Astrid - The Bookish Sweet Tooth's Reviews > Bad for You

✭ ✭ ✭ 5 STARS ✭ ✭ ✭




Review @ Vanilla & Spice Books


I would like to say that I haven't read a book with such a tragic hero in a long time but that would be lying. I have. But what I can say is that I haven't cried because of one in a while.

When I met the taciturn cook of Whitecaps known as Stitch in Four Letter Word and Hit The Spot I knew there would be story. If you read those books you know that they weren't extremely heavy on the angst. So I didn't expect that I would be grieving for the hero a good portion of BAD FOR YOU.

Right from the Prologue you know that Sean didn't have a good childhood. Scratch that. His childhood was basically non-existent, his father pulled a disappearing act, leaving his very young son dealing with his drug addict mother. Sean went to bed with an empty stomach, never had enough to eat, his clothes were worn to a point it was a miracle they weren't falling off his body. So he started stealing. Which eventually would get him in trouble. The kind that lands you in prison. The owner of Whitecaps, Nate (I've been salivating for his story!) takes a chance on him and is the first person who shows him kindness in a long time.

If you've read the first two in this series you know that Shayla has been crushing on Sean. She is the exact opposite of Sean, open, friendly and loves chatting his ear off...until he pushes her away. And this is where we are now - Shayla and Sean not talking. Of course this changes soon since Shayla is in a bit of a pickle and Sean helps her out. Hold on to someone because this is where it starts to get heartbreaking.

You need to quit lookin’ at me like I’m worth lookin’ at. I’m not. I’m nobody. I’m nothin’ to nobody. A fuckin’ fuckup. Tell me to leave.”
He rushed out a breath. His eyes lost focus on the floor between us, then he whispered this time— he pleaded, “Tell me to leave, Shayla. Tell me I’m nothin’, so I can leave.”

Sean doesn't see his worth. All the good he does, he doesn't realize what a good man he is. A man who has never had much love in his life. I was a blubbering mess every time he broke down, every time his nightmares tore him apart and every time he felt he didn't deserve good in his life. Shayla's selfless love, her fierce support and spirit slowly, slowly change the image he has of himself. Gah. I grieved for the child, the teenager and the young man. He was so confused when people were kind to him.

A hero like Sean needs a heroine who can take that grief for and with him. Somebody who is observant and gives him what he needs to heal. Shayla is all that, she is sweet, endearing and loyal to the core and perfect for him with her compassionate heart and fiery and protective personality. She shows Sean even in the toughest moments that she has his back, front, flanks and center. With her sunny disposition he starts to smile, every day a little bit more.

“I still hear her telling me I’m nothin’, but I hear you, and you’re fuckin’ loud. I don’t know what I deserve anymore. I got my girls. I keep catchin’ breaks. I don’t fuckin’ get it. I just know I don’t wanna be nothin’.”
Tears filled his eyes again. “I’m so fuckin’ sick of bein’ nothin’, Shayla.”

This story is a super slow burn romance and I'm not complaining at all. Shayla and Sean are friends for more than half of the book and while I was eager to get to the romance part of the story I understood that she needed to establish trust before anything could happen. Sean is a bit like a deer in headlights when it comes to intimacy. Hugs are for him almost unbearable because he doesn't feel like he is lovable. So to me it was a natural development that they built on that friendship.

I watched as she wet her lips, knowing I wasn’t good enough to be watching her do that either, but I didn’t care. That was the problem. Right now, I just did not fucking care. Fuck it. Fuck it all. Sliding my hand to the back of her head, I slammed my mouth down on hers. And finally, finally, I got that taste.

I was happy to catch up with Tori and Jamie, Syd and Brian. The way they welcomed Sean into their fold, sharing their Sunday dinners with him and making him feel a part of the family was sweeter than candy. Now the anticipation begins for Nate and Jenna's story. Nate is a widower and single-dad. Pretty sure this will be just as heartbreaking.

Bad For You is a tearjerker. It will have your stomach in knots and your throat clogging up. I am a little sad to let these two go but happy that Sean and Shayla are in a happy place - he really deserves it.  After all the angst I need a hug. Or a drink. Or both. Hello book hangover.

“I wanna be yours,” I panted, watching her eyes dilate and blink wider as she took in what I was saying.
“You at my back, stickin’ up for me, and there when I’m fuckin’ terrified… I wanna go to you and I want you tellin’ me I can. I wanna be yours, Shayla.”