My thoughts:
Wow! I truly enjoyed this book!
I was expecting "that" story, you know the one...broken man meets wonderful, innocent woman - turns romantic and she "saves" him. You know - that story.

What I got was so much more than that.
This story is "that"story, but it is also about courage (a lot about courage and bravery), choices, pride, self respect, belief, hope, friendship, family, faults, forgiveness, finding out who you are, accepting others for who they are, love and the power of love - so much about love.

All of the characters are fantastic. Created with a realistic eye for details and a human eye for flaws, the author has filled the book with a host of people that any reader might know or perhaps be. The main characters are rich in personality; they are damaged by their pasts, driven by their desires, hoping for a future and bonded by their fierce desire to survive. The secondary characters, although less detailed in the story, are still well built and draw an emotional reaction from the reader. I found myself laughing, crying, worrying, hoping, angry, on the edge of my seat more than once - - but throughout the book, feeling.

The world that these amazingly strong men and women live in is rife with challenges, some destined to make or break them. They are haunted and shaped by the past, daring to hope for the future.

I loved this story; the characters especially, but it is not for everyone.
It is violent and scary, brutal and raw. It is sexual and sensual, filled with emotions that run the reader ragged. It is not all realistic and reasonable. At times some of the ideas are larger than life. It has moments where we glimpse the honesty of the human creature - not all are impressive, but not all are ugly. My favorite parts of the book won't be anyone else's favorite parts. That of course is the best part of a well written book. ( )

Emma has lived a sheltered life as a preacher's daughter. She leaves to try to make it on her own in Boston as an artist. Emma's best friend works at a club. Emma's first night out at the club brings her face to face with Breck. Breck goes through women like it is part of his daily routine of putting on a clean pair of underwear. Right away Breck is saying all kinds of inappriorate things to Emma that has her blushing.

I like the bad boy image in books. I myself do not have one. I have a really great guy. However the bad boy attracts attention and is never boring. Which Breck is not. I have to say however that I was turned off by his mighter than thou attitude. If someone had said the things he did to me I would have wanted to smack him in the face and never would have given him the time of day again. Thus for a good portion of the book no matter how high the sexual chemistry was, I could not get on board Breck's side. Luckily Breck's story involved more than just women and sex. He showed that he did have a heart and really cared for Emma.

Another thing that got old was all of the angst and turmoil that the characters were going through. Now I know that this does keep things interesting in the story and helps make the characters come alive but only to a certain point is this good. A good counterpoint to this is the other cast of characters in this book. They helped bring the party. ( )