Naked - Gina Gordon

I admit, I love a good smutty novel, but I really love when smutty novels have a ton of depth and Naked, by Gina Gordon, is one of those books. Don't let this cover fool you, there absolutely is some awesome (and public) sex, but there's also a lot of depth to this book and the characters you'll find inside. Let me know your thoughts!

Rating: 4 Stars
Published: January 2016
Genre: Adult, Fiction, Romance, Contemporary
I recieved an ARC from Netgalley and Loveswept Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Amazon Goodreads

Violet has been in hiding for the last 6 months after a horrific accident, she's occupied her time by watching the hot neighbor next door remodeling his house. Noah, the handsome neighbor next door, creates a way to finally encounter the hiding beauty and they find they have instant chemistry. With plans of just four weeks of fun, Noah and Violet find themselves pulling each other's clothes off whenever and wherever they can, with just one catch, Violet is hiding something underneath her clothes and the scarves she wears everywhere. When Violet finally returns to life, and work, she doesn't expect to find Noah there and she definitely doesn't expect it when her heart starts making room for him.

I am on a roll with books surprising me lately and I am loving it. Naked, by Gina Gordon, absolutely surprised me when I realized it was so much more than just a romance. Main characters, Violet and Noah, had some great dialogue and both funny and extremely hot interactions. Seriously, their chemistry was totally off the charts. I loved the premise of this book, hot girl watching hot man through the window and finally meeting only to find she has some serious emotional damage. The best part was how Gina Gordon wrote the emotional aspects of this book, because mixed in with the romance and sex were some truly thought provoking moments for the main characters. I didn't expect the stuff going on with Violet and I definitely didn't expect Noah to be the person who helps introduce her to a world of acceptance. This book definitely starts out as just two people needing to get it on with one another, but it grows to be so much more. I liked the mix of personal life with family and friends as well, because it made the book feel all the more real. I absolutely enjoyed the hidden lesson of loving yourself mixed in with the story and how judgement and acceptance work for people. The characters all were different, their voices were distinct, and I enjoyed the two worlds of laborers versus wealth meeting in the middle. Plus, I just genuinely really liked Violet and Noah together. They sound like a cute couple and they had some great sex.

There is a lot going on in the book, as the first in a series I suspect it is due to setting the stage, but there are a lot of people to meet in a short period of time. What starts out fairly slow grows quickly and there are some characters I feel like I don't know or who have a past that are playing into the book, but aren't revealed yet. Some of the book reads as though there are characters we should already know well, but don't, so hopefully that means they'll be featured in upcoming novels. Hint Hint: Harper and Luke. There are is some fog around the relationship of Violet and Noah, because they just mostly have sex and somehow find a lot of emotions, but I'm willing to let that slide since I just liked them in general.

Told from alternating POV's, the story of Violet and Noah is a beautiful one. While it's definitely got some hot and heavy scenes, the overall story is of self acceptance and love. There are some intriguing characters and I will be sticking around to read more of the Body & Soul series.