Another new release this week Contractual by Alice Tribue is the story of an unconventional love between a girl forced into the role of an Escort and a guy fed up of girls wanting more.
Synopsis
They told me I’d be an escort; they made it sound so easy.
Really I’m just a high priced call girl.
Desperation brought me to this and it led me to him, my one and only client.
Hating him is easy, he reminds me of my shame.
Wanting him is wrong it fills me with guilt.
Loving him is a losing battle yet it’s become everything.
A gift and a curse, he consumes my every thought and I’d rather play my part in his bed than to spend one day without him.
Review
I was sent this book whilst I was knee deep in dissertation crap – literally, my room is covered in paper. So it was a well welcomed break to spend some time screaming in frustration about the idiotic male I’m reading about as opposed to Excel not formatting my tables properly!
Sage’s life certainly isn’t going to plan. With bills pilling up and the threat of eviction looming over her head she’s in desperate need of money with no one to turn to. With her family back home in Indiana and still angry with her about moving to New York with her now ex-boyfriend and his daughter, she has no one to ask for help. Now living in the apartment she once shared with her ex, trying to pay the rent she used to share is proving difficult – especially with her crappy job.
Searching for another job hasn’t been easy so when she spots an ad for a masseuse job she calls for an interview thinking she can use the small amount of training she did in the past to get the job and work there until something better comes along. But at the interview she soon learns that it isn’t a luxury day spa but in fact a VIP escort service for men who either don’t have the time or the patience to find a women to take care of his needs. She quickly gets away but takes the business card offered if she changes her mind.
Determined to never lower herself to that level Sage continues her search but when she loses her current job and has to resort to stealing hotel buffet food and using café Wi-Fi to job search that business card is looking pretty tempting. With no other options Sage accepts the job, comforted by the fact she’ll only ever be with one man until he no longer requires the service – she can almost pretend she’s having a casual affair with the guy…except he’s paying her.
Jackson Stone is a man who always gets his way. With little time for anything apart from his business empire he only ever wants a woman for one thing but they never seem to understand the word ‘casual’ or ‘no-strings’ and are always asking for more. Sick of dealing with women who can’t understand ‘No’ he turns to his friend Victoria who runs a VIP escort service asking for one of her girls…someone different to his normal tastes, someone who can give him what he wants.
When Sage turns up to his hotel room introducing herself as Meadow, looking like she wants to be anywhere but there he soon catches on to the fact that this is new to her. Not wanting to deal with her emotional needs he’s quick to turn her away but Sage, determined get this money and fix her life, won’t take no for answer.
After a horrible night Sage returns home feeling sick to her stomach at what she’s become but at least he’ll never know her identity with Victoria’s no-real-name rule and she’ll only ever have to be with Jackson – even if he is a dick.
They continue to see one another, constantly going head-to-head in power struggles – Sage telling him no and pushing him away but Jackson always ready to throw her contract in her face and remind her of her place.
But as time passes and they get to know each other their relationship becomes about much more than sex and a contract. The time they spend together starts to feel more and more intimate and a relationship starts to form – despite both of their concerns.
When they decide to give it a go and be with one another because they want to be, not because of a contract, things seem to be going well but when Jackson makes a false assumption and Sage runs, will he be able to get her back when he realises what he’s done?
I have to say that Jackson Stone isn’t an easy character to like, in the beginning at least. The way he treats Sage and constantly throws the fact she’s basically a whore in her face the whole time isn’t nice and you can’t help but feel for Sage when he’s stood their belittling her. But by the end of the book you kind of understand why he did it and in a twisted kind of way you do end up loving him too – especially his alpha, protective streak over Sage.
What I really liked about this book was the ending. As opposed to it just being left with a chapter of epilogue that tells you what happens quite quickly, you instead get a few chapters set in the future that show where the characters are now and how they’ve grown – yay!
An unconventional love story between a guy who doesn’t want to let in someone else who could leave him and a girl whose frightened that she will never be good enough for anyone’s love after a lifetime of being told she’s worthless.
Contractual is one HOT read with a reluctant escort and a man used to getting his way – sparks will fly, power struggles will ensue but at the end of the day will they both come out on top?
Read Contractual for yourself here…
with her husband and daughter in New Jersey. She has a bachelors degree in communications and is currently working on her masters degree. She spends most of her free time reading, writing, and when the weather permits lounging out on a beach.
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