Review: Stripped by Alexis Anne

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Standalone - The Tease Series
Release - February 16, 2015
Genre - Contemporary Romance
Heroine POV - 1st person
Heat - 3.5 out of 5
Length - 230 pages

Travis Brantley, the sexy rock musician from Tease, wants nothing more than to finally get his big break. When he lands a record deal with a major label, Travis is convinced all his dreams are about to come true. His dream turns into a nightmare when he is sent on tour with a pop princess who is more auto-tuned than talent. Kristen Holt may have a beautiful face, but the electronically garbled music and nonexistent clothing are more show than substance. While her body is sexy as sin, Travis is convinced she’s nothing more than another dead-end on his road to obscurity.

When Kristen sheds the the “Pop Princess” persona designed by the label and goes indie, she captures the attention of the audience, and the sexy rocker who never bothered to give her the time of day. Singing a stripped down acoustic song with him in front an eager crowd, their musical and sexual chemistry explodes, skyrocketing them on a fiery two week publicity tour…and into an intense love affair that takes them both by surprise.

With the label breathing down Travis’s neck, Kristen’s mysterious connections, and an overeager group of paparazzi, their two week tour comes with a lot of strings and a lot of passion—and it will change everything.

Find your copy of Stripped here:
Goodreads | Amazon

MY REVIEW

I’ll say it again… Alexis Anne can write! Whether she’s creating banter and dialogue for her characters, setting the scene, showing the music, describing intimacy, or writing her acknowledgements, I’m all in. This author puts so much heart into her books.

If you read book one, Tease, then you might recall that Travis is Adam’s best friend. If you didn’t read the first book, I highly recommend it, but don’t worry because this one reads as a standalone. Travis and Kristen, once they got past their assumptions, had such an easy relationship. It was beautiful in its simplicity. No drama… no stupidity… no mess. Although their steady build was low on angst, it was high in intensity, which really carried these characters and allowed them to leave an emotional impact. The ending brought a juicy tear to the corner of my eye. A tear of happiness, people!

"When it came to sex, Travis knew what he wanted and he wasn’t the least bit shy about asking for it - commanding it, as the case may be."

I didn’t find this story to be as sexualized as the first one. It was a bit of a let down only because it was what I had expected, but the lack of smut didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment of this book. Don’t get me wrong, the sex was hot, but it wasn’t the deciding factor on why I rated this book so highly. It was more character-based, which gave me some insight on this author’s versatility. Again, I found the absence of the male perspective a bit distracting. I think I’ve been spoiled with all of the dual and multiple POV stories I get the chance to read. I just find it easier to get into the character’s mind if I’m actually in their mind. I don’t like to play guessing games on a character’s authenticity or sincerity. However, Travis couldn’t have appeared more sincere. The author did an incredible job of showing not only his honest emotions, but also his confidence, vulnerability, devotion and grace. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me to discover in book three!