Title: Raw
Author: Belle Aurora
Genre: New Adult Dark Romance
Release Date: January 3, 2014
Hosted by: Love Between the Sheets Promotions
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.
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And because we were so honored with the gift of an ARC, after reading this book, we just couldn't help but throw in a couple reviews.
Clare's Review:
Are you fucking kidding me????? I mean....I'm still wiping tears. I also still have hope. Just FYI. I'll never give it up.
This is a beautifully tortuous book! I sincerely couldn't put it down. So much unexpected. So much pain and grit. And then some cute humor thrown in that I loved. Parts of this book just blew me away. I never wanted it to end. No really. I didn't fucking want it to end and bitch better be writing another book!!! Please please please please!!!!!!!
A little bit about the characters...they're fantastic. They are strong and smart but alternatively they have some pretty fucked up weaknesses and fears that make them do stupid things!! You see them grow as people and learn to understand each other and to understand THEMSELVES, which is key. So much happens in this book, I'm probably going to reread it a few times cause I'm a glutton for punishment...
My final thought (for this review anyway) is: what Twitch does at the end is unbelievably selfless and shows how much he truly loves Lexi and he's a better person than he could ever know. UHG!!! And I just...I mean...I don't....I don't want it to be over...
5 stars. Duh.
Wendy's Review:
What the motherfucking fuck?!?!???!?! I'm in sort of a TWISTED violated kind of pain. Seriously, I may have just suffered a stroke. I can't even begin to tell you how much RAW pain I just suffered. But not in a bad way. At. All.
This book...this book is fucking phenomenal!
At about the half way mark I had to stop and harass the author, she's a great friend, so it was all in good fun, but I'm pretty sure I threatened her with bodily harm at some point in my rant. I mean, I'd never actually punch her in the boob, but I'd like to after some of the shit she put me thru while reading RAW.
This book starts out with a young boy and girl who happen to be neighbors, meeting for the first time. Even from this beginning point, you get some real emotional pull. It's sort of heartache at its finest and in true gritty form, Belle manages to pull you right into her characters.
"What's your name?"
He kicks at a stone. "Doesn't matter. You'll forget it once I'm gone."
My stomach aches. I need to know his name.
Stepping closer, I promise, "No, I won't."
Lifting his head, he runs a hand through his messy brown hair to keep it out of his face. He watches me a second more before he utters, "Antonio Falco."
I'm broken immediately. I mean, come on. This 8 yr old boy is already shattered in his youth. It's just unimaginable. I cried. I couldn't see. My gut hurt and my heart was fracturing.
20 years later...
Lexi is doing well for herself in her new home "Down Under". She's a fighter and stronger than shit. But there's one thing that puts her on edge. She has a "stalker". And he's suddenly Every Where. Which in a certain case, may not be such a bad thing. Until Lexi starts to depend on him being there and then he's not.
Because Twitch is a weirdo who watches me. And for me to have intense feelings for a man who does that sort of thing...well...what would that say about me?
Twitch is...DEEP...A MAGNET...DISTURBINGLY SEXY...UNCONTROLLABLE...RAW...
He's also a bit broken, or maybe just a tad "bent". But the fact remains, he's fucking scary as hell. Twitch does things to Lexi that literally gave me fevers and had me on the cusp of a raging red eyed bull looking for blood. And then, there were the moments of complete and utter sweetness. I'm not sure I could even say he meant or knew what they were about himself, but Fuck Me! his shift in emotional gears was reeling and totally unexpected, but so amazing that I just couldn't help but be stimulated.
"Never tasted anything like you before. Never had a pussy that tasted sweet." Flattening his tongue, he laps at my entry over and over and over again before saying, "If I could eat your pussy all day, every day, I'd fuckin' find a way to make it my job."
Um...hello libido! Fuck I missed you. If ever there was a more inappropriate time to get immersed in a book with scenes like this, it's when you're supposed to be having a proper discussion with your grandparents and your significant other is nowhere around. Needless to say, that conversation was cut short so I could have some private time with my friend "Tickler". The sexy time moments in this book will have your vag going double time with kegels.
I need to pause for a moment and express something here. I'm a hard core supporter of strong minded women who don't stand for the shit storm of a man dictating to them. There are definite moments in this story that I felt Lexi needed a good 'what for' because of the back and forth inner monologue with herself. However, I found that when dealing with a man like Twitch, it would be extremely difficult for even myself to stand my ground when he literally has me tied to him with a belt (<read the book, you'll understand the belt reference).
About 91% into RAW and there's a major shift. It's heart-wrenching and more painful than even I can express. And it only gets worse. So be prepared!
On a final note: RAW is gripping, vexing, emotional, cryptic, and beyond dark. RAW is painfully dark and so far out of the norm that if you don't scream and get a little choked up at times...well...you may need to reread it after you've devoured all of your sprinkly unicorn infested HEA romances.
Honest to God, I'm more than thankful it's over but at the same time want to shriek like a banshee because it really isn't.
10 WHORE-TAS-TIC STARS and a place on my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE shelves!
Mini Teaser
Staring down at my chest, she takes a step closer to me and whispers miserably, “I’m here to let Brad fuck me.” My cheek ticks and head implodes. She steps closer to me to add, “He’s going to fuck me. Fuck me til I forget you. Til I forget I ever met you. He’s helping me drown you out and I like when I’m not thinkin’ about you.” She looks into my eyes and repeats on a whisper, “You’re poison.”
About the Author
Belle Aurora is twenty six years old and was born in the land down under.
At an early age she fell in love with reading. Boredom one summer had her scouring the bookshelves at home. She stumbled across Sandra Brown’s Breath of Scandal and fell in love with romance.
Having been brought up in a loud and boisterous family of Croatian descent, she developed a natural love for dramatics and humor. Only some years ago had she discovered a new love.
Humorous romance novels.
Kristen Ashley and R.L. Mathewson had opened a brand new world where she could lose herself yet feel safe and at home in their stories. Belle has been known to become a screeching banshee while anxiously awaiting their newest titles.
Belle never thought she would write. It had never interested her until recently. Friend-Zoned began to form and in February this year Belle typed the words Chapter One. And she fell in love.
With words.
With writing.
With a creative imagination she never knew she harbored.
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You can find teasers of Belle's books here - https://www.goodreads.com/story/list/18164357
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