Because BB Easton had so much fun writing her bestselling, award-winning memoir, 44 CHAPTERS ABOUT 4 MEN, she decided to give each of her four men his own steamy standalone. SUIT is Ken's book—the hilarious, heartwarming tale of how BB finally got over her bad boy phase and found happily ever after with…gasp…a guy in a tie.
“Since when are you into guys in ties? You only like guys who look like they rob guys in ties. At gunpoint.”
It was true. By 2003, my type had been well-established. There might as well have been a giant sign on my heart that said, “Good Guys Need Not Apply.”
Which is exactly why I had to friendzone Ken Easton. The man was a former football star, smelled like fresh laundry instead of stale cigarettes, and had more ties in his closet than tattoos on his knuckles. Pssh. BOR-ING.
But the more I got to know my hunky study buddy, the more questions I came away with. Questions like, why doesn’t he date? Why does he avoid human touch? Why does he hate all things fun and wonderful? The psychology student in me became obsessed with getting inside Ken’s head, while the spoiled brat in me became obsessed with getting inside his heart.
In 2003, I found the one thing I love more than bad boys...
A good challenge.
EXCERPT:
Ten minutes later, we were sitting on my favorite bench outside the mall, both holding giant smoothies, as I lit my first cigarette.
“So, you hate being cold, yet you spend your entire break outside, in February, drinking a frozen beverage?” Ken took a sip of his smoothie.
“That’s why I sit here.” I smiled, gesturing toward the sun overhead with my lit cigarette. “It’s like ten degrees warmer on this side of the mall. But we can walk around if you want. That’s what I do when I get really cold.”
Ken smiled and shook his head. “I’m just giving you shit.”
That was good, because the way we were sitting, angled toward each other, my foot was touching his shin and it was the highlight of my day.
“How’s that papaya-mango treating you?” I asked, flicking my eyes down to his giant Styrofoam cup.
“It’s pretty fucking amazing,” he deadpanned.
“Lemme try it,” I said, sticking my cigarette between my teeth so that I could hold out my empty palm.
Ken held my stare as he took another sip, shaking his head.
“No? Why not?” I snapped.
“You didn’t say the magic word.”
“What? Like, please? That magic word?”
Ken nodded, straw still in his mouth. He was so fucking cute and so fucking infuriating all at the same time. I had to fight the urge to slap his drink to the ground and then kiss the shit out of him.
With a dramatic eye roll, I said, in my best British orphan accent, “Please, Mr. Easton? May I please have a sip of your smoothie, sir?”
Ken’s lips curled around the straw in triumph.
Asshole.
I jerked the cup out of his hand and replaced it with mine. Giving him what I hoped looked like a fuck you death glare, I took a sip, and my eyes instantly rolled up into the back of my head.
“Holy shit, that’s good.” I took another sip. “I’m keeping this one. You can have mine. There’s more of it left, anyway. That’s like, a better ounce-per-dollar ratio or something. You can’t argue with that.”
Ken smiled and tapped the side of his new cup against mine. “Only because of the ounce-per-dollar ratio.”
I watched as he put the straw that had been in my mouth into his mouth. There was no sense of ickiness. No traces of germaphobia at all.
Weird about touching. Not weird about swapping spit. Interesting.
As we sat and talked, I realized that I could not keep my hands out of my hair. I had a ton of nervous ticks. My hands and mouth were pretty much always busy: smoking, talking, chewing pen caps, gesticulating, laughing inappropriately, picking threads from my clothing, chewing my fingernails, twirling my hair. But trying to make small talk with Kenneth Easton made it worse than ever.
“Oh my God, if I don’t stop playing with my hair I’m gonna go bald,” I laughed, sitting on my hand. “I’m not used to it being straight. I normally can’t even get my hands through it.”
Ken watched me in amusement but said nothing.
Weird.
“Did you notice?” I turned my head from side to side, my burgundy bob twisting and falling back into place. “I just got it done a few days ago.”
“I noticed.”
That was all he said. No smile. No innuendo. Just I noticed.
My face fell. “You don’t like it.”
“It doesn’t matter whether or not I like it.” Ken’s features were serious. As in, he was seriously not going to tell me that my new fucking hair cut looked pretty.
What the fuck?
“Why not?” I snapped, heat rising to the surface of my ice-cold cheeks.
“Because you’re Brooke Bradley.” Ken set down his cup and faced me head on. “The first time I ever saw you, you had a shaved head. You didn’t give a shit what people thought then, and you shouldn’t start now. Do you like it?”
I blinked. Then, I blinked again. “Uh, yeah…I love it.”
“Then that’s all that matters.” Ken relaxed against the back of the bench and took another sip from his almost-empty smoothie, the slurrrrrp sound adding some much-needed levity.
No one had ever flat out refused to compliment me before. Hans had told me I was beautiful every day of our two-year relationship. Every day that he had bothered to call or come home, that is. My parents had been showering me with praise since I was born. My friends and I were constantly feeding each other’s egos. But somehow, by not telling me what I wanted to hear, Ken made me feel even more special than if he had.
FIND AT GOODREADS here.
MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
BB is back in this story of opposites attracting, with her wild hair and tell-it-like-it-is attitude, to share even more ups and downs in her journey to HEA. Told completely from her viewpoint, readers get deep insight into this young woman who’s experienced abuse in various forms as well as watching her descent into an eating disorder. The depiction of these social issues is vivid and it hurt my heart to read these scenes at times. She held nothing back, showing herself in a bold light, flaws and all and I applaud her for not sugarcoating the reality of what happened to her. I might have been frustrated by her at times, by her neediness and lack of self-preservation, but I still admired her rising above all that befell her before. After all the betrayals and the abuse she still believed in HEA and went after it wholeheartedly in a journey that was both sad and exhilarating.
After a string of larger-than-life men, men who were clearly bad for her, it was a dramatic change for BB to be attracted to the suit-wearing, non-tattooed, Ken Easton. The men before took her on a wild ride but left their marks on her both in body and soul. There was a sense of living on the edge with those men, they were exotic bad boys who fed off her love for them with frightening and heartbreaking results. Despite my anger at how they treated her I was intrigued by the glimpses of her past seen throughout this story. It was shocking seeing Knight again though, and how much further he’s fallen into darkness, along with Hans who’s lifestyle is causing him to fade away. These men are VERY different from Ken and all the pain associated with them was a good reminder to BB whenever she was frustrated by Ken. He clearly had issues but he’d never hurt her as they did. Ken was a quiet, loyal, and thrifty young man who was immensely patient in his relationship with BB. He was a truly good guy with a kind heart who reined himself back in years ago once he realized how bad his life was becoming because of his self-destructive acts. He’s learned from his past to become a better man, a man who balances BB out. He often let her set the pace and his control over himself was an aphrodisiac to BB that led to numerous scorching encounters. Outside the bedroom there was tons of playful banter, with BB giving as good as she gets, which started to feel like foreplay as they grew closer. Ken wasn’t perfect though as being raised by non-demonstrative parents has led to issues with not wanting to be touched and difficulty touching others. There’s a protective bubble emanating from Ken, which made me sad for him, but it had me cheering BB on as she worked on tearing his walls down. By the end of the story readers discover that actions do indeed speak louder than words in a beautiful Grand Gesture from Ken that warmed my heart. He worked hard, struggled with his own mental/emotional roadblocks, to give her the HEA she so wanted and with each action he endeared himself to me even more. Ultimately Ken’s personality wasn’t bold or brash, but he was a steady and reliable presence in BB’s life that balanced them out perfectly.
This was a compelling romance from the first page to the last, drawing me in and holding me captive through all the turmoil in BB’s life. It was a story that took me to great highs along with very deep lows courtesy of her obsessive ex Knight. BB practically jumps off the pages with her outspoken and bold personality, but there was a sense of danger and destruction surrounding Knight that brought her to her knees and left her like a scared teenager again. She was clearly fearful of Knight and the scenes with him were unsettling, both mentally and physically, but I applaud her for finally standing up for herself as it was a much-needed step towards HEA. In the depiction of BB’s eating disorder it was clear she didn’t see it as a problem, in fact she took pride in her low weight, but her narrative often conveyed the damage it did to her body and the satisfaction derived from the control she felt over her body. With so little else in her life giving her control, it’s not a surprise that she battled this disorder. The depiction of it was realistic though and gave deep insight into the disorder and was just another moment that sucked me into her world as I rooted for her to overcome the feelings that brought about the disorder. Ken’s a wonderful hero despite his quiet nature. He was sexy and steady and the kind of man who would change FOR someone as opposed to changing them, which is just what BB needed. Along with this appealing main couple was a memorable cast of secondary characters that each left a lasting impression on BB, helped her in her journey as they made us laugh and cry along the way. BB’s come a long way from that scared young girl trying to find herself to a woman who’s discovering her worth and the value of a man of substance. It was a long and bumpy road but I feel privileged to have taken the journey with her and look forward to what she has in store for us next!
After a string of larger-than-life men, men who were clearly bad for her, it was a dramatic change for BB to be attracted to the suit-wearing, non-tattooed, Ken Easton. The men before took her on a wild ride but left their marks on her both in body and soul. There was a sense of living on the edge with those men, they were exotic bad boys who fed off her love for them with frightening and heartbreaking results. Despite my anger at how they treated her I was intrigued by the glimpses of her past seen throughout this story. It was shocking seeing Knight again though, and how much further he’s fallen into darkness, along with Hans who’s lifestyle is causing him to fade away. These men are VERY different from Ken and all the pain associated with them was a good reminder to BB whenever she was frustrated by Ken. He clearly had issues but he’d never hurt her as they did. Ken was a quiet, loyal, and thrifty young man who was immensely patient in his relationship with BB. He was a truly good guy with a kind heart who reined himself back in years ago once he realized how bad his life was becoming because of his self-destructive acts. He’s learned from his past to become a better man, a man who balances BB out. He often let her set the pace and his control over himself was an aphrodisiac to BB that led to numerous scorching encounters. Outside the bedroom there was tons of playful banter, with BB giving as good as she gets, which started to feel like foreplay as they grew closer. Ken wasn’t perfect though as being raised by non-demonstrative parents has led to issues with not wanting to be touched and difficulty touching others. There’s a protective bubble emanating from Ken, which made me sad for him, but it had me cheering BB on as she worked on tearing his walls down. By the end of the story readers discover that actions do indeed speak louder than words in a beautiful Grand Gesture from Ken that warmed my heart. He worked hard, struggled with his own mental/emotional roadblocks, to give her the HEA she so wanted and with each action he endeared himself to me even more. Ultimately Ken’s personality wasn’t bold or brash, but he was a steady and reliable presence in BB’s life that balanced them out perfectly.
This was a compelling romance from the first page to the last, drawing me in and holding me captive through all the turmoil in BB’s life. It was a story that took me to great highs along with very deep lows courtesy of her obsessive ex Knight. BB practically jumps off the pages with her outspoken and bold personality, but there was a sense of danger and destruction surrounding Knight that brought her to her knees and left her like a scared teenager again. She was clearly fearful of Knight and the scenes with him were unsettling, both mentally and physically, but I applaud her for finally standing up for herself as it was a much-needed step towards HEA. In the depiction of BB’s eating disorder it was clear she didn’t see it as a problem, in fact she took pride in her low weight, but her narrative often conveyed the damage it did to her body and the satisfaction derived from the control she felt over her body. With so little else in her life giving her control, it’s not a surprise that she battled this disorder. The depiction of it was realistic though and gave deep insight into the disorder and was just another moment that sucked me into her world as I rooted for her to overcome the feelings that brought about the disorder. Ken’s a wonderful hero despite his quiet nature. He was sexy and steady and the kind of man who would change FOR someone as opposed to changing them, which is just what BB needed. Along with this appealing main couple was a memorable cast of secondary characters that each left a lasting impression on BB, helped her in her journey as they made us laugh and cry along the way. BB’s come a long way from that scared young girl trying to find herself to a woman who’s discovering her worth and the value of a man of substance. It was a long and bumpy road but I feel privileged to have taken the journey with her and look forward to what she has in store for us next!
My rating for this is a B+/A-
*I got this book from the author for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
AUTHOR INFO:
BB Easton lives in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia with her long-suffering husband, Ken, and two adorable children. She recently quit her job as a school psychologist to write stories about her punk rock past and deviant sexual history full-time. Ken is suuuper excited about it.
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