Ready, Set, Read!: BOOK REVIEW | Smut by Karina Halle

Title: Smut
Author: Karina Halle
Release Date: May 16, 2016
Pages: 315
Source: I bought the e-copy of Smut through my Nook!
Synopsis:

What happens when the kink between the pages leads to heat between the sheets?
All Blake Crawford wants is to pass his creative writing course, get his university degree, and take over his dad’s ailing family business. What Amanda Newland wants is to graduate at the top of her class, as well as finally finish her novel and prove to her family that writing is a respectful career.

What Blake and Amanda don’t want is to be paired up with each other for their final project, but that’s exactly what they both get when they’re forced to collaborate on a writing piece. Since Amanda thinks Blake is a pushy asshole (with a panty-melting smirk and British accent) and Blake thinks Amanda has a stick up her ass (though it’s a brilliant ass), they fight tooth and nail until they discover they write well together. They also may find each other really attractive, but that’s neither here nor there.

When their writing project turns out to be a success, the two of them decide to start up a secret partnership using a pen name, infiltrating the self-publishing market in the lucrative genre of erotica. Naturally, with so much heat and passion between the pages, it’s not long before their dirty words become a dirty reality. Sure, they still fight a lot, but at least there’s make-up sex now.

But even as they start to fall hard for each other, will their burgeoning relationship survive if their scandalous secret is exposed? Or are happily-ever-afters just a work of fiction?

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I picked Smut up on a whim as a palette cleanser of sorts after reading heavier material. Though I didn't absolutely love Smut, it was a fun ride and I do recommend it to NA lovers! You are warned though; this novel does have crude language and sex scenes. It is very mature for a NA novel, and felt more like a romance novel with young leads instead. I do have both pros and cons with Smut, but the pros heavily outweigh the cons in the case!

One of my favorite things about this book is that the characters were likeable. Karina Halle did the haters turned lovers trope really well and I didn't just love the main characters, but the ensemble. I would easily read a book that follows a secondary character from Smut. Fandoms and writing play a substantial role in the book, and it made the book much more enjoyable. The characters seemed not as one dimensional because of it.

My initial thoughts!

What this book lacked in originality it made up for in its writing. There are only so many ways the trope can be written, and still Smut captured my attention and didn't let go. I was much more invested in the characters than I though I would be! Another thing that set this book a bar higher than some other NA contemporaries out there is that Karina Halle actually took time for world building. This is usually crushed upon in NA, but it made the book believable and the setting atmospheric. The setting made the story more real to me.

My main issue with Smut was that the synopsis was just a bit misleading to me. I thought that Blake and Amanda would be writing their erotica novels pretty early in to the book, but it actually took about half the book to even get to the idea of it. However, once they started writing together it was very entertaining. My other complaint is that Smut tried a bit to hard to be funny. Yes, there was great comedic timing and I did laugh out loud, but it also fell short just as often.

At this time, I have read 2 other books by Karina Halle, The Play and The Offer. If I were to rank these three, The Play would come out on top with Smut and The Offer following in that order. While Smut was fun, it wasn't anything that will make you think for a long time. It's a breezy, no strings attached type of book. If you're looking for a quick read, then this is it.

With that, I give this book
4 out of 5 Stars!