REVIEW: BLINDFOLDED INNOCENCE

Brad De Luca is incorrigible. The premier divorce attorney in town, he is a forty-year old walking hunk of sex, bedding half the town, including his own clients. Brad is used to getting whatever, and whomever, he wants, and when the newest intern arrives - Julia Campbell, a pre-law student fresh off a failed engagement - he embraces the challenge. Only, happy in her new independence, the last thing Julia wants, or needs, is an older man who could destroy her job prospects, and possibly her innocence.

Julia is confident in her sexuality, and her effect on men. But she is far out of her league. Before she knows it, Brad is stretching her boundaries and opening up a forbidden world of sensual and sexual exploration.

***Warning: This book contains explicit sex scenes, including a MFM menage.***

Kindle Edition, 307 pages

Published July 19th 2012

Amazon | GoodReads

*4 Stars*

To celebrate a little bit more of Alessandra Torre week on the blog, we have a review for her first book of the Innocence series called Blindfolded Innocence. Make sure to check this one out, as well as her new release called The Girl in 6E. Our review for that is HERE! But, back to business...

I can tell you're already thinking...50 Shades knock off? I attest to that not being in any way the case! I asked Shelley after if it's bad that I enjoyed this erotic romance more for the story? We don't think this is a bad thing, and is truly a testament to Alessandra's talent as a writer, because even having an erotic classification there was a well built story behind the steamy situations.

1) Julia. She's a young, 21 actually, intern for the law firm Brad is a partner at. She's hiding away from her stalker boyfriend, and gets warned over and over what a big bad womanizer Brad De Luca is and to stay away from him. Do our lovely, young, vivacious heroines ever do what they're told? No, they don't. Or we wouldn't care about them so dang much. BUT! I looovveeeddd Julia, because she does her best to knock this guy down a few notches. I was really glad this wasn't one of those BDSM novels. I am in a mood at the moment where that "I'm always in control/topping/do what I say" alphas are annoying. I had a lot of moments where I was literally laughing out loud...seafood tray, Shelley? It's also a fun idea to keep track how many times she hangs up on or ignores him. Girl power! I think Brad helped her realize a few things about herself and spread her wings a little, which was nice. 

2) Brad. I was prepared to not like him. I thought he was going to be one of those guys who like I said earlier was a grade A asshole and thought he was the greatest thing to ever grace her with his presence, but he surprised me. Don't get me wrong, he tried and sometimes pulled out the hot, rich guy, big shot lawyer card, but I think eventually he realized Julia had wedged herself under his skin without trying by being herself. He was absolutely flabbergasted by her food choices when in an opulent VIP section, which again made me laugh out loud. I didn't always agree with his philosophies, but at least he talked with her about them, and didn't ever coerce her into doing something she didn't want to do. I especially liked when she called him out for "lawyering" her and not just answering the question. 

3) The steam. I knew it was going to be in here, I mean hello, look at the cover! But I thoroughly enjoyed that it wasn't every single page, with those cliche phrases that I have come to loathe. You know which ones they are! Well done, Alessandra, because I think sometimes it's hard to be original in this sort of genre, and in my opinion it really was. Shelley, you can attest to my horror and utter surprise to that whole stripper situation. I mean, what! Why did he freaking do that? But cheers again for creating a strong female lead character who didn't get offended or emotional over someone who wasn't committed to her. I personally wouldn't  have reacted as mature as she did, but then again I probably wouldn't have gone on the trip to begin with. They set no expectations and she listened to what he was telling her. I also liked that they didn't pronounce undying love to one another after only a few days of being acquaintances and let too much jealousy take up space in this story. 

4) The story. I felt like it was a well rounded story for building in a solid background to lead into book 2. (That blurb is c-r-a-z-y!) I cannot wait to see where this goes, but enjoyed that I had a fantastic before vegas, during, and then after when all sorts of outside factors added to it. It wasn't just erotica for me. I may have over said that in this review, but I mean it! I really liked this book and am looking forward to Masked Innocence! 

Check out this book, we don't think you'll regret it. There is great writing and editing, which is really, really important. Torre gives us a story with depth that made me laugh out loud over and over (also important, who wants 100% angst) and even when it surprised me, swoon! 

***4 Stars***

You know, I've come to respect Alessandra Torre because not only does she have a great sense of humor (follow her twitter, you'll see!) but she has no qualms about publishing work that might be seen as controversial.

1) Julia. Funny and snarky and strong and vulnerable. I really enjoyed her story. I think many people could identify with her. For instance as a new intern, she knows that she needs to impress her boss so that she can use the internship to help her career but she feels overworked with mundane tasks and resentful of the 'fun' team of interns and lawyers down the hall. instead of pouting, Julia follows the rules made by her boss (expressly forbidding her to interact with the 'fun' ones) and reserves her snarky comments for only her ears to hear. She resists the temptation of the fun lawyers for as long as she can, but eventually she draws the attention of Brad (THE fun lawyer) and soon finds that her resistance is futile. She does, though, put up a good fight for a little while --the aforementioned hanging up on him, the cold shoulder, and her ability to stand up to him--all made me love her. Another way people could identify with Julia is how she struggles with the idea Brad presents of relationships and how they work--her conflicts with Brad about sex and love seemed like struggles many women would have.

2)Brad. So arrogant. I understand why he'd appear so--he's good at his job (although I'm sure he'd quibble with that adjective), wealthy, and seems to have no trouble acquiring the attention of women. He's also older and had time to experience a little more of the world and relationships. I found his philosophies on relationships and sex to be...interesting. I think I might even call him a feminist, in some ways, because of how he views the double standard women face for engaging in the same activities men do. I feel conflicted about him. He makes valid points but I, still, sometimes find him slimy (especially the strip club scene. hmph.). But just when I think I've decided that I don't like him, I see a different side of him (Evelyn).

3. The sex. At first there really wasn't any. It was all backstory and conflict and character development (I appreciated this, too--not a disappointment at all to have a good story!). Then the trip to Las Vegas happens and sex starts happening. The strip club scenes--HOLY GUACAMOLE...  whole lotta sexual things happening there and well, WHOA. Then there's the ending. I guess I should've seen it coming, and I guess I sorta did, but that was ...well...HOLY SMOKES (because really what I want to say would probably NOT make it through the internet smart filter at work).

4. The story. It's not finished. I'm gonna kill you Alessandra Torre for leaving it like you did....but Courtney's right;  this is an erotic story--emphasis on story, I think. It wasn't all sex, all the time. The story of the lawyers and their internal conflicts and the story of Julia the intern and Julia as Brad's new lover make this so much more than some smutty little secret that you don't want to tell your friends your reading. 

I hope Torre can hurry up and get the second book out so that we can see how this story ends. She left us on the cliff, with this one, and I have a feeling she's gonna knock us over  it with the next one.