Twisted Up by Lissa Matthews
December 20, 2011
Samhain Publishing
Contemporary Romance
EBook

Reviewed by Helyce

Justin and Ella are already a couple when this story begins. Justin wasn’t looking for anything when he walked into that bar, that night. A group of women were there, playing some sort of Trivia game and they were short a player. He figured, what the heck, and sat down next to a gal to start the game. She looked up at one point and smiled and that small, simple thing was “it” for Justin.

Though Justin and Ella live in different states, they begin a friendship of sorts by texting and chatting on-line. They learn much about each other this way, spending hours in the evening just chatting. There is clearly an attraction between them, but Ella is going through a divorce and Justin has also just recently ended a relationship; so they start out slowly. Soon, though, they are taking it to the next level, meeting for long weekends wherever Ella’s job happens to send her. The sex is great between them. Justin provides just that little extra “edge” to sex that was missing in Ella’s marriage. Ella is happy with the way things are; she is not looking for anything more than their current casual situation. However, as she senses Justin is looking for and feeling more, she completely backs off.

After two months of the “brush off” Justin has had enough. He drives ten hours and basically kidnaps Ella and brings her back to his home in Texas. Justin wants her on his turf, where he is comfortable and where Ella cannot run from him. All Justin wants is some one on one time to figure out where Ella’s head is at and to figure out what has got her so spooked.

While Ella goes willingly with Justin to his place in Texas, she’s totally unprepared for the feelings and emotions that she goes through once she is there. She has a lot of baggage, and after an unsuccessful marriage, she is not looking to jump into another relationship. She’s made mistakes and she’s determined not to make them again. But she’s willing to give Justin the weekend he’s asking for and she promises to listen to what he says and think about it before she makes any decisions.

I have to start by saying that I did not like the character of Ella in this story. I realize that she had issues; many many issues and I totally understand where she was coming from regarding her failed marriage and not wanting to move too quickly into another relationship. I also realize that she was being a responsible adult and guarding her heart as well as Justin’s by not wanting to move too quickly as she was only recently divorced and Justin had also recently broken up with someone. Sadly, her hesitation toward moving forward or at least explaining where her head was at, left me very frustrated.

Justin, on the other hand, I really liked. He seemed so much more confident and I really liked his take charge attitude. He wasn’t going to sit in the wings and just wait Ella out. He took action, even knowing that if he pushed her too hard, he may end of losing her in the end.

There was another issue that didn’t work for me as well. It’s inferred that Ella is older than Justin and he thinks that might be part of why she was holding back. It’s not till we’re well into the book that we learn that Ella is 10 or 11 years older than Justin’s 29 years. For some reason, learning how old Ella was made her uncertainty about what she wanted and the way she treated Justin even more unbelievable to me.

Ultimately, I just didn’t buy the relationship between Justin and Ella. There was no question to their sexual chemistry…up to a point. Even after they agree to give it a shot, Ella complains to Justin about their different “tastes” in the bedroom. When Justin explains himself, and attempts to show Ella “how good it can be” she gets kind of pouty, but gives in.

This one just wasn’t for me. I couldn’t get over my initial dislike of Ella, even as the story moved forward and her attitude toward Justin and their relationship changed.

Rating: D

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