Private Message by Danielle Torella

I was excited to read this book since I first 'met' Danielle after seeing all of the wonderful paintings she did for other authors books. I finally got my hands on this book about a week after it was out. Wow, this book did not disappoint, it was not the usual romance novel that I had gotten used to reading; those repeating story lines where the only thing that really changes is the location and characters names and ages. I like how these characters were really relatable. Tess, the main character, is just your average girl, she's a struggling painter who works at a coffee shop. She's been through many hardships in her life just like all of us. She still struggles with the memory of being beaten and nearly raped at a concert 3 years earlier, this keeps her from straying from her every day routine.Then we meet Ben, or "Big_Ben", a known womanizer who works for a music magazine and is known to never sleep with the same girl twice. Tess first sees Ben during one of her art classes in which he is the "male model" which she must draw, instantly she is in aww of him and starts having feelings and thoughts that she has never had for any other guy. In order to try and forget about these thoughts Tess decides to step out of her element and go to a bar after work, she goes to Chatz:

"Welcome to 'Chatz', Log in. Let your inhibitions run wild."

Here she meets Erin, a bubbly red head, with who she instantly becomes friends with. Erin gives her to run down of this new bar, and they get to know each other. Time passes and Tess continues to live her life, with walls up to protect herself from being hurt, she keeps everyone at an arms length. Ben himself has been hurt by the one he loved, and has his own walls up to prevent him from being hurt again. They both come into each others lives like a breath of fresh air. There is that instant connection but there is also that reluctance from both sides to let their walls down. But it seems as if they are exactly what the other needed in order to really be happy. Ben brings out a side of Tess that she didn't even know she had, and Tess allows Ben to be who he is without judging him. But then the past comes back to haunt them, and they realize that their lives have crossed passed once before. Will the past get in the way of their true love, or will they be able to put it aside and fight it together to be together?


Considering the fact that this was Danielle's debut novel, I was amazed. The raw emotions that you felt with both Ben and Tess was amazing. I enjoyed the fact that we got both of their POV, and that we saw into both their heads. I picked this up to read, not expecting it to be so good; I started it and could not put it down, I just needed to see how Ben and Tess would end up. I would HIGHLY recommend this book, it is different from the typical romance books but sooo good! I cannot wait to see what else Danielle comes up with!!