Dirty, Reckless Love (The Boys of Jackson Harbor, #3)
Lexi Ryan
I’m in love with a man who tried to kill me. At least that’s what they tell me . . . Six weeks ago, paramedics found me unconscious in my apartment. Beaten. Bruised. Hardly breathing. When I woke up, I couldn’t remember the last three years or anything about my life in Jackson Harbor. They tell me my fiancé, Colton McKinley, is on the run for what he did to me. They tell me I’m safer if I stay away. I don’t care if my memories ever come back. I want nothing to do with those missing years . . . until a sexy stranger with angry eyes shows up on my doorstep and demands I stop ignoring him. Levi Jackson is my fiancé’s best friend, but seeing him sparks something inside me. As the truth unravels in my mind, I know they’re wrong about Colton. My own secrets are far more dangerous than the man I was engaged to. I return to Jackson Harbor to search for answers and find myself running from a faceless boogeyman and seeking refuge in Levi’s arms. And in his bed. I can’t deny my feelings for Levi. But as the pile of lies between us grows, I realize that sometimes the truth can’t set us free. Sometimes, it’s the very thing that can destroy us.
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Summary
Levi is in love with his best friend's fiancé.
When Ellie is attacked in her home and can't remember the last 3 years of her life - including meeting Levi - he thinks he's lost her for good. But she comes back to Jackson Harbor and recruits his help to discover what really happened that night. Did her fiancé really hurt her? Or are their other dangers she can't remember?
Overview
➸ POV: 1st Person, Levi & Aprils POV's. This is also told in dual timelines and jumps back and forth between the past and present.
➸ Levi Jackson: Middle brother, Motocross Racer, Thrill Seeker, In love with his best friend's girlfriend
➸ Ellie Courdrey: 26, Realtor in Jackson Habor, Best friend to Ava (heroine from book 2), Engaged to Ava's brother Colton, Was attacked during break in, Can't remember the last 3 years of her life
➸ Content Warnings: Child/Pregnancy loss, Abuse, Domestic Violence, Drug Abuse/Addiction, Sexual Assault and Rape
My Thoughts
Wowza. This was not what I was expecting...
I love a good angsty romance as much as the next reader, but this was unfortunately a little much for me. This book steered heavily into the mystery plot and lacked the romance I was looking for when I picked this up.
This book is told in dual timelines and flashes back and forth between the past and present. The time skips are labeled, but I still struggled to keep it all straight. There was definitely a lot of flipping back and forth trying to keep the timeline straight. However I did like that the past sections were introduced as Ellie was remembering. It was cool to see those snippets with the heroine as they were coming back to her.
I like both Levi and Ellie as characters (Levi a little more so than Ellie... ). But because this book was so heavy on the drama and mystery, I never really felt anything for their relationship. A large chunk of their relationship is built on the fact that they were previously close. But the reader never really got to see that so you're forced to take it at face value. And since there is so little romance, I didn't care that much about their relationship. It never felt real or believable to me.
I was definitely intrigued by the mystery and wanted to discover how everything played out. It just wasn't what I was looking for going into this. And in the end, the romance just didn't work. Particularly - I didn't like how things played out with Colton. Everything felt way too easy and convenient.
Also, possible unpopular/controversial opinion, but I'm over the whole Molly plot. I'm ready to be done with her.
Overall this was definitely my least favorite book in this series and I'm hoping the next 3 books go back to more romance-centric plots with less over the top dramatics.
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