We have known Pandora Stone throughout this series as the hard-edged, bitter, sarcastic Goth girl who is best friends with Brooke and Melanie. We now get to finally understand what has made her so angry and closed off. Pandora has been holding onto hate for six years...since Mackenna Jones said he loved her and left her broken while he became a Rock God. Now he and his band are back in Seattle and her public tirade has received the attention of both him and his manager. And now in order to get out of a sticky situation, she will be forced to spend some time with him.

Mackenna Jones' first Pandora sighting in six years is both humiliating and fascinating...an unexpected yet titillating surprise. Little does she know that she was his "girl that got away" and that his current life is not all as fulfilling as it appears to be. He has his own issues stemming from their past and his own secrets that he has had to live with. 

These two are angry, volatile, ill-tempered and are now stuck on a bus with cameras watching their every move. There are secrets and misunderstandings adding layers to the strong feelings they harbor under the surface. She is emotionally closed off and always has been, but had her reasons. He left her without explanation, but also had his reasons. But even with all of the secrets and resentment, their connection is too strong to deny, despite their fear of getting hurt again.

We follow them from young, innocent love that was complicated by family dynamics and an unsure future. He was devoted, caring and loving, but he was also young, insecure, and pulled in many directions. The older Kenna is famous, rich, and can have any woman he wants. But he wants her, and he has other things in his life that he is ready to change. Pandora was once naive and more open, but even then she was still not able to fully admit her true feelings. Her family dynamics did not encourage free expression of love and trust. And the new Pandora is hard, edgy, prickly, and guards her heart. Even though their young love was strong, there were powerful forces against them. As adults they are dealing with old wounds, while fighting attraction and unresolved feelings. 

But can he break through her walls permanently? And if so, Can they find a way to merge their very different lives?

This was another engrossing read in the Real series, but had a different vibe to due Kenna's rock star status and Pandora's dark persona. But I really liked these damaged characters and got invested in their story. It was told in both points of view in the present with some flashbacks which was very important due to all of the hidden feelings and private information(although many secrets were kept from us as well until their final reveal to the other character). I loved the introduction of Kenna's humorous, charismatic, twin "Viking-like" band members Jax and Lexington. Hmmm, spin off perhaps? And always enjoy spending more time with Brooke and Remy, Melanie and Greyson, and Kyle. 

Katy Evans knows how to create characters that are flawed and raw, but so appealing and intriguing. Their chemistry and connections run deep and there are always plot twists that keep things interesting. This installment has humor and verbal sparring, but also deep emotional wounds and intense chemistry. It was a story of first love, loss, and surprising second chances. Pandora's journey dealt with opening up, developing trust, and allowing love in while learning to express it. Kenna had his own need to find redemption and prove himself worthy. They were a couple meant to be, but maybe their timing and maturity was off the first time. And as sad as it was to see all that they lost over the years, I was still left with a feeling of healing and hope. 

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I finished Ripped as quickly as I possibly could (having started it on a holiday weekend with little actual reading time). As the history between Pandora and Mackenna is revealed, it took on shades of a Romeo and Juliet type forbidden romance with a twist.

Pandora Stone is angry. Her best friends Melanie and Brooke give her a hard time for her monochromatic wardrobe and negative attitude, going so far as to bet her to dye a pink streak in her black hair. But Pandora has locked up the reason behind her angry man-hater persona. 

Mackenna Jones, lead singer for Crack Bikini, left Seattle and Pandora’s life six years ago, he never imagined he’d run into her again, especially in the public, humiliating way he finally saw her. He has spent the last six years trying to forget his time with Pandora. 

For all the time that has past since Mackenna left town, the miscommunications that happened at the end of their high school relationship have only festered. Both are angry at the way their relationship ended and their first meeting is epic. 

Thrown together by his manager to increase the drama of the band’s upcoming movie, Mackenna and Pandora have to figure out a way to pretend to like each other on camera. But how can they balance needing sparks on camera with the anger they feel when there are no cameras around. And what happens when the sparks begin to shift into their private moments as well?

This is one of those stories where there is so much hatred and bad memories that the good memories they once shared take some time to come out. As the memories of the good times begin to crack through the walls Pandora has put up, they both begin to wonder what would have happened if things hadn’t gone so badly. But they are both hiding things about what really happened that could either fix things, or make things so much worse.

By the end I was emotionally drained by the back and forth and the revelations. This journey was a fantastic one with not only two strong personalities to work around, but all the pain from the past, and the secrets they are each keeping. This had the emotional pull that I’ve come to expect from Katy Evan’s series, and it quickly inserted itself as one of my favorites in this series. 

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.

REAL (Real #1)

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