Safe Word by Teresa Mummert

Title: Safe Word

Author: Teresa Mummert

Genre: New Adult Romance

Purchase: Amazon (Paperback or Kindle)

Source: Won (Thanks Kassie)

USA Today bestselling novel

A chance meeting with a stranger can turn your entire world upside down.

When Colton ‘Colt’ Bishop enters a bar in New York City, he has a plan. His job is to find an easy target and take her back to his place for a few days. He is working his way up the crime ladder doing a job he never wanted.

Lily Hilton has it all, but is hiding from a troublesome past. When she enters a bar downtown, and runs into her old high school crush, her entire world is turned upside down. She is determined to make him notice her, but that plan may work better than she expects.

Colton does not hesitate to take Lily home and use her as his new pawn, but their past begins to catch up with them as their secrets unravel and he must decide what is more important to him, protecting Lily or himself.

I’ve had my fair share of romance novels before but I rarely read dark romance. I have had great expectation of this book but at first it was hard  to read and I’ve thought of putting it down a couple of times but I’m glad I carried on because it was a great book, I just couldn’t see it from the start.

Basically, Safe Word is a guy-kidnaps-girl-and-then-they-fell-in-love kind of love story. Oh I know what you’re thinking, been there, read that. But wait, here’s more: they have a history, a sad history.

Cole and Lily were high school sweethearts but then one day Lily’s family suddenly moved out of their house Cole never heard of her again.

I find Cole mean sometimes, and his mood changes very quickly when it comes to Lily. Sometimes I think he’s menopausal or something. Oh but that’s just me. I know he’s a poor damaged soul that needs saving. I find him interesting though, with his contrasting personality, hot looks and bad boy attitude.

And my favorite character is, you guessed it, Cole.

The writing is somewhat slow-paced, though. Halfway through it, I thought of dropping the book but I hate the thought of an unfinished book so I kept reading. What I liked about how Mummert presented the story was that she used lots of flashbacks and it made the story more vivid. If you’re looking for the “hot scenes” then count this book in. This book got me fanning my cheeks.

Just one pet peeve, though, the typographical errors. Nasty, nasty typos! I find them very irksome.

As I’ve said before, the book was slow-paced, but I really enjoyed the second half of it, that was where all the action-packed scenes happened. They’ve been through so much and they deserve the happy ever after they got. I really love how the story ended and I am just so happy for them. I freaking cried, and it wasn’t just like, silent cries, I was heaving and sobbing!

It was pretty much a short novel so if I say more about the plot then I’d be revealing spoilers, and I don’t want that to happen.

I would recommend Safe Word to those who are into dark romance and mean, angsty male protagonists.