Bait

Bait

2017 • 358 pages

Ratings4

Average rating4.8

15

Jade West never ceases to amaze with her writing and storyline ideas. I am completely in love with this book. I honestly believe this is Jade's best book to date.

Abigail has run away from everything and everyone she knew, to start a new life, but she's not living, not really, she's just going through the motions. That is until Phoenix answers her dangerous online ad. One wild night of darkness and no boundaries. Can she stop the past from defining her? Can she start to live again?

Phoenix is a single dad with scars, both figurately and literally; pain and guilt eat away at him, he's trying to make each day count, but he's floundering. That is until he sees a dangerous proposition online from Abigail. One night of darkness, one night of no boundaries. Is she serious? Could this be what he needs to start living again?

They both should have known that once was never going to be enough. They both have secrets. They both have demons. Can they overcome them together to become more than just bait and monster?

Let's just take a second to talk about this plot. What the heck? When I first heard about it I thought, nope, this is going to be way too dark for me. She wants a stranger to hunt her, take her, she wants to fight him and him not to care. Whoa! No, not for me. And I was wrong, so very wrong. Bait is amazing. There is so much more to the story than just that, I won't go into too much detail, but what both Abigail and Phoenix have been through in the past plays such a huge role in the story.

Now let's talk about the characters. Firstly, Cam is adorable, I just wanted to squeeze him so hard. Only Jade could throw that much cuteness at me between sex scenes lol.
Phoenix, sigh. Oh, that sexy, sweet, broken man! I loved him, he has taken over as the front runner of all Jade's men (oooh, that sounds a little dirty lol), I didn't think anyone could beat Carl but here we are. He has so many demons eating away at him. His relationship with Cam is so sweet to witness. The relationship with his siblings is tense and at times I found myself cursing them both. Although it's clear that Serena is stuck between her two brothers, so I forgave her for meddling. Jake, however, it took a little more convincing, but in the end, I felt bad for him. The last chapter is just, wow, it basically embodies the person that Phoenix is, even after everything, he is the bigger man and helps those he loves. His relationship with Abigail is just swoon-worthy, from their first contact to the epilogue, he's watching out for her, checking on her, making sure she knows what she wants. Becoming her monster in the dark could be the worse or best decision he ever makes.

I liked Abigail from the get go, she is a sweet, broken girl! She has so much pain that she tries to hide by pulling away from everyone she knows, starting fresh but being so guarded with everyone. Seeing her come out of her shell and make friends was so sweet. She is also a dirty, dirty girl, so of course, I loved her for that. Even though I thought she was crazy! I thought her co-workers were a hoot, if only we all had people like that in our lives. Her relationship with Phoenix was wonderful, she was so vulnerable but strong at the same time. Putting her life in the hands of a monster could be the best or worse decision she ever makes.

Abigail and Phoenix's relationship was a joy to watch unfold. Their interactions were sweet and steamy. The way they both worked to give themselves and each other what they needed. Two broken souls that join to become one. The sex, Holy cow! Jade is the queen of filth, we know this already, but this book will cement it for anyone that isn't in the know. The sex is dirty, it is rough, it is scorchingly hot. Oh, and there is plenty of it! (Praise the higher powers). I wouldn't recommend reading it in public. Lol.

Warning: This is a dark romance; all acts between Abigail and Phoenix are consensual. However, if the teasers you've seen in this post...the official ones and/or the LC ones are not to your taste, this book is not for you.

August 16, 2017