Book Review — Bad For You by J. Daniels

“You’ll never feel alone again. I promise.”

If you’re a fan of tortured bad boy heroes with hearts of gold who fall head over heels for their one true love, then you are going to absolutely adore this book!!! I read this book in one sitting and loved the story, loved the writing, and loved the romance. This is definitely a new favorite!

He didn’t seem to mind a lot of things, like listening to me talk and talk about anything and everything, putting my problems on him in between waiting tables, my stresses, my fears, needing a person to vent to and him being the only person I ever wanted to vent to because of the way he listened and looked at me.
No one had ever seemed so interested in what I had to say before. Like what I was saying meant everything to them. Like it was a privilege just to listen.

Sean and Shay had a history. They were coworkers who’d grown to be friends. Their chemistry was strong, but when she wanted more, he’d turned her down. Hurt by his rejection, she thought it was over between them before it had even begun. But she couldn’t be more wrong. He’d wanted her just as badly but didn’t think he was worthy.

Treat me like garbage. Be a complete dick to me. That I could understand. But Christ, anything else was confusing as hell.

OMG. For reals. This hero. HE WAS AMAZING!! Brooding, broken, gruff and mysterious, he’d been genuinely soul-crushed by not only his scarring childhood, but also everything that came after. Nobody had ever taught him right from wrong and each time he tried to do the right thing, life beat him down and it had broken his spirit and sense of self worth. He genuinely believed that he was worthy of nothing and no one. He was used to the world showing him no mercy so he didn’t know how to handle it when anyone showed him kindness. Which is where Shay came in.

She murmured, “You never had a chance.”
“What?” I turned back.
Her eyes were glassy.
“You were born into hate. Children are supposed to be born into love. It’s unconditional, and you never had that,” she said. “What chance did you have? There was no one protecting you. It’s a miracle you are who you are.”

When a family emergency suddenly placed her two younger brothers in her care for a couple weeks, it was to her great shock that the person who stepped up to help her was Sean. The same Sean who she’d mistakenly thought didn’t want anything to do with her.

She was literally the most selfless person you can imagine. She was self-sacrificial to a fault and often took blame on her own shoulders that wasn’t warranted, which did annoy me a bit and I wished she’d be a little more selfish honestly — nobody’s that much of a saint! — but her heart was in such a good place. And I loved how she never gave up on her mission to help him heal, find happiness, and feel worth of finding love and having a family.

“You’re a good man,” I blurted out.
It was the first thought that entered my head. It was sometimes the only thought that filled it.
Hearing me, his expression softened.
“You deserve an amazing life,” I continued, my voice gentled. “I feel like everyone sees that but you… Don’t you see how loved you are?”

I loved the way we got to see Sean’s softer side underneath his growly grouchy outward demeanor as he selflessly helped her with her brothers and repeatedly went out of his way to help make her life easier even before he ever dreamed of actually being a romantic part of her life. He’d made mistakes in his past but it was unquestionably clear that he was hell bent on turning a new leaf and making amends. There’s something just absolutely adorable about a grouchy, heart-broken, sexy, strong, tattooed bad boy. And my favorite thing about him was how considerate and aware he was of everything going on with her life. I promise it’s impossible not to fall in love with him.

He lifted his chin in greeting. “Your coffee sucks.”
“Uh, thanks.” I made a mental note about Sean disliking coconut-mocha coffee. Not sure why, but I did. “What are you doing here?”
“Saw on the calendar they had stuff goin’ on this mornin’,” he began, glancing at my brothers. “Figured you’d have trouble doin’ both, so I’m here.”
“You’re helping me out again?”
“It ain’t a big deal.”
I stood a little taller, staring back at him and disbelieving the words he’d just uttered, even though I’d heard them loud and clear.
He was helping me out again.
Sean had taken the time to glance over that calendar yesterday when I was merely pointing out a day’s worth of activities, and after doing so, came to the conclusion he’d help without me asking, knowing his help would make my life easier.
He was right. This wasn’t a big deal. This was a huge deal.

And seriously THE FREAKING FEEEEEEEEELS!!!! I don’t want to go into too much detail but there are little kids involved in this story just… just… holy feels!!!! Pure sweetness!!!

There were a few moments like I said where I felt that the heroine was too self-deprecating, but in general I really loved them as a couple. There are some really freaking GOOD people in this book. And if one of them stumbled, the others helped picked them up and had their back. That kind of support was just so heart-warming to read about because nobody is perfect and sometimes you just need someone else’s help to deal with life.

“You’ll never feel alone again. I promise.”

The story is told in alternating POVs and first person. It can be read as a complete standalone, but it is also interconnected with the 2 previous Dirty Deeds standalones (see below). I’ve read them all and enjoyed them all. However, you absolutely can read this book alone without the others and you won’t be confused at all.

All in all this was a fantastic read!! It’s certainly a new favorite and a very well-written book I’d highly recommend to fans of sexy romance with lots of feels and sweetness!!

Rating: 4.5 stars. Contemporary Adult Romance, can standalone.

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Series of standalones.