TAMING CROSS Review

Hey all.  So if you saw about a week ago, I had some promo up for Ella James' TAMING CROSS and said I would post a review at a later date.  Well folks today is that day.  To refresh your memory, let's take a look at the cover. 

For twenty-three years, Cross Carlson was a playboy. You know the type. Tall, dark, and wealthy. Blue-eyed. Charming. He seemed to have it all so easy. But Cross was harboring a terrible secret - one that helped ruin the life of an innocent girl and almost ended his own.

Finally out of the hospital, Cross is flailing, scarred in both body and mind and stifled by the weight of the secret he still keeps. The only way to absolution lies in a Mexican convent, and going there could cost him everything.

If there's anyone who knows what it's like to screw up big time, it's Meredith Kinsey. Just a few years ago, Merri was an ordinary girl with a job at her college newspaper and white picket fence kind of dreams. Now she's holed up in a Mexican convent, hiding from a drug lord who thinks he owns her.

What happens when the only way out of hell is with the son of the man who put you there? They say love conquers all, but does it really?

Review:   What I really love about the Love Inc. series is how it shows Ella James' ability to be diverse in her story telling.  If you've read her YA series TAMING CROSS is a complete departure from those stories.   The Love Inc. series is not your typical romance, unless you're someone who hangs out with crooks, prostitutes, and insanely wealthy people.  If you're not this someone, all of those ingredients are what make up TAMING CROSS. 

Cross was someone I really liked from book one in the series SELLING SCARLETT and him being the main protagonist of the book was a treat.  Cross is someone who is scarred and not just literally.  He has some deep issues that revolve around his parents.  Merri was someone who I wished we could have gotten a little deeper with.  We get backstory on her and how she ended up in a convent in Mexico, but I feel like there was something missing from her story that I needed.  But, I did like that the relationship between Cross and Merri wasn't one that claimed they healed each other.  

Rather, I think the relationship between them was very practical.  They have been tied together unknowingly for awhile, and then go through this insane experience together which makes their relationship unique, but ultimately strong and trusting, (In the end anyway).

The story moves fast.  I felt like I was on the back of Cross' motorcycle for the majority of the book flying through the Mexican desert.  Ella James doesn't hold back any punches too.  Where SELLING SCARLETT was raw in a seedy underbelly of a prostitution ring way, TAMING CROSS is gritty and rough in the "Middle of the Mexican desert having random gun fights way."   I like that TC is so different from a lot of what is out right now.  If I were to compare this to anything I would say that it has a similar vibe to that of Karina Halle's SINS AND NEEDLES series. 

So if that sort of out there gritty storyline is what appeals to you, I would say go for it.  

Now my only drawback for TC was the ending, and since I'm not a spoiler Sally I'm not going to get to detailed why the end fell a little flat for me.  It felt a little rushed in my opinion.  I understand where James' wanted her characters to end up setting wise, but I felt like it was just very abrupt in how they managed to get there.  That was really the only thing that made me pause.  I liked the progression of the story.  I thought the execution of the plot was insanely great as well, and it's over all a very solid read.  I am really looking forward to the next book in the series as well as what ever else Ella puts out in the future.  

Pick this one up, it's definitely worth a read guys!  Happy Reading! 

4/5 Oh Yeah I liked it a lot!

Also if you missed the excerpt on the last post, here it is again! 

  Taming Cross RDL-1 by Jwatterson90