White

I may have stole words of my title from the freaking awesome song Colors by Halsey, no regrets. That is neither here nor there. What is here is White! T.L. Smith has written another book in conjunction with the Black series following Jake. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I had to take a few moments to get used to the scene that was set up, but once I was in the story, it was hard for me to be pulled out of it.

With both Black and Red, Smith is able to write in a way that leans on the poetics. White is a contrast of those two points of view for me, and I appreciate the refreshing bluntness that is Jake, but also miss those quiet moments of beauty woven within the words. Regardless, this woman can write and create a beautiful picture painted with blood. That takes skill!

I did not expect to laugh as much as I did in this book. Addy was a charming character and again, contrasting from Rose. I think that Jake really needed someone who was that hard contrast to Rose to realize that that is not the kind of love that he really did need in his life. Their relationship moved at a strange pace for me. And when Addy suggested writing letters, it also added another element that befuddled me in a way. I understand each of them wanting their space, but I felt like that element of handwritten letters was just placed there for nostalgic reasons in what happens in a hand written letter.

The life of Jake and what he does was extremely glazed over. If this was the first book I picked up in the series, I would probably feel lost. I think if TL Smith could have added that little background information at the beginning during his days filled of booze, it would work well. I know Jake, so it wasn’t completely strange, but I could see how it could be.

The ending was really fast and rushed together with the fight scenes. I was shocked at how fast each scene went from one to another, but I think that it could be reflective of the character Jake. It wrapped up too fast for me. I wanted more of Jake and Addy and to see their relationship continue to blossom with their little bit of kink and lots of vanilla love life.

Overall, I give this a 3.5/5 rating but rounding up to 4 on all reviewing outlets. Well written no doubt, a nice refreshing voice shift, and for all the complainers who want their HEAs, this is it! But I am still left wanting more as with all of TL Smith’s books!

A few spelling errors but such an amazing story, those little things won’t stop me from giving this book a 5-star rating!! Well done!!

Wow. Jake is so much more complex then n the previous books. When these tough guys fall in love….its all or nothing. Loved how Addy accepted him…warts and all. Just wished the ending was…..more.