ARC Review: Wild Licks by Cecilia Tan

I’m really not sure how I feel about this book. My feelings actually changed as the book went on. When the book started Gwen has a super hot affair with Mal but but….I don’t know, I loved the sexiness of it but her practicing her acting skills on him (read to find out about that), struck me as kind of stupid.  Gwen as a character just generally started irritating me. Gwen is strong and assertive AND submissive. She knows what she wants AND she puts up with Mal’s extreme wishy washiness.  I was having a hard time understanding her character. And then, the whole acting thing just goes seriously overboard.  I get how it started but then how the heck was it supposed to be believable after Mal heard her voice.  She wasn’t using a voice disguiser, she just had on a costume. How did she think Mal would not recognize her voice?

Speaking of Mal, the level of irritation I have for him is almost unparalleled. We rarely see a male character who is so reluctant to face his own feelings. Mal wants Gwen. He wants her before he knows who she is and he wants her after he knows it’s her. She is perfect for him. She is a lady in the streets and a super freak in the sheets. A match made in heaven for the very kinky Mal who likes to tie his woman up while playing with fire and knives. All of which Gwen loves. But Mal had a bad experience with a previous relationship (WHO HASN’T?) and has convinced himself that what he wants isn’t normal and that any woman who would let him do those things has some deep issues. Be that as it may, isn’t love all about finding someone whose crazy matches yours? The fact that Mal couldn’t accept that he had found the perfect woman for him despite his total inability to stay away from her really started bothering me. I was specifically ready to punch/slap him when he accused Gwen of stalking him when they were at the same party. Dude, nobody is thinking about you. He was on my nerves.

A crazy thing happens in this book. Gwen and her sister open a sex dungeon/club thing. I love sex club books but honestly I think I must have accidentally skipped a few pages. One minute Gwen and her sister are just normal sisters, the next minute they are running a full scale dungeon. And then to make a weird situation weirder, Mal and his band join. Mal is trying his absolute hardest to stay away from Gwen but decides it would be a good idea to join her sex club. HOW? Of course the minute Mal gets to the club, he’s flogging Gwen and then banging her brains out.

I just, I don’t know. There are some parts of this book that are really good. But when you put all the pieces of this story together and try to make it one story and combine it with Mal’s character flaws, I just didn’t enjoy the experience as much as I wanted to.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

Purchase: | Amazon | B&N | iTunes |