Book review: Sex Symbol by Laurelin Paige

Sex Symbol by Laurelin Paige

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆
Links: Amazon • TBD • Goodreads
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
Source: Freebie

Micah Preston is Hollywood’s #1 sex symbol. 

A rich and famous actor who has sworn off any serious relationships, the playboy is the media’s favorite bachelor. 

But he wasn’t anybody when Maddie Bauer met him seven years ago. Then he was just the hot guy at the party who gave her an amazing orgasm and never called her again. 

Now her job as a camera assistant has landed her on the set of his latest movie, and despite her vow to ignore his charm, she finds him pulling her focus. 

She just has to make it through the shoot without landing in his bed. But when the legendary bad boy sets his sights on her, how can she possibly resist? 

The book was previously published under the title Take Two. 

Well, here we are again. Another one-star review of a book that seemingly everybody loves. I have a lot of thoughts about this book, but I’m going to keep it short because (1) I’m tired, and (2) I don’t want to give this book much more of my time and effort than I already have.

To start, I just want to mention that it took me THREE WEEKS to read the 324 pages of this book. THREE WEEKS. I should have taken it as a sign. I should have DNFed. I say this all the time. When will I learn?

Now I just want to mention that I feel like most of my negative feelings toward this book stem from a moral opposition to something Micah does about halfway through. I don’t want to get into spoilers, but he does something that I would consider unforgivable — he throws a temper tantrum and ends up almost causing Maddie to lose her job. That is not something a love interest should do, and that’s not something a heroine should forgive. I was done at that point, but I kept up with the book in case it got better. (It didn’t.)

Another thing I want to mention is how overly dramatic this book is. Micah creates these dramatic situations on his own and then complains about them, as if he had nothing to do with it. “Oh, I wish I knew things about Maddie,” he thinks to himself as he sits there literally refusing to have a conversation with her. Also, how many times can one book use the “overhearing something you shouldn’t” cliche? Maddie’s poor heart gets broken about eighteen thousand times in this book when she overhears a conversation she wasn’t meant to hear. Honestly, I’m just annoyed. Some more creative writing would have been appreciated. Surely there are other ways to create conflict.

I think that the only other thing I want to talk about is the descriptions. I know, I know, there’s a fine line between sexy and cringey when it comes to romance writing. But when I read things like “his love muscle,” “her hand on his privates,” or “her southern region,” I cringe. I cringe really hard. And it’s hard to enjoy a romance novel when you’re cringing, okay?

I’ll end this review with the two quotes that made me cringe the hardest:

• “Maddie, I want you to come,” he growled. She arched and released at his request. “Ah, I’m coming!”
• “It’s our one week sexiversary.”

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Have you read Sex Symbol? What’s your favorite Hollywood romance?
Let’s talk in the comments!