STROKED LONG – STROKED #2 by MEGHAN QUINN :: REVIEW

Sports romance – Emotional, passionate, funny & beautiful
TBB 5 Star Read

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Reviewed by Gitte & Jenny

‘This is all my fault. I feel like I’m in a dark tunnel with only a small light at the very end. This is all my fault.’

Well didn’t Meghan Quinn just grab our hearts, twisting them in her talented hands until the last tear and emotion seeped out before placing them back into our chests feeling full of love, contentment and hope. She really upped the ante in this one with incredible harrowing emotion, intense passion and that trademark humour of hers sporadically breaking up the sadness. And sad it was, so bloody sad we had tears running down our cheeks at times. When writing flows and brings such vivid imagery you just can’t help but get caught up in the story. And when you care so deeply, you know the Author has shown you the heart and soul of her characters which brings that intense connection between the reader and character.

‘There is something about Bodi that runs deep in my bones, that causes me to feel the pain he’s feeling, or the panic, or his awkwardness. It’s as if our bodies are spiritually connected, or at least mine is to his.’

Vulnerability, inner turmoil and social awkwardness are traits that are hard to get spot on in male characters without them losing a certain edge of purpose, if you will, but Meghan Quinn nailed it. Bodi Banks was an incredible character who we felt as if we knew from the onset. His tragic and horrific childhood scarred this man to the extent of only finding ‘normality’ and stress relieving coping mechanisms from his haunting past through obsessive compulsive disorder. A truly heart-breaking condition. An Olympian swimmer with a body to die for and a heart and soul you just want to heal, steal and make yours. What an incredible man.

“Sometimes the beauty in the art piece isn’t about the strokes, Bodi. Sometimes it’s about the colors and how you mold them together. It’s the contrast that makes them so beautiful together.”

When you think of what woman could possibly be the one to ‘get in’ and win over this broken man there really is no one more perfect than Ruby Hearts. We had such a girl crush on her. She was feisty, sweet and caring. Wore her heart on her sleeve with an excellent entertaining knack of verbal diarrhoea and the added bonus of a missing filter.  She was divine. We fell in utter love with her character.  Bodi and Ruby were so opposite yet really they had some of the same attributes which made them so lovable. In Bodi’s own words ‘So strange, yet, so fucking adorable.’…

‘I’m in love with a man who struggles with his emotions, who’s shut every door on his soul, leaving the tiniest windows open for me to climb through. He’s a beautiful man, with an even more beautiful heart but doesn’t seem to see that, which terrifies me.’

Stroked Long had everything in the right quantity. Meghan Quinn gave us the perfect balance to believe, experience, connect and fall in love with her story and everyone in it. You know you’ve experienced something fabulous when just in a couple of hours reading you’ve laughed, cried, swooned and done a bit of freezer time for good measure. Whilst it can be read as a standalone we recommend reading in order as whilst Stroked felt a lot different it’s still a great read to fall in love with.

‘I don’t want to let go. I don’t want to say goodnight. I want to hold her, cherish her, brand her. My Rubes.’

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