I felt like this book had too much going on. I really wanted to love it - the characters were great. Who doesn't love a cools, sweet virgin hot girl and a bad a** alpha, hot man?Sometimes there was just TOO much trying to go on in the story and I couldn't follow along easily. Mostly toward the end I just skimmed it so I could get my ending on and move on.Very sexy and alpha...just LOTS to think about. 3-3.5 stars**warning, I had mixed feelings about this story so this review might be a tad spoilerish. I'll try to keep it to a limit**This was a good story. To be honest, I had a lot of trouble rating this one. I liked both Swan and Smoke but there were a few things that bothered me that kept me from giving it a higher rating. Still, I got engaged in the story and will probably read the next book as this one ends in a HFN. Smoke and Swan seem solid relationship wise but the action plot still has a lot to be resolved.Swan is a very tough but innocent young woman. She's 20 years old but already has a double masters in Math and Accounting (having finished homeschooling high school at the ages of 13). She was raised in a survivalist community with her father and stepmother. She was raised to be able to get through any hardship but it left her with a childhood that was bad at times. Swan has an identical twin sister, Sarah, who was raised by their mother. Sarah has basically spent their lives doing bad things and blaming Swan for them so after Sarah's most recent betrayal, Swan started avoiding Sarah and they haven't seen each other for a couple years.Smoke is a member of the Iron Horse MC. Used to be in the service and when he got out he became involved with the MC. He also started up a security business that's done very well. Smoke has been a man-whore most of his life, having only been in 2 relationships in his life, and the last one was when he was 20 (he's 30 now). All this changed when the MC president, Beach, asked him to watch over his woman's sister. The longer Smoke watches Swan the deeper he falls.Swan and Sarah's mother is a crazy woman. She decided to get some gambling debts going (big ones) and then makes some large thefts to try to make the money to pay it back. She gets in deep and people get killed and she's on the hook for everything. The bad guys know about Sarah and Swan and Sarah knows what's going on but Swan doesn't know a thing and is just trying to live her life. Swan works as a waitress at a strip club. She just finished her degrees using this job to pay her way through school. She's got some social limitations (she has trouble reading emotions and can sometimes be too blunt and honest) and sensory issues (if someone she doesn't know or trust touches her she feels like bugs are walking all over her) that has caused Swan to close herself off from most people, living her life but in a rather limited fashion. By the end it's revealed that Swan may have high-functioning autism that causes her difficulties. When Swan and Smoke meet, it's when he's been watching her for quite a while but she's just met him as a customer. He comes in 3 nights in a row and on the 3rd night he steps in to protect her when some guy slaps her ass. Swan is basically thinking that Smoke is majorly hot but thinks he'd never be interested in her because apparently her social issues keep her from recognizing compliments as true and she can't see herself as pretty for some reason. Swan ends up getting a call from Sarah to meet her and instead of her sister, Swan runs in to trouble. Swan is saved from her trouble by Smoke and his brothers. He doesn't tell her much at first and basically does the "come with me if you want to live" type thing. Swan goes along even though she doesn't know Smoke and it seemed like she does this was mostly because she's hot for him and likes that he can touch her with no issues. They end up heading to Austin to stay at his place while she's being kept safe. She starts to find out more info about the trouble with her mother and that her sister is involved with Beach and left to track down their mother. While this happens, Swan is submerged in club life and it's a little more than she's used to. There's rough men but she's not the fearful type...the thing that gets to her is all the blatant sex that's all over the club. Especially when it comes to the skanks that seems to think they can get all over Smoke. There are multiple encounters with multiple women that Smoke used to be with. Swan isn't sure of his intentions towards her and thinks he doesn't do relationships and she doesn't want to get involved with someone there's no chance for a future with. Regardless of her misgivings, Swan takes every opportunity to rub all up on Smoke and they have a lot of physical encounters but not actual intercourse at first. This part is what bothered me the most. There were multiple times when Smoke said or did things that pissed Swan off but she'd pretty much forgive him as soon as he touched her. A few different times I felt that there were important things that should have been talked out that weren't. Swan has emotional issues and I get that but her emotions changed at the drop of a hat and she's supposed to be really smart so I found it straining my credulity. The story ends with the action plot still very much up in the air. Swan and Smoke are together and seem solid relationship wise so I guess it would be a HFN.Overall, I enjoyed this story. There were a few plot points that I didn't think completely worked but the story was still good. Smoke was a good hero and I didn't have any major complaints about him. Swan I liked but yet didn't. She has the ability to be such a cool heroine but I didn't like her wishy washyness in this story and it seemed that with her background and experiences she would be anything but wishy washy. So in one part I loved her and in another part I found her annoying at times. I think I'll read the next book in the series...with the emotional issues resolved between Smoke and Swan maybe things will be more enjoyable and leave me with less mixed feelings. :D
Do You like book Exquisite Trouble (2014)?
It was okay. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it either. I'll probably read the second part.
—jennramos101
3.5 good story with a great alpha male and sweet heroine def looking forward to the next part!
—kailss_xox
2 ¾ stars. It's a cliff hanger. I ABHOR cliff hangers........
—kyle
I was bored. This was a did-not-finish book for me.
—olya0petrova
LOVE smoke and swan - can't wait for book 2!!!!!
—Simmy
