A Beautiful Mess - T.K. Leigh

I had a romance book marathon this weekend and T.K. Leigh's Beautiful Mess series was on my agenda.  After this, I am pretty sure that I can't say that I do not read this type of book anymore.  I've read too many of them lately to be able to say I don't read them.  

Olivia Adler has a tragic past.  Everyone she ever loved has been taken from her.  Alexander Burnham lost the love of his life when he was nine years old...and he still hasn't gotten over her.  On a fateful evening, the two unexpectedly meet and their lives will never be the same.  A Beautiful Mess takes readers on a roller coaster of a ride through the lives of two people who are meant to be together, but sometimes seem too self-absorbed to realize it.

This book sent me through an emotional whirlwind.  I laughed, cried, got angry, and wanted to either hug or punch the characters.  I read some reviews that discussed the characters being TSTD, but sometimes, aren't we all?  It frustrated me that Olivia ran every time someone tried to get close to her, but if I had been through her traumatic life and had the financial safety net to do so, I would have ran too.  I felt sorry for her for being unable to open her heart to love because she was so afraid.  

I legitimately wanted things to work out between the two characters despite some things that I was not comfortable with.  Like the time Alex just walked into her house because she didn't answer.  If a guy I had just met did that, my creeper alert would go off.  I also would have been freaked out if a guy suddenly wanted to put protection detail on me without fully explaining what danger I was in.  Keeping such a close eye on someone is usually the beginning of a domestic violence situation.  But because Alex knew something about Olivia that she didn't know, I can understand how in his mind, it was perfectly acceptable.  

I'm not going to comment on the intimate scenes from the book because 1.) my blog isn't set for adult content and 2.) it makes me uncomfortable to talk about it.  I'm not a prude by any means, but discussing it in a public forum is not my cup of tea.  I will say that these scenes were so intense that they made me blush.  

I wasn't a huge fan of the jumping third person point of view; however, it wasn't bad enough to make me stop reading.  I really enjoyed the story line.  It was passionate and fun, yet dramatic and suspenseful.  It sucked me into the world of Olivia and Alex enough that as soon as I finished it, I purchased A Tragic Wreck, the second book in the series, and immediately began reading it.