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Stripped begins with the introduction of Grey Amundesn, a pastor's daughter, living in small town Macon Georgia. She's an only child whose lived a strict life under the very watchful eye of her father, who believes everything most teenagers would consider fun a sin. Grey feels as though her father doesn't understand anything about her and if it weren't for the close bond with her mother would feel very much alone.
Grey's passion is dance, it makes her feel alive, allows her to express herself in a freeing way and is something she excels at. While her father wasn't originally on board with her mother's help he has agreed to allow the activity as long as her dances are appropriate and her costumes respective, nothing seductive will be tolerated. Honestly, up to this point all I could think of were the similarities to Footloose, which I didn't mind because I LOVE that movie! Her dance classes open the doors to friendships, which eventually exposes Grey to parties and boys, however throughout it all Grey never does anything her father would consider compromising.
As time progresses Grey begins to develop an interest in film, not acting but creating and producing. She desperately wants to attend a film school in California but of course her father won't allow her to go (in his mind she needs to meet a nice Christian guy who plans to pastor a church, get married and become a pastor's wife). Again, with her mother's help she applies and not only gets accepted but also earns a scholarship to pay the way. While she is joyous she's found a way to go tragedy strikes the Amundesn family ripping Grey and her father apart. Without his blessing, help or money Grey packs up to follow her dreams in California.
As you can imagine life in California isn't easy and the $400 she left with doesn't stretch very far. Determined to make it on her on Grey searches for part-time employment, however without any job experience Grey continues to find herself unemployed. With deadlines approaching and bills to pay the only job she can find is as a stripper! Let the fun and story officially begin!
We both really loved this book and found ourselves easily relating with Grey. We think it's because both of us were born and raised in the south in southern Baptist homes, which we are proud of, but which also gives us first hand experience as to what Grey's life was like and could easily relate with how she felt. When you grow up in the Bible belt, you can certainly plan on experiencing judgmental people and let us tell you, Jasinda Wilder completely nailed the descriptions of Grey's experiences and reactions. We can promise that if we were ever forced to strip for a living, we would probably die of humiliation and throw up every night as well.
This story was full of characters we could relate to and there will be some you find yourself hating and some whom you won't be able to help but love. We found ourselves laughing, crying and struggling right along with Grey as she dealt with guilt, shame and then felt complete when she eventually found herself and allowed herself the happiness she deserved.
As previously mentioned Grey's father is a southern Baptist preacher and is ultra strict. He has ingrained it in Grey's mind that anything fun is of the devil and is a sin. It's a shame some people believe that to be true, and believe me there people who feel this way. However, we found ourselves irritated with him because it's as though he never listens to Grey, never wants to compromise, it's as though he's forgotten his first role to her isn't pastor but father. By the end of the book we're happy to say he redeemed himself some. On the other hand Grey's mom was such a lovable character, very sweet, super supportive and silently strong. We can only hope to be that good of a mother to our own daughters. What a great example of a mother and certainly a great addition to the book.
Now let's talk about the book's main man...Dawson Kellor, let the swooning begin! He has to be one of the top book boyfriends of all time, he's just fabulous! He always puts Grey above himself and just wants to make her happy. Let me tell you, Dawson absolutely backs up all his words and promises with some serious actions. He is strong, intuitive, sensitive, really he's the whole package. And it doesn't hurt he's a top Hollywood actor whose just landed the role of Rhett Butler in a remake of Gone with the wind (the best movie of all time and a true southern classic! Yeah, that definitely made us love him even more. What girl could ever resist Rhett Butler?). Those things aside what further continued our love affair with Dawson is that he encourages Grey to open her eyes, answer questions for herself, form her own opinion, embrace her past. It also didn't hurt getting to read in great detail about some of those eye opening experiences, they were intense and yep I'm going to say it they were pretty darn hot as well!
Don't worry, you won't be disappointed, this book is filled with lots of smut, however, that's not what makes it such a good read. It's a great book because the story is just so good and because Dawson and Grey make a really great couple. While some may find this book and story line predictable it was a really fun journey and one we really are glad we took a chance on. There wasn't a lot of unnecessary drama in Stripped, but we are okay with that. Not all books need to throw curve balls at you to be good. This is just a well written story that captivates you from beginning to end.
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