Stroked Long by Meghan Quinn Review
5 Smooches!
Synopsis
From his dirty-blond hair and breathtaking smile, to the abs from heaven and the irresistible V in his waistline, everything about Bodi Olympic-gold-medalist Banks screams hot piece of @$$.
Yet there’s more.
Dark shadows lurk behind his soulful, serious eyes.
I’m enamored. He’s captured me.
How can running an art foundation with Bodi Banks turns into a slow-burning, epic romance, even though he tries to push me away at every chance? How can I stay away from a broken, routine-driven man whose soul cries to be forgiven for a crime only he believes he committed? Or is that a lie?
REVIEW
I read the first book in this series, Stroked, and I stated in that review that I was “praying to Pope Francis” for Hollis and Bodi’s stories. Well, my prayers were answered. Big time. I adored Stroked, it was so funny, so sexy; part of me didn’t think Meghan Quinn could top that and the other part of me couldn’t wait to see her try. But top it she did. This book… this positively gut-wrenching yet incredibly goofy book… it was so much more than just a simple romantic comedy. I’ll be honest, I spent a good part of this book with a lump in my throat or in tears – either from laughing so hard or from the anguish I felt for the broken Bodi Banks. Meghan Quinn knocked me on my butt with this book, and I totally was not expecting it. I haven’t been this hungover since the nineties.
**raises fist to rail at author** Damn you, Meghan Quinn!
“I’m jaded, skittish, barely able to function in social settings…”
Bodi Banks…I loved this hero, but man did he break my heart. My heart ached for him, for his story and from the thoughts and feelings that relentlessly churned through him. And just when I thought I could take no more, the genius that is Meghan Quinn would give me a glimpse of his sense of humor – a side of himself he rarely, if ever, allowed to shine through, and it was like the sun peeking out between the clouds on a stormy day. When he allowed himself to be in the moment with Ruby? Let me tell you, those moments were magical. Bodi was a lot of things: closed off, panicky, emotionally crippled, paranoid, unapproachable. But he could also be so sweet in all of his socially awkward glory, and his dry sense of humor was the absolute perfect foil to Ruby’s outrageousness. I think what surprised me the most, though, was bedroom Bodi. Whew! Let’s just say that he is not at all awkward there. Bedroom Bodi is a demanding, dominating, dirty talker, and it was delicious!! He and his Rubes were so hot together!
“Just you wait, Banks. You’re going down. You have no idea who you’re up against.”
Ruby was the light to Bodi’s dark, the loud to his deafening quiet and, in his words, she became the air he breathed. Only with her did he find comfort and happiness. Ruby with her bright colors, random texts and crazy questions was the only person who could soothe or calm Bodi. She had this uncanny, almost instinctive ability to read him that no one else did, and in doing so, she was able to give him what he didn’t even realize he needed. She barreled right into his black, white and gray world with her big smile, her incessant babbling and her warm heart and yanked the rug right out from under Bodi.
“It’s just the two of us, in this moment, our mouths pushing forward, turning this friendship into something more.”
I was so caught up in the sweet build-up of this friends-to-lovers story. I felt such hope for them both, and I was a Kindle tapping maniac, ignoring the world around me as I devoured every word of this book. But, I knew a storm was looming on the horizon; Bodi was going to have to face down his demons for this relationship to grow. Ms. Quinn captured the catalytic moment for that emotional showdown with painstaking accuracy. I was right there in that hotel room with them, and like Ruby, I was laid to waste in the wake of Bodi’s emotional breakdown. The tidal wave of angsty highs and lows in this book were not something I anticipated, but hoping and praying (again to Pope Francis) that they’d find their way, I was thoroughly invested in Bodi and his Rubes from the start. Thankfully, Quinn, in what I’m sure was part of her diabolical plan, knew the damage she’d be wielding to her fans and peppered the heavy, heart-hurting passages of this book with equal parts of Ruby-style hilarity. Trust me, it all equals out, and the final destination was so worth the bumpy ride.
“This woman, she…changes everything.”
Heartbreaking, humorous and with enough heat to warm an Olympic-sized pool, Meghan Quinn delivered a story in Stroked Long that I will not soon forget. This series has fast become a favorite, and Ms. Quinn has become an author I never hesitate to recommend. Meghan Quinn’s fantastic Stroked Long gets 5 smooches from me.
~ Danielle Palumbo
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1 comments
Thank you!