Review: Selling Scarlett (Love Inc. #1) by Ella James

Posted December 30, 2013 by Lola in Contemporary, Review, Romance / 2 Comments

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Selling Scarlett (Love Inc. #1)
by Ella James

Blurb:
Elizabeth DeVille doesn’t belong at a party like this – one where the gowns cost more than her Camry and cigars run higher than her grad school utility bills. Dragged out of seclusion by her best friend Suri, Elizabeth is merely playing dress-up, rubbing elbows with a crowd that banished her troubled family years ago.

Hunter West is tired. Tired of parties, tired of pretending, and tired of trying to right a wrong that haunts him every day. Bourbon heir and professional poker player by day, by night Hunter is gambling with his life in a high-stakes game of crime and blackmail.

When Elizabeth stumbles into Hunter’s den of vices, she’s a light in the darkness, a flame in the void. And, just like everything he touches, Hunter mars her in a record time. To rectify the damage done, Elizabeth needs money she doesn’t have, and she’s come up with a foolproof way to get it.

Follow Elizabeth – code-named Scarlett – to the lush Nevada brothel where she’ll auction her virginity and risk the only thing that’s not for sale: her heart. The highest bidder is a familiar face, with wicked hands and the devil’s mouth. And a secret so dark that it could cost her life.

My Review:
I was in the mood for a hot romance and remembered I once picked this one of because it was free and sounded good. I liked the idea behind the story, the whole concept of the main character having to sell her V-card because she needs the money. But for some reason this story just didn’t do it for me. The writing style was good, which kept me reading and I wanted to know to whom she would sell her v-card even though it was pretty predictable whom would win.

I expected the story would get to the selling the V-card part pretty soon, but it actually took until almost halfway throguht ill we got to that part. It almost felt like there was too much build-up. It just fellt a bit off to me. I don’t know what exactly made me not get into the story, but for some reason it just didn’t do it for me. The writing style was what kept me reading and the fact that I wanted to read the scene in which she sold her V-Card, I mean that’s basically what this book was about and after I started I wanted to read to at least that point. Also there are some issues I had with the story and certain scenes, which i won’t mention here as those would be spoilers.

There is also a plot, which seems almost a bit suspense like. There are politics involved and someone got kidnapped. It played on the backburner the whole time and for me it felt like a distraction of the story, but it kept coming back to this plot so I assumed it was important. And then at the end it all get’s wrapped up really quikcly, which was weird.

I had difficulties connecting with the characters. I mean selling your V-card sound like a good plot for s tory, but it did made it difficult for me to understand the main character. I felt her reason for needing the money was good, but she also said she really wanted to loose it herself. But really if that’s the case, why not go to a club and find a nice guy there? It just felt a bit weird to me. Hunter the love interest was also a difficult character to like in my opinion. He had a bit of a dark past and secrets he was trying to hide and he did some things he did’t want and didn’t do anything aganst it. I just didn’t enjoy reading the scenes for his point of view. I did like Elizabeth herbest friend Suri, she seemed genuine and I did like her. I also liked some of the characters who Elizabeth met later in the story, they where really nice to her and they seemed like good persons.

Then there is the romance, which didn’t work for me. Elizabeth has a huge crush on someone whom she almost doesn’t know at all. Okay I understand people can have crushes on someone they don’t know, but after that their relationship seemed to develop in leaps. I just have difficulties understand how while they almost didn’t know each other they could be in love and do those things they did and then think they know the other, while they don’t. Part of this is because I myself also had problems getting a good idea of whom the characters where. And both of them kept referring to an incident with a Porshe in their past which was the spark for them both and it just felt off to me. I can’t really explain it properly, but the tomance just didn’t work for me at all.

To conclude: it’s difficult to explain exactly why I didn’t like this book as most would be spoilers. I had some issues with the story and didn’t like the main characters and couldn’t connect with them. The romance didn’t work for me. The writing style was good enough to keep me reading and I wanted to know what would happen.

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2 responses to “Review: Selling Scarlett (Love Inc. #1) by Ella James

    • Thanks Michelle! Yeah sometime sit’s really difficult to finish a book you don’t like and while I have been getting better at DNF’ing books I just kept hoping it would get better.

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