Even The Score
Series: Tall, Dark, and Texan #1
Author: Kate Meader
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: July 21, 2015
He’ll make her an offer she can’t refuse…
Actress Tess McKenzie is performing in the Tenth Circle of Showbiz Hell-dinner theater. All she really wants is to start a theater of her own. Then Tess receives an offer she can’t refuse. She’ll get her funding…if she pretends to be the fiancée to her nemesis, Texan property tycoon Hunter Dade. If she’s going to pull this off, she’ll need all the luck she can get. Break a leg, indeed.
On the verge of a big business deal, Hunter needs to hire a fiancée. He hasn’t quite forgiven Tess for ruining his wedding, but when their chemistry goes from combative to straight-up lust, the “no sex” clause in their mutually beneficial arrangement is tested. Which is a serious problem, because if Tess isn’t careful, she’ll go from breaking a leg to breaking her heart…
Revenge was a dish best served in bed- And Tess McKenzie was about to get a five-course meal.
There is no other trope out there that I love more than hate-to-love. And I think I may have found my favorite hate-to-love romance book to date. Even the Score was full of sexual chemistry, humor, all wrapped around a fantastic story that was utterly delicious. Delicious I tells ya! If this book isn’t on your TBR, you are seriously missing out because what a perfect gam this turned out to be.
A year ago Tess McKenzie was responsible for talking her best friend out of walking down the aisle to marry Hunter Dade, To say that Hunter still holds a grudge about this to this day would be a mild understatement. He despises the little spitfire. But beneath their barbs and insults is an undercurrent of lust and sexual chemistry so strong it’s enough to make things a while lot more interesting.
Fast, slow, all night long.
Tess may have been responsible for the worst day of his life, but Hudson is willing to let bygones be bygones…well…sort of. He’ll get his revenge AND get something out of Tess first. He’ll offer her a deal that she can’t pass up. Hunter needs a “fiance” to land a deal that he needs, and Tess needs funds to start her theater. He may not have forgiven her, but he’s certainly willing to overlook things for a few days. Or as long as it takes to get this attraction out of their systems…
The chemistry between these two was absolutely sizzling. Even when they were at each other’s throats, you can practically feel them wanting to jump each other’s bones. It was so much fun to read. But things are not quite as they seem with them either. Tess may not be the rich little princess that Hunter always thought her to be. And Hunter may be a lot more than just a property tycoon with a chip on his shoulder. As these two begin to get to know each other and their connection grows, they begin to see that somethings aren’t so simple.
Kate Meader devised the perfect formula of hate+lust to make this book absolutely unputdownable. I couldn’t get enough of it. There’s none of that typical and tiring back and forth that you’d normally find in books like this. It just felt like natural progression here.
You can see each of the character’s growth throughout the story and you can’t help but root for them both.
If you’re a fan of the hate-to-love trope, this book is not to be missed. This was my first 5 stars from Brazen this year and I can tell you that I’ve found myself a new author to love. I’m now going back and adding every other book on this woman’s backlist. I’m in love here, people! With the story and with this author.
So here’s the thing, when it comes to my romantic suspense, I’m one picky girl. It’s the first genre that originally got me into reading and I read a lot of it. So suffice it to say it takes quite a bit to impress me. What? I said I was picky. Having had a bit of a taste of Brooke Blaine’s awesome in 
After finishing Flash Point I can say without a shadow of a doubt that Brooke Blaine has definitely got a new fan in me. I can’t wait to see what else the woman has up her sleeve with her future books.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m not really a trilogy girl. I have never really read a trilogy where the main couple consumed me in such a way that I was itching for more of them, and yet somehow these two authors have managed that feat. Not only did I enjoy Release Me, I loved it even more than the first. Yeah. I’ll give you a moment to absorb that.
If second chance romance is your thing, this trilogy will deliver it in spades. I gobbled it right up like the starved addict that I am and it was absolutely delicious. The angst, the secrets, and of course the absolutely scorching hot sex all combined guaranteed for a page turner.
There was not one wasted page in the story. While I felt like the first book was a bit overwhelming on the sex, this one had the absolutely perfect formula. It was just enough to add to the story without taking anything away.
Allow me to preface my review by saying had I read this book immediately after 
I’ve been waiting with bated breath for the conclusion of this story since the cliffhanger in 
When four weeks after their falling out Sin calls her to his office to talk, the last thing she expects is for him to offer her a job. She doesn’t want to work for him, she wants his heart and his forgiveness. But she knows that she’ll have to work with it. But there’s outside forces at work too and the failing magazine she works at may now fall into the clutches of Malcolm’s father. What’s a girl to do?
There was also a lot of Sin husking things. He husks practically every sentence he utters. Not that I’ll complain about that since he was my favorite part of the book.
One thing I did love about this book was the romance…and Malcolm. Lawd did I love me some Malcolm. There are just some alphas that will stick with you for the long haul, and Sin is that alpha for me.
I have been a huge fan of Christy Reece since first discovering her LCR series years ago. I binged on those books and never wanted to end. This is my first book by her in the new LCR spin-off series, LCR Elite, and I can’t say that I ever felt lost or confused not having read the previous book in this series. I did, however, read every single one of her LCR ones. I got a little nostalgic seeing some of my favorite characters making an appearance here, like Gabe Maddox and Skylar from 
This was a solid four star read for me up until that last twist at the end. It was just so OTT that I found myself losing interest in the story. It served as the catalyst for Brennan finally getting his head out of his ass, but it was still mostly eye-roll inducing.
What’s better than a second chance romance? A second chance romance with an Aurora Rose Alpha. *swoon* There’s a reason she’s my go-to author for pure guilty pleasure read, and this book was the perfect fix. At just under 200 pages, it’s on the shorter side, and easily read in one sitting (which I did since I couldn’t put it down). Surprisingly in those short pages Aurora managed to give the readers a true heartfelt romance. It made me cry, it made me swoon, it made me pant. It was that perfect weekend afternoon read that will leave a smile on your face.
Fifteen years ago Lea and Austin were high school sweethearts that were planning on spending the rest of their lives together. But then the tragic death of her father leaves Lea shattered and she runs; from her life, from her town, and from Austin. Now she’s recently divorced and back to her childhood town to take care of her dying mother, but coming to terms with her past isn’t quite so easy when the boy that stole her heart those years ago is now the man that still makes it pound.
To say that Austin isn’t happy to see Lea again is definitely an understatement. When she left, she took what was left of his heart along with her. He’s bitter, angry, and the fact that she still draws him in like she did all those years ago doesn’t make it easier.
This series is my crack. No joke. Lynn Raye Harris has become synonymous for me with sizzling hot romance and heart pounding and action filled suspense. Her books are a guaranteed winner for me every single time and just get better as the series progressed. When I learned that she’ll be adding a SEAL division to her addicting HOT series, to say I was excited was a mild understatement. Not that I didn’t already love her military men, but SEALs! C’mon! Who doesn’t love a good SEAL? Add into that a second chance romance and what you got yourself is a book you won’t be able to put down from beginning to finish. Guaranteed.
What I love most about this series is that every heroine is tough as nails. Even if they’re not an operative themselves, they still hold their own. You won’t find any damsels in distress here. Ivy was certainly no exception. This was a heroine I liked from page one.
Gritty, captivating, unpredictable and completely and utterly unputdownable. Ricochet will suck you into the dark vortex of depravity and vengeance.
No one and I mean no one can write an erotic rockstar romance quite like Olivia Cunning. This book served as the perfect reminder of why I fell in love with her writing and characters in the first place when I first discovered her Sinners series years ago. But this book? This gloriously sexy and make you laugh out loud like a loon book? This is easily my favorite book by this author to date. Coming in at over 500 pages, I never wanted it to end. Yes, it’s long, but never once did it drag, never once did I want to skim, and never once was I bored. Never. I can safely tell you that Insider was very much worth the 2 year wait because it was just that good.
So what did I love about it? Everything. But I suppose I can give you a list since I’m generous like that.
The chemistry between them is instant and absolutely sizzling. And soon Toni begins to get the lesson of a lifetime in more ways than one…
I loved how naive and clueless Toni was about most things and Logan’s ways of teaching her. I just loved these two together. They never failed to spice things up but with a signature humor to it all that made this book absolutely unputdownable.
I also loved that no matter how much sex this book had (and it had quite a bit), it was ALWAYS sizzling hot and I never got tired of it. Olivia Cunning is probably one of the very few authors I know that can actually pull off this much sex in a book without it taking away from the story. It just fit. I didn’t skim one scene in over 500 pages. And it never failed to make me uncomfortable aroused with how hot it all was.
The humor is really what took this book from a solid 4 stars straight to a glorious 5 stars for me. It was quirky, self depreciating, and so much fun. Logan is like a teenager with ADD most times, but it just worked. I just loved him to pieces.
