Review: Bad Things (#1, Tristan & Danika) by R.K. Lilley - Vilma Iris | Lifestyle Blogger

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Review: Bad Things (#1, Tristan & Danika) by R.K. Lilley

My Thoughts

Scorching. Sizzling. Super sexy with explosive chemistry,
gripping drama and lots of raw, in-your-face emotion.
One hot, addictive read!

4halfstars

Synopsis

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Danika hasn’t had an easy life. Being insanely attracted to bad boys has never helped make it easier.

One look at Tristan, and every brain cell she possessed went up in smoke. This man was trouble with a capital T. It was a given. She knew better. Bad boys were bad. Especially for her. Considering her history, it was crazy to think otherwise. So why did crazy have to feel so damn fine?

For as long as she could remember, Danika had been focused on the future with single-minded purpose. Tristan came along and taught her everything there was to know about letting go, and living in the present. She fell, hard and deep. Of course, that only made her impact with the ground that much more devastating.

Bad Things is about Tristan and Danika, and their train wreck of a love story. This series can be read as a standalone, or with the Up in the Air series.

My Review

“I knew trouble when I saw it, it being a very old friend of mine. Trouble for me was this nasty little self-destructive streak that I’d never quite been able to shake.”

Wow! This is actually my first R.K. Lilley book, I haven’t yet had the chance to read the much-talked-about Up In The Air series and now I really can’t wait because this book exceeded my expectations. This is the story of Tristan and Danika… and once these two meet, their chemistry is immediate and off the charts. But Danika knows that Tristan is TROUBLE and is determined to stay away. He was just the type of bad boy she had fallen for before, which made the situation dangerous.

“Bad things were going to happen if we spent too much time around each other.”

Like a moth to a flame, however, Danika can’t seem to keep her resolve with Tristan, who turns out to not only be gorgeous, but also flirty, charming and a whole lot of fun. Dark, tattooed and immensely intense, Tristan is irresistible. He’s a bar promoter and lead singer in a rock band. He’s extremely popular and well-known with the ladies and straight up tells Danika he doesn’t do relationships.

“So what do you do?”

“Hookups. Brief, casual hookups. How about you?”

“I do relationships. No exceptions. Never had a casual hookup in my life.”

“Well I guess that makes things less complicated. We’ll be friends, then.”

They make a pact to keep things platonic, because they get along so well. I found their relationship quite interesting because in a way, they are completely different people, but they seem to “fit” perfectly, being exactly what the other needs. Danika is sassy, smart and sarcastic and Tristan is honest, possessive and flirtatious. Their banter was brilliant.

“Always remember that we like each other too much to sleep together, and that sleeping together will ruin EVERYTHING.”

The more time they spend together, the more their pent-up desire just beckons to be released. They’re having a great time, living in the moment, but their chemistry cannot be contained. The desire is palpable, oozing off the page.

“Danika, sweetheart?” he rasped.
“Yes, Tristan?”
“I’m done being sweet, if you don’t mind.
I need to fuck you really hard now, if that’s okay.”

Both Tristan and Danika have had difficult backgrounds. Danika struggles with the outcome of an abusive past which has caused her to have some intimacy issues. She also demands control in every situation because so many times in the past, control was taken away from her. Tristan is so completely there for her, helping her to trust him, to submit to him, to give up some of that unhealthy need to control everything. It’s so evident how much he cares for her, how much he likes her… how much he’s falling for her. And despite Danika trying so hard to keep her feelings locked up, she finds that she’s fallen for him too.

“I had the oh so stupid girl thought that if I could just have Tristan, I’d never need anything else, not ever. I had the crucial and inescapable realization that I wanted him. Not just in bed. Not just as a friend, but all of him. Every piece of the puzzle. I’d never wanted anything so badly in my life.”

Things get so complicated in this book and I felt so much for both of them! Not only are they shaped by their past, but things happen around them and between them that had my heart breaking. These are complicated, flawed characters that make mistakes, especially Tristan. For as good as he is, I wanted to yell at him sometimes. And of course, after every altercation comes the makeup sex to work off the charged emotions.

BD3

Gulp. Double Gulp. *fans self*

The last 20% or so of the book made my heart race and hurt… their relationship is so tumultuous and it is FAR FROM OVER. The book doesn’t end in a cliffhanger, but there is so much more to their story and let me tell you, from the sneak peek we got from the next book, the continuation of Tristan and Danika’s story is going to be brimming with complication and drama. Overall, I just really loved the characters, loved the book, I couldn’t put it down. I anxiously await Rock Bottom to see what’s next for these two complicated, but very much in love individuals.

addtogoodreads

Reading Order and Purchase Links

Click on the cover to purchase from Amazon U.S.

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