Review: Clutch (Custom Culture #2) by Tess Oliver

Synopsis: When Taylor Flinn’s parents shipped her off to an aunt for her last year of high school, James “Clutch” Mason had convinced himself it was for the best. Taylor, the wild, impulsive and far-too-appealing seventeen-year-old had been driving him nuts. Her school girl crush on him had been the last thing he needed. Now he had time to concentrate on his booming classic car part business, his new found love-- drag racing, and keeping his twenty-year-old brother Barrett out of trouble.

But when Taylor returns from her aunt’s more grown up, utterly seductive, and attached to another guy, Clutch realizes that the only thing he ever needed or wanted was Taylor Flinn.

4 Stars

Review: I really wanted to like this story more than I did. From the first book, I really loved these guys - Clutch, Nix and Dray, and now, we also get Clutch's brother, Barrett. I still like the guys - they have a tight knit group, and they keep their friendships, even as each of them is falling in love and finding a girl. I knew from the first book that Clutch's story would include Taylor, an 18 year old, still in high school girl that has been following him around for two years. As far as I can tell, these guys are in their mid-20's, and I certainly do get the appeal of an 18 year old girl to a 20 something guy, but Taylor was just really immature. 

Don't get me wrong - I like Taylor. She is spunky, wild and crazy, but she is also crying out for her parents to accept her the way that she is, rather than try to make her the way that they are. Her older brother is the same way and continues to try to make her act a certain way. Meanwhile, her family also seems to have a problem with her crush on Clutch, and they've tried everything to keep her away from him, even sending her to live with an aunt in a different state for a few months. This part of the story didn't quite make a lot of sense to me because Taylor's older brother, Jason, seems to think of and accept Clutch not only as his business partner, but also his best friend, and yet, both he and his parents also don't find Clutch to be the right kind of person - the whole "other side of the tracks" argument. I guess it just didn't feel consistent, especially for Jason, the brother. I get why the parents might say one thing and act out another, but the Jason part didn't seem as tightly thought out. 

And finally, Clutch does seem to admit to himself and others that he likes Taylor, but then she starts acting like...you guessed it...an 18 year old girl throwing a tantrum. I really couldn't see why he felt a connection to her at that point, but he did. By the end of the book, she seems to slowly be settling down, but I am definitely interested in seeing if their relationship makes it. These guys have a gift for screwing up but their ladies seem to love them anyway. I can't wait to check out Dray and Cassie's story next. 

Jessica

Review: Freefall (Custom Culture #1) by Tess Oliver

Synopsis: After leaving high school, with a hard won diploma and the title of most likely to break hearts, Alexander "Nix" Pierce has left his wild, out of control years mostly behind him. A small inheritance from his grandfather has given him the funds to open up his tattoo shop, Freefall, and he has started to pull his life together. Aside from trying to keep his best friend, Dray, from killing himself in the fight ring, and his slight obsession with a pin-up model he's never met, Nix's life is going smoothly . . . until Scotlyn James, the object of his obsession, walks into his shop.

Ever since a tragic accident killed her family and left her alone in the world, Scotlyn James hasn't spoken one word. Up until now she didn't care that she had no way of talking to people. Her awful aunt would never have listened, and Lincoln Hammond the arrogant, selfish man who pulled her from the streets of Los Angeles wouldn't hear her words if she could speak. But when Lincoln insists she get a tattoo to cover up a scar on her side, Scotlyn meets the artist, Nix Pierce. And now she longs for her voice. Now she has found someone who will hear her.

4 Stars!

Review: Scotlyn has experienced a lot in her life. She lost her entire family in a horrific accident when she was a teenager, and she was then sent to live with a very harsh aunt, whom she ran away from after a year. She then spent some time being homeless, and that is where Lincoln comes in. Lincoln saved Scotlyn from that life and brought her into his world of privilege. He is very controlling and seems somewhat older than her, but he did take care of her for several years. When we enter the picture, Scotlyn is very unhappy with Lincoln, his lifestyle, his treatment of her, and just of life, in general. She meets Nix when Lincoln takes her to get a tattoo to cover up a scar that she has.

For Nix, he has been looking for Scotlyn for about a year, as he came across her picture from a one time ad that she did. He immediately hears everything that Scotlyn isn't able to say, and they have a great connection. I kept getting caught up in their story, and, despite a few grammatical errors, I really did enjoy the read. I think one of the main things about this storyline that I like are the guys involved. Not only Nix, but Dray and Clutch, as well - they just seem to have this great connection, and they stay close no matter what life throws at them. They also each have a lot of crap going on in each of their lives, and they don't try to fix each other - they just continue to be their for one another. It was nice to read a book about a close group of guy friends, and also get to see Nix, the main guy in this book, fight for a girl that he believes in. 

Lincoln turns out to be into a lot of darker things than it seemed, at first, and I think that more could have been done with his character, as he seems like the type that got sucked into darkness by his greed. He seemed to teeter on the fence of actually caring about Scotlyn and then just using her as a possession. I couldn't quite get a read on him, except for him being "the bad guy". I think my biggest suggestion would just be to flesh out the characters a little more. I could definitely read a little more about each, as I did enjoy the story. I can't wait to read Clutch's story next. 

Jessica