Skins
Laura Rossi is a new author for me. I was gifted a copy of Skins as part of the Foster An Author event. What is wonderful about this event is that it matches authors and bloggers who may never have the opportunity to cross paths. Skins was an 'unknown' entity going in as I've never read any of her previous novels. It's a bad boy fighter meeting up with a girl he should never have. Circumstance doesn't allow them together but fate is fickle to give them a second chance. What I liked: The story was gritty and dark. Neither character I felt were the boy/girl next door perfect. They were both flawed. And it was their flaws that drew them together. The book at half way point began to pick up the pace quickly that had me turning the pages to finish.
"She was an ocean of secrets that no man was allowed to sail."
The question always comes "why not 5 stars?" To be honest this happens with ARCs. Finally editing and sometime changes are made which I'm not privy at time of review. I guess I wanted a bit more of the characters themselves in the story. There was a lot of action and dialogue, but I never felt 100% in the headspace of the H/h to get a real connection.
I would recommend this read to those who love the mafia/wrong side of the tracks story and don't want any heartbreaking angst to steep in. When the action ramps up, there is no time for wrecking your heart - it's like a Jason Statham movie on the page. The question is: I adopted this author as an unknown to me, would I read her again? Yes, in a heartbeat. She kept me engaged in the story once the action picked up. With time and growth as a storyteller, I hope to see more insight into the characters she brings to the tale. 3.5 out of 5 stars for ARC version
