Rough

I got through about half of this book, but nothing made sense. This is the first book in ages that I haven’t finished.

Underdeveloped characters, underdeveloped story-line. This could have been so much better. Just seemed very choppy and lacking

Intriguing and captivating romance. I enjoyed it very much and looking forward to reading Hard next.

One night a month Allie sought out a victim at a club to give her rough, dirty, and hard sex, to help erase the pain of a dark secret. It was easy for Allie to find willing men to give her a wild night of sex. Even Colin. Colin was different from most of her usual one night stands by not only giving her the roughness she needed but he would also touch her with tenderness. Allie's experience with men was that they were sexual predators taking what they wanted regardless if you said, "no". Which began with Andrew who was her friend and someone she trusted yet he took anyway. Then he ran, leaving her pregnant and alone. Allie was poor having been kicked out of her home when she was pregnant. The story had some plot holes. I don't recall who the mysterious phone calls were from. I don't recall who was parked across the street. It's unclear why Shelly became an escort. I also needed more information about Andrew. His introduction to the story left a bitter taste in my mouth. Andrew's character was one dimensional with the decision he made with Allie defining him. Colin's character was challenging to get a read on. His easy acceptance of her choice for sex with strangers was too blasé. Then his disregard for her requests for sex were suspicious. Colin's work situation with his brother left me with more questions than answers. The timeline caused a huge gap of time from Allie finding out she was pregnant to her having a two year old. Too much was inferred and not enough to help build the type of character she was during that time until this moment. Allie's father had only been mentioned a few times indicating he did not tolerate her sexual escapades, yet she never spoke to him about the truth. She let him believe she was a sexually active. I grew tired of Allie's lie. I grew tired of her wanting rough, hard, and painful sex. With no information regarding the rape other than stating it happened made it difficult to comprehend why Allie would use that form of coping mechanism. It only occurred once and even she stated she felt comfortable around him. All her confusion stemmed from her not firmly saying, "no" in a manner that he understood. Series includes: Rough, Hard, and Fierce. The Chicago Underground was a series of story's with familiar characters developed from Rough. The first three were about Colin and Allie. Then Shelly got her story and Colin's sister Rose got her story. I was unaware when I downloaded that Colin and Allie had three books. From the way these characters met and moved it seemed too much was happening too quickly so it led me to believe all that happened in order to fit into one book. Too many plot holes for a story that contained three books. Allie put too much importance on the rape. I could not figure out why even after Andrew apologized she continued to lie about it happening. Her character was too meek. The only time she seemed strong was when protecting her daughter.

This book was hard to read because, in one way, I really felt and cared for Allie; yet, in another, I couldn’t stand her. She is a victim of a horrendous crime that happens all too often to women. It makes her stronger in one sense, but almost weaker in another. She has become a victim, has not been able to move on, and has developed a rather jacked way of coping with her trauma. The fact that she can hold it together, and be a wonderful mother is what makes her strong. The fact that she hasn’t received the proper help she needs, and still blames herself makes her weak. Yes, I am aware of this being the case, in reality all too often. I still didn’t like reading it. I thank God that I have never had to endure such a violation, and I pray I never do. However, knowing myself the way I do, I would like to think I wouldn’t feel it was my fault. I am not sure where the series is going from here, but I’m quite sure Allie should get help. However, I am not going to stick through and read any more about this damaged girl; I just don’t have the capacity or energy....Sara

This book had me intrigued and I can't really put it any other way. I enjoyed the story and I can't wait to read more of the series to find out what happens. It really pulled me in and just had me intrigued the whole way through. There were times I wanted to smack both the characters, but I still kept coming back for more which makes it a great book in my opinion. It engages you and keeps you invested.