Blog Tour Review: UNDONE VOLUME 1 + 2 by Callie Harper

Undone Volume 1 + 2 by Callie Harper
Series: Undone, #1 + #2
Publication Date: March 14, 2016
Genres: New Adult, Contemporary Romance
Other books by this author: Off Limits, Unleashed series
Hosted by Gossip Girls PR

Purchase: Amazon US
Add Volume 1 + Volume 2 to Goodreads!

SUMMARY

Take one bad boy rock god. Mix slowly with one wholesome librarian. Add a dash of paparazzi, a twist of scandal, and you won’t believe how good this dish tastes. 

Ash
It’s pretty easy being a rock god. Party. Perform. P*ssy. Repeat. I’m 26 and it’s worked for me for years. Until I was caught ripping out the heart of America’s Sweetheart in a video gone viral. Now #HatePlayerAsh is trending on Twitter, she’s writing a song about how much I suck and I’m in desperate need of image rehab, fast.

Good thing paparazzi chased me into that library. Had I not ducked under that desk I never would have found myself next to the long, sexy legs and disapproving gaze of Anika Ivanov. In my world of use and get used, she’s a unicorn. A kind, 24-year-old, hard-working, family-oriented children’s librarian. My agent agrees, she’s the one to set everything right. All she needs to do is fake a month-long public romance, let the world see me fall hard for her, then dump me in a brutal, public display. It’s genius.

Now I just have to convince her to agree. And convince myself that the only reason I want to spend the month with her is to improve my image. It’s not her full, luscious lips or her soft, seductive laugh or those fantasies I keep having of tying her down to my bed as I make her quiver and pant and call out my name. 

Ana
Ash Black. In my library. Under my desk. It’s hard to believe it happened. I’ve listened to his voice so many times, my favorite soundtrack as I walk the streets of New York. My secret bad boy crush, the smoldering, shirtless star of the tabloids, all muscles and tattoos. Then one day he shows up and kisses me in my break room. 

What’s even crazier is how he wants me to spend the next month. At his shows in L.A., San Francisco and Vegas, candlelight dinners in New York and Paris. He wants the world to believe he’s fallen in love. With me.

I’ve got to say no. He’s a walking disaster with a dirty mouth and wicked hands that melt my panties right off of me. This month would take everything in my well-ordered, neat little life and shake it up like a snow globe.

Then why am I so tempted to say yes?

NOTE: Undone is a three-volume hot adult romance. It’s the second story in the Beg for It series about the dominant, alpha males in Ash’ family and the strong, sexy women who make them finally meet their match.

REVIEW

3 UNDONE VOLUME 1 STARS (★★★) + 4 UNDONE VOLUME 2 STARS (★★★★)

*** Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. However, this doesn’t affect my opinion of this book and the words in this review. ***

Because, what if? What if there was a guy out there who made my blood rush and my heart beat, a guy who could make me laugh and feel wild and reckless and alive. A man who gave me the kind of thrill I felt when listening to my favorite music, that sense that the future was limitless, that I could do anything I wanted and more.

What would you do if one of your idols was suddenly in front of you and would make you a exceptional proposal? He wants you to play his girlfriend to publicly and with a lot of drama break up with him after a month. All to prepare his image. Would you turn down this setup? This happens to Ana in Undone. Her encounter with her favorite rockstar is unexpected, but his proposition is absolutely absurd. After doing a lot of thinking, she decides to participate. Only, she could have never prepare herself for all the big drama that is Ash Black’s life and how much influence it would have on her own life. When I read the abstract for Undone, I was immediately curious. I could sense an original premise, but would the execution do the originality justice?

His lips down on mine, so simple and easy, but it felt anything but. Melted chocolate, dipping and seducing, one taste simply wasn’t enough. Hand up to his shoulder, eyes closed, slow and insistent, licking, teasing at the edge.

When his break-up with America’s sweetheart Mandy Monroe goes wrong and Ash is on tape scolding her, he finds out how shrewd Mandy is and how vicious the public really is. Mandy cultivates positive publicity for her upcoming album, but Ash is the center of the public’s evil eye. Hashtags such as #HatePlayerAsh and #DieAsh arise. And even though Ash may seem cocky and sure of himself, he isn’t. He starts thinking he really is the asshole everyone thinks he is and that was plain sad. There is a deeper reason for all of his thoughts. All his life, his family has been telling him he is a f*ck up. I guess that would make you believe it and start acting like it. So now, Ash Black is a bad boy rockstar, a cocky and arrogant 26-year-old heartthrob and male slut, only listening to his beloved grandmother.

Ana, a daughter of Russian immigrants, is on the brink of losing her job at the children library she works at, because money is low. There is a very good chance, it will be closed in a little over a month. She really doesn’t want to lose her place to work, because it is one of the small things that still make her happy. She is a dreamer and she won’t ever settle. It is why she broke up with her now ex-boyfriend. Things with him were boring. They ate the same thing every week and always had sex in the same position. Even though, she never has been the rebel, her dream man is one of those bad boys with a golden heart she likes to read about. When she finds Ash Black under her desk, she thinks that dreams must come true.

Ash and Ana both have found what they were looking for. Ash found his ticket to image restoration and Ana found her bad boy to rebel. The way Ash pitched his proposal to Ana was rather harsh, but she is complete blindsided when it comes to Ash and accepts his proposition. She gets weak in the knees and can’t find her words when she is in the same breathing space as Ash. I get it. He is a famous rockstar and she has listened to his music since forever, but I wanted to see her grow some backbone. She let him walk all over her in the beginning. Luckily, she grows stronger later on. Volume One ends in a cliffhanger. You get to wonder what will happen to Ash and Ana when they are thrown into his world.

But the warmth of her lips, her yielding softness, the slight, suggestive curve of her lower back, Anika mesmerized me.

I liked the premise of the story and thought it was original. But, at times things went a little bit too fast for me, which took away from the credibility of the story. Look, I get instant attraction. I actually like reading about it. What I think is implausible was that Ana didn’t know what to say every time Ash was near her. It was also weird how he immediately touched her, like they were acquainted for months and the things he said to her irritated me. If a man would act this way towards me at our first and second meeting, I would just walk away. It would be a complete let-down. So maybe Ana’s reaction to the things Ash said and did was what rubbed me the wrong way.

At first, I had a problem with connecting with both characters. In the first book, I thought Ash was an idiot. Though, gradually his character got more depth, thanks to the back story with his family. But the way he treated Ana just wasn’t okay for me. In Volume Two I felt more sympathy for him. Probably because that’s when he develops real feelings for Ana, causing his behavior towards Ana to change and him growing into a genuine person.

Another thing that was not my taste was the amount of sex scenes. I am not one to be daunted by dirty in a book, but for me it was just a little bit too much. I think it would have been better if some scenes were omitted or would be faded to black. It was especially the case in the first book. In the continuation, the dirty was often swapped for very cute and romantic scenes. Such as Ash and Ana’s trip to Paris. Those moments made me feel for Ana and Ash, because they became a real couple. And you could see that Ash got more doubts about the life he was living. The fame, notoriety and paparazzi. He realized that his life didn’t give him enough satisfaction anymore.

I didn’t like thinking about that side of it, the fake façade on all of this. I wanted to stay right here in the dark with her, where I knew it was real.

I absolutely loved how Volume One started. The story takes off with a panty-melting hot scene between Ash and Ana. I thought it was very bold of Callie Harper to start with that, but it was a success for me. It was an erotic scene which made me fawn myself a couple of times. It enticed me for what was to come as it is a scene that is set a month from when the actual story commenced. It was a teaser and it teased me all right. I also loved how I just flew through the book. Harper uses a special kind of writing, that almost resembles poetry at times, that just keeps you reading. Once you start, you get addicted and you just can’t stop.

And for an impatient man, always climbing from one peak to the next, seeking the spotlight, center of attention, I had a unique feeling. For once in my life, with Ana sleeping on my chest, I wanted the moment to last.

The first two volumes of Undone are about finding love unexpectedly and reinventing yourself. Realizing that there is more for you to find in this life. I can’t wait to read the last part, the conclusion of Ana and Ash’ story, as the second Volume also ends in a cliffhanger. Will they end together? Or will it end like planned? Ana publicly breaking Ash’ heart. If you are looking for a quick read, a light-hearted romance equipped with sweet moments, steamy scenes and rock music, than Undone Volumes One and Two is undoubtedly something for you.

It was how she made me feel, deep in my chest, when she looked up at me and smiled. When she teased me. When we played music together, her fingers finding the very keys I’d been seeking. It was some kind of magic.

Read an excerpt here!

ABOUT CALLIE HARPER

Callie Harper writes contemporary romances so hot they may melt your ebook. You’ve been warned. She is powered by coffee, wickedly sexy bad boys, and all things funny, intentional or otherwise. She is the author of OFF LIMITS and the BEG FOR IT series. She lives in the gorgeous Bay Area with her family.

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Love,
Michelle