Book Review — Dirty: A Dive Bar Novel by Kylie Scott

The last thing he expects to find when he returns to his childhood home is a broken hearted bride in his shower, let alone the drama and chaos that come with her…

• Buy DIRTY (Kindle)
• Buy DIRTY (Paperback)

Sometimes you just need a book that’ll make you laugh, swoon, and escape away into a fun romance and Dirty was exactly that! With Kylie Scott’s signature light-hearted style, this book was the perfect pick-me-up after a long week!

I first fell in love with Kylie Scott’s writing with her Stage Dive series (rock star romances) so when I heard about her new series, I couldn’t resist diving right in (hehe, no pun intended)! Dive Bar is a new series of standalones and this first book is about a heroine named Lydia who was all set to marry her fiance but found her blissfully happy world unpleasantly and irreversibly overturned on her wedding day by an anonymous video sent to her phone of her seemingly devoted, soon-to-be husband getting hot and heavy with his best man of all people. Not only hurt by his betrayal but also humiliated by his lies, she did the only thing she could at that moment… She ran away from her wedding. Literally. Out the door, across the yard, (rather ungracefully) over the 6-foot fence, into the unknown neighbor’s house where she miserably settled in his bathtub to process exactly how thoroughly her life was ruined.

The house did seem empty when she arrived so imagine her surprise when a guy came into the bathroom on the other side of the curtain and proceeded to use the facilities…

Then the shower curtain flew back.
“Shit!” The man was very tall, very naked, and very surprised. He stumbled back a step a hand clutching at the bench behind him, eyes furious and wide. “What the hell?”
Good question. I opened my mouth, closed it. Language skills had apparently abandoned me. In total silence, the man and I stared at each other.
Even with no clothing to take cues from, the dude was clearly the epitome of cool. He looked about my age, or maybe a little older. He had longish red-blond hair, dark blue eyes set in an angular face, a lean but muscular torso covered in tattoos, and a rather large cock. Not that I meant to check him out, it’s just kind of hard to ignore a penis and scrotum when they’re dangling right in front of your face. I tilted my head, trying to get some perspective. Every viewpoint, however, was equally shocking. There was dick as far as the eye could see.

*snort* Teehee!!

Anyways, after recovering from the surprise of finding a jilted bride in his bathtub, Vaughan did his best to restore her faith in men by showing her that they weren’t all lying, cheating dickbags who (her words) should just be sent to colonize the moon. And over the course of the book, a friendship grew between them which, ultimately lead to a passionate relationship.

Lydia certaily wasn’t looking for a new relationship, and with the crossroads he was facing in his own life, neither was Vaughan, but their hearts had other plans… and this is their story of unexpected love.

I laughed so much at their banter! Especially with the way they didn’t immediately fall into a relationship, they kind of rode that line between friends and lovers for a while leading to all kinds of fun times. Like the way he soothed her angry soul after her failed wedding…

“Babe?”
“That’s not my name,” I said, mouth on automatic pilot.
“Whatever. You’re looking bit homicidal over there. Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Figuring out the best method for separating him from his manhood.”
He winced.
“Can you blame me?”

“Babe, calm down,” he whispered in my ear.
“Let me go.”
“Don’t think that’s a good idea. You wanted to stay out of jail, remember?”
“I want to kill him more,” I panted. “Much, much more.”
“No, you’re a nice girl. You follow the rules.”
“Fuck nice. I want to dance on his grave!”

Vaughan’s sister was another highlight of the book. Her character was so down-to-earth, accepting, and downright hilarious. I loved her!

“I have to go meet Vaughan.”
“Speaking of which.” She delicately scrunched up her nose, eyes alight with mischief. “Can you please use more concealer on the hickeys next time? Either that, or ask my bro to stop using you as his chew toy. You’re bringing down the class of the place with your kinky sex play. It’s not okay. We’re a serious, well-respected establishment.”

Admittedly, Vaughan and Lydia’s relationship did develop rather quickly but a) I actually do believe that when you meet the right person, you just know and b) this is fiction — it’s fun entertainment for us to escape into and, truth be told, I was totally entertained by this book, so I’m not going to nitpick on the realities of their situation.

All in all, this was a really easy read. I finished it in one sitting and pretty much smiled and swooned my way through the whole thing. This is the book equivalent of watching a romantic comedy. Sometimes it’s exactly what you need at the end of a long week. If you’re looking for something light-hearted, sexy, and funny, definitely try this! 🙂

Rating: 4 — 4.5 stars. Standalone romance/romantic comedy.

• Buy DIRTY (Kindle)
• Buy DIRTY (Paperback)

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Series of standalones.