True Devotion by Liora Blake
Series: True, #2
Contemporary Romance
June 22, 2015
Pocket Star

Reviewed by Tori

Favorite Quote: “If I wanted to be sexually assaulted by a bottle of awful body spray, Simon, I’d go hump a cologne display in a drugstore.”

Devon Jenkins, sister to famous rock star, Trevor “Trax” Jenkins, has been playing a game with her brother’s sexy infuriating band mate for two years. Every since they met and he tried to lay some cheesy lines on her, it has been an antagonistic relationship in which Devon and Simon bicker, snark, and try to to avoid taking that final step into the unknown. When Devon is hurt in an accident and Simon is the one to care for her, Devon sees the complicated layers that belay his goofy playa’ personae and her resolutions towards him weaken considerably.

Simon Cole is a fun loving, sexy, intelligent, wealthy rockstar whose reputation paints a far different picture than the man we get to know. He has wanted Devon for a long time but her pricky nature and the fact her brother is his best friend has him keeping his distance. When Simon decides to let Devon know his intentions towards her are serious, he finds himself having to not only prove he’s worthy of her love…but that she’s worthy of his.

I really enjoyed the first book in this series-True North. A humorous, sexy, swoony romance that erupts between a rockstar and a widow. I was happy to see Simon and Devon were the next couple to be featured as the antagonistic chemistry between them was intense and begged to be explored. I will be honest and let readers know up front I was not as taken with this book as much as the first one, but I still enjoyed watching the fireworks explode as these two seemingly opposites’ attract each other like moths to a flame.

A groan tumbles out before I can stop it. I just let some poetry reading rich kid eat me out, and I loved it.

Heavily character driven, it’s the vibrant characters and realistic emotions and situations they face that makes the story come to life. Witty banter, steamy sex scenes, and the quiet introspective moments create a romance that perfectly showcases Liora Blake’s appealing voice and talented writing. I enjoy that Blake chooses to explore what is behind the mask of her characters, choosing not to give in to tired tropes and easy predictable behavior. She, like her characters, work hard at showing us the little nuances and quirky behavior that we all experience when striving to find and be in a relationship.

I’m scared to death I might want this. For real. Until it makes us whole again.

Our heroine Devon Jenkins has issues. Serious issues. Stubborn, passionate, snarky, and troubled, Devon hits first, then runs. Raised in a trailer park and referred to a ‘white trash’ growing up, she has self-esteem issues that eat at her day in and day out. Though she, like her brother, managed to claw her way out and make something of herself, she forever sees herself as undeserving, flawed, and unworthy. Able to maintain professional relationships with no problem, it’s the personal ones that give her the hives. Factor in she was in an abusive relationship for three years and her walls are thick, high, and covered in thorns.

Simon Cole was a joy to meet. Though he puts on a good show as the typical womanizing, opportunist, rock star; in reality he is smart, geeky, romantic, very talented, and comes from an upper crust background. He’s a multitude of contradictions. One minute he’s whispering erotic nothings in her ear and the next he’s reading her obscure poetry. He plays hardcore guitar and classical piano. He’s worth millions but sleeps on pink cotton unicorn sheets. He is honest to a fault and gives with his whole heart.

Watching these two fall in love is both funny and sad. Sexually they are in their element. Explosive chemistry leads to some pretty incredible mattress dancing and lots of laughs.

Dear Fellow Board Members:

I take full responsibility for making Simon late for your fancy meeting.
The problem is he’s a sex goddess. Yes, goddess. Sometimes he giggles like a schoolgirl when we’re through. He tried to leave this morning, at a very responsible early hour, but I had to have him again. The man can fuck like nobody’s business.
Please send him back as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Ms. Devon Jenkins

Their journey to their happily ever after is littered with man-made pitfalls-aka-Devon. Her multi layered self-esteem issues play a recurring role in her attempts to self sabotage her and Simon’s relationship. No matter what he does, she always waits for the other shoe to drop. For him to realise she is not worth his time. Heartbreaking and frustrating, you can’t help but want to shake her, hug her, and make her understand that she is worthy of Simon’s time. Worthy of his love. Worthy of happiness.

“I’ve been trying to be patient with you, not push, but we can’t grow this thing if you won’t let me in. I just want you to give me something-”

We see old and new friends aplenty though I did feel this one focused more on the couple then book one did. Kate and Trevor are a strong supporting cast along with Miss McKenna who is firmly Team Simon. I loved the introduction of Stacia and Preston and I hope we see more of them in the future. Their love of freshly made bread is quite amusing.  Family continues to play a strong role in the series which I love. Too often, especially in rockstar romances, family members are often portrayed as leeches or screw ups who bring down rather than lift up their famous relative. I like that Blake shows family can be supportive and relatively normal.

The book does slow down considerably due to Devon’s issues. Devon’s internal monologue about her insecurities and jealousy does get a bit irritating because she rehashes the same issues over and over with no real steps of moving forward. I felt at times her issues overshadowed the storyline and Simon. I was disappointed with both the plot devices introduced towards the end to push Devon into making a decision about her and Simon. One didn’t make any sense and the other was nothing more than a manipulation that felt a little wrong considering what we knew of them.  I would have understood more if there was a real defining moment or epiphany gleaned from the ordeal.

Regardless, True Devotion is an entertaining follow-up to True North; proving Liora Blake didn’t fall victim to the sophomoric slump. Fans of troubled heroines and adorable heroes will enjoy this snarky, humorous, antagonistic, and sweetly dirty romantic story. I look forward to the final book in this series-True Divide– is Kate’s sister Lucy’s story. YAY!! True Divide releases October 15, 2015.

RATING: B-

Prior Liora Blake Reviews

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Urban Smoothie

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