Hallen Jansen
has it all. At 28, he has a flashy car, a great apartment, and a job he’s good
at and that he loves – as an escort – working at your beck and call.
His life is
easy, with no emotions or attachments slowing him down – choosing to keep
moving, always running from the past.
But when a new
client awakens unfamiliar feelings, all bets are off. Can he convince a
recently divorced woman twenty years older to trust men again – to trust him?
Can Hallen trust himself not to screw things up?
Surrounded by
people who choose to judge them, will they make their relationship a reality,
or is it heartbreak for both?
Not all services are professional.
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3.75 Stars
**Possible
spoilers below**
Rough.
Urgent. Taking. Giving. Blaming. Forgiving. Hands. Voices. Tongues. Lips.
Fingers. Flesh. Biting. Biting. Licking. Touching. Tasting. Sucking. Kissing.
Kissing. Breathing. Writing. Pleasure. Pain. Punish. Feeling. Tears. Eyes.
Eyelids. Fluttering. Closing. Faster. Faster. Building. Rushing. Pushing.
Craving. Needing. Release. Lights. Burning. Slowing. Sighing. Lips. Eyes.
Words. Kissing. Kissing. Touching. Hope.
When I heard
this book was coming out, it was a no brainer – it was a must-read.
First off, this written by Jane Harvey-Berrick and if you don’t know already,
this author is a freaking phenomenal storyteller. Plus if you’ve read the
synopsis, you also know that the H/h are not your typical characters. A young
sexy male escort falling for an older client – yea, you knew I’d be all over
this.
I tried
to remember when I stopped selling sex and started selling myself.
Hallen has been
through a lot. After leaving Newfoundland for the city of Angels to attend
UCLA, he found himself struggling to keep his head above water. His hockey
scholarship wasn’t enough and he needed to find a way to make money, even
dabbling in porn; he was that desperate. After that didn’t pan out so well, he
ended up bartending. It was here where he met Eloise and his life drastically
changes.
Because
she sees me. She cares about what I think, she cares that I have an opinion.
She inspires me – to paint, to live, to be a better man, a whole man. We laugh
a lot and when we’re together, I don’t feel alone anymore.”
First and
foremost, Hallen is an artist, but his passion took a backseat while he
immersed himself as an escort. Though he graduated, it was hard to find a well
paying job in the industry. As an escort, each job he took, each woman he escorted,
the more he lost a bit of himself. It wasn’t until he met Laura, a friend of
Eloise, that he began to see more of who he wanted to be.
If she
could really accept me for who I was and, more importantly, what I was, what I
had been … it was a big risk – I knew that. I was damaged goods, but being with
her, talking to her I felt like I could be more than the sum of my past. I
prayed she’d take a chance with me.
Laura was
forty-eight to Hallen’s twenty-eight. After a failed marriage of twenty-six
years, she is recently divorced and her self-esteem is pretty low. She doesn’t
understand her draw to Hallen, or better yet, she doesn’t understand why a
young sexy man like him would want someone like her. Hallen, however, knew
there was something different about Laura. He wanted to become a better;
someone who he, himself, can be proud of. But can Laura get over his past and
truly see him for the man he is?
Love
doesn’t come in neat little boxes – it’s messy and disorganized and a pain in
the ass.
I enjoyed this
book for the most part, but I have to be honest -- the beginning was a little
slow and I almost gave up. I didn’t mind reading all about Hallen’s escapades,
but after a while, I wondered when and where the heroine actually showed up. By
the time she did, that started out a little slow moving, too. Plus add in
Laura’s reluctance, my patience was wearing thin. I’m thankful that the author
included her POV because it helped explained a lot -- otherwise, I probably
wouldn’t have liked her as much.
As much as my patience was wearing thin, I invested too much
already and I wanted to know if Hallen and Laura will ever find their HEA. I’m
glad I didn’t give up because the overall story did make me smile. Hallen’s
story was heartbreaking, but I was so happy with the overall outcome.
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