Take Me by Bella Andre

Grade – C-

Hotness Level – Inferno

Kink Level – No Kink

Genre – Contemporary

Series – Take Me #1

Reviewed by Kate

Take Me by Bella Andre

Size 16 (I only mention this because it is a big deal in the book) Lily is the world's biggest wallflower. Mousy and shy, she does her best to hide her ample bosom and curvy hips with plain and dowdy clothes. Her younger sister Janica is a fashion designer and ends up one plus sized model short right before a big fashion show, so Janica talks Lily into modeling for a show.

Lily's best friend since childhood, Luke, says he'll be at the show for moral support but is called into work at the last minute. He asks his identical twin Travis to go in his place. Travis used to chum around with Luke and Lily, but has been ignoring Lily since she was ten.

Lily dons The Dress... that's right, capital letters. Like Frodo's ring, The Dress appears to hold some magical powers. When Lily puts it on, she immediately transforms into a vibrant, strong, self confident, and sexy woman. Capable of strutting down the runway with a sexy swagger. Capable of seducing Travis... who she has lusted after all these years.

So here's the thing. Travis has been a jerk to Lily most of her life. A real love 'em and leave 'em type. He's treated her like a leper for years, paraded his series of stick thin model girlfriends in front of her, etc. But when he sees her walking down the runway wearing The Dress, he's gobsmacked. He can't believe stick in the mud Lily is really a curvy, sexy siren.

The next morning when Luke finds out Lily and Travis slept together, he's worried for Lily. He knows Travis's past and figures Lily's going to get her heart broken. So he hatches a plan to make Travis want Lily. He tells Lily to play hard to get. Then when he meets up with Travis, he mentions that Lily wasn't that impressed with her mediocre hook up after the fashion show.

The rest of the book consists of game playing. Lily does her best to make Travis chase her. Teasing him, then backing off at the last minute... you get the picture. Travis, meanwhile, is busy trying to prove his manhood by sleeping with her as often as he can... trying to get her out of his system and all.

Travis was written as such a womanizer and so full of himself it was impossible to like him. Lily was so introverted and spineless (unless under the influence of The Dress) it seemed amazing that she could function in life. I had trouble believing that either character was capable of making the changes they did in such a short time. I hated that they were both playing games and continued to play them for so long. While not the worst book I've read this year, it was far from the best.