Hardline by Meredith Wild
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
10++++ Blake is absolutely DIVINE and I need more stars for this one… Oh my Goodness…
I will not start with my usual warning for this series. As if you’ve gotten to book three already I am going to hope that you are not one of those people who know you hate this sub-genre and are deciding to read it anyway.
I don’t even know where to begin with this one. I truly enjoyed the first two books. Some of the twists and turns and how fierce and outspoken Erica can be always kept me coming back for more. The heat and the passion between these two never disappoints… and the love and devotion between these two is just magical. With that said I felt all of that and on an entirely new level in this book.
Meredith never loses sight of who these two individuals are throughout these books. In this book you still see the stubborn and strong minded feisty elements of Erica that you got in book one & two. She worked to submit and really let Blake in-in this book. That did not come easy to her at all. She had to intentionally decide and fight sometimes her own usual way of being and need to do it on her own to allow that to happen. Erica has a propensity for making decisions based on a need to “prove herself” or because she thinks it would make her weak to ask for help. Pride, is definitely something that she continues to have difficulty with overcoming. Often times when she gets herself into difficult situations it is not because she is not bright or that she is incapable of making the best decision it’s because she is so guarded and has been hurt so much in her life that she doesn’t even see the other options available to her. She doesn’t always see how something can be beneficial to her or helpful to her through her desire to want to do everything herself.
Blake was a wonder to behold. He has always been passionate yet sensitive and open about what he is feeling but he took that to another level. He put his foot down with Erica and at times I was not sure what was going to happen. She struggled to see that by giving herself to him she was also gaining his devotion and life in return. No matter how much he loved and adored her he was willing to risk losing her so that their relationship could move into a place that would reflect what they both needed. There is a point in this book about 38% in or so that gets very intense and the conflicting emotions were almost overwhelming for me the reader. It felt so real and palpable – what they were going through, the hurt, the pain, the push and pull, and the need for more – that it jumped off of the pages at times. Some are not going to like this particular scene but if you read it in its entirety and really apply it to these two characters you cannot doubt the awesomeness of what Meredith did here.
I could honestly sit here and read this all over again. Thankfully, I can see the need for a book 4 & 5 and it doesn’t feel like an over extension of these characters and this world that Meredith has so masterfully developed. I don’t think I could manage to put into words how this book made me feel and the depth of emotion that it drew out of me.
Meredith…
Erica & Blake
“I love you, Blake.” He tipped my chin up so I met his gaze. “I love you too.”
“I love you, Erica. You’ll never understand how much, but I’m going to try like hell to show you.”
“And goddamnit, you own me.”
“I want control, Erica. But I’m not going to take it from you. You have to give it to me. You opened the door. Now you have to walk through it. You’ve tried to draw this hard line between us, with work and our relationship, where you keep the amount of control you think you need. It ends now.”
“Have I ever left you unsatisfied? Has there ever been a time between us, no matter how far I’ve pushed you, when you haven’t begged for more? When you haven’t come hard screaming my name? Tell me if you haven’t.”
“All I ever wanted, since the day we met, was your trust. I want to be there for you, protect you. I can’t do any of that the way I need to when you fight me and push me back.”
Meredith Wild’s Spotify Playlist: http://open.spotify.com/user/12121443905/playlist/3L8dsl7F7SvEcLO3qsFLZT
Kris Kritiques 