ARC Review – Taking Him (Lies We Tell #1) by Jackie Ashenden

Taking Him is not for someone who is expecting a happy go lucky story. If you can handle bad things happening to good people, tough decisions, and hard times then by all means read this book. ~ Slick, Guilty Pleasures 

Description:
Behind every hero is the damage that made him.

Computer game designer Ellie Fox can’t wait to start her new job in Japan. But first there’s one loose end in Auckland she needs to tie up: her obsession with her older brother’s best friend, Hunter Chase.

She’s sick of being “kid zoned”. It’s time to make like one of her kick-ass computer game heroines and take matters into her own hands. Except when she finally has Hunter where she wants him, her hands are the last thing he’ll let her use.

Hunter works hard at running the construction firm he co-owns with his friend, and at keeping his distance from his dysfunctional family. Control is his linchpin, but there’s just one spanner in the works—Ellie.

The girl he always looked out for suddenly seems determined to make him see her as a woman. But with a past darker than the angel wings tattooed on his back, the safest place for her is just beyond arm’s length. Or the next heart to suffer damage could be hers.

Warning: Contains a tortured hero, a determined heroine, cosplay kink, and a twisted twist that could cause mental whiplash. Line to the WTF Infirmary forms on the right.

Review copy provided for an honest review

Warning: Contains a tortured hero, a determined heroine, cosplay kink, and a twisted twist that could cause mental whiplash. Line to the WFT Infirmary forms on the right.

I admit I get a kick out of the Samhain publishing warnings they put on every book they publish. I find them assuming and often funny but holy hell did they get it right for this book. WFT Infirmary–check, twisted twist–check, mental whiplash–check, check, and check! It took me awhile to sit down and write this review. I actually had to think about this book for a couple of days, mull it over in my brain, and then I went back and read some key passages that I had marked and it’s still hard to explain this book and my feelings on it. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it and it’s incredibly well written with characters that I won’t soon forget and a story that my brain is still thinking about days later. When I read the synopsis I thought to myself, “oh a fun little older brother’s best friend story” but boy was I ever wrong. Yes, it is that plot device but it is so much more and it really is far from a fun little story. Taking Him by Jackie Ashenden is riveting; there is some retelling of past abuse, it will absolutely make you think, make you cry, and more than likely stay with you for a long time.

Ellie Fox can’t remember a time that Hunter Chase hasn’t been in her life. Her brother’s best friend was there for her when no one else was and she has always felt something special for him. As a child, she lived for the times he helped her and made her feel safe, as a teen she began to feel something more for him, and as a young adult on the verge of a move from Auckland to Japan she’s no long willing to hide her feelings for him.

Honestly, I have to give Ellie a lot of credit for pushing the way she did in this book because I know a lot of what happened would never have happened if she hadn’t. At times, I knew she was walking a fine line with Hunter but deep down I knew she was doing the right thing for him and for them. At 25, she is brave, fierce, and even though she knows things might not work out the way she wants she’s determined to break down his walls. Hunter is one of those heroes that is so tortured you can’t help but fall in love with. I’ll admit there were many elements to his story that surprised and even shocked me a little bit but it also made so much sense as to why he had such a skewed vision on sex and love. While there is more I’d like to say, I can’t…because I don’t want to ruin this story for anyone but suffice it to say this is not your typical love story.

I’ve been round and round in my head with this review because I really can’t say I enjoyed this story but it was a good story and I don’t know if that makes any sense? I can’t fault the author at all because the writing was superb and the story was emotionally gripping and flat out mesmerizing and while it does end with a HEA, the road to get there was tough. So, I will say Taking Him is not for someone who is expecting a happy go lucky story. If you can handle bad things happening to good people, tough decisions, and hard times then by all means read this book because it is a fascinating look at what happens when one discovers what love really means.