Virtuous by Marie Force

You know, if I didn’t dislike New York City so much, I’d actually consider moving there. It seems there are billionaires and movie stars walking all over the place just looking for a normal girl-next-door like me! Yeah…not gonna happen.

What’s it about? 

After surviving a traumatic event at age fifteen and the ensuing estrangement from her family, Natalie Bryant has worked for years to reinvent herself into the woman she is today—a happy teacher fresh out of college and enjoying her first winter in New York City with her faithful dog, Fluff, by her side. Natalie isn’t expecting her life to change completely during a routine stroll through Greenwich Village on a blustery January day. But when Fluff breaks loose and charges into a park, Natalie gives chase and crashes into her destiny. Only after Fluff bites and draws blood from the man who accidentally knocked Natalie down does she realize Fluff has bitten the biggest movie star in the world.

He has no business being enthralled by the gorgeous, young, innocent teacher…Natalie captivates Flynn Godfrey from the first moment their eyes meet while she is lying on the ground and he’s fighting off her ferocious little beast of a dog. The only thing Flynn knows for certain is if he lets Natalie get away, he’ll regret it for the rest of his life. After only a short time in her presence, Flynn is prepared to change who he is to be what she needs. He knows he’s in big trouble when she says she won’t sleep with him and he doesn’t care if it means he gets to keep her in his life. But can he turn his back on the lifestyle that has defined him? Can he deny the desires that drive him to give Natalie the introduction to love and romance she so deserves? And most of all, can he keep his truth hidden from her long enough to have forever with her?

First Impressions

The premise of this novel is, for lack of a better word, pretty…ridiculous. Natalie literally runs into Flynn while he is shooting a movie. Like, she runs around a corner and bumps into him. Such an adorable meet cute, you’d think you were watching a Hallmark movie. He’s immediately entranced by her presence, they go on a few dates, and manage to fall in love in the span of one week. See what I mean? It’s not every day you bump into a movie star, and fall madly in love. Kind of out there.

Secretive Secret Keepers

Although these two characters feel a deep connection with each other, they are both hiding some pretty big secrets. For Natalie, it relates to her past. She was brutally raped at the age of 15. For Flynn, he’s hiding his BDSM lifestyle from her. What really, really bothered me though was that he continually pushed Natalie to trust him, and she took a huge step by revealing to him that she was raped as a teenager. However, he doesn’t even hint at the fact that his own sexual desires might be what some consider to be out of the ordinary.

I couldn’t help but feel that he was a bit hypocritical to insist that she reveal such an important part of her past without reciprocating by opening up himself. I mean, this woman has vowed for the last three years that she won’t have sex until she’s married, and with his talents of persuasion, and a bit of alcohol, he manages to wear down her defenses in a matter of days. She is literally all in. He doesn’t necessarily have to act out his BDSM tendencies with her, but he could at least admit that he has them.

*A copy of this book was provided for an honest review*

Series: Quantum, book 1. Consider yourself warned that this book does end on a cliffhanger.

Should you read it? The premise was pretty far-fetched, but I did admire Natalie for her bravery of sharing the details of her rape with Flynn. I just found it kind of hard to like him by not sharing anything with her in return. He basically demanded she talk about what happened to her, but he kept his own secrets to himself.

Smut Level: There are some elements of BDSM, but what I found to be a rather unique aspect of the story is that all of these elements are reserved to Flynn’s dreams. It’s more about what he wants to do with her rather than what they actually did.

Get it on Amazon: Click Here. $3.99 Kindle Price. HTJB, Inc. 278 Pages.