When I was nineteen years old, I lived for sex, drugs and a good party. I had it all - good looks, a fast car and a hot girlfriend. Nothing in life was more important.
That was, until I met Ellison James….
Since the moment I first saw her she was a raging bull; tackling me in the mud and throwing out insults as fast as her tongue could form the sound.
She was snarky
She was rude
And she pissed me off like no other woman could.
I lived beside her for a summer and in the three months that I walked by her side...
She opened my eyes
She changed my life
And she made me a better man
M. S. Willis has become one of my favorite writers over the course of the last year, and with good reason. She can completely nail ANY genre. I first fell in love with her Control series (aka dominate man, bad ass lead chick, semi-crime and mystery). Then there is her Estate series (out of the realm of anything I've ever read, and I loved every second of it). And now here, we have "Because of Ellison". Her first standalone. Her first "tear-your-heart-out-love-story". The first "ugly-cry" book I've read by her.
And guess what? She NAILED it again.
The synopsis doesn't give much away, so I wasn't sure what I was getting when I went into this story. But what I got was so much more than I anticipated.
Hunter is a genius. No really, he's a total genius. Oh, and his parents are loaded, therefore he wasn't just a genius, but he was rich too. But in being so smart, he was bored. Bored with his life, bored with school, basically just throwing himself into the party scene and not looking back. Until his parents decided it would be best for him to spend his last summer before college with his Uncle and Cousin down in Florida, in hopes that learning to live "poor" and without his normal comforts, would bring him out of his party phase. With no choice, off he went, away from his friends, the parties, his (snobby) little girlfriend, and down to the boonies of Florida.
But he didn't anticipate meeting Ellison.
"The laughter rolled out of me and I pushed her hand away. 'You're a bitch, you know that?'
'I prefer you call me 'Evil Princess Bitch', thank you very much. Show some respect.'
It was that moment that I realized her smile was absolutely perfect."
Ellison is a strong and extremely loving girl, whose bad side you do not want to get on. Unfortunately for Hunter, he got on her bad side in .2 seconds of meeting her. This makes for a hilarious start for their.. "relationship".
"That's the thing with Ellison. You never really know. That girl is capable of anything"
Hunter can't seem to get his mind off of the firecracker that is Ellison James, and spends his time trying to figure out ways to get back on her good side. Eventually walls will be broken down, erected back up, cracked again, and so the cycle goes. But Hunter isn't one to give up, and as much as Ellison isn't one to give in, he may just prove to be the one thing that breaks her down.
"Whatever happens between us will be a mistake. But which would be bigger? The mistake of having been with you... or the mistake of never having allowed myself to love you when I had the chance"?"
Now I get that this sounds like a typical love story, but it isn't. Yes, it's a love story, but it is also a story of family. Hunter, did not grow up with the love from his parents that most kids do. When major turns happen for Ellison, Hunter is the one who realizes that family really should be everything. He finds that family in his uncle, and his cousin. And he finds it in Ellison.
This book will tear your heart out. But it will also warm your heart with millions of warm fuzzies with all the "lessons" that are learned in this book. The value of family, putting yourself aside for others, growing up, moving on. It was an amazing read, and I REALLY do hope that M. S. Willis writes more like it (hint hint).
Favorite Quote:
"She stopped and turn to me. Shrugging her shoulders, she said, 'No reason.'
Oh shit."
Those must have been fighting words, because the next thing
she did was slam her hands against me with such force it almost knocked the air
out of my chest. I tried to hold on, but
when she took both my nipples between her fingers and twisted, I released her
in response to the pain.
“Fuck! Ellison, that
shit hurt!”
“I know it did, that’s why I did it. And you can expect that reaction from me every
time you think you’re going to overpower and force me to stay still when I
don’t want to!”
“Well, then fine!” I
shoved my chest out at her and held my arms out to my sides. “Go ahead and rip them off then, El, because
you can expect that I’m going to hold you every day until you stop breathing!”
She looked at me like I was nuts. Her voice was a whisper when she asked, “Why
can’t you just go home?”
We stood staring at each other for a few seconds. It was eerily quiet where we stood, almost as
if the birds and bugs had stopped to watch, curious to find out what would
happen between us.
We locked eyes and I walked up to her. Grabbing her by her chin, I tilted her angry
face up in my direction and held on when she tried to pull away.
“I am home. Why can’t
you just accept it?”
M.S. Willis is a romance
novelist whose debut novel, Control, was released in 2013. Although
currently writing in the romance genre, Willis has plans to expand her literary
pursuits into multiple genres and has no fear conquering difficult subject
matters in her writing. Willis is a native Floridian who is also a
photographer and musician. When not absorbing herself in written, visual
or musical expression, Willis is an adrenaline junkie, a ‘closet’ video game
enthusiast, and an avid outdoors person and nature lover.
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