My Thoughts On The Girl With The Thistle Tattoo

Patricia Green's The Girl With The Thistle Tattoo tells the story of thirtysomething former lawyer Cal, and twenty three year old Astraea who is a barrsta/model.

This is a story that I think will stay with me for a long time.

Astraea is a unique heroine. Far from innocent, she has been on her own for five years, though in many ways she has been emotionally on her own much longer.

She's a rebel in that "I'll show you that I don't care that you hurt me" sort of way that breaks your heart because her pain and struggle are as evident as the blue streak in her hair, though she thinks she's fooling everyone.

Astraea is a young woman who has used and been used. She puts on a brave face of sexual bravado to mask the icky feelings of her promiscuity.

She meets Cal at the coffee shop where she works and invites him on a "f*ck date" within minutes of their first hello. In addition to her beauty, Cal sees the hurt girl beneath the piercings and potty mouth.

I think all of us know or have known an Astraea: a person determined not to need anyone, impulsive, defiant and usually their own worst enemy.

Through discipline and love, Cal shows Astraea that she is not the unloveable screw up that she has come to consider herself.

Cal's discipline, reliability and affection have a positive affect on Astraea. At the same time, her free spirited nature and vulnerability touch a place in Cal that needed to be touched. (No, not that place, though the sex is H O T).

This isn't your typical twenty three year old spoiled brat heroine and this story covers some gritty territory. Give it a try. You won't be sorry.

Get reading! We are going to be discussing this book at Spanking Stories Book Club on Friday, January 24.