REVIEW: Wicked Dirty by J. Kenner

In Wicked Dirty (Stark World #2) by J. Kenner, Hollywood actor Lyle Tarpin’s fans would be shocked if they knew his true humble beginnings or the tragedy he’s endured. He hides his pain well and is known as an all American guy who is set to take the big screen by storm playing a superhero. But his secret vice, paying women for their privacy and their bodies, is threatened when Sugar Laine enters his hotel room–and his life–and by a photo of them which somehow gets leaked to the press. To avoid backlash, Lyle convinces Laine to pretend she’s his girlfriend. A solid plan. And one that’s played out in Hollywood over and over again. However, the instant attraction he felt quickly turns into genuine care and concern for her, and Lyle realizes he’s not just risking his career, but his heart as well by continuing to see Laine. And he worries things are going to end badly for them both if they’re not careful.

‘He wanted the kind of company that was raw. That was dirty and fast and anonymous… Without that release, his mask really would start to crack, and the whole world would learn that the clean-cut Lyle Tarpin was nothing more than a goddamn fraud.’

Trying to get one step ahead of losing her family home, Sugar Laine is juggling more jobs than she can keep track of at the moment. Not that she’s complaining. She’s got a great group of friends, lives next to the glorious Pacific, and has a plan. Well, sort of. But the numerous jobs just aren’t raising the kind of money she needs to pay off the home loan so it’s time to think creatively. When Laine is offered a high paying gig to, ahem, be an “escort”, she’s not sure she’s that desperate. Then she meets Lyle and she knows she’s toast. Not only is he handsome and hot as hell, she feels a real connection to him. She can also see the pain and guilt he hides from the world. Laine would love nothing better than to take care of Lyle and become the couple they are pretending to be to the press, but with her own life as messy as it currently is, she’s not sure it’s the smart thing to do.

‘I shouldn’t want this. Shouldn’t want his touch or the fantasy that this could lead somewhere. I should just play the role I’m supposed to play and move on.
But there’s this craving inside me…
And that’s really not a good thing.’

A tortured hero and a strong, determined heroine turned Wicked Dirty into a complicated slow burn romance full of depth and heart. Something J. Kenner is known for. And of course it wouldn’t be a Stark book without a bit of decadence and a whole lot of attraction, which this couple had in spades.

‘Now, he was seeing the real Laine. A woman he admired. Who moved him in so many ways.
A woman he could truly fall for.
And, frankly, that made her pretty damn terrifying.’

I’m definitely a fan of J. Kenner (aka Julie Kenner) and have fallen in love with her writing style over the years. To me, she really cuts through to the nitty gritty of relationships and all of the emotional baggage each person brings into it, exploring darker themes and real life predicaments. That was very true of Lyle and Laine. Now I won’t spoil things with revealing their backstories as it’s important to find out the details along the way, but I will say that it’s enough to break your heart. Kenner smartly paired up Laine and Lyle, both of them having been through trauma in their teens, so we got to watch as they attempted to not only heal each other but to finally heal themselves as well. Even though it was frustrating to watch Lyle push Laine away and vice versa, it felt like genuine reactions so I appreciated their HEA even more.

Lyle was a wonderful hero in my humble opinion, always trying to help others and do what was right. He was also a prime example of someone who created a different persona for the world to see and who hid his real self away. I can’t blame him given his background, but I truly loved that Laine *got* him right from the start, seeing his hidden pain. And that Lyle was surprised by it. Their beginning was a bit sketchy, considering she was hired to be with him for a night–which raised some moral questions in Laine’s mind, but I dug her thought process and that she owned up to her decision for the purpose of saving her childhood home. She also had lost a lot at a young age but she didn’t let it get her down. Laine was full of gumption, looking to solve her own problems by working hard instead of complaining about it. (And boy did she have reason to complain!) I think that was also something that Lyle loved about her. That Laine was honest, forthright, and worked her butt off to take care of herself and her family’s memories. Gotta admire that.

With a cameo from just about everyone you can think of in the Stark World, Wicked Dirty was one wild ride. Whether you read this as a standalone or if you’re already a fan, I think romance readers will have a blast with this intriguing story.
 

Book Info:

Publication: Published September 19th 2017 | Martini & Olive | Stark World #2

From J. Kenner, the New York Times and No. 1 international bestselling author of the million-copy selling Stark series, comes Wicked Dirty, a new novel set in the seductive Stark world. For fans of Fifty Shades of Grey, Sylvia Day, Meredith Wild and Jodi Ellen Malpas.

Sometimes bad isn’t good enough…

Lyle Tarpin appears to be a clean-cut Hollywood actor whose star is on the rise. Inside, he’s battling demons and finding solace in a string of anonymous women paid well for their discretion. But when he’s photographed in a compromising position, the only way to save his career is to claim his companion is his fiancee.

Struggling waitress Sugar Laine is the one woman who’s ever managed to get under Lyle’s skin. She only agrees to spend one night with him because she’s desperate to save her family home.

Neither expects a night of passion and a pretend engagement will blossom into love. But sometimes love has a price. And is it one Lyle and Sugar can afford to pay?

Spellbinding romance. Electrifying passion. Why not indulge in J. Kenner…