On the Internet, secrets never die…
Violet can’t imagine anything worse than having her very private, very naked photos strewn across the Internet.
Until they multiply like a virus.
With her name, address, and phone number attached.
And her boss finds out. And a stalker finds her.
Violet’s refuge is a rock star known for going through groupies faster than guitar picks. Letting Jayce get close enough to protect her exposes her secrets—and her heart—to a man whose celebrity could ruin her.
That’s because being a nobody is the one thing that keeps Violet’s photos from making headlines. And it’s the reason she can never fall for a rock star.
Secrets spread like wildfire when a celebrity fans the flames.
Revenge Bound by Heidi joy Tretheway deals with a very prevalent topic in today's age of technology but that doesn't often get attention, revenge porn. Violet, the daughter of a congressman, lover of art and an amateur photographer, arrives home from Europe to receive extremely disgusting sexually explicit text on her cell phone from random numbers. Wondering why this is happening to her and where these men obtained her phone number, Violet is unaware of the awful crime that her ex-boyfriend politician committed against her. After being fired from her teaching job, for inappropriate conduct, the Principal briefly shows her a website where all of her information is posted, name, address and phone number, underneath a series of sexually explicit photographs that her ex-boyfriend took of her. After googling herself and discovering how bad this situation is and how much worse it may get if her conservative father finds out about this site, she takes a job from a friend as a free-lance photographer to shoot the band Tattoo Thief during one of their practices. It is at the practice that she meets Jayce, lead guitarist in the band and the epitome of a bad boy rock star. Their relationship develops into many things throughout the book and I was enthralled to find how a bad boy who could care less about the feelings of the groupies that he spends his nights with changes so drastically when he finds the one woman, completely opposite in every way to all the rest, that brings him to his knees.
"She's looking at me. Through me. Her eyes are clear and bright and knowing. This girl is a witch, a sorceress, a fairy princess. I'm fucked."
Jayce likes the easy way when it comes to his women; groupies that are far from intelligent, offering themselves up on a silver platter, in barely there clothing that leaves little to the imagination. He isn't looking for commitment and any time one of them gets to clingy, he tosses them aside. That is until Violet walks into Trey's loft to photograph their practice. He is unable to take his eyes off of her but she leaves before he can even have the chance to speak to her. It isn't until Stella, Trey's girlfriend, asks for Violets help when he is in the hospital recovering from a diabetic seizure. Violet comes to the rescue and Jayce has his chance to finally talk to the quite redhead that he has been thinking about for days. It is while she is uploading the photos that she took for Tattoo Thief, that Violet receives several disgusting text messages and starts to break down that one guy seems more stalkerish then all of the rest, scaring her straight to her core. Jayce, not knowing why he does, feels the incessant need to protect her and fix this problem. He takes her home, lets her cry on his shoulder and buys her a new phone with a new number as the first steps in trying to rid Violet of this nightmare. Of course Jayce is attracted to Violet and he wants her like he has never wanted anyone else but he holds back, knowing that is the last thing that she needs right now.
"I'm not my place to judge. There are plenty of people who will judge you for everything you do, but I'm not about that. I'm just here to take pictures."
Violet tries to gain back the control she is losing a little every day, every time that she receives another text from someone who has seen her pictures online, but she doesn't seem to be getting anywhere. Jayce is trying to protect her the only way he knows how, by using his money and influence to get things done. He just never realized how difficult it would actually be to remove the pictures from the internet. Violet is so worried about being seen with Jayce, the famous rock star who graces the cover of gossip rags, because once that happens the world will know about the websites. She continually pushes him away, even though she wants to pull him close and Jayce continues to confront her, asking her to trust him and accept his help.
Violet knows that she needs to take back the control to fight her stalker and to fight Brady for what he did to her. So she gathers up her courage and does just that. Hacking into his email she finds the proof that she needs to show that Brady isn't the wholesome politician that he claims to be. It is only after taking her on a trip to LA for a party that the band needs to be seen at, that Violet's world is rocked to the core when her secrets are displayed across the headlines of papers and magazines. Worried of what her father will say, of what his contituents will do during his campaign for election to the Senate, she sits him down and explains everything to him minutes before a press conference on the subject. Her father surprises her by standing behind her, saying that he will fight for her and for the other women in his district who have been victims of revenge porn. It is only after coming clean and admitting that she now has the control of her life back, that Violet can truly admit how she feels about Jayce, and he admits how he feels about her, to the point that he put his band on the line, since it was because of the drummer's girlfriend that her secret was revealed in the first place.
This book was a 4 star read for me. I loved that the subject matter was gritty and real, and that even though Violet and Jayce were on their way to a happily ever after, it wasn't easy and there were no clean cut solutions to her problem. It wasn't 100% solved, and that made it all the more real for me. I would recommend this book to others, and I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Revenge Bound is the third book in the Tattoo Thief series. This book is definitely about revenge play on an innocent. I would give this book a 4-4.5 stars. It is told in dual POV's of Jace and Violet. It is a part of a series but can be read as a standalone. I have to say I hadn't read any of the other books in this series and I wasn't lost at all with the characters. But now I am intrigued and will be picking up the other books because I have to know more about the band members.
Violet has just come out of a relationship with Brady. He was a very controlling man that left Violet with no voice of her own and she always did what he told her until one day she had enough and broke up with him and took a vacation. When she comes back home all hell breaks loose. She is getting random text messages from men telling her things they would do to her body and they are very descriptive like they have seen her before. She is totally dumb founded and doesn't understand how these strangers got her number and how they know what she looks like. When she finds out that she is plastered all over a revenge website she is devastated. How can she show her face around town after this exposure and she knows who did it, only one person could be so evil. She tries to go about her life and ignore the texts, she gets an incredible offer to do some photographs for a band called Tattoo Thief she just doesn't realize how much her life will change when she meets Jayce.
I study my laptop's screen, pretending to double-check that all of my pictures are properly uploaded. I'm really just buying time before I have to close my computer and actually face the guy who's making my insides melt like and ice cream cone in a heat wave.
Can she get close to him after all this drama in her life or will being with him just make it worse because of his fame?
I wipe my eyes and squelch that thought. I'm getting carried away by feelings for a guy who's everything I don't want. A playboy. A celebrity. A controlling, pushy man who makes my insides liquid and my panties incinerate with just his breath on my skin.
Jayce is your typical rock star bad boy. He has a dark side to him though and has never fully explored what he likes sexually.
Don't think I'm jealous. I've got dozens. I could call pretty much any number in my phone and I'd be hitting that tonight. I'm high from the adrenaline as I stride toward the green room after our show. Shelly and Teal's heels clomp behind me and I could have either of them tonight. Maybe both, if they're down with it. I fucking love being a rock star.
But he can have who ever he wants when he wants but is that enough for him? When Violet enters the picture he is so drawn to her and he doesn't know why he feels so protected over this girl that he just met. When he finds out her secret the possessiveness in him takes over and he knows that he has to have her, protect her. But Why??
She's looking at me. Through me. Her eyes are clear and bright and knowing. This girl is a witch, a sorceress, a fairy princess. I'm fucked.
He knows she is pulling away from him because of his stardom but he doesn't care he gets what he wants and Violet is what he wants. Can he finally show her that no matter what pictures are out there of her that it doesn't matter to him, that he can protect her not expose her further? But what will happen when one of the men that have been texting Violet starts to get more personal and starts stalking her? Can he truly protect her or will his fame finally prove that it will make it worse for Violet? Can Violet be what Jayce needs in the sexual way? Or is her past with her ex too much for her to bare that she can't let her self go completely?
Because I know I could break her. I could get what I want. It's there for the taking. I could wrap the feelings I see plainly on her face together with little manipulations, little steps that tip the balance of power. I could win her, but it would break her. And I want Violet whole. Or nothing.
You will love this story! I am a huge fan now and can't wait for more from this author. I will be getting the other books in this series soon! Thanks for a great story and I look forward to much much more!
Heidi Joy lives in Happy Valley off Sunnyside Road. She swears she did not make that up.
Heidi’s obsessed with storytelling. Her career includes marketing, journalism, and a delicious few years as a food columnist. Media passes took her backstage with several rock bands, where she learned that sometimes a wardrobe malfunction is exactly what the rock star intends.
You’ll most often find Heidi Joy with her husband and two small kids cooking, fishing, exploring the Northwest, and building epic forts in their living room.
