Dr. Dixon Matthews, therapist, intrigued by other’s addictions while also feeding his own, and has some questionable morals. Having been burned in the past he now finds his solace in the comforts of women and in these acts is where he will find himself in a predicament later. As, a player Dixon think she never wants to find another person to fall for, yet at some point he finds himself falling for two different women. Juliet and Madison could not be more opposite if they tried. Juliet, I was going to try not to be judgmental or cruel, but this chick is certified. She is a sex addict, evil manipulator and finds an easy target in Dixon which blew my mind seeing he was a therapist and should have seen her true colors coming a mile away. She annoyed me, I didn’t like her at all, and when Dixon was tolerating her being around so much, I wanted to throat punch him. Madison is the epitome of a good girl with some dark trauma in her past. Her innocence and kindness reach into Dixon’s cold heart and draws him in. Dixon was never expecting to ever get caught up by a woman again let alone two, so now he has a choice to make. This book is not your typical romance where you will fall helplessly in love with the Hero and things find a way to workout easily for the couple, no this book will have you aggravated and angry ready to throw down with him. The drama and angst had me reading well past my bedtime because I had to know if Dixon would make the right choice (well my choice) and how things would play out for his decision. It does end on a cliffhanger, and I am curious to how Dixon will dig himself out the hole he is in because there are some truly evil heinous characters that need justice slapped in their faces. Overall, the book had my emotions everywhere, Dixon kind of grew on me but not 100% yet so I’m hoping he redeems himself in the next book. ( )

Dirty Dix by Monica James
Book #1: Hard Love Romance Series
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 4/5 stars
My Review:

Do you remember the show Dexter? Yeah, the show with the serial killer that you totally knew you weren’t supposed to like but you did anyway. Well, Dix is my new Dexter and I loves me some Dix just like I loved me some Dexter.

Dix is the best kind of anti-hero! From the moment Dix is introduced, he owns up to his failings and faults and blames no one but himself. If there is a moral/ethical/professional/social more that can be bent or broken, Dix has indeed shattered them and makes few apologies for having done so. Since his most unfortunate and ugly break-up, Dix has had no interest in a relationship but has had loads of interest in banging a butt load of women. Dix never offers the women he shags more than a physical encounter and if at all possible, he never “sees” the same women more than once. The only women Dix sees more than once are his patients and while he feels the tiniest bit of guilt for shagging those particular women, his colleagues do often note the remarkable progress found among Dix’s patients.

The moment Juliet walks into Dix’s office, he knows he is in for a wild ride that will leave him in search of his sanity. In bed, Juliet is all Dix could ever hope for. She is more than willing, totally able, and seemingly as disconnected emotionally as Dix. Everything about Juliet raises red flags, even the sex but Dix can’t seem to walk away. What Dix can’t possibly know is just how much of an impact Juliet is going to have on his life.

At about the same time Juliet comes into Dix’s life, so does Madison. Madison is perhaps the purest person Dix has ever met and she is everything he should want. Dix does want Madison but, like Juliet, she raises a great many red flags. Madison is kind and good but she is clearly hiding something that causes her a great deal of anxiety where physical intimacy is concerned. With his great interest in physical intimacy, Dix knows he has no business sniffing around Madison but, also like Juliet, he can’t seem to walk away. Quite unlike Juliet, Madison makes Dix care and that is something he hasn’t done in quite a long time. Both Juliet and Madison have the capacity to ruin Dix. He just has to decide if he wants the ruin to be moral or emotional.

The Bottom Line: Dirty Dix is all about Dix for me and from beginning to end, I loved every minute of him. No matter what new dumbassery he got himself involved in, and there’s a lot of dumbassery, I still found myself rooting for him. Dix’s life is like a naughty, dirty three-ring circus that seems to get crazier with every turn of the page. Though I found Dix to be the strongest and most interesting character, there is actually a whole cast of characters that surround him and most of them are quite entertaining in their own right. Dix’s best friends are like yin and yang and when beer is involved, they’re a special kind of fantastic. They work as Dix’s conscience (sort of!) and sounding board when he is desperate and try desperately to steer him in the right direction. The women are certainly a factor as well but neither have the impact of Dix and I tended to see both Juliet and Madison as supporting characters. In all, I very much enjoyed this first in a series read and dove right into the second book, Wicked Dix! ( )

I would like to thank Net Galley and Bookouture for the copy of Dirty Dix by Monica James in exchange for my review.

Dr Dixon Matthews is a top New York Psychiatrist whose patients all have one thing in common – addiction. And Dixon’s secret – he’s addicted too. Left broken hearted by his fiancé, Dixon turned to the one thing that he knew would give him the release he needed. Endless, meaningless, no-strings-attached sex. Picking up random women in clubs, even his own patients, no-one appears to be off limits.

And then everything changes when he meets two women who intrigue him for two very different reasons. Juliet Harte is a woman just like Dixon. Initially visiting him as a patient, she is also addicted to sex and will stop at nothing to get what she wants, in this case Dixon himself. Madison Roberts is the exact opposite. Tiny and shy, she is everything that Dixon and Juliet aren’t and something about her makes Dixon want her in the worst way.

The story, told mostly in Dixon’s voice, follows him as he navigates his feelings for and relationship with, the two very different women. He is what can only be called a complete man-whore, and yet the tone of his voice, unapologetic and completely aware of his failings, makes you as the reader kind of warm to him. His friends, the completely domesticated Finch and the equally whorish Hunter, try and help Dixon see the error of his ways as he makes mistake after mistake with the two women and the balance of the friendship between the three, how they play off each other and know each other, is well written, making you feel a part of their little clique. The humour between them made me chuckle, and the ladishness of their encounters sit well with the tone of the book.

Yes, as you would imagine, there is a certain amount of sex but it is not all about that by any stretch, and it didn’t feel overly gratuitous in any way as some stories can, particularly if you factor in that you have two sex addicts central to the plot. Told partly from Madison’s point of view, when her secret is revealed, it is handled well, not attempting to shock the reader by overplaying the violence angle, but still making it clear the impact upon the character herself. It also gives the opportunity to explore the softer side of Dixon, the man you imagine him to have been before his heart was broken. Dixon has a real sense of the importance of family, which is in conflict with his addiction but get the feeling that Madison can help him to rediscover this, most definitely better, part of himself. You don’t fully get to understand what drives Juliet in this book as I don’t buy she is just an old fashioned bunny boiler, but I would assume this gem has been saved to be revealed in book 2.

There are strong hints dropped throughout about the big reveal and mini cliff-hanger at the end of the book, but even though I had worked out what was about to happen, it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story. The story flowed well and was really accessible. I went through it in one sitting, chuckling to myself several times on the way through. At the end of the day, this is a good fun story and was a well needed moment of pure escapism at the end of a long day.

If you like your hero (very tongue in cheek use of that term) a little on the bad side, unapologetically whorish but with the hint of still being redeemable, then Dixon is probably your man. And if we’re being honest, what woman doesn’t really like the idea of finding that dangerously sexy bad boy who has the potential to come good in the end. ( )