Darrell is a multi-millionaire designer at 25. But past traumas have pushed him into isolation and the intense pressure of his work has brought him to the edge of burnout. Seeking inspiration, he sees Natasha dance and hires her as his muse.
As she dances for him, the two become entwined in a passionate but troubled relationship. He starts to see the pain inside her and helps her gradually lower her defenses...but Darrell has demons of his own. Can two broken people save each other? Or will the darkness they’re hiding consume them both?
You got to hang on to your past, but if you let it own you, it’ll kill you.”
Cutting gave me an anchor. When I cut, I immediately felt like I was latched in place, and the feeling lasted the rest of the day— sometimes into the next one. From that toehold, I could tentatively stretch out and reach other things, like friends and rehearsals and sitting eating lunch around other people, without falling to my doom. My daily dose of punishment— a millionth of what I deserved— offered up as some sort of appeasement, to stop the guilt swallowing me whole..
As the music started, I allowed myself to just... be, stepping out with nothing to cling onto and accepting the memories for what they were. For once, I wasn’t dancing to block something out or to punish myself. I was dancing for the sheer simple joy of it and there was nothing so good in the world.
I loved Darrell! Seriously I know what you're thinking, rich guy meets poor girl = fast whirlwind romance. Don't stereotype minions, it doesn't suit you. It's not like that, well not the way you think, what makes Darrell stand out is that he's not really broken more like compulsively obsessed with his work, with a sad and tragic past motivating him. He was every bit as insecure and awkward as Natasha, they just fit together so well. I loved getting his POV it just made me understand him better, and his monologue had me swooning, laughing, crying and just plain falling in love.
Helena represented Darrell's decisions very well, people make a lot of impulsive or crazy decisions when lost in their grief, and these decisions can impact our lives so severely we don't even realize we've set ourselves up on a road leading to self-destruction. I felt Natasha was as good a wake up call as any, Helena gave no illusions to it all becoming hunky dory with an unrealistic HEA. They both endured a lot in their lives, and as a couple went through a lot of trust issues, if anything Helena illustrated perfectly they don't know what the future holds but they've take that first step and as long as they're together they'll figure it out.
But I couldn’t accept the idea of her being broken. Not my Natasha. I had to fix her, and if that meant working out what had happened to her on my own, so be it.
She clung to me, surprised. “It’s okay,” she told me, feeling the tension in my body, every muscle rigid.
“It isn’t,” I told her. “But I’m going to make it okay, Natasha. I’m going to make everything okay.”
“Well then what the hell are you waiting for?” Jasmine was staring at me incredulously. “He’s super-gorgeous, you should do it.”
“Wait, wait...” I held my hand up. “A second ago he was a creep and probably wanted a lap dance. Now just because he’s rich and”— I flushed—“ and hot, he’s suddenly okay? What if he’s a rich, hot creep?”
“I don’t think you can be rich, hot and a creep,” Jasmine told me, then turned to Clarissa. “Can you?”
Clarissa shook her head happily. “No, if he’s rich and hot then he’s just kinky. Adventurous.”
I rate this enthralling book 4.2 dazzling stars. Like I said I'm not a fan of the insta-love thing, and while Helena made it work I still felt like there was this tiny piece missing from pulling it off successfully. At times I thought it was a little repetitive, and then there were scenes that were built up so well but never reached their peak. If anything the drama aspect was very minimal, it focused more on the dancing and self-harm aspect. Which I know I said I liked, but I don't know I just feel like it needed that little something more. Despite that Helena still managed to make me fan of her work, and I recommend you purchase a copy minions.