3.5 SHOOT AWAY STARS ★★★☆
"After everything that's happened, you make me feel alive, like the last four years don't have to be what the rest of my life looks like."
This is going to be quite a tricky review to write because while I enjoyed this read, there was quite some things that I struggled with while reading.
Behind His Lens tells the story of Charley, a young model who is not your typical bitchy, Barbie-like model. She's more of a girl-next-door type; humble, shy and completely likeable. But beneath that facade lies a young woman fighting with demons from her past & unwilling for anyone to get too close to her. Not until Jude came along.
Then in comes the sexy blue-eyed photographer, Jude. He doesn't date models and harbors a dark past on his own. Staying away from relationships has always kept his demons at bay. But when he first spotted Charley at a club, he knew he couldn't walk away from her.
"She's like a wild horse; I have to slowly coax her away from the isolated life she's made for herself."
When their paths finally collide at a model photoshoot, it was nothing short of burning desires and continuous sexual tension between these two.
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What I enjoyed:
Although it does initially hint at insta-lust, I was quite surprised that it was actually a slow build-up romance. Well yes they were both really attracted to each other at first encounter (hell I don't blame them, I imagined that they are both superbly hot and sexy too. I wouldn't be able to resist!). But there was no immediate "jumping into each other pants" and I enjoyed how it progressed between these two. The sexual tension buildup was rather enjoyable & made it VERY worthwhile when we finally got some real action ;D
I think RS Grey really did a great job in bringing out that wonderful sexual chemistry between these two. It was slow and sensual but also at times, it was great to see these two slowly tearing down each other's walls. And omigosh the entire Hawaiian scene was just so sinfully delicious to read :D :D Yeap Jude has definitely made his way to one of my BBFs for sure teehee ♥
What I struggled with:
While I enjoyed the interaction of both MC's, I found the story to be rather lacking in terms of the characters' development & the depth of the overall plot. I'd like to say that I didn't fully connect with both MC's and also I was disappointed that I didn't experience the emotions that I should have felt when the secrets of the past have been unfurled.
While I was definitely shocked and heartbroken by the revelation of Charley's demons, I would have preferred if it wasn't done so rushed towards the end and probably would have been better if it was done progressively throughout the story. Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if the story spent more time on dealing with her demons, instead of wrapping it all up so quickly at the end. It just didn't come off as very realistic for me.
On the other hand, I expected to hear more on Jude's past but we were only given a glimpse of it in one small part of a chapter. Sadly, that definitely didn't leave much of an emotional impact for me.
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On overall, I would say it was definitely an enjoyable read if you're looking for a sweet, sexy read. There was no OTT drama surprisingly for a story that touches on the modelling industry (which I'm also skeptical of if I think of it realistically lol).
However, the book makes up for some its flaws by having the story well-paced and engaging enough for me to be hooked on from the beginning. Also side characters like Naomi & Bennett made my read more enjoyable :)
Sidenote: Special thanks to my bestie, Penelope for recc'ing me this little enjoyable sexy fun read while I was away on vacation! ♥ FYI Charley & Naomi sorta reminded me of us when I read this part in the book:
Naomi + Charley = Bad Bitches for life (no exceptions, not even on the sad days).
BWAHAHAHA! ♥♥
