Nettie Reviews: The Day He Kissed Her by Juliana Stone

Title:  The Day He Kissed Her
Series:  Bad Boys of Crystal Lake, Book 3
Author:  Juliana Stone
Genre:  Contemporary Romance
Rating:  4.5 Notes and 4 Flames

Disclaimer:  A copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Goodreads Synopsis:

He can’t wait to leave…

Mac Draper finally has everything he’s always wanted: An amazing career. A New York City apartment. He’s this close to being free of his past forever. But a mind-blowing encounter with the sexy yet tough-as-nails Lily St. Clare has him delaying his plans to put Crystal Lake in his rearview mirror for good.

She’s finally found a place to stay…

For Lily St. Clare the charming small town of Crystal Lake is her haven – a place she can hide from her famous, back-stabbing family. It’s as close to happy as she’s ever been. Until an unforgettable night with tall, dark and tortured Mac Draper gives her a glimpse of what true happiness feels like.

Lily can’t help but melt a little under the sizzling heat of Mac’s touch. But Mac’s scars run deep, and Lily’s afraid she may be falling for the one man who can never return her feelings...

 Wow...... just Wow!  Juliana Stone pulls out all the stops with The Day He Kissed Her! Mac and Lily's story is not your typical love story. Mac is angry, hot headed, unavailable, and downright nasty at times....but he's lived the ultimate life of pain and considering his mother never nurtured and protected him, it's no wonder he's become as successful as he has. Lily is rich beautiful, self-centered, and at times shallow, however she does quite a bit of growing in this book and I found myself rooting for her and hoping that she finally finds the happiness she deserves.

The things I loved most about The Day He Kissed Her book was Stone's ability to write the situation in all of it's ugly glory. Mac's mother has spent her entire life taking his father back and allowing him to drink, abuse her and her children, and to degrade and demean the members of his family.

While Mac escaped his abusive home life and made a big name for himself, he still carries the scars of the hurt caused by his father's abuse and his mother's inability to protect her children from their father. I thought it was very realistic that Mac was angry and felt he didn't deserve love or a family because of his past. My favorite part of the book was when Marnie gave him the pep talk and made him realize that he survived and deserved to be happy with a woman that could help him heal.

While I absolutely loved this book, there were just a few things missing, which ultimately kept me from giving it a 5 note review. First up was Lily was touted as this broken person who didn't like to be touched, which hinted to some type of abuse from her past. Stone never really brought that issue full circle and disclosed what made Lily so closed off and why she didn't like to be touched. I thought she did lend some insight into Lily's family dynamics but not enough to justify her portrayal in previous books. Additionally, Stone spent quite a bit of time giving readers glimpses of Mac's recognition that his nephew Liam shared similar feelings to his own but she never quite explored that storyline and ultimately didn't allow the two characters to truly bond in the way Cain and Micheal did. I really would have like to see Mac talk to Liam about his own experience and give the kid an opportunity to unload how he felt about his circumstance.

All in all, I loved this edition and am curious to see if other books will be coming out in the series since all of the "Bad Boys" are off the market. I'm giving The Day He Kissed Her 4.5 Notes and 4 Flames!