Dirty Like Brody by Jaine Diamond
Series: Dirty, #2
Contemporary Romance
Released: June 13, 2017
DreamWarp Books

Reviewed by Sheena

As longtime manager of Dirty, the hottest rock band on the planet, gorgeous and brooding Brody Mason has had his share of beautiful women. Yet the only one he’s ever wanted is the one he never had—the one who tore his heart out.
Beautiful and elusive Jessa Mayes appears to have it all. Talent, money, and a glamorous life. But she also has a secret. Six years ago, she ran away—from her dream career as a songwriter with Dirty, and the only man she’s ever loved—without telling anyone why.
Now Jessa’s doing the one thing she swore she’d never do. She’s coming home—to be a bridesmaid in her brother’s rock star wedding… and face the mistakes of her past.

Favorite Quote: “You still owe me stars.  I demand stars before I melt.”

Rock star romance is center stage once again as the Dirty band is back!  This second installment of the Dirty series, features the band’s right hand man and manager Brody,  and Jessa – former songwriter and muse…and sister of front man, Jesse.  She also obliterated  Brody’s heart six years prior, sowing deep seeds of resentment and anger that neither believe can ever be overcome.

The angst!

Poor Jessa is a bundle of nerves, battling a past that she’d rather forget than face, she is in no shape to come face to face with Brody when they are forced to come together to celebrate the pending nuptials of Jesse and Katie, returning characters from Dirty, book one, Dirty Like Me .  Jessa is wound super tight and comes across as pretty lost and unfulfilled.

His blue eyes met mine and I felt the almost-electric jolt all the way down my spine. I felt it between my legs.  Holy hell. I still felt it. That same thing… that thing that should’ve died with all the years and all the miles between us… all the silence… all the time I’d wasted trying like hell to fight it, to deny it, to just plain numb it out. Coiling fast, hot and tight at the base of my spine… in my lungs, at the back of my throat, every cell of my body catching fire… as every nerve, every fiber lit up in protest of every second we’d been apart. It was exactly the same. Only… worse. It was more.

There isn’t much she is sure of, but one thing is for certain, Jessa does not want to be in close proximity to Brody.  Which suits him just fine.

“Do not say my name.”  I blinked at him. What?

“Go ahead and say and do whatever the fuck you’re gonna do,” he said, “but you do not get to say my name.”

When I just gaped at him, he turned to me and leaned in, so close I could see the silvery-gray flecks around his pupils, and said in a low voice, “You wanted it, I’m giving it to you. Exactly what you’ve been asking for the last six-and-a-half years with a whole fu*kload of silence. Consider me dead to you.”

Oh Brody.  Grumpy, brooding Brody.  Right from the start his turmoil was a tangible thing as he seethed and grumbled in a fruitless effort to remain as unaffected by Jessa as she’d made him feel all those years ago.  The trouble with confronting long forgotten demons, is the vulnerability it demands.  When Jessa ran, she walked away from everyone and everything, no one knew why, and it was an abrupt and complicated void that seemed all the more painful in its mystery.  In her wake she left an obviously bruised Brody, his bruises festering into barely leashed rage that is frustratingly tempered by his inability to not love Jessa.  In a word, it was deliciously angsty.

Brody is my favorite character.  His reactions are so accessible and visceral that you can not help but identify and understand his pain and frustration.  I rooted for him, willing him to risk another chance on Jessa, while eyeing her warily for the first sign of a flight risk.  Juxtapose that with sympathizing with Jessa (wanting her to get to the point already with her past) but also rooting for her to pull it together and be there not only for Brody, but her brother, extended family, and most importantly, herself.  Jessa has a lot of guilt, fear and pain to reconcile before she can be an appropriate partner for Brody.

The back drop of their reunion is her brother’s wedding weekend.  Brody is insistent Jessa not ruin her brother’s wedding with her waffling ways and Jessa just wants to survive the weekend until she can return to her self exile.  On the peripheral, Jesse, Katie and the gang all just want to create an environment where Jessa would be tempted to stick around.  I admired how they loved her so unconditionally and created little pockets of time to show her that she always has a place with her band family. There wasn’t a ton of subplot and I was more than okay with that.  No distractions, a hardcore look at two people who hurt one another and distrust one another, yet love so deeply they can’t help but come together as magnets.

So, why did Jessa turn tail and run?  I guessed it spot on- early on, but there was such a build up and twist of sorts leading up to her great reveal that I am hesitant to reveal too much, however, if I have to point to a bone of contention I experienced with Dirty Like Brody, it would be the roll out of Jessa’s motivations.  I don’t mind thinly veiled, hinting and foreshadowing, but the author was a little too heavy-handed with meandering around what exactly went down between Jessa  and Brody in their past.  It was distracting and a few times I needed to dial down my irritation with the slow reveal.  Luckily for me, there was so much white hot passion sparking off the page that my attentions were called to bear witness to the passion that was BroJessa.

I looked up at her face as I reached her panties. She looked at me like she’d never wanted anything more; like she was seconds from going off in an explosion of lust whether I touched her or not. She looked like I felt. My balls pulled up tight as I smoothed her lace panties down over her hips and I saw her for the first time. Her pussy… beautiful, just like the rest of her. She wriggled in anticipation as I breathed on her. My tongue found her sweetness, slick and wet, delicate, and I groaned involuntarily as I swiped up, taking my first taste of her pink flesh.

“You go off,” I told her, my eyes finding hers again, “I’m right behind you.” “Brody… yeah…” she sighed, and I dove in deeper, finding her opening, hot and wet and waiting for me. I tasted her, inside, out, and as I licked my way up to her clit, nudging at the firmness under her softness, she went off. She cried out, grabbing at my hair in fistfuls, holding me there as I took her in my mouth.

Dirty Like Brody- aptly titled, hunh. *heh*

Simple plot, second in the series- book one is a nice treat and such fast and easy read that I do recommend starting there, however, as a stand alone, it does just fine.  There are dual points of view- and it was fantastic to get both perspectives.  Author Jaine Diamond walks a damn fine line looping in new readers while keeping pace for series loyalists.  I am especially looking forward to the next novel that simply must feature bandmate Zane, band managing partner Maggie and their covert, clandestine marriage that is freaking me the freak ouuuut. Needless to say, I’m happily moving forward with this series, eagerly awaiting book 3- whatever it may be.

Grade: B

Recent Jaine Diamond Reviews: Dirty Like Me, Dirty Like Us
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