Hello everyone!
I swear it feels like years since I've been sick at all, and no, it wasn't the plague, it was just some random ass bug that my mother carried into the house.
It then made its happy little way over from her, to my dad, and then to me.
Suffice to say, my head is still not at 100%, but it's definitely better than it used to be, so here we are today.
I've unfortunately missed one review last week which I'll be bumping forward to March, at some point or other, but for the most part we're pretty on track, which pleases me.
Because let me tell you, I think part of what got me so wildly hard on this sickness was also how many things I had listed to get done.
No matter, we're back now.
And we're re-starting with a banger, called The Savage Garden.
I don't actually have any other reviews from Bree M. Lewandowski yet, though I anticipate having more before much time has passed since I thoroughly enjoyed her writing.
But for now, this one will suffice.
The Savage Garden, as the book is titled, is also the name of the exotic nightclub that Alma belongs to as a vixen, which is to say a very high-priced escort with a little twist.
See, the men coming into the Garden are all convinced THEY'RE doing the hunting, and once they collar one of the girls, well, she's exclusively theirs for as long as they don't get bored of her.
Alma took a job there because she has to take care of her brother, unfortunately paralyzed from a bad disease that may or may not kill him, and she's got her sights set on this one guy who comes in, fresh and new, when things start getting complicated.
See, the boss hires a night porter, Dane, who one of the other girls takes exception to (and through the course of the book it turns out she's basically bonkers, really), because apparently he's her sister's ex, and hit her.
Now, Alma knows all this, and while she's convincing her future client that he's chasing her (LOL), she's also trying not to be lured into the mystery that Dane presents.
A different co-worker tells her to stay away because he's got shit for baggage in the form of, he jumped into a boiling hot tub to rescue his nephew and almost got killed himself in the process by his crazy sister-in-law.
I mean ... yeah, I'm thinking the author consciously made the girls at the Garden utterly stupid.
That sounds like a heroic thing, not a troubling thing to me, but you do you.
Anyway, Dane invites Alma to watch him fight so that she can make uniformed decisions knowing all of him, and they slowly inch closer together because she can't get enough, realizes he IS actually one of the misunderstood guys and lashed out rather than attacking, and at the same time is trying to juggle her job once her client wants to fly her to Vegas.
Why Vegas?
Well, so he can show off in this weird ass club that seems to be all about hunting your "prey" and "grooming" each other like primates and just, alphas and omegas and whatever else.
Things go from bad to worse here because Alma's almost sexually assaulted, but Dane gets her out of there, and then they get word her brother's in a coma so they hurry home. She resigns from the Garden (where her co-workers are all like HE NEVER WOULD HAVE PENETRATED YOU SHOULD HAVE LET HIM, COWARD) even though her boss totally wants to hook her in again, but luckily she's fast and done with them all.
Her brother makes it, and Dane tells her they could make a go of it running the gym where he fights, ten eventually move her brother in with them.
And all's well that ends well!
Before you ask: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
And oh man.
This book.
THIS BOOK.
Like I said before, I'd never before read anything by author Lewandowski, but I do also have another of her books on my TBR and MAN am I happy that I do. This is kinda sorta my jam honestly!
Plus I was clearly on the fairy tale re-tellings train with this one, too.
Not going to lie, the Beauty and the Beast story is probably my favourite, because of the Walt Disney cartoon which is the first one I remember watching as a child. This one takes an even darker approach though, but it never gets TOO dark, just skirts right on the edges, like dipping your toes into the shallow waters, then dancing away again.
The Savage Garden is a really interesting choice of scenery, where men go to 'hunt' their prey, but in actuality the women hold all the power. The dudes just think they're the ones with it.
And while Alma's the beauty, Dane is the beast. He's first hired as a night porter but then progresses to security and he and Alma have an insta-connection that really works in this case. He comes from an incredibly fractured background (involving but not limited to a homicidal ex-sister-in-law) and needs to progress in a relationship at his own pace, and I'm telling you I've never been as invested in a scene where no clothes are shed and all the characters really do is cuddle.
Lewandowski has a way with words and forming sentences that transports you into the moment, short, staccato when needed and when we're inside Alma's head, but beautifully elongated and prosaic when we're out in the world, as if we're switching camera views. It helps create atmosphere, and the author's knowledge of Chicago builds the environment without ever getting too clunky or descriptive.
This is a book about what real situations might look like, where real women are forced to make really difficult choices, and real men fall on the spectrum of good, bad, and downright ugly.
So can the women, mind you, because that's what makes it real.
All in all, this is a powerful story about misunderstandings, growing trust, boundaries, and how some things in this life - and some people - are just way beyond words, whether it's because of their depravity or their emotions. And the best part, is that true to the core story, Beast saves Beauty, but Beauty saves Beast too.
I love it. 10/10 recommend.
And oh man.
This book.
THIS BOOK.
Like I said before, I'd never before read anything by author Lewandowski, but I do also have another of her books on my TBR and MAN am I happy that I do. This is kinda sorta my jam honestly!
Plus I was clearly on the fairy tale re-tellings train with this one, too.
Not going to lie, the Beauty and the Beast story is probably my favourite, because of the Walt Disney cartoon which is the first one I remember watching as a child. This one takes an even darker approach though, but it never gets TOO dark, just skirts right on the edges, like dipping your toes into the shallow waters, then dancing away again.
The Savage Garden is a really interesting choice of scenery, where men go to 'hunt' their prey, but in actuality the women hold all the power. The dudes just think they're the ones with it.
And while Alma's the beauty, Dane is the beast. He's first hired as a night porter but then progresses to security and he and Alma have an insta-connection that really works in this case. He comes from an incredibly fractured background (involving but not limited to a homicidal ex-sister-in-law) and needs to progress in a relationship at his own pace, and I'm telling you I've never been as invested in a scene where no clothes are shed and all the characters really do is cuddle.
Lewandowski has a way with words and forming sentences that transports you into the moment, short, staccato when needed and when we're inside Alma's head, but beautifully elongated and prosaic when we're out in the world, as if we're switching camera views. It helps create atmosphere, and the author's knowledge of Chicago builds the environment without ever getting too clunky or descriptive.
This is a book about what real situations might look like, where real women are forced to make really difficult choices, and real men fall on the spectrum of good, bad, and downright ugly.
So can the women, mind you, because that's what makes it real.
All in all, this is a powerful story about misunderstandings, growing trust, boundaries, and how some things in this life - and some people - are just way beyond words, whether it's because of their depravity or their emotions. And the best part, is that true to the core story, Beast saves Beauty, but Beauty saves Beast too.
I love it. 10/10 recommend.
xx
*image not mine
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