The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde - UPDATED REVIEW

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde  Genre : Classics Blurb (on back of book) : Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind. UPDATED REVIEW MY OPINION : ****** I would like to start out this review by stating that this is undoubtedly m
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Flawless - Elsie Silver

Flawless by Elsie Silver
Genre: Romance

Blurb (on back of book): The rules were simple. Keep my hands off his daughter and stay out of trouble.
But now I’m stuck with her. There’s only one bed. And well, rules are made to be broken.
I’m the face of professional bull riding—the golden boy. Or at least I was, until it all blew up in my face. Now my agent says I have to clean up my image, so I’m stuck with his ball-busting daughter for the rest of the season as my “full-time supervision.”
But I don’t need a goddamn babysitter, especially one with skin-tight jeans, a sexy smirk, and a mouth she can’t stop running.
A mouth I can’t stop thinking about.
Because Summer isn’t just another conquest. She sees the man behind the mask, and she doesn’t run—she pulls me closer, even when she shouldn’t.
She says this means nothing.
I say this means everything.
She says there are boundaries we shouldn’t cross. That my reputation can’t take any more hits—and neither can her damaged heart.
I say I’m going to steal it anyway.

MY OPINION: **

Okay, I only read this book because everyone and their mother was obsessed with it a year ago and I never jumped on the train. I now understand why I did not and while it wasn't that awful, I won't be finishing the series anytime soon. 

This was my first small town "cowboy" romance (except he's not really a cowboy, he's a bull rider) and I'm not sure how I feel about them. It was way too yeehaw for me, personally, and I wasn't expecting to love it. There were many off-putting things about this book, including the fact that the bull rider, Rhett, was not just a cowboy but also like thirty something. It might just be my age and personal interests but I don't like to read about really old guys hooking up with younger girls??? Idk that was not my cup of tea.

Rhett in general was not it for me. He did not sound hot (he literally had a beard and a PONYTAIL) and he acted like he was 16 when he was like 30 something. It was not at all attractive to read about a man-child who needs his agent to tell him to act his age. They chalked it up to him just "being a boy" but that's a ridiculous excuse and very overdone. 

Summer was a pretty good main character and I really enjoyed reading from her perspective. She was boxed in by her self-placed expectations and her beliefs that she was not doing enough and it was nice seeing her grow and push herself to figure out what she wanted. She was vaguely giving pick-me girl with her whole "I'm not like other girls" attitude but she wasn't as annoying as some other characters. She was vaguely sexist in her thoughts about what makes a man masculine but that felt more like the author's words rather than Summer's.

Something that really aggravated me throughout this book was Rhett's perspective of Summer. At their first meeting, he is NOT attracted to her and immediately judges her as an uptight good girl. But then later, he claims that from the start he was obsessed with her. Like no you weren't? Stop lying. It was actually so frustrating when he tried to claim he'd liked her from the start when he so clearly did not. Normally, even if they don't like them yet, they're still taken by their physical appearance, but this man did not find her attractive like be so for real. Like sure, after a bit when she actually comes to their ranch and he sees her again, he starts to think hey she's actually kind of hot, but that FIRST meeting was not the same.

Summer's relationship with her father was very offputting and weird to me personally. It just felt very creepy that this man was referring to his twenty-five year old daughter as "princess" in the workplace, a professional setting, and making jokes about her having sex??? Like what???

I also don't really care for bull riding in general. It's very abusive to the animals. 

The fact that a 30 something year old man needed a babysitter (a 25 year old woman) to behave was just ridiculous. I just couldn't get behind this book like everyone else seemed to and I don't think I'll read any more unless someone tells me one of the later books in the series are 100 times better.

Main Character: Rhett, Summer
Sidekick(s): Friends, family, etc
Villain(s): Misunderstandings, miscommunication, etc
Romance Elements: This was a small town romance.

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