Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Raw

Book: Raw
Author: Belle Aurora

Review: Lexi is a 26 year old social worker (of sorts) in Australia. She had a tough childhood, lived on the street at one point as a teen but has a heart of gold and is dedicated to helping kids in rough situations. She also happens to have a stalker who saves her from being raped one night. Their relationship quickly escalates into a romantic relationship. The author tells us at the beginning this is not a love story, but rather a story of a love gone wrong. 

**This review contains spoilers**

I know what you are thinking-a girl falls in love with her stalker and it doesn't end well? That doesn't sound shocking. Well, it wasn't. Although this was very 'readable' and I enjoyed the alternating narratives, the female protagonist, Lexi was so stupid I could not stop rolling my eyes at her poor decision making throughout the book. 
*Stalker saves her from being raped? What does Lexi do? She practically begs him to sleep with her. He complies and they have sex completely unprotected! (Apparently asking "Are you clean?" and an answer of "Yes" is sufficient for a total stranger)
*Her father was a drunk, her brother was a drug addict and she does not do drugs. She knows a drug test is happening at work. What does Lexi do? She smokes weed and does 2 lines of coke (first time ever doing coke)
*She allows one of the teens she is working with to take a job with Twitch, knowing Twitch is a big time drug dealer. What does Lexi do? I'll avoid the exact spoiler but she is shocked when this doesn't pan out well. 
*She cannot figure out who Twitch is, although there are so many hints it's mind boggling she doesn't know. 

Although the relationship wasn't well developed beyond the physical, Twitch was a much more interesting and layered character than Lexi. He had a tough childhood (his reason for initially wanting Lexi was ludicrous) and was really written as more of a sociopath throughout the first part of the book. He is surprised by the depth of his feelings toward Lexi and tries to incorporate her into his life, knowing full well things will not pan out well. Although the spoiler regarding her attacker was easy to figure out, I thought the ending of the book was very strong and I was surprised to be a little misty at the conclusion. 

Overall-I didn't care for Lexi, but this was an enjoyable read with a strong ending. 

Grade: 3/5

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