Review: No Love Lost by Lexi Blake

September 29, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

NO LOVE LOST
Series: Masters & Mercenaries: The Forgotten #5)
Genre: Romantic Suspense, BDSM
Author: Lexi Blake
Release Date: September 29, 2020

When Ezra Fain joined the ranks of the CIA, the last thing on his mind was romance. After meeting Kim Soloman, it was difficult to think of anything else. A tragic mistake drove them apart, leaving him shattered and unable to forgive the woman he loved. But when his greatest enemy threatens her life, Ezra leaps into action, prepared to do anything to try to save her.

Solo accepted long ago that she won’t get over Ezra. She’s worked for years to get back into his life, looking for any way to reignite the love they once shared. Unfortunately, nothing seems to penetrate the wall he has built between them. When she’s arrested for a crime she didn’t commit, she believes she’s on her own.

Racing across the globe, Ezra and Solo find themselves together again, caught in the crosshairs of the agency they sacrificed so much to serve. Days on the run soon turn to steamy nights, but Levi Green isn’t about to let them find their happily ever after. And when the smoke clears, the men and women of McKay-Taggart will never be the same again.

 AMAZON 

He would win her back. He wouldn’t stop until she said yes to him again.

I have spent years, YEARS waiting for this book. YEARS. Y’all don’t even realize the amount of want I had for this. When you crave a book this bad, when you’re so desperate for a particular character’s story and HEA, let me tell you something, you set your expectations high. You can’t help it. Beck and Solo have spent years being some of the most memorable secondary characters in previous books. I’ve been dying for their HEA and my hopes were high. I was almost terrified going into this book for fear that I may have set them too high. And then Lexi Blake comes in and blows all of expectations right out of the water. Because this book didn’t just meet them, it far exceeded anything I could have ever hoped for.

Fuck you, Beck.”
“Yeah, I’d intended for this to end that way, but if you need to rage a little more, go on. I assure you I can take it.”

This is a love story years in the making. A romance that started out fiery hot between two agents and then burned out even hotter when lies and espionage came between them. It’s been years, and the rage that’s there still burns for Beck. He may not be over Solo, but he’s not ready to forgive her either. He blames her for the death of his brother and he doesn’t mince his words or spare her his hatred when they’re in each other’s vicinity.

Let me tell you I almost wanted to hate Beck. His treatment of Solo is almost callous at times. The amount of anger and resentment he carries towards her is almost painful to read. And the way she takes all his verbal punches on the chin and doesn’t flinch made me love her even more. Solo is one tough cookie. Lexi wrote some of the most kickass heroines I’ve read, but Solo is in a class of her own. She may have her hard and tough exterior, but she cares and she cares deeply for those she considers friends.

There’s so much that happened in this book. So many secrets and twists that sent my head spinning. It was a non-stop action packed ride full of depth and emotion. I spent so long waiting for Beck to finally see the error of his ways but I wasn’t prepared for just how hard he’d feel it. The second chance feels of this story were on a whole other level. I lived for these two.

After so many years with the Masters and Mercenaries series and this spinoff, I feel like I know these characters. I crave each little glimpse of them as the years pass. But no one is quite as potent as Ian Black and his kids. The hell raisers that his daughters have come to be is the most deliciously hilarious thing to read. I loved them!

To say I loved this book would be an understatement. I devoured it. I lived for it. I couldn’t get enough of this story. There’s so many revelations that by the time I picked my jaw off of the floor, another would come out of left field and whack me over the head. It was so good! I think the last time I was anticipating a book this bad, it was Ian’s. But this one far exceeded any expectations. Beck and Solo were everything. One of my favorites in the series. Bar none.

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Review: Lies & Lullabies by Sarina Bowen

September 23, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

LIES & LULLABIES
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Hush Note #1
Author: Sarina Bowen
Release Date: September 22, 2020

Summer nights and star-crossed lovers! From USA Today bestselling author Sarina Bowen.

Once upon a time, he gave me a summer of friendship, followed by one perfect night. We shared a lot during our short time together. But he skipped a few crucial details.

I didn’t know he was a rock star.

I didn’t know his real name.

Neither of us knew I’d get pregnant.

And I sure never expected to see him again.

Five years later, his tour bus pulls up in Nest Lake, Maine.

My little world is about to be shattered by loud music and the pounding of my own foolish heart.

 AMAZON 

He’d been a charming diversion with enormous consequences.

I am a sucker for a second chance romance. I live for it. The angst. The emotion. All of the feels. Now it’s been a hot minute since I’ve read a Sarina Bowen book and I was so excited to get my hands on this one. This trope is my book crack so I was so here for it.

Kira and Jonas spent one unforgettable summer together. They were both in a place where they were looking for a connection and were a little lost. They gave each other something that changed them both irrevocably. Kira had no idea at the time they met that Jonas was a famous rockstar. Jonas fell hard for Kira but knew he couldn’t give her what she needed, so he left.

Five years later, their paths cross again. This time Jonas knows exactly what he wants, and he needs a second chance with the woman he never got over. What he doesn’t expect, is the secret that Kira has kept from him all these years in the form of an adorably rambunctious daughter.

Now I do love me some surprise baby trope as well. But it also has to have one thing for me to connect; a good reason for the baby to be a secret. And sadly, I didn’t feel that Kira had one. This ultimately began to grate on me, because I couldn’t help but judge her for it.

Jonas was everything. The man was swoon personified. I loved the way he manned up and was there for his girls. I loved the way he handled the reveal. And really, I just loved him.

The pacing was a bit off, and I did find myself growing bored. The flashbacks to their summer five years ago also felt lacking. I wanted a little more meat here. I really wish it was fleshed out further. Don’t get me wrong. While I didn’t love this story, I still enjoyed it. It may have been a little slow for my tastes, but it still hit the spot. The other band members really hooked me, but my favorite part of the book was Kira’s brother. The man was just GAH. I hope he gets a book of his own because I loved being in his head for the few short pages.

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#DGRFave & Review: God of Monsters by Keri Lake

September 22, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

GOD OF MONSTERS
Genre: Dark Apocalyptic Romance
Series: Juniper Unraveling #4
Author: Keri Lake
Release Date: September 22, 2020

I’ve heard stories about the Alphas. Violent soldiers, bred to kill both humans and mutations, whose sole purpose was to balance our survival against the infected.

Until they turned on their masters.

Held as subjects of the Calico research facility, they were forced to endure the gruesome experiments that transformed them into callous savages with hearts as impenetrable as their defenses. More terrifying than the monsters that decimated our world with disease and famine.

In the aftermath of Calico’s collapse, many of the Alphas fled, only to be hunted by our own

Legion army. And in their absence, the balance has shifted.

I thought they no longer existed.

Until I met him, the god of monsters.

Now I don’t believe in the stories anymore.

To fall in love with the unyielding heart of an Alpha is said to be impossible.

But to fall in love with a god would be a tragedy.

 AMAZON 


…In the land of monsters, survival comes before everything else.”

What was the last book you read that kept you up all night, turned you inside out, and stuck with you for months to come? I can say this about the ENTIRE Juniper Unraveling series. But God Of Monsters absolutely owned me. A dark, captivating and gut wrenching romance in the midst of hell on earth, this book ripped me to shreds and I’ll never be the same again.

This is a dark apocalyptic romance and if you haven’t read this genre yet, Keri will suck you into this world and keep you on the edge of your seat. Even if apocalyptic isn’t your cuppa, trust me, this series will make a believer out of you.

As for this book? The epic conclusion to one of the most epic series was a non stop, action packed ride. I can’t imagine the series closing with a better book. Thalia and Titus’s story was on a whole other level. It was simply otherworldly. Ha! See what I did there? But I digress.

If you’ve read Kings of Carrion, then you’ll remember Titus. But nothing, and I mean nothing will prepare you for the full force that is Titus as the main character. This man was GAH. He was TORTURED with a capital T. Titus has survived the very depths of human depravity and has seen horrors that most can’t even imagine. He’s lost more than any person could imagine in their lifetimes. He’s a warrior through and through, but this story takes you into the dark depths of his world, and an easy read it is not.

Thalia is a woman that hasn’t truly experienced Calico. She’s only heard stories and warning tales of the Alphas that were created within those walls. She was born with a purpose but her heart doesn’t agree. She yearns for something else, something beyond the life of her small and sheltered village. Something beyond her duty. But nothing could prepare her for what she is about to go through.

Now I will tell you, this book was dark. I mean it was DARK. If there’s one thing that Keri Lake knows how to do, is make her readers squirm. I’m talking, dread in the pit of your stomach, anxiety ridden hot mess of a reader who is just waiting for that other shoe to drop. Keri is not afraid to bring readers into the darkest pits and spare no detail. And she doesn’t. You experience it all; the despair, the violence, the devastation. The story takes you to hell and back and somehow manages to stitch you back together in the end. I sobbed my way through the last 20% of this book and I can’t stop thinking about it months after.

This is a story about survival and love amongst ruins. It’s a story of perseverance and strength. It’s emotional, captivating, and utterly mesmerizing. Easily my favorite series from this author to date. If you read any book this year, make it this one. Trust me. And if you haven’t read this series yet, do yourself a favor and experience it. Because it’s unlike anything you’ve ever read.

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Review: Falling Into You by A.L. Jackson

September 21, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

FALLING INTO YOU
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Falling Stars #3
Author: A.L. Jackson
Release Date: September 21, 2020

Richard Ramsey is the guitarist for the world’s hottest new band.
Gifted. Charismatic. Hot as sin.
Lend your ear, and he’ll steal your heart.
Nah, you can’t have his considering he left it in his hometown years ago.

He knows better than going back. But it’s his younger sister’s wedding, and there’s no way he can say no to that.

He should have known she would be there, invading his senses and making him thirst and hunger for what he wants most.

Violet Marin hates him for what he’s done. He left her emptyhanded with their wreckage strewn all around. She’s picked up the pieces and is living her life the best way that she can.

But their connection is fierce.
Their attraction unending.
It only takes one glance for their worlds to collide.
One touch to set them on fire.

But she doesn’t know the dark secrets he keeps. If he had understood the true price of fame, he would have known he’d sold his soul and this debt is something he cannot repay.

Letting her go is impossible, but will loving her cost it all?

A sensuous, captivating contemporary stand-alone romance in the Falling Stars series from NYT & USA Today Bestselling Author, A.L. Jackson . . .

 AMAZON 

Why are you here?”
“Because I don’t know how to be where you are not”

GOD. Rip my heart right out of my chest why don’t ya, AL Jackson. I’ve been in my feels for days over this and I still can’t stop.

Now if you’ve read literally any book by this author, then you already know she has the ability to reach into the depths of your soul and wring havoc on all your emotions. But this book? This book was simply on a whole other level. Not only for the very relevant and poignant subject it covers but all of the feels of a second chance romance.

You are every song I have ever written…
You are every lyric. Every riff. Every strum. Every echo. You are the song of my heart.”

Violet was once Richard Ramsey’s entire world, until his world got tilted on its axis. Richard harbors plenty of dark secrets and demons that plague his every waking moment. Demons of what could have been and the reality of what truly was. He’s an immensely complex yet oh so tortured character that I simply couldn’t get enough of. This is a man with so many layers, and each time you peel back one, you only realize you’re still not even close to the true core of him.

Now a rock star, circumstance brings him back to Violet but their reunion is not a sweet one. It’s turbulent and full of dark secrets that can break them both. Neither got over the other, but while Richard says he walked away for Violet’s own good, neither her or the reader knows that that reason is. But when it does come to the light? Holy plot twist!

This was an incredibly poignant and emotional book. I have so much respect for the author for not only touching such a relevant and sensitive subject matter, but also not just glossing over it. She does it justice. She brings light to it and she makes you feel it. And boy do you feel it. It’s one emotional rollercoaster of a book full of twists, turmoil and heartbreak.

My only quibble is the overly flowery prose. As much as I adore Jackson’s talent and emotional romance, the prose was just too much for me here. I’m not a reader that gravitates towards overly lyrical prose, and this book has it in spades. Now this is entirely a personal bias, and the book is beautifully written. It just so happens that the prose is not my particular cuppa.

That aside, this was an incredibly poignant and unforgettable second chance romance.

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Review: Gold Mine by Skye Warren

September 17, 2020 by · 2 Comments

GOLD MINE
Genre: Dark Romance
Series: The Diamond Trilogy #2
Author: Skye Warren
Release Date: September 15, 2020

Holly Frank is in trouble. The deadly kind.

She and her sister must evade the authorities and the criminals who want them dead. Including Elijah North. The man who took her heart in Paris, her body in a prison cell, and her trust without remorse.

He’s determined to keep her safe. Even if that means losing her forever.

Adam Bisset has his own dark agenda.

She’s caught between the two men, torn apart with every sensual push and pull. Each touch is a lie, each whispered tenderness a trap—but she can’t resist them.

Their lies are tearing her apart. Her enemies are catching up with her. And when she’s taken captive again, she finds out secrets to unravel it all.

AMAZON | iBOOKS | NOOK | KOBO

You can pretend you’re disgusted with me when I make you come so hard you see God.

How many times have you been able to say that book two in a trilogy was even better than book one? Because I can count how many times I’ve felt this on one finger. Yes, I said it. Because it never happens for me. Usually book one hooks me, and then book two is slow paced filler. Not this time. Gold Mine was EPIC. It was a deliciously erotic, heart-pounding thrill ride of one jaw dropping plot twist after another. And this girl gobbled it right up!

…I take what I want. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that, Holly.”
“Have you heard of dating?”
He gives me a small, private smile. “This is better. I don’t want to ask you out. I don’t want to give you the illusion that you can say no, Holly. You’re mine.”

I thought I loved Elijah in Diamond in the Rough, but I was simply not prepared for the full dose of everything that is him in this one. Oh. My. GAWD. This man. He’s so incredibly complex but with a vein of darkness that pulses through him. And this time we finally get a peek beneath that mysterious curtain. The layers are peeled back and it made me fall even harder for him.

There’s also a delicious underlay of taboo here with a splash of dub con that I was drooling over. Elijah is a man that likes it hard and dirty and did I say OMG? Because OMG.

Holly is just as fierce as she was in the first book. She’s fiercely protective of her sister and she’s slowly coming to the realization that there’s something between her and Elijah when he finally catches her again. That something is a little dark, a little depraved, and a lot delicious. It’s unconventional and they’re both definitely struggling trying to understand it. Elijah’s cravings may run on the dark and depraved side, but Holly craves everything that he has to give.

There’s a lot more that gets revealed about the North brothers, so of course I’m already salivating for Josh’s book. But then the jaw dropping revelations for Adam happen and I’m absolutely desperate for his book too.

This installment was a non-stop trill ride that I couldn’t set down for even a minute. I devoured this book in one sitting and now I’m going through withdrawals until my next fix.

Skye Warren is the New York Times bestselling author of dangerous romance such as the Endgame trilogy. Her books have been featured in Jezebel, Buzzfeed, USA Today Happily Ever After, Glamour, and Elle Magazine. She makes her home in Texas with her loving family, sweet dogs, and evil cat.

Connect with Skye

Website | Goodreads | Amazon  |  Facebook |  Facebook Group |  Instagram  | Twitter  |  Bookbub |  Pinterest

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Review: Unholy Intent by Natasha Knight

September 16, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

UNHOLY INTENT
Seroes: Unholy Union Duet #2
Genre: Dark Romance
Author: Natasha Knight
Release Date: September 15, 2020

Cristina

In this house of lies and liars, behind every locked door is a monster in wait.

Forced to marry a man I hate, I am now bound to Damian. There’s something between us that needs to be played out. I don’t know what it is. I don’t know that he does. But he and I are locked together for some strange, grim purpose.

Will we survive it?
He may since he’s the one pulling the strings.
But will I?

Damian

My brother will tell you that I usurped his throne and maybe I did, but that’s too bad.

I built our family up from the ashes. I put us back at the top of the food chain. And marrying Cristina was as much to cement my place as it was to keep her safe.

She doesn’t believe that last part yet, but I see how she clings to me in the darkness. And the lock on her door is as much to keep the monsters out as it is to keep her in.

I told her one lie, though. I made her a promise I’m not sure I ever meant to keep. I told her I’d let her go once I had what I wanted.

But in a world of monsters, I need her like man needs air. And I have no intention of letting her go.

 AMAZON

Even as I hate myself for it, I cling to him, my enemy. This monster who doesn’t hide in the dark. The one in whose bed I’ll sleep. My monster.

Raise your hand if you stayed up way past your bed time binging on this book and could barely function at work the next morning and no amount of coffee helped but yet you still couldn’t find two f’s to rub together because this book was totally worth it….
No but seriously though. I think this may have been my favorite from Natasha Knight to date. We already know that her antiheroes are my favorite sort of book crack. But Cristina and Damian’s story was simply on a whole other level.

First of all, I love when an author makes an antihero’s fall believable. And Damian was certainly no knight in shining armor in the first book. Heck he wasn’t even a knight in tarnished armor. He was a straight up villain with a devilish smile and unholy intentions. See what I did there? HA! But I digress. What I’m trying to say, is that Cristina and Damian are very much a slow burn. And where the first book develops the chemistry between them, this book sets that chemistry on fire that’s so hot, it practically singes your fingers with every turn of the page.

What I loved the most is how believable it was. Their relationship is turbulent at best and toxic at worst, but it’s also entirely addictive. Cristina is a fierce heroine. She’s not naive and sheltered as you may thing an eighteen year old would be. Though she may not have been fully privy to her reality and what her father was, she doesn’t take her situation as a victim. She fights tooth and nail and I loved that about her. This is a female that gives as good as she gets.

Damian was just…GAH. I loved him. He’s deliciously wicked. He may be a bad guy, but beneath the sexual depravity there is a hidden heart, and I loved seeing that get revealed more and more in this book.

This was a jaw dropping and unputdownable conclusion to one of the most addictive duets I’ve read. If you like dark romance with a fierce heroine and sinful antihero, you need this on your TBR. Trust me.

USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance, Natasha Knight specializes in dark, tortured heroes. Happily-Ever-Afters are almost always guaranteed, but she likes to put her characters through hell to get them there. She’s evil like that.

 

Connect with Natasha:

Website: http://natasha-knight.com

Bookbub: http://bit.ly/29Cb7vD

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2kg2fRX

Facebook: http://bit.ly/29q3s4b

Facebook Group: http://bit.ly/2xvnZO5

Newsletter: http://natasha-knight.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natashaknight13

 

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Review: Dirty Empire by Nina West

September 15, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

DIRTY EMPIRE Genre: Contemporary Romance, Dark Series: Dirty Empire #3 Author: Nina West Release Date: September 15, 2020

From internationally bestselling author K.A. Tucker, writing as Nina West, comes the dark and sexy Dirty Empire series   Mercy Wheeler and Gabriel Easton’s sordid tale continues in Dirty Empire as Mercy finds her loyalties tested and Gabriel’s attempt to break free of his family’s legacy comes with unexpected consequences.         Dirty Empire is the third book in the Dirty Empire series and should be read after Sweet Mercy and Gabriel Fallen.

 AMAZON

Sweet Mercy (#1 Dirty Empire) is also FREE!

AMAZON

You fucking own me, Mercy.” He presses his forehead to mine. “I never expected to feel about anyone like I do about you.”
Actual footage of unsuspecting me thinking I’m reading the conclusion of what I thought was a trilogy Talk about your jaw dropping cliffhanger. Good lord! I’m not even mad here since this means I get one more book with Gabriel. Bring it on, Nina West. Bring. It. On. The third installment in this addictive series brought plenty of action and so many twists and turns, my head was spinning when I finished. We finally get to see the softer side of Gabriel come out in this book and I was so here for it. Watching this man fall hard for Mercy was one of the most delicious experiences. He’s the ultimate bad boy. And considering he essentially bribes Mercy into being with him, it’s almost poetic justice to see him fall so hard for her. Mercy is still coming to grips with her feelings for him. Here’s a man on the wrong side of the law, a playboy that doesn’t even say the word commitment, let alone live it, and he can’t seem to get enough of her. With each day, she sees a different side of him. But this installment was so much more than the blooming romance. Everything comes to a head for the two brothers here and the plot twists that happen? Mind. Blown. Holy cow! I didn’t see any of them coming but I don’t think I’ve ever been so invested in a story. I’m absolutely dying to see how everything ends after that jaw dropping ending. On a side note, am I the only one feeling the vibes between Merrick and Caleb? Because holy mother of ovaries, I’m going to need a book for them. I was already invested in all things Caleb. You know I love me a bad boy manwhore. But add Merrick into the mix and I’m done. DONE. I need this to happen. But back to business for this book. This was another unputdownable installment of a sinfully sizzling series and I absolutely cannot wait for the conclusion!
Nina West is the author of the sinfully sexy and highly addictive The Wolf Hotel series and Dirty Empire series. She lives in the city but spends her summers in the wilderness.

Connect with Nina

Amazon | Goodreads | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bookbub 

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#DGRFave & Review: Playing With Fire by LJ Shen

September 15, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

PLAYING WITH FIRE
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: LJ Shen
Release Date: September 15, 2020

A broken boy on the path to destruction.
A scarred girl without direction.
A love story carved in secrets, inked with pain and sealed with a lie.

Grace Shaw and West St. Claire are arctic opposites.
She is the strange girl from the food truck.
He is the mysterious underground fighter who stormed into her sleepy Texan college town on his motorcycle one day, and has been wreaking havoc since.
She is invisible to the world.
He is the town’s beloved bad boy.
She is a reject.
He is trouble.
When West thrusts himself into Grace’s quiet life, she scrambles to figure out if he is her happily-ever-after or tragic ending.
But the harder she pushes him away, the more he pulls her out of her shell.
Grace doesn’t know much about anything beyond her town’s limits, but she does know this:
She is falling in love with the hottest guy in Sheridan U.
And when you play with fire—you ought to get burned.

 AMAZON

He was going to soar and burst like a supernova once he was out of this small Texas town, and I was going to remain the ashes he left behind—the stardust that slowly descended the earth in his wake.

You know what I love about LJ Shen? Her ability to create some of the most unique and memorable characters I’ve ever read. Starting with Sparrow, my first book of hers, to now, I can remember every minute detail of her books, and considering most days I can’t remember what I had for breakfast, that’s saying something.

But Playing With Fire? This one just hit different. It was unlike anything I’ve read from LJ Shen before. It was a fiery, passionate and emotional whirlwind of a story that owned me from beginning to finish.

This was going to be temporary. And painful. And worth it.

Grace Shaw is not your typical heroine and easily one of the most unique characters I’ve read in a very long while. She used to be the queen B, now turned recluse. Her world was turned upside down and nothing has been the same since. She’s plagued by memories of what used to be and the hard reality of her present.

West is the town’s golden bad boy. A sinner on a motorcycle and the epitome of everything that Grace should stay away from. Theirs is the unlikeliest of bonds and friendships that starts with sparks of attraction, burns with a fiery hate, and rises from the ashes like a phoenix of love. Lord, I’m getting poetic here. But y’all. I just don’t have a better way of describing their relationship to you. It’s opposites attract with plenty of banter turned to some of the most delicious sexual tension. It was everything. EVERYTHING. It was angsty. It was painful. It was spellbinding and absolutely magnificent. I died for these two. This tortured town recluse and the bad boy that slowly but surely brings her out of her shell.

The romance is a delicious slow burn that I couldn’t get enough of. The story was packed with feels, plot twists, and enough chemistry to set fire to the pages. Pun intended. It was a unique, captivating, and utterly unforgettable standalone from the queen of angst, and I can’t recommend it enough.

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Review: Not My Romeo by Ilsa Madden-Mills

September 5, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

NOT MY ROMEO
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: The Game Changers #1
Author: Ilsa Madden-Mills
Release Date: August 18, 2020

Wall Street Journal bestselling author Ilsa Madden-Mills delivers a smart and sexy contemporary romance about a smoking-hot professional football player and the small-town girl he can’t resist.

We start off with a lie on Valentine’s Day.

My blind date isn’t the studious guy I expected: he’s a drop-dead gorgeous player with sinful amber eyes. Somehow we end up at his penthouse. I blame the gin and tonic.

The next day I learn he’s Jack Hawke—bad-boy professional quarterback with a murky past. The NDA he has me sign should be a warning that he isn’t a regular person. Please. I sign it Juliet Capulet, so goodbye, famous football player with abs of steel, and good luck tracking down this small-town librarian.

But Jack keeps showing up in places I least expect him. Just when I’m sure he’s gone, he waltzes into my community theater and wins the part of Romeo to my Juliet. How’s a plain, mostly innocent girl like me supposed to resist a man like him?

Is Jack my real Romeo… or will this gorgeous football player only break my heart?

 AMAZON 

He’s going to crawl inside my heart. He’s going to break it into a million pieces.

Ummm….excuse me? How and why is this my first Ilsa Madden-Mills book? I am shooketh! SHOOKETH! I’m now immediately rectifying my mistake by purchasing the woman’s entire backlist. True story. But I digress.

I totally misjudged this book based on the blurb. I was expecting just another famous jock meets nobody heroine fluffy romance. But this was so much more than that. It was packed full of feels and laugh out loud moments. It was adorably quirky and layered with plenty of emotion.

It’s a case of mistaken identity when Elena meets Jack. Elena is searching for her blind date, and thinks Jack is the weatherman that she’s been set up with. Elena is also a little bumbling, a touch awkward, but full of sass and fire. She’s impossible not to love from the very first page.

Jack is the bad boy of football. With a reputation that precedes him, he’s used to being eviscerated by the media. He’s also extremely misunderstood and the readers learns this as layers begin to peel back on him. Jack prefers to lay low but when a quirky beauty rushes to his table and questions him like she knows him, he plays along. And when he realizes he’s not quite who she thinks he is, it’s too late to turn back. He’s already riveted by her.

What’s supposed to be just one steamy night turns into something much more when their worlds collide shortly after.

Now usually I’m not as invested in the romance when the characters sleep together so early in the story, but the author pulls this off flawlessly. She does it so well, in fact, that the following slow burn just about killed me. If these two didn’t come together soon, I thought my head would explode.

They dance around each other for weeks. When Jack lands in Elena’s small town by pure happenstance, he knows he has to go after his chance even though Elena is not thrilled to see him. I loved the way that Elena makes him work for it. She may be quirky and awkward at times, but the girl has sass for days.

I loved all of the secondary characters, Jack’s best friend especially. The chemistry between Jack and Elena was incendiary, but their inability to communicate about their feelings until the end drove me a little batty. But I also understood why each of them struggled with this, as they both had their trust issues. Jack especially, coming off of the ex that he had. But I also appreciated that there really wasn’t any female drama with that, except for the issues it caused his image and career.

Ultimately, this was a fun, sweet and steamy read that I enjoyed immensely and can’t wait for Elena’s sister to get her story next.

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Review: Gabriel Fallen by Nina West

September 3, 2020 by · Leave a Comment

GABRIEL FALLEN
Genre: Erotic Romance, Mafia
Series: Dirty Empire #2
Author: Nina West
Release Date: May 23, 2019

From internationally bestselling author K.A. Tucker, writing as Nina West, comes the dark and steamy Dirty Empire trilogy.

Mercy Wheeler and Gabriel Easton’s sordid tale continues in Gabriel Fallen as Mercy finds herself heading down a dangerous path.

Gabriel has made an art of dangling what I’m most desperate for in front of me, what he knows I can’t refuse, no matter the cost. In this case, that cost continues to be me.

He is still a scoundrel, but I’m starting to see something more.

And while our bargain is proving advantageous in ways I never anticipated, the risks that come with being associated with a man like him are becoming painfully clear.

But how much longer before this arrangement with Gabriel costs me everything I am?

This is the second book in the Dirty Empire series and should be read after Sweet Mercy.

 AMAZON 

I’m falling for this woman, and I’m falling hard.

This trilogy is the best sort of book crack. I can’t get enough of Gabriel and Mercy.

You know that saying about the bigger they are? Well nothing is more satisfying than watching the biggest bad boy fall hard for a woman, especially when that woman is a spitfire that gives as hard as she gets.

The dominoes continue to fall in Gabriel’s world in this second installment. More secrets are revealed about his family and they’re jaw dropping. Gabriel went into his affair with Mercy hoping to work her out of his system but he definitely got a lot more than he bargained with her. He finds himself falling for her, even if he doesn’t quite realize that’s what’s happening.

Mercy is one of my favorite heroines. The woman has all of the odds stacked against her and still she fights. She essentially sold her soul to the devil to help her father. She can’t possibly fall for Gabriel when he’s the antithesis to everything she should want, right? I gotta say I absolutely love the live wire dynamic between these two. Their chemistry is incendiary. But the progression of their relationship is absolutely magnetic. I can’t get enough of them.

I’m salivating for the conclusion. I needs it. If you’re looking for a sexy, fast paced trilogy, you need this one in your life. Gabriel is an antihero that needs to be experienced.

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