You know I'm a judger of book covers and so when I saw this cover I was like... no. But then.. the story kind of pulled at me and I decided I would do it because I had time and who doesn't love a book? So I did and I have to say, I kind of loved it.
Humanizing the Jaguar - Monica Daddio
How do you tame the untamable? Bryan Wharton has been through more than any child should bear, leaving him emotionally scarred. When his new family proves to him that love and encouragement do exist, Bryan pursues his only dream. With the friendship and support of a few boys from school, they succeed in making their wild fantasies of becoming rock stars a reality. Through their hard work they rise to fame, while Bryan’s confident, cocky attitude generates animosity within the group. After a particularly grueling ordeal, he meets a young woman who captivates him in ways like no one else ever has. Donna’s ignorance over who he really is and her genuine concern during their fleeting time together allows him to freely open up to her. The two form a bond, becoming oddly entwined. After getting back to what Bryan knows best, he realizes he needs to devise a way for Donna to be near him for what he believes is his own selfishness. Donna was ready for an adventure knowing she’d become the envy of young women worldwide and was hoping that this could lead to more. What does this mean for the two-friendship, love or?
I have to be honest, the first two chapters of this book are pretty damn harrowing. It starts off with Bryan living in a horribly abusive home and the subsequent death of his mother which then lands him in a string of foster homes before finding a family that he fits into. It's horribly sad and then to see him grow up obviously carrying these emotional scars well into adulthood and not even really noticing it is equally sad.
I really loved the story as a whole and I thoroughly enjoyed it, finished it in a day. Some critiques is that some of the dialogue? Isn't natural. After reading a string of books with bizarre dialogue I'm starting to think maybe dialogue is actually really difficult to write after all. I mean, I would assume a hard rock singer would say "don't" instead of "do not" and things like that. Is that picky? Probably, but it kind of drove me nuts, but not enough to not read the story.
Also, can I just say if I were walking down an alley I would absolutely never, ever pick up a guy laying there who clearly had the shit kicked out of him? Sure, I might call 911 or something but no way would I offer to take him home yet Donna does because she is a romance novel junkie and a good citizen. And that's the catalyst to this really unlikely pairing of Bryan and Donna though it doesn't look like it'll head that way.
Another thing that is still concerning even at the end of the book is Bryan's anger. I seriously kept thinking, "how does his anger not freak Donna out?" Because I have to tell you, I would be like oh hell no, jerk. I am curious though if there is going to be a sequel because of the whole anger issue still being very present but also because how the book ends. And considering there isn't an epilogue like "Two Years Later" or something, what happens to Donna and Bryan? Surely it isn't all love and roses, so that makes me think there should be at least one, preferably two, follow up books.
Overall, I'm going to say I liked this book and I would absolutely read another story by Monica and most definitely any follow up for this book. Keep up with Monica at her website HERE.
Review done for Pump Up Your Book
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