I’ve read a lot of work by Ms James and on the whole, I am a fan, but this took me longer to get into than I thought it would. I took a break after about 30 mins to regroup almost, flick back through what I had read and get a feel for the story all over again.

I didn’t much like the repetition but I got why it was there, so I can’t criticize because it was very much part of the story and since it wasn’t my story, who am I to tell anyone how to write their characters. And anyway, after the initial stutter, I soon got on board and the pair of them started to hit their stride.

Bull was a serious guy, and I got why that was the case, he had been through more than most and his past had moulded him in the type of guy that when it came to showing emotion…he had issues. Because it wasn’t that he couldn’t expression emotion, I think if he could have understood them he would have had no problems at all, he just seemed to be devoid of that ability …right up until Lily because with her he was sure that the connection between them was the real thing, she made him feel … and that is something he didn’t experience easily or often.

Now, Lily wasn’t initially easy to like for me, she was feisty but a little too flighty for me, she hid well behind a tough exterior and at times was a little too quick to jump the gun so to speak. As for the situation with her and her brother, well I am looking forward to seeing how that develops in the second book, it will be interesting to read her reaction when the penny finally drops and she sees who really has her back.

There is a lot to uncover in this instalment, this is isn’t a normal relationship by any stretch of the imagination, they are an odd couple and the angst that surrounds the two of them follows a path that kept me on the edge of my seat.

An interesting read that required perseverance but that came good …onwards and upwards guys!