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GIVEAWAY ALERT! Be sure to stop by my blog to enter for a chance to win book 2 in the Skin Deep series, Under My Skin AND SKIN DEEP for those who haven't had a chance to read book 1. Click HERE and scroll down to enter the worldwide giveaway. (Ends 3/2)

My Review: If you are a fan of erotic romance with a mix of hilarious laugh out loud moments, then you are in for a treat. If you've never read an erotic romance with large amounts of humor, then this is the series to start with. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Under My Skin is the 2nd book in J.M. Stone's Skin Deep series. About halfway through this book, I was fist pumping in the air. Why, you ask? Well, let me go back. Quite a few months ago, I came across Skin Deep, which was Emma and Luke's story. While I enjoyed it very much, there were some problems with the writing, such as excessive bouts of detail. I of course spoke about this in my mini-review on goodreads and soon noticed that other reviewers had complained about the same thing. So why was I fist pumping in the air halfway through Under My Skin? I guess what I was feeling was a sense of admiration. I was proud of J.M. Stone for taking some of the negative (or helpful, depending on how you look at it) criticism that she received from Skin Deep and using it to clean up the problems going into Under My Skin. Now, I don't want people thinking this changed Stone's style of writing. Thankfully she was able to keep it intact which I was praising the heavens for, because this woman creates some of the most hilarious (and hottest!) scenes I've ever read, which is saying something!

I also liked that Under My Skin picks up where Skin Deep ends. There's no monkey business, we just dive right into the story. Allie, who for the majority of Skin Deep, was dodging both Jackson and Brandon's advances, gets tricked by her best friend Emma in the beginning of Under My Skin. She finds herself alone with the two hotties, where they both finally admit how they feel about her, forcing Allie to confront her own feelings. With some persuasion, they convince her to give the unconventional relationship a shot.

Now I must say that while this book could technically be read as a stand-alone, Under My Skin would be better enjoyed if Skin Deep is read first. There is some backstory in book 1 that is quite beneficial going into book 2, such as how Brandon and Jackson start to show their interest in Allie and how she doesn't really know how to handle it. Are they just looking for a threesome, or do they want something more serious? If they do want something serious with her, what would other people think? Also, Stone truly has a gift when it comes to creating lively, memorable characters. In most sequels, you are lucky if you get a few scenes with previous characters popping in for a visit. However, in Under My Skin, almost all of the characters from book 1, especially Emma (Allie's best friend) and Luke (Brandon's brother and Jackson's best friend), make an appearance in book 2, and they all have their important roles to play, especially to keep the momentum of the humor alive. So my point is, if you haven't read Skin Deep, I'd make it a priority before delving into Under My Skin.

Speaking of humor...have I mentioned how FREAKIN' funny Under My Skin is??? Okay, you probably are all getting tired of me saying it but this truly is J.M. Stone's signature style. She has the ability to start a scene with a serious tone but then before you know it, she has created this scenario that has you laughing out loud. I think what makes it work is the majority of these humorous scenes could actually happen in real life. It made the characters feel more realistic, more human, especially Allie and Emma's best friend relationship which reminds me so much of my 18 year relationship with my best friend. I wish I could explain in detail every single hilarious moment in Under My Skin, but then that would be spoiling the story, so I will only go as far as to hint at some of my favorites: Luke and Emma's mischievous dog named Doug, Allie's cantankerous grandmother, Allie's adult sex toy party, in particular, a dildo nicknamed "Big Kirk", the cat shaving incident, and the list goes on!

Under My Skin wouldn't be considered an erotic romance novel if it didn't have some sexy time, right? Well ladies, you are all in for a treat, because not only is J.M. Stone gifted with writing humor, she can set the pages on fire with her HOT HOT HOT sex scenes! Oh, and did I forget to mention there are TWO tattooed alpha males to drool over??? I mean, just check the book cover!!! Which I love, by the way. Anyway, I digress...sometimes writing threesome love scenes can be tricky, because you want to make sure the reader doesn't get confused as to who is doing what. J.M. Stone does not have this problem at all. She was very clear in her distinction between Brandon and Jackson, which was awesome, because there is nothing more annoying then when you are getting into a really good sex scene but have to go back a page or two because you can't figure out who is who. I also like the fact that Allie gets her alone time with each guy. I think this was a brilliant idea because it's in those scenes when you get to see how different each man makes love to Allie, so that when all three come together, you get a pretty good idea who is doing what with and to her, without having to constantly say, "Brandon did this" or "Jackson did that." Stone definitely has some mad skills in that department!

So you're probably wondering why I gave Under My Skin 4 out of 5 stars after raving about it-- and make no mistake, I will always rave about it because it is really good. There is only one issue that troubled me and it's extremely hard to discuss in detail here because it would be a huge spoiler and the last thing I want to do is spoil the whole damn thing. So I will do my best to explain the issue while being vague. Kinda like a ninja! Anyway, something happens towards the end of the story that I truly didn't see coming. Apparently, I am not alone after skimming through some other reviews. I had the unique chance to vent my feelings to the author and she told me that she felt it was pretty obvious early on and that there were signs along the way. I'm glad I didn't write this review right away because it gave me some time to figure out exactly what bothered me about this surprising turn of events. This is what I came up with. Authors sometimes forget that they have a closer relationship to the characters then readers. So what may seem so apparent in their eyes may not be so easy for the reader to see. Was there 1 or 2 moments in the story that made me pause? Yes. But those particular things were so subtle and they definitely did not set me on the track the author clearly intended for me. What bothered me is not so much what happened, but how it happened. The series of events to get to that point in the story was poorly executed. Unexpected endings are cool IF the author can sell it to me, justify it. But unfortunately, the "signs" that J.M. Stone thought were so apparent in her eyes were really not so apparent, at least for me. That's why the suddenness of this particular choice near the end of the story felt so out of place. While some may feel the ending should be changed, I don't feel it needs to. Again, if that is what the author intended, then that is fine. But the transition for the reader to this big event towards the end could have been easily fixed with a few embellishments in a couple of scenes.

Under My Skin is truly a hilarious, erotic read by an extremely talented author. To see the growth in her writing between books 1 and 2 is very admirable and remarkable. J.M. Stone does this while keeping the integrity of her style, which is so important, because while you want to please your readers and grow as a writer, you don't want to lose the skills that are uniquely your own. I know I was being vague as hell towards the end of my review, but again, I didn't want to spoil anything or discourage anyone from picking up this book. Remember, if you haven't read Skin Deep (#1) yet, I highly recommend checking it out before Under My Skin. :)

Mia @ The Muses Circle ( )