Steph'sBookRamblings: Sugar Daddy by Sawyer Bennett

Summary from Author:

Sela Halstead lost her innocence in a way that no sixteen-year-old should ever have to endure. She’s spent years trying to forget that night even while wondering about the identities of the monsters who brutalized her—until a telltale tattoo flashes across Sela’s TV screen. The incriminating ink belongs to Jonathon Townsend, the millionaire founder of The Sugar Bowl, a website that matches rich older men with impressionable young women. Obsessed with revenge, Sela infiltrates Townsend’s world, only to come face-to-face with a tantalizing complication: Beckett North, his charismatic business partner.

The tech mastermind behind The Sugar Bowl, Beck always gets what he wants, in business and in bed. And yet, for a man who’s done every dirty thing imaginable, there’s something about the naïve, fresh-faced Sela that sparks his hottest fantasies. Because with her, it’s not just about sex. Beck opens up to her in ways he never has with other girls. So why does he get the feeling that she’s hiding something? In a world of pleasure and power, the shocking truth could turn them against each other—or bind them forever.

My Thoughts:

At the tender age of sixteen Sela lost her virginity when she was drugged and raped at a college party. She assumed she was damaged beyond repair and would never be able to have a normal, loving relationship with a man. Now at twenty-six she simply exists with only random, meaningless relationships in her life.

Suddenly while watching t.v. Sela sees one of her rapists (JT), the only one whose face she saw, and she becomes hell bent on exacting revenge. After a failed attempt to attract his attention at dating sites couples mixer Sela must find a new inside track. She finds it with JT’s business partner, Beckett. Problem is, she starts dating Beck to get inside opportunities at JT and ends up falling for him. Sela is very strong and very determined to get her revenge but when she starts having feelings for Beck she can’t decide if she should continue on with her plan or give it up for a chance at happiness.

I really liked the premise behind this story as it is not one you see very often but some areas of the plot felt rushed to me. Sela went from disturbed rape victim who cannot have a functioning relationship to falling in love very quickly which seemed a little unrealistic to me. I actually thought I knew where this story was going and it did surprise me but taking a slightly different direction with its plot twist.

This ends in a cliffhanger so be prepared to wait for resolution! Book #2, Sugar Rush, will be released in October. I think that this revenge thriller has potential and if you can overlook some minor, slightly unbelievable things you will like it. I will give a warning though that if rape is a trigger for you that you steer clear of this series. No detailed scenes are portrayed in this first book but there is a possibility of it in this series.

3/5 stars*

Book 2 release date: 10/24/16