Blog Tour: Stripped by H.M. Ward

Synopsis:

The V Card. Virgin. Most of us want to punch that sucker ASAP, and hide the fact until then, but not Cassie Hale. Three years ago she frickin' covered hers in glitter and laminated the thing, proudly telling me that she's waiting for the perfect guy.

So when I see her half naked, tangled together, rolling around on the floor with another stripper, I'm kind of shocked. Okay, that's an understatement. I'm enthralled. I have to know what cracked her picture perfect world and landed her here, and I hope it's something horrible-an event that broke her the way she broke me. Because, that's who Cassie Hale is--the woman who stole my heart and crushed it in her hand.

Review:

I opened up my email to find an ARC copy of  'Stripped' by H.M. Ward....and I screamed like a little girl!!  I just can't get enough of those Ferro brothers!!  As readers, we were introduced to the youngest Ferro brother, Jonathan, briefly in a previous installment.  This book delves into what makes Jonathan the so-called 'black sheep' of the family, even though his two older brothers have had issues of their own that caused drama!

Jonathan and Cassie, both teenagers at the time, are thrown together for a summer down in the South to do some individual soul-searching.  To say that each of them have some familial issues with their mothers is an understatement.  

"Think of the most uptight, critical woman you can imagine - now combine that chick with a saintly church going woman and that's my mother.  Everyone thinks she's great and she is wonderful to everyone, except me.  They all get this pristine version of mom that doesn't exist behind closed doors."

I think that describes nearly every mother at some point in time!  Jonathan and Cassie form a bond over the summer that is shattered when Cassie believes that she is doing Jonathan a good deed by talking about him to a local newspaper.  He can't forgive her for going to the press and he now has to deal with even more backlash from his family.  Several years pass until they find each other again.  Each of them have moved on in their lives, but they each discover that neither one of them has lived the life that they had dreamed of.  

Once they find each other, fireworks ignite!!  So much sexual tension is portrayed that I just didn't want to put the pages down!  Jonathan has not been able to move on from his summer with Cassie and once he finds her again, he can't seem to let her go.  "Cassie Hale is the defebrillator for my...heart.  Seeing her again shocked the hell out of me and I'm suddenly so much more than a walking corpse."  

I'm not sure how H.M. Ward does it, but she consistently makes me fall in love with her characters!!  At the end of each installment, I am left practically begging for more of the Ferros!!  This installment delivers a fast-paced and witty repertoire that left me both smiling like a Cheshire cat and mewling like a baby.  So many emotions packed into one amazing book!

=French kiss

Amazon Link

Author Bio:

H.M. Ward is the #1 bestselling New Adult author in the world, having sold over 2 million books in 2013. This NEW YORK TIMES, WALL STREET JOURNAL, USA TODAY, and Amazon #1 bestselling writer's series include: THE FERRO FAMILY: DAMAGED, THE ARRANGEMENT, and STRIPPED; as well as SCANDALOUS, TRYSTAN SCOTT, and SECRETS. Ward was recently featured in FORBES, the WALL STREET JOURNAL, and the WASHINGTON POST.