Allison ❤️Will Never Conquer Her TBR❤️'s Reviews > Raw

Fan-freaking-tastic! I was shaking at that ending! After calming myself for 12 hours to decompress, here we go...




Do you like a book that's a little dirty? Ya know, where it's not all hearts and flowers, the sex isn't missionary with soothing music by Sinatra? Where the hero is really an anti-hero who starts out on a mission of revenge and ends up falling for his victim? Yes? Well, then Raw is the book for you!



After reading Willing Captive by Belle Aurora, I knew I had to read this. Her writing style is raw and gritty for sure. It captives the reader immediately, leaving you incapable of putting the book down.

So many reviews posted Ms. Aurora's warning at the start of this book-

"This is not a love story. This is a story of love gone bad."

I don't agree entirely. I think this sets the reader up that love won't occur in this book. It does, so that, in my humble opinion, makes this a love story. A torturous love story. That quote I worry sets it up so people won't take the chance on it.



I'd rather quote her dedication of this book because it sums it up perfectly to me.

"To anyone who has ever loved unconditionally. To all the people who have loved someone who did not deserve it. And finally, to every person who has followed their heart down the path less travelled. This is for you."

I devoured this book. When I dove in, I didn't come up for air. It's mysterious and captivating right up to the end. There are still a couple questions not answered in my head though. I'd honestly avoid reading a ton of reviews for this as EVERYONE barks at the lack of a HEA. Well, the ending will leave you shaking, that's for sure. But not official negative closure and the last three sentences of the book leave me with hope for a future book...

The feelings I was left with deep inside after reading Raw was mostly rawness. Funny she chose that as the title because it's perfect. Lexi is a social worker who notices this hooded man watching her day after day. He never makes a move, in fact, she almost gets a sense of safety from his gaze. When one day this hooded enigma saves her from a sexual assault, she's even more drawn to his protective persona. Not to mention, when the hood comes down, he's gorgeous- all tattooed, clean smelling, muscular...hot. And his name is Trink....



That's all you're getting. Read it. Unless you're a total hearts and flowers romance reader, I do NOT think the ending is that bad. I also wouldn't call this book that dark AT ALL. I look forward to reading Willing Captive after reading this gem!

A book that evokes the feelings this one did in me deserves to be hailed! I applaud Belle Aurora. On a comparative sense, I do not think this book's ending was non-HEA like Blind Obsession by Ella Frank. Everyone talked of that non-HEA. This one leaves me with hope...just read the last three sentences! In the mean time, I'll pick up my heart off the floor and trudge on. Until we see you again Twitch and Lexi...because I WILL see you again...