Release: December 1, 2009

Holly Barrett has lived a hard life. She was never popular, always somewhat of a nerd. She was not noticed until she got pregnant in high school by a guy who didn’t speak to her after she told him about the baby. Little Katy was a blessing, but a few short years later, Holly’s dad died of a heart attack and three days later her mother was crying so hard driving down the road, she lost control and also died. Holly moved into her parents summer home right next to her grandfather, Henry, and things were going… well, just going. That was until she met Jack Dane. Gorgeous, English, need I say more? They have a steamy date but Jack tells her he can’t see her anymore when Holly tells him about 5-year-old Katy. A little trickery goes a long way when Henry asks Jack to go fishing. 6 weeks later and the couple is married and things get fishy. Katy’s father comes back into the picture and questions Jack. There’s just something not right about him. When Henry starts believing and uses Google to find out Jack’s past, it gets messy.

I got this book from Librarything.com. When I got it in the mail, I actually forgot that I’d signed up for it and had to re-read the back cover because I had no idea what it was about. The synopsis reminded me a lot of the J-Lo movie Enough which I absolutely loved. It’s a book that makes you question your judgement. You always hope that the charming guy you fall for isn’t a murderer, but people are sneaky and sometimes, you don’t know until it’s too late.

The book was absolutely amazing. The copy I had was 400+ pages. I started it late Friday and finished it up by Sunday. I just couldn’t get enough. For the first few chapters, it keeps you reading, but once the drama is revealed, it just keeps coming. Even the very last line in the book made my jaw drop.

There were characters you’ll love in this book including Little Katy AKA Chicken. But then there are also characters you’ll start to hate then love like Billy and one that you’ll surely love at the beginning because your heart is pitter pattering then hate by the end.

I was just talking to a co-worker about this book and realized that the one I have is an “uncorrected proof”. I am going to have to track down the final copy and see if any changes were made in the end. For the books sake, I hope not. I loved it the way it is and think Brooke Morgan did an amazing job. I will definitely keep my eye out for her books in the future.

You should know by now, Tainted is getting 5 bookmarks! Go out, find a copy and read it NOW!