Dirty Talk

We met Luke in Sweet Talk, where his history was hinted at. This book takes place after the first, and also involves a second chance romance. Luke is a successful Hollywood producer who is known for only engaging in casual hook-ups. His bedroom talk is guaranteed to get women out of their clothes and into his bed. His friends, however, know that he’s still hung up on his high school sweetheart. Jane is hurt by Luke’s apparent easy dismissal of their long-term relationship, and finds herself in a romantic pickle. Professionally, things are improving, as one of her scripts has been picked up and will be made into a movie. The catch: the producer. Thrown together for the duration of filming, Luke and Jane have the opportunity to rehash the past and clear the air. The problem is that they keep getting stuck in assumptions and miscommunications. Add to that some Hollywood gossip and manipulative colleagues, and you have a recipe for drama. The continued attraction and love between Luke and Jane sparks off the pages, and is a nice change from the angst, frustration and heartache both are feeling. The author does a wonderful job in taking the reader along on their journey. Their physical connection seems easy to pick up again, which makes sense considering their history, but their emotional reconnecting proves to be more challenging. Both are equally satisfying to read. It was nice to see Danny return as a character and offering his input and advice. I like how he’s not just Luke’s friend, but Jane’s as well. He can do what we as readers at times would like to do: kick them both into gear. I would like to see more of these characters, to find out where their journey takes them next.

I was really excited to get Luke and Jane’s story. It’s a second chance romance that will have you falling for both characters. Ten years have separated these two but neither one has ever had the other very far from their mind. Luke has maneuvered events so that he and Jane will be working together closely for the next several months. Escaping Luke’s charms and dirty words soon become impossible for Jane. Not wanting to taint her growing reputation in the movie industry they decide to keep their rekindled relationship under wraps. But a connection and infatuation as strong as theirs isn’t easy to hide. Heat filled glances and stolen kisses are bound to be noticed eventually. “Resisting him is still something I struggle with, and I don’t have the energy to keep up appearances right now.” I have both read the ebook and listened to the audiobook. Both ways the story is good. Both narrators are enjoyable to listen to and do a good job capturing the emotions of the characters. A slight issue that I had with the audiobook was with the random flashbacks. These happen right in the middle of a scene, usually without much of a lead-in. The flashbacks are easily identified in the ebook with the entire flashback being in italics. However in the audio, there’s nothing written in the book to signal the flashback, so when listening there’s no distinction letting you know it just randomly jumped to a flashback. I realize the narrators had to stick to the exact writing but each time it happened it threw me off until I realized what was happening. An example is below… “Why are my hands sweating? It’s Jane. My Jane. The girl I’ve loved almost half my life. The girl I’ve known since we were sixteen… “We’re gonna be busted, Luke.” She rubs her hand over my leg. She’s nervous, which adds to her excitement.” Half of that is currently going through his mind / happening and half of that is a flashback. You can see how listening to that and not having italics doesn’t really clarify which part of it is a flashback, it could easily make sense to all be currently happening. Even still, that’s just a slight thing and otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audiobook.

I liked this story even though most of the time these 28-30 y/o men reminded me of High School teenaged boys, trying to get laid while coming to terms with a break-up that seems permanent. It was silly and frustrating to read. Anyway, Luke Anders goes through life only thinking of Jane and what he\’s lost. She\’s moved on without him and he can\’t let it go. His continued one nighters are morning regrets. He can\’t get over his biggest mistake of his life…his biggest regret of all…of letting Jane walk away. And Jane Lewis…she pretty much drove me nuts with her whining and her weakness. She\’s immature and defensive and takes just about everything the wrong way, ending up in an argument. But oh well…that\’s what the story is about. This massive misunderstanding that causes false assumptions that a simple adult conversation from these two misguided kids would\’ve remedied. She wants marriage and commitment and kids…he\’s satisfied with the status quo…he likes their relationship where it lays (after 10 years being together)…comfortable with no progression…dragging his feet. So Jane reluctantly moves on, hoping to get a reaction from Luke. This story was cute, but frustrating. The whole plot is these two people who break up…who still love each other but don\’t know how to fix things; going through life misunderstanding each others actions or words. Wallowing in their misery…nobody making a move…both vulnerable and stubborn….thinking of their past regrets and mistakes all the time….all the \”should\’a, could\’a, would\’a\’s\” and pouting and whining. Longing looks from across the room but nobody mature enough to make a move. Yada yada…Sometimes it was worse than Jr. High antics. But…..I loved Luke! This poor, lovable schmuck didn\’t have the first clue that he was even in trouble with Jane, until she walked away. And only then does he try everything in his power to make things right…except he still doesn\’t have a clue! He\’s like a stumbling blind guy bumping into walls. He doesn\’t know what he did wrong to cause the break up in the first place so he doesn\’t know the first thing to correct it. …Two people who grow apart and were too caught up in \”stuff\” that didn\’t matter to see they were even losing each other until finally one just blows up and leaves without talking about it. I was going to give this story 3★\’s regardless of my frustrations with it, because in all honesty, it\’s told well and Ms. Scott conveys it with superb perfection. But the last few chapters redeemed the whole story for me. The \”make up\” scenes…outstanding and told with such precision that had me reaching for tissues. It gave me that \”aaaaaahhhh\” moment with a well laid out HEA.

I adored this book so much, i love second chance romances and this one with its dual POVs well that is an extra bonus as i love seeing what each character thinks and why they make such decisions. The title is Dirty Talk and let me tell you Luke can talk totally dirty. It is some of the best dirty talk i have read in a long long time. However there is a sweetness to this story in how Luke wants Jane and how he goes about getting into her life and wooing her. Jane is an excellent female character she is fun, sweet and a joyful character to read. I must admit how she is slightly stubborn to a degree and not a push over.

This book was not at all what I expected. I found it sad and the same issues between a broke couple who split two years before are replayed over and over. It is a given that these two will end up together, yet their road to get there is long and tedious and not very fun to read. Don\’t expect a fun snappy read here. You will be disappointed.

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