Stranger by Megan Hart• Hardback; 425 Pages
• Publisher: Spice (January 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-13: 9780373605279
The blurh:
I pay strangers to sleep with me. I have my reasons...
But they're not the ones you expect. For starters, I'm a funeral director taking over my dad's business. Not exactly the sort of person you'd expect to fork over cash for the lust and urgency only live, skin-to-skin contact can create. Looking at me, you wouldn't have a clue I carry this little secret so close it creases up like the folds of a fan. Tight. Personal. Ready to unravel in the heat of the moment.
Unsurprisingly, my line of work brings me face to face with loss. So I decided long ago that paying for sex would be one of the best (and arousing) ways to save myself from the one thing that would eventually cut far too deep.
But Sam was a mistake. Literally. I signed on to "pick up" a stranger at a bar, but took Sam home instead. And now that I've felt his heat, his sweat and everything else can I really go back to impersonal?Let's just hope he never finds out about my other life...
My Thoughts First:
Now remember, I have not read Broken or Dirty yet...
And this is my first book without any paranormal activity since I don't remember how long!!! With that being said... I can say... this book was awesome.
It is an erotic novel, but it had a hint of class about the way the erotic parts were handled; which I appreciated.
I feel in love with Grace. She seems like a neighbor I would have. Her personality was like that of a "real" person you would know. Her job, which she loves, is a bit strange. Funeral Director...
I find myself rooting for Sam, even though he appears to be a pain in the ass as Grace calls him.
The appeal of the book was really good. I did not want to stop reading, because the thoughts I had as to where the book was headed would change. I wanted to cry at some parts, laughed out loud at some, and just plain wanted to beat the sense into someone at some points. But isn't that what a great books make you want to do.
The Plot:
Grace meets strange (enters Sam), has wow sex and leaves. Grace then gets told she met the "wrong" stranger (enters Jack). Her life, as she thought, was normal up until the moment she met Sam. She continued to see Jack though... that is where I kinda was pulling for the poor guy.
Then her life kinds gets a little crazy; broken washer machine, flooded basement, getting in a wreck with company vehicle, two employees who are falling for each other AT work, a relentless father who does want to "let go" of the business he has handed down to her, a sister who is on her case about bring a guy home to meet the family, one man she wants to bed, and the other she can take to bed without any strings. Okay, except for the last two... when have we had a day like that... To much laundry, cooking, cleaning, playing mom-wife-carpool-employee-and everything else in between - I am raising my hand.
Then she meets an older man who lost his wife and he teaches her about life and more importantly - love.
The Main Players:
Grace - She is a doll. I love her sense of pride in her job. She wants to make sure she does better than her dad can ever imagined. Just picture trying to please your father and now picture it on top of trying to show him you can carry on a family legacy. I love her personality; she is really a quite, tame person but she does fight when she believes in something. You will see. On the aspect of how she views a relationship... I tended to want to give her my shoulder to cry on and tell her all things you would tell a friend to get them going. But she has seen death all her life; people losing the ones they love over and over. That would leave me a bit stale on love too. I mean isn't that what we all want... to find our love and keep it forever. At times, I wanted to slap her and ask her what the hell she was thinking on some of the decisions she made, but overall... it worked for her.
Sam - He was a bit mysterious. At one point, early in the story my idea of him was that he was a loafer and didn't have much in life that got him going. But then the story starts to unfold; with the death of his father being the trigger point for him. We learn that he felt he never lived up to his father's images of him. He never got to prove himself to his dad; which we all know in life, - sucks. But they say the bigger the man, the harder they fall.
Jack - I included Jack in here because I was kinda pulling for him. Jack is one of Grace's fellow "friends." He is the reason she met Sam. Grace teaches him about being a better "friend" and he teaches Grace about going after what you want. He is the one that made her see what she could have.
The Unexpected:
Things unexpected... well... I'm really thinking here...
I didn't really expect to see Sam drink the way he did. He wasn't a drunk or alcoholic, but he used that as a "crutch" to his feeling about his father. Which I guess he character seemed stronger than that to me... but like I said the bigger the man, the harder they fall.
Then there is the sister's rumored affair. I wasn't expecting that. You will have to read to see what I am talking about!!!
The Predictable:
The only thing predictable was that she worked a funeral home and you knew there would be talk of death. That really was it.
Smut Factor:
There really was none that. The sex scenes were descriptive... I mean this is an erotic novel... what would you expect and the book delivered. But it wasn't like in your face all the time; which was nice. The scenes were even fun.
What Pleased Me:
The realness of the emotions coming from Grace. She is funeral director in a small town. I grew up and still live in a small town, AND people do talk. Even people you think are you friends. So, her "habit" of paying for sex does not seem too outlandish. I mean, come on... we all know in a small town, who would want to date the person living with the dead. Men are freaky that way. And especially being that she is "the son" her father would want to take over the business, she is doing the best she know how to do.
What Displeased Me:
There is really nothing (even looking at the book now) that I could find that displeased me at all about it. The writing style of Megan Hart, I fell in love with. So... sorry... there was nothing about the book that I did not like. If you find something that you did not like, I would like to hear your thoughts on it, please.
Cover: Can you say OMG!!! I mean... come'on!!! My hubby even commented on it... He asked if I was reading the book with the naked guy on the front!!! I said, "YUP!" I love the simple colors: white... then the background black. I love the fact that it is the hotel door that takes up the cover... leaves you wondering what is to come.
If you are interest to see what else Megan Hart has to offer, please check out her website:
http://www.meganhart.com/novels/stranger.php
And do not forget to browse through her Up Coming Release!! They look hawt!!
Other reviews to come: As soon as my budget allows... I will be reading Broken and Dirty.... so be on the look out for those reviews to be coming your way!
Review: