Stripped Bare (The Warnum-Bailiff Series #1)
Contemporary Romance
Released September 9, 2014
Self-Published

Reviewed by Sheena

Since being humiliated and degraded by her first love, Sally has hidden herself from the world and more specifically, men. She has lost herself in a spiral of pity and isolation until a chance encounter with a high school friend, who has grown up in all the right ways. Damien has become all man, with muscles to make a girls knees weak and a depth of knowledge behind his beautiful eyes that could strip your soul bare. For the first time in years Sally feels alive again, and her mind and body respond to Damien in ways she thought were lost to her. Damien shows Sally how to love and laugh again but will Damien be her ultimate downfall?

Favorite Quote:“So now you’ve seen the garage, shall I show you the rest of my home?”  and with a cheeky wink he added, “I hope you like it as much as you clearly enjoyed the tour of my garage.”

Cards on the table – the cover sucks.  Severely. Somehow I was sold on the story- cover unseen because otherwise….Spoiler alert- the blurb blows too.  Hard.   But something there makes me feel as if this could be the little novel that could.  So I gave it a chance.  Initially it took some heavy lifting to get into Stripped Bare.  I really had to power through the first few chapters before I reached any payoff.  Sally is a mess.  Plain and simple.  Run through the wringer by her ex, she has all but made herself invisible and unavailable to the opposite sex.  More than the romance, my investment was in Sally’s journey of self discovery and learning to love herself completely.  I felt deeply for her and wanted her to win at life even when she was content with existing, it became all about wanting Sally to live for crying out loud!  Enter Damien. An officer and a gentleman.  I love a man in uniform and this Naval training officer was an interesting and complex man.  Together they traverse a unique and realistic courtship and romance that (once it got going) was a true page turner.

Sally is a wronged woman and a hard nut to crack.  Falling for Damien is easy, being with him is the hard part.  Sally allows herself to erect these transparent barriers, where she can clearly see how amazing life with Damien would be. but she is surrounded by her protective walls.  Gorging on him, without the risk to her heart.  It drove Damien crazy to be so close to Sally, yet so far removed from her heart that he uses his military mind and plots a strategy to break down her walls.  I loved how perceptive he is and how in tune he was with her emotions.  He read her like a book and in these moments he was the hero dreams are made of!

He could tell that her emotion was about to get the better of her, so he realized that he needed to do some damage control before she shut down on him.  He could feel her shoulders tense and her spine stiffen as she was trying to control the depth of emotion that had just passed between them.

He continued to stroke her hair and when he felt her start to soften under his touch again he gently broke away from her, but reached for her hand.

*Sigh* Damien you sure know how to stroke a gal.  The bulk of this novel is pure unadulterated romance.  No manufactured drama, no senseless violence or gratuitous faux danger.  And I loved it.  A pure contemporary romantic story showcasing the trails and tribulations of a young couple just trying to make their love last in the forever kind of way – with a little new adultish angst splashed in for good measure.  They reconnect, they love, they misunderstand (totally Damien’s fault by the way, supremely Team Sally there!) and they find one another in the end.  So much realism steeped in between the chapters, it was insanely easy to relate to this couple.  In a bold and surprising move given her earlier personality, Sally made me so proud when she set forth on her own path that conveyed that her character growth was not just some plot device, no mere lip service, our girl, walked the walk, talked the talk and owned her life! We also get to see Damien in his Naval element and watch him battle his own professional and personal obstacles.  Love and personal triumph was a recurring theme and the author displayed both with integrity and authenticity.  It would be a crime to ruin this for you, my advice, ignore the cover, skim the blurb and power through the slow bits in the beginning.  The pay off is worth it.  So much so that I have a nagging wish that Moon had gone back over the beginning of the story and revved it up a notch.

I am tempted to chalk up the novel’s  stalled, slow start to it being a series starter.  Stripped Bare stands alone but there is definitely room to expand the series as Moon did a sufficient job characterizing and building out her little world.  If you are a fan of pure romantic fiction, no frills, no bells and whistles, just two people falling and recovering from good old fashioned LOVE- then I recommend Stripped Bare.

PS. Damien is a sex God.

Grade: B-
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