ARC Review: SHE ASKED FOR IT by Willow Winters

Don’t judge a book by its cover.
You’ll tell me you don’t… but you already think you know what my story’s about.

You have no idea.
Just like the people sitting in this courtroom.
She asked for it. That’s what they keep saying.

And no, it’s not because my skirt was too short or I was drunk at a party.
It’s nothing like that. It’s because of what I like and how I like it.

They’re judging me as I sit in the front row, my eyes drawn to the man on trial.
If I’d known it was going to end like this, I never would have gone home with him.
But he’s the type of man I just can’t say no to.

I wanted to feel his lips kiss down my neck.
I dreamed of running my fingers along the rough stubble on his jaw.
I craved his hands on me, pinning me down.
I needed to whisper his name in the dark, late at night.

You still think you know what happened? You don’t.
He’s innocent and I enjoyed every second I was with him.

Let me tell you my story … all about how I asked for it.

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2DysY5Z

REVIEW

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 “He Definitely Asked For It” stars!!

Not knowing what to expect is one of the many things I love about reading and that’s exactly why I love Willow Winters. She delivers twisted plots, enchanting characters, and I never really know the truth until the very end. While Forget Me Not will still hold a piece of my heart, She Asked For It has quickly become my new fave from this author. She tackled an incredibly sensitive topic, gave it meat and heat and guts and pain and FEELS and the damn kitchen sink, and virtually compelled me to keep reading, no matter how hard it got. She slayed with this one!

Dean and Allison were no strangers to pain. For Dean, grief and violence were his mainstays. He was very angry, all of the time. His only solace was Allison. As for her, grief had touched her in a tangible way. It went hand-in-hand with violence and the secrets she kept were her way of keeping those she cared about from suffering further pain. Together, they got a huge dose of the unexpected. Neither was looking for love, but it found them regardless. I really enjoyed the tug-of-war played by these two. Every time Dean got a foot in, Allison was trying to find ways to distance herself. Yet as much physical distance she tried to place between them, he had already stamped his ownership on her heart.

Every time I thought I knew what was what in this story, the author threw me for a loop and I loved it. I didn’t know what Allison’s motives were. While Dean came across as an open book (imagine that), getting to know Allison was like slowly peeling an onion. You’ve got uncontrollable tears coming down your face and you still have more to cut through and do to make the onion palatable. These characters had depth and the plot was emotional torture, in the best way.

I loved how Willow took this phrase, She Asked For It, that many of us have had to live down and turned it into such a hugely thoughtful and profound story. She turned a glaringly bright light on it and took away some of its power. She didn’t shy away from the ugly and instead tried to show the beauty that could live underneath it. This story was a painful yet stunning portrayal of one girl’s journey to make things right, no matter the cost, and her fight and eventual defeat against the love of a lifetime.

Release: Jan. 23, 2018 | Genre: NA Contemporary Romance | Dual POV - 1st person | Heat: 4 out of 5 | Book #1 of the She Asked For It series