THE DIRTY ONES by J.A. Huss

The Dirty Ones

by 

J.A. Huss

They said write what you know so that's what I did. I wrote dirty, I wrote erotic, I wrote the truth.
And then they called me a liar. But it's not me who's lying, it's them.
Our story isn't for everyone. It's not even for us.
So if you're looking for the fairy tale and the stupid prince on his dumb white horse, move along. You've got a hold of the wrong book. This is not your story, this is not your life, and this is not your opportunity to dip your frightened little toe into the dark pool of water and "try new things" and then pull it out and decide... #NotForMe.
When you go in with us you go all in. So make a decision before you turn this page.
Because I'm making one promise with this book.
Just one.
We are The Dirty Ones and this is our truth.

The Dirty Ones is a brand new, thrilling, standalone romance about the secret world of erotica authors by New York Times bestselling author, JA Huss.

What I thought: 

I love J.A. Huss and will read anything she writes. That said, this book wasn't my favorite. It started out really promising. The beginning had me hooked. I loved the mystery and the way the story started to unfold. But then... 

Everything slowed down. The middle felt very soggy. And the ending was a surprise, but the kind of surprise that's frustrating instead of exciting. First the mystery is who wrote the book. But then the focus switches up again and again. For a mystery to work for me, there have to be clues sprinkled throughout so that the answer is on the page, even if it's only able to be pieced together in hindsight. Here, the ending was so convoluted, it felt like a cheat. 

What saved this story for me was the romance element. And the reunion of old friends who share a dark past. I liked watching them seemingly fall back into their pasts and become their former selves. Some of those scenes were off-the-charts hot. But...but...but... 

It felt like the middle of the story was all sex. I'm all for sexy times but the timing here just didn't feel right, and the scenes dragged on for pages and pages of what started to feel like filler to shore up a weak plot. My biggest pet-peeve, I think, is that the last 75% of the book could've been resolved in act I, if they'd just kept reading instead of wandering off to have sex. 

I guess I wanted a little bit more out of this story, but I love J.A. Huss's writing and her voice does carry a story well. Overall a good read. And it is HOT, so if that's what you're looking for, then this one is for you.

Rating: *** (3 stars)

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RATING SCALE: 

 5* = OMFG loved it. Will read it again. Touch my book and I will cut you. 

 4* = Really good. Highly recommend. Miiiight reread. Maybe. Don't touch my book. 

 3* = Good. I liked it. Go ahead and touch it. 

 2* = Not for me, finished but struggled. Didn't connect. Here, have a book.

 1* = DNF. Couldn't do it.

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Happy reading,

Chelly