Stiletto Secrets by Bella J
Series: Fairy Tale Bastards, #1
Contemporary Romance
Released: April 25, 2016
Liquid Silver Books
Reviewed by Sheena

Nicholas Blake is your typical class A, rich bastard who loves getting what he wants. He’s spoiled, selfish and enjoys all the lavish pleasures life has to offer—especially those that involve women and getting naked. Nicholas’ life is just damn near perfect. But one night out on the town with his friends and everything changes. One encounter with a stripper in stilettos who fittingly calls herself Cinderella, and his life suddenly doesn’t seem so goddamn perfect anymore.

As if that isn’t enough, there’s also Emma, the new maid in his father’s mansion that immediately piques his curiosity with her sweet smile and blue-green eyes. He finds himself drawn to her and wants nothing more than to seduce her into his bed, to make her his. But he just can’t seem to stay away from the stripper that makes him burn in ways he never knew possible.

The more he starts to care for Emma, the stronger his obsession grows for Cinderella.

Insane? Absolutely.

Bella J is a pretty reliable author for me.  I read her Resplendent series like rapid fire and could not get enough of the angsty, steamy love affairs.  When I saw there was a brand new series my interest piqued immediately.  I am a sucker for themes, so a series that promises a contemporary flair to fairy-tales of old with plenty of bad boy action and damsels of some variety… sold!  But… Ahh, be careful what you ask for.  I had such a hard time with Stiletto Secrets. There was some overt misogyny that rubbed me the wrong way.  Sexually, it was a hit and the hero/heroine dynamic was good. Very good actually, but most of the time I just wanted to stop reading, which was quite a conundrum, because I did muster a significant level of investment with Emma and Nicholas.  Their one on one scenes were well written, contained great banter and their connection was indeed electric.  It is too bad that the pages where we meet and see Nicholas interact with his douche bff Adam- are absolutely cringe-worthy.  I am used to heroes being dicks and needing major redemption. They usually also have arsehole friends.  The thing with Adam is that he was completely distasteful and abhorrent.  The way he and Nicholas joked about women was gross.  And even when Nicholas seemed to be moving beyond his friend’s caveman ways, Adam’s principles and perspective stunk up the entire book.  There is a fine line when creating characters who are expected to read as unlikable.  They usually have a cute quirk or something remotely endearing where a reader’s aversion to their actions can be mitigated.  Not so with this Adam character.  Right off the bat, Nicholas is on my jerk list (Adam was dead to me almost immediately, don’t you worry).  On the surface, Nicholas seems to have a serious case of afluenza.  He can’t do enough to thumb his nose at his overbearing and elitist father and engages in these little verbal spats that were quite childish.  Lately, Nicholas’ father has been pushing him to marry a rich society girl who would ensure the merger of two great and wealthy families.   Needless to say Nicholas is not interested and runs headlong in the opposite direction.

The night of his birthday, he encounters a stripper, Cinderella, who uses sensory deprivation to satisfy her customers.  One very memorable, blind folded lap dance later and Nicholas can not get Cinderella out of his mind.  Imagine his anxiety when he runs into (literally) his new household maid, Emma, who reignited the passion that Cinderella sparked.  Nichols is helplessly drawn to Emma and they embark on a sweet courtship and romance, only, Nicholas can not stop thinking about Cinderella and for financial reasons, well, Emma can’t exactly stop stripping.  Emma’s back story was well done as a fun twist to the Cinderella fiary tale- down to the glass slipper.  Emma and her little sister were wealthy as children, but when their mother died, their father married a terrible woman with an even more venomous daughter  – a particularly evil step-sister.  Their father dies and Emma and little sister Lizzy are swindled out of their inheritance, the meager amount they did receive barely enough to keep house and put Lizzy through Law School.  Nicholas also suffers from the pain of losing his mother at a young age, left alone to suffer with his father who never healed from his own broken heart.  Their common loss and how they persevered, was a highlight of the novel.

There are some really sweet moments, but they were constantly undercut by Arsehole-Adam (I’ve decided, that is his name) and his penchant for being a jerk of irredeemable proportions.  I also had a serious issue with how Nicholas handled things with “Cinderella.”

Not. Cool.

And I don’t buy it for a second buck-o– annnnnd to say any more would get too spoilery, so just know that things skated dangerously close to the “C” word (rhymes with beating!) and I do not abide by that at all in my romance novels!! Gah!

*Cools down* Overall, there were some predictable plot devices and true to form, the obligatory *wait wha?* element that Bella J always tosses in the mix just to make things interesting, I suppose.  If I were able to exclude and eliminate a prominent character’s absolute repulsiveness, Stiletto Secrets is a comfortable “B.” However, as it is, too much page time made me bristle uncomfortably and it ultimately took away from the enjoyment that I probably could have found.  I finished the novel and I am glad I did, however, my most vivid memory is not of the cutesty little love story, but it is how gross a main character made the experience.  Especially when for the most part instead of really taking a stand against Adam’s foolery, Nicholas more so just wanted to ignore it.  Kind of made me think he was a pansy. And that is never a good thing for a hero, so lets not even go down that road.

Stiletto Secrets is a stand alone and the inaugural novel in the new Fairytale Bastards series.  There is a clear HEA and despite my issues with it, I am game to read the next book in the series.  I ultimately enjoy Bella J’s style and her escapist romantic fiction is quite cracky.   If you are game for high drama and highly emotional, verra sexy fiction, also check out her Resplendent series (total crack attack). There isn’t release information available just yet for Fairy Tale Bastards, #2- but as long as I never have to read such an unlikable character again, I will continue the series.  If you can stomach one too many misogynistic barbs, give Stiletto Secrets a chance-if that is a trigger for you – skip to book two in the series.

Grade: C-

Previous Bella J Reviews:Resplendent Ruin, Resplendent Rush, Resplendent Rage

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