ARC Review: Taming Dex by Zoey Derrick

“Zoey Derrick had her hands full convincing readers to forgive Dex for his crazy ways and see him as worthy of Raine. Count me super-impressed that she was able to do that and make it authentic.” ~ Under the Covers

I’ve been following each sexy release in the 69 Bottles series and have been eagerly anticipating the next two books which focus on drummer, Dex Harris. Fulfilling a common rocker stereotype, Dex is a self-professed manwhore. He LOVES women and while he’s never one that would be considered abusive, he is happy to hop into a different one each night without much thought. His good looks tend to make this easy for him, but they can’t mask his even darker side, the disease of drug addiction. Dex has fought against his demons for years and is recovering from a particularly bad slip up when Raine Montgomery, assistant to Bold management’s head, is sent to assist 69 Bottles on their tour. Dex has always made Raine a little weak in the knees, but when he shows interest in her, she’s torn between what her body wants and fear of being hurt. Raine is no stranger to betrayal and trauma and she won’t play part time girlfriend to anyone, no matter how tempting. Dex can’t wrap his head around the feelings that Raine stirs up inside him. Whether he can give up his crazy lifestyle and settle with one woman is what remains to be seen.

I can safely say now that Taming Dex, as opposed to the first three, can be read as a standalone, but I personally think that takes a little fun out of it. The time periods of the books overlap, so we relive many events we’ve already experienced, just through different sets of eyes. They’re the backdrop, but not the focus of the book in any way, however, so you wouldn’t be lost in any way if you dove in from this point.

I loved the realness of Dex as a character. The outrageousness of his behavior isn’t sugarcoated. He can be a true asshole, controlled by his little head waayyy more often than his big one. I seriously wanted to smack him a few times for his idiocy. Raine is mature beyond her years and sees through most of the bullshit, but as we all know, the heart will want what it wants. Dex and Raine have a crazy, intense sexual chemistry and have no problems playing in bed. It’s after that they each want to run for the hills, but never at the same time. The push and pull was maddening. Zoey Derrick had her hands full convincing readers to forgive Dex for his crazy ways and see him as worthy of Raine. Count me super-impressed that she was able to do that and make it authentic. The backdrops of NYC and DC were a great addition to this installment for this NY girl. Oh, and the sex…did I mention the sex? There’s some brief M/F/M, but this is not a menage book. The one on one M/F action was seriously hot, with hints that it could get kinkier in the second book for these two (pretty please?). I’m really rooting for these them and want to see how it all plays out in the next book. Zoey Derrick does not disappoint here at all. She’s made me a fan of rocker romance!