
I need to talk about stuff that without the details of the events in the book it's just not gonna be the same. So here I go.
Everything was fine, this was going to be a 4 stars book. There were some things that might have been a little annoying but it was a good read anyway. That lasted only 'till the first 50% of the book. And then it all went slowly to hell... And I'm gonna do a list here of everything that made book a disappointment to me.
SPOILERS AHEAD, CONSIDER YOURSELF WARNED
1. She falls in love with the guy incredibly fast, with some superficial chat and e-mail exchange. I mean it wasn't all superficial, but certainly not to fall in love THAT fast.
2. When he seems to return some of the same feelings and they meet she kisses him only after a few minutes of talk, and that's ok, that's great for her to be so brave, but... When he puts some breaks on the make out session, she seems so disappointed and afraid and thinks there was some kind of relationship already that will not continue... (This annoy me and I didn't know why)
3. Then, the guy stood her up, and she was mad with fair reason. But while having an argument about it he asks if she trusts him and she doesn't answer inmediately, so the guy seems dissapointed and she answers him on the spot that she does trust him but he hurt her and needs to explain. (I got a feeling she wasn't sure if she trusted him but told him she did to not hurt him or dissapoint him, I'm really tired of write that word. And I mean, how can she trust him completely, they shared some secrets and stuff bu THEY DON'T REALLY KNOW EACH EATHER THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THE MEET FACE TO FACE)
4. Oh and here comes the biggest issue. The thing that bothered me through most of the book but it wasn't really an issue 'till this happened: She, Baryl (that's her name) starts wearing Gavin (That's him) death ex/muse's clothes, after he asked her she get rids of them. I could have understand this, it was expensive and perfect clothes and If I had been just a worker on the guy's house I would have keep them too, after washing them and certainly would have gotten rid of the dead girls UNDERWEAR!!!!!!! Her underwear!!! this is just so wrong. But the worst is when she wears the clothes for their first date, the date when Gavin stood her up. It turned out he did show up at the place, he just couldn't get out of the car 'cause she saw her wearing his ex/muse's clothes! So he couldn't deal with it, it was a trigger for him. Well, Gavin tells her this, but she doesn't approach it, she just tells him she went out with other guy after she was stood up... And then, when everything's solve, and the main 'conflict' was solved, it was just drama btw, they go to a T.V show (Jimmy Fallon's) and she goes with the dead girl's clothes again and she says she has HIS BLESSING to wear them... WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!!!
It seems to me that Baryl is just trying to be the replacement of Gavin's muse. And when he's aks if he found a new one he says it's no that, he says that that it's not healthy and it's addictive and bla, bla bla. But then he asks her to be the new model for the next cover of their new album (the band) and she accepts. Do you know who was the model for the two previous albums of the band? IT WAS GAVIN'S DEAD EX GIRLFRIEND/MUSE. And Baryl keeps wearing her clothes. And I was done, I was fucking done. And I say it with respect. This is not against the author, it's my attempt to make a constructive criticism to a book that had so much potential, it was a great story, the preview was awesome and it captivate me, but I read it and nothing was right. This things I just mentioned could have perfectly been an issue in the book, and used as a conflict, as part of the relationship, as means to an end. They could have grown together as people and a couple by overcoming this issues. The book just ended and this things were there like they were normal, but let me tell you this, this are issues that are not normal in a healthy relationship and that eventually would explode and made everyone insecure with themselves, that's what I see in this couple's future. Baryl beeing insecure of herself after realizing that she's the exact same copy of Lulu, Gavin's ex/muse. She could have been a new muse of her own, with her own identity, but she was just a copy. The clothes were a massive No for me, they could have discussed it, make an agreement, approach these subjects and not let them float in the book like normal. I think if that was approached, it would have been an awesome book and I would have given it at least a 4 stars review. Sadly, it was not. :(