Long and Shortt LASR
Alfie is unapologetic in his possessiveness of Sophia. While they might not be dating – indeed, she isn’t even aware that he’s addicted to watching her – Alfie knows beyond a doubt this woman belongs body and soul to him. He just needs to show that to her. After a year of protecting her from afar Alfie is finally ready to make his move. Can he convince Sophia that he’s everything she needs? I had to laugh in a number of places throughout this story. The warning about Alfie being slightly stalkerish is a truthful one – he’s put his nose into her medical records, hacked her home computer, made a deal with her boss to get her a better raise, Alfie is absolutely an all-or-nothing kind of guy. But I have to be honest, while he’s definitely “overbearing alpha hero” in abundance, I personally found the manner with which his character was written was light-hearted and almost tongue-in-cheek. Would I want a guy in my life doing almost any of these things? Hell no. Do I think someone who truly is a stalker or this much of a control-freak is a good thing? Definitely not. I can see for many people this wouldn’t be a joke – and readers should absolutely keep this in mind before purchasing the book. But I personally felt it was written really well – light and not in a controlling/abusive or horrible way – and the author made it abundantly clear beneath this veneer Alfie truly did love Sophie and want only the best for her. This is what shone through for me and along with the lighthearted – almost humorous – method of portraying it, made it quite palatable for me. When they finally meet, Alfie knows he needs to move slowly. I enjoyed watching Alfie and Sophie’s characters interact and follow along as things moved both according to Alfie’s plan – and not according to his plans too. I felt the best part was the slow burn building between them. Particularly since Sophie had no idea just how thoroughly Alfie already knew her, I would have found it too unrealistic had she simply taken one look into his eyes and dropped her pants – Sophie just isn’t that sort of character. But watching them get closer – watching Alfie having to wait and maneuver delicately – was fun and helped show me just how well these two could finally work together as a romantic couple. The fact it was a slow-burn and not a crazy, red-hot insta-love really helped sell the relationship – and thus the whole story – to me. I really liked this and feel it was exceptionally well handled by the author. The sex was hot and steamy and sure to appeal to readers who like their sex explicit and just a very little bit dirty. Alfie has lusted after Sophie for so long when they finally manage to consummate their relationship he can’t hold himself back any longer. Readers should pay strong attention to the stalkerish/controlling hero warning but I’m personally pleased I gave this story a shot. I found it to be a fun, loving and interesting story that because of the characters read as quite fresh and different to me. I enjoyed Alfie and Sophia’s characters and was thrilled to see Alfie finally get his woman.
