Welcome to my stop in the MANIC by J.A. Huss Blog Tour, hosted by Giselle at Xpresso Reads & she runs Xpresso Book Tours :D! I LOVED TRAGIC (Rook and Ronin #1) by J.A. Huss, and I am so excited to be part of this blog tour :D! You can read my 5 star review of MANIC (Rook and Ronin #2), and enter the giveaway at the bottom of the post. Don't forget to follow the blog tour HERE.
Title: Manic
Author: J.A. Huss
Series: Rook & Ronin #2
Publisher: Science Future Press
Expected Publication Date: August 1, 2013
Genre: New Adult Contemporary
Source: e-arc was provided by author for the blog tour in exchange for my honest thoughts and review.
Synopsis:
TRAGIC is over and Rook is ready for the future—Spencer Shrike and the STURGIS contract!
It’s three
months of body art modeling! That means three months of
Spencer Shrike’s paintbrush all over her body, three months in front
of Antoine’s camera, and three months of twenty-four hour filming
for Spencer’s Biker Channel reality show.
Wait a minute…what reality show? Maybe she should’ve read that STURGIS contract a little closer? ;)
Sure, Rook’s
bank account is almost overflowing, but Ronin is angry, Clare is trying
to escape rehab, Antoine is a worried mess, and Elise is just trying to
hold everyone together. Her new family is about to fall apart before
she even gets the chance to enjoy them.
Add in a mysterious man
from her past, a road trip to the famous Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and a
final show in front of the entire world where all her good are on
display, and you’ve Manic—a new adult contemporary romance that will
definitely make your summer sizzle!
Add MANIC by J.A. Huss to your TBR Pile--->Goodreads
MY Thoughts:
What a dumbass I am. Seriously, what was I thinking? Taking all my clothes off for three months of nude body painting.
Manic begins where Tragic left off- Rook has signed a contract with Spencer to be his model for his motorcycle photo shoot, but she is posing nude with only paint covering her body. Also Rook and Ronin have developed a relationship and are going to try to make things work between them. Is MANIC as HOT as TRAGIC was? HELL YEAH!!! MANIC is HOTTER than TRAGIC.
And now I'm on a new journey. I'm not sure where I'm going just yet. Maybe college. Maybe somewhere else.
Rook has developed from being the tragic, fragile, and broken girl in TRAGIC. She is enjoying her new life as being a model, having a place to live, having a family, having money, and everything she never had when she was younger. Rook still has her I-don't- want-to-be-dominated by anyone attitude in MANIC, but this wavers a little bit when it comes to Ronin. This is the little problem I had with her character. She is so dependent on Ronin in MANIC, and she does whatever he tells her to do. I know he is her manager/boyfriend. But come on girl, you have to learn to speak up in this modeling business. But I completely love Rook's character in MANIC, because she has developed, matured, learned that she can fix her own problems, and she has stopped running :D!
"Shit, you guys are the ones who wanted the fucking contract! I'm the one who said no! Now my fucking girlfriend's stuck in the middle, she's got no idea what I used to do, and the whole fucking thing is about to blow up in my face!"
In MANIC we get to see a different side of Ronin that we did not see in TRAGIC. There is definitely a mystery in MANIC on what Ronin used to do that he doesn't want Rook to find out. I was so freaking intrigued that I just kept reading, and wondering when it was all going to come out in the open. I seriously thought it was going to be something worse than what it actually was. Why did I think it was something worse? Because Ronin makes it feel like it is. But don't get me wrong ladies. Ronin is still the smoking hot model that loves to flirt and loves to dominate in the bedroom ;). I have to give two thumbs up to J.A. Huss for adding this little mystery to Ronin's past, and for giving us a glimpse on what Ronin used to do in the past :D!
And there it is. The ultimatum. Rook or Elise.
Rook and Ronin's relationship is tested when he has to go to visits Elise in rehab. But this is not the only situation that threatens Rook and Ronin's relationship- will get to this soon. This is the first thing that came to my mind when he left, "What the hell are you thinking Ronin? Why are you going back to Elise?" I know pretty messed up right? The poor girl is in rehab for her drug addiction. But Ronin could have called Rook sooner than later, because that just gets her thinking that he doesn't care that much, especially when there is someone (Ford) putting thoughts in her head. I seriously thought this was going to be the end of their relationship but thank god Ronin goes back to Rook.
"Rook," Spencer repeats, a little harsher now. "I want kissing, I want mad fucking passionate kissing.
Remember when I said there are other situations that threaten Rook's and Ronin's relationship? Do you also remember when I said that MANIC is HOTTER than TRAGIC? Well yeah these two things kind of intertwine. Rook is being body painted by Spencer, and when I say body I mean the whole sha-bang (all her private parts included). When Spencer and Rook do some photo shoots together it is just HOT! I know I shouldn't be thinking this when I LOVE Ronin, but Spencer is also hot and he makes those photo shoots intense. So yeah Spencer painting Rook's body and doing those sizzling photo shoots in a way threatens relationship with Ronin.
"If she can be stolen, then she was never yours to begin with."-Ford
J.A. Huss introduces a new character in MANIC, Ford, who is one of Spencer's and Ronin's friend. These three boys go way back, and they've done somethings in the past that you will just have to find out when you read MANIC ;). Ford's character does confuse the hell out of me, because he has the whole psychological thing going on. He really messes with your mind, because you never know what the hell he means. But he does show some interest in Rook, which totally gets to Ronin. Did I love Ford's character? Yes! Even though he messes with Rooks mind, he helps Rook come to terms that she is the only one that can "fix herself."
I'm not a runner anymore. I'm a chaser.
J.A. Huss did not disappoint with MANIC (Rook and Ronin #2), and definitely delivered one of the HOTTEST reads of the summer! There is everything you can ask for: mystery, hotness, sizzle, love, passion, lust, friendship, flashlights, and waters are definitely tested. I read MANIC in one day, because I could not put this book down. I wanted to find out the mystery behind Ronin's past life, and towards the end it becomes a page turner (has to do with someone coming back to Rook's life). Is the ending a cliff-hanger? Not really, but I can't wait to get my hands on PANIC!!! I want to keep reading about Rook and Ronin :D!
Final Verdict: 5 Stars
Buy TRAGIC (Rook and Ronin #1):
Amazon ~ B&N ~ Kobo
Buy MANIC (Rook and Ronin #2):
Amazon ~ B&N ~ Kobo
About the Author
J. A. Huss likes to write new adult books that make you think and keep
you guessing. Her favorite genre to read is space opera, but
since practically no one reads those books, she writes new adult science
fiction, paranormal romance, contemporary romance, urban fantasy,
and books about Junco (who refuses to be saddled with a label).
She has an undergraduate degree in horses, (yes, really–Thank you, Colorado State University) and a master’s degree in forensic toxicology from the University of Florida. She used to have a job driving around Colorado doing pretty much nothing but shooting the breeze with farmers, but now she just writes, runs the New Adult Addiction and Clean Teen Reads Book Blogs, and runs an online science classroom for homeschoolers.
She has an undergraduate degree in horses, (yes, really–Thank you, Colorado State University) and a master’s degree in forensic toxicology from the University of Florida. She used to have a job driving around Colorado doing pretty much nothing but shooting the breeze with farmers, but now she just writes, runs the New Adult Addiction and Clean Teen Reads Book Blogs, and runs an online science classroom for homeschoolers.
