Review: Being Kalli


Being Kalli
Being Kalli by Rebecca Berto

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I received a free eARC copy of this book in exchange for a review.

So what the hell. This is not my normal reading fare. But...

I met the author some time back on GoodReads and saw a blog post where she was looking for some feedback on a project she wasn't sure about. The early chapters of "Being Kalli" were posted on her website. Curious as the premise seemed...interesting...I checked it out. I only read a little, but found the story and character interesting. I didn't finish it as I really don't read long works on the computer, and by the time I checked back, I couldn't find it.

So here we are. Rebecca Berto asked if anyone was interested in checking out an advanced reading copy for the book, Being Kalli. Oh yes, I remembered that project and was still curious, so I offered to read it. Hey, seemed like she might could use a male perspective. One that usually reads fantasy, horror, sci-fi, or thrillers.

Meanwhile, I'd recently read Precise, a novella by the same author. In that, I'd discovered that I liked her style. It was safe in that it was free, short, and more of a contemporary story than a romance or anything erotica. Safe.

This baby right here is not safe. Noooooo....

It's quite fucking hot. lol

But really, though there are certainly hot moments, and a romance does eventually come into focus, what had me hooked right away was dat ass on the cover Berto's writing style. Yes, this is a story long before it's anything else. A story with intriguing characters. Kalli is such, and so are her friends. Even more is her family. The drama and history with the family really drives this book.

So it's more of a great story with the occasional hot sex scene. You know, I watch Game of Thrones (thanks, Terri). I can hang with that. So to speak.

In all seriousness, this is a well written story about a young lady and her family. Her best friend Scout (same name as one of the all time great female leads) is fantastic and I love her story as well. The romance isn't heavy handed, and the sex scenes are handled well too. They don't feel awkward and uncomfortable. At least, not in any unintended way.

The stories of Kalli and Scout would make for a good movie too. They just might have to give it a good "MA" rating. Yeah.



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