Received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

This was a hot and dirty read that also had so much heart...something that Ashenden does so well. Tamara is stuck...working her way up in her father's company, expected to marry the man that could help her father's business interests...when she meets Zee and sparks fly. Zee represents everything that isn't her life. It's wild and complicated and real. But can they overcome their pasts enough to make something real?

Dirty For Me is the first book in the adult Motor City Royals series by Jackie Ashenden. One of my goals for this year was to read more books that are our of my comfort zone, so I have been picking up rockstar romances, biker romances and other lesser read romance tropes for me. This is one of those out of my comfort zone reads, and I have to say, it just didn't work out for me. This is totally a case of, it's me not you, because this is just not my cup of tea. I liked Dirty for Me, I just didn't love it.

Honestly Zee and Tamara weren't that thrilling to me. The story line had already been told countless times. This just seemed overdone and boring.

I am trying to figure out how to review this one without it becoming a fan girl letter to Jackie...

This book sets up what should be a very intense set of stories about a group of close friends who made a family out of not so great circumstances.  This first book is about Zee who is keeping a pretty big secret from his friends and is driven by a memory of what might have been.  He's convinced that he's only good for a no-strings fling but finds himself oddly attracted to a woman who he feels is too good for him. I liked seeing him realize who he really was, what he really wanted and even better...  that he wasn't his father.

The woman who makes him wake up has spent the last few years being the perfect daughter.  She's taking atonement to a whole new level by suppressing her entire personality, dreams and self in order to make up something she shouldn't have to for parents who don't deserve her.  She meets Zee when she accompanies a co-worker to a gym in a not so great side of town.  Sparks fly between them that are undeniable but Tamara is determined to make her parents proud by working hard, marrying the man they picked and, in general, not allowing herself to be anything other than a rich princess.  Zee is supposed to only be a fling that doesn't mean anything during the last bit of freedom that she has.

What we get with the two of them is amazingly hot sex but a sense that these two can heal one another.  They can push each other to fully embrace who they are without shame, without judgement and without the burdens of the past.  They really will grab at you but .... I have a feeling as much as I enjoyed them....  The next two pairs will put their scorching story to shame with the small glimpses we saw in this one.  I cannot wait for the next book and look forward to seeing how the rest of the gang find their happy endings...  ;-)

DIRTY FOR ME is a good story with flawed, gritty, complex characters. I can’t say I liked Zee or Tamara but it that didn’t stop me from getting into their story and rooting for them. Their chemistry is unwanted but hot. Neither is looking for the other but they can’t seem to stop themselves. I liked the tension that added to the story. Their relationship is dysfunction but that very trait leads to interesting situations and interactions and has the reader hoping Zee and Tamara find their way. These two each need someone who understands and cares for them. The tender moments each offers the other are particularly heartwarming.

There was a lot of additional tension from the situations both find themselves in with their vastly different, but equally flawed, parents. I think this could have been explored even more. The resolution to their problems was OK but a little too easy. I’m skeptical that Zee’s threat against his dad would keep Joshua Chase away from his son or Tamara permanently. And how do we know that Tamara’s threat would hold any weight on behalf of her parents? She’s assuming her father isn’t in cahoots with the elder Chase or that Chase isn’t blackmailing him.

I can recommend this book and I’ll look forwarding to reading other Ashenden books.

DIRTY FOR ME - Jackie Ashenden

#1 in the Motor City Royals series

HOT! HOT! HOT! - 4 stars

Plot - 4 stars - Tamara is a rich upper-class girl who has done something horrible in her past that was covered up. Now she feels she must abide by her parents' rules completely in order to pay them back for their support. But she's not really the yes-girl she pretends to be. So when she randomly goes with her friend to the wrong side of town for a self-defense class, her immediate attraction to the instructor pushes her to go outside her normal boundaries.

Writing - 4 stars - Ashenden definitely knows how to write a hot sex scene! Whew! Somehow she draws you immediately into the characters, seamlessly building them until you can't help but become intimately involved in their lives. That being said, I would have liked a little more relationship building and a little less sex. Although the intimate scenes were very hot, they didn't allow enough time to really create well-designed characters. Even though we got to know their past secrets, I would have liked to know a little more about Zee's work with troubled teens, Tamara's reasons for leaning away from her wealthy background, and more about Zee's friends in the garage.

Characters - 4 stars - Tamara is the poor little rich girl who is always striving to meet her parents' (and everyone else's) expectations. She's pushed into situations she doesn't like (upcoming marriage to Robert, for example) and her boss from hell, but she lives a life of guilt over something that happened in her past. I understood her need to break free, just for a little while. What happened, though, was that she got addicted to the sex that Zee offered, finding that she felt more comfortable with him when she could completely let down her guard. Zee is basically a good guy, but he's had some tough breaks and has lived a difficult life. He's the exact opposite from Tamara and also has a history that involves something bad that happened to a similar girl in his life. He's trying to do the right thing, but he has become obsessed with Tamara and can't resist her. Their chemistry is combustible, and I was definitely rooting for their success. I would have liked to have gotten to know the secondary characters a little better, to give a little more environmental color to Zee especially.

Title - 4 stars - Loved the title. Tamara was definitely getting down and dirty with Zee, both literally (in the automotive garage) and figuratively (by leaving the ivory tower world where she lives and works).

Cover - 4 stars - Nothing wrong with a sexy male body.

Overall - 4 stars - I know when I pick up an Ashenden book that I'll become absorbed in the characters and the story, with lots of hot scenes. This one was no exception. My only criticism is that she spent a little too much time on the hot scenes and not enough time building a little more background into her characters. Although I found them very attractive, I didn't feel I really got to know them in a more well-rounded manner. I would have liked more backstory about their work, their friends, their reasons for their choices. And the over-the-top statement by Zee at the end seemed out of character and felt a little rushed. But, it was still a winner and I continue to be a fan of this author.

Great book! The characters were great and story good. The hero and heroine were great together and very hot! Was a blast to read and makes me want to read more by this author!

Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me. I just didn't enjoyed it and ended up DNF it.