New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Cynthia Eden continues her sexy “Mine” romantic suspense series with…MINE TO HAVE.

Is he a hero…or the villain?

When Elizabeth Ward sees Saxon Black rushing into the backroom of The Blade—a low end bar in Miami—she isn’t sure if he’s there to save the day…or just to raise some hell. But she’s being held hostage, and he’s her best hope of survival. Within minutes, she’s away from the jerks with the guns and riding fast and hard on the back of Saxon’s motorcycle.

Death stalks them.

Saxon has been working undercover for far too long. When he finds sexy Elizabeth—with a gun to her head—he knows he will do anything to keep her safe. But once he gets her away from her abductors, the threat to her isn’t over. Someone has put a price on Elizabeth’s head, and if Saxon can’t keep her safe from the danger stalking her, then she’ll be dead.

Their lives are both on the line.

As their enemies close in, Elizabeth and Saxon must go on the run. And the longer they are together, the hotter their attraction for one another seems to burn. Saxon vows not to let anyone hurt her, no matter what he has to do, because he’s falling fast for Elizabeth. He’ll stop the killers on her trail, and then he’ll have her. Forever.

 

You’re in my blood, sweetheart, and I can’t get out out. I want you, more that I’ve ever wanted anything.”

No one writes a sexy, keep you on the edge of your seat and action filled romantic suspense quite like Cynthia Eden. She’s become my go-to author when I want a sensual story with a possessive hero, a likeable heroine, and a plot that is guaranteed to suck me in from the very first page. I haven’t read a book by hers I haven’t loved yet, and this was no exception.

If you remember Jasmine Bennett’s 2 highly over protective brothers that were first introduced in Mine to Crave, you get to know them both much better here…starting with the dark and mysterious Saxon Black.

Saxon has been deep undercover for so long, he almost struggles to remember himself who he is. Forced to work too long with the criminal dregs of society, all he wants is to be done with it and finally live the life that he’s been dreaming about. But before he can do that, he accepts one small job as a favor to his brother, Victor. Little does he know that that job will change everything for him when he comes face to face with a green eyed beauty that’s in a world of trouble.

She was the one thing he’d found that he would fight for. No matter what.

Elizabeth Ward has no idea why she was grabbed off the streets and is now facing the barrel of a gun, tied to a chair in a seedy Miami bar. So when a dangerous looking stranger suddenly kicks down the door and rescues her from her captors, she’s not sure if he may be even more dangerous himself. One thing she does know is that his raw magnetism draws to her for a reason that she can’t begin to understand. When she finds out that he’s one of the good guys and her life is in even more danger than she originally thought, she has no other choice but to trust him with her life.

Saxon wants a lot more than her trust though…

You need to remember,” he told her, staring straight into her eyes, “I’m not some safe guy you can play around with while you’re biding your time until you get to return to your real life. When I said I wanted you more than breath, I meant it.” His gaze glittered.
“Next time, I’ll take you instead of that breath.”

Know what I love the most about Cynthia Eden’s writing? The unpredictability of it. Even when you know who the bad guy is somewhat early, she’ll still manage to throw in a twist that you will never see coming…and keep them coming until the very end. Mine to Have will keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing yet never knowing what’s to come until the last page.

While the connection between Saxon and Elizabeth is fairly quick, there’s no insta-anything here…not really. The sexual chemistry between them, like any other couple from Eden’s writing, is palpable and explosive. Saxon is possessive and protective. Elizabeth is smart and caring with an understated core of strength that I really enjoyed. Saxon and Elizabeth together is just all sorts of hot.

The suspense and action is non-stop and made for one unputdownable read. If you’re a fan of Eden’s writing, you really don’t want to miss this book. And if you’ve never read her before, I highly suggest you get acquainted. While this book is part of a series, it can easily be read as a standalone, but I’d strongly recommend reading all the books in the series simply because they’re fantastic.

I’m really hoping we will get Victor’s book next because the set up for that here has me itching to get my hands on his story. It’s bound to be a verra interesting one.

Don’t miss the rest of the MINE series

I wish I could tell you that I was stolen.

Kidnapped off the street in some third-world country, sold against my will, while a desperate family back home waited and prayed and talked about me on the news.

I wish I could tell you that, because then you might understand.

What really happened? I walked to my fate with my eyes wide open. But before you say I deserved whatever happened to me, you should know. I was desperate. I was alone. I was afraid for my life. You would have done the same thing.

I thought things couldn’t possibly get any worse.

But then, I woke up in darkness, unable to move. There was only one thing I was sure of: I wasn’t alone anymore.

And then I heard HIS voice…

Whatever you think you’re doing, stop. I’m not your fucking knight in tarnished armor. I’m not a broken man with a heart of gold. I’m pure fucking evil, and you made the choice to shackle yourself to me.

I had a hard time rating this book. While I found the writing to be phenomenal, it wasn’t quite what I expected and it wasn’t nearly as dark as I thought it would be. As a debut novel, the author has definitely captured my interest and I will be reading any and all of her future books. There were some parts that didn’t really make sense to me or I wished were different, but despite all that I did enjoy the story. It was different from anything I’ve read, and that alone was enough keep me reading to see how it will end. Don’t go in expecting something quick paced or incredibly dark. It’s neither. It’s a slower paced story with dark elements, but I just wouldn’t classify it as dark. Perhaps readers that want to be eased into the dark romance genre would want to start with this book, as I feel it would be perfect for that. Those that have read books by Pepper Winters, Lily White, Lili St. Germain, M.S. Willis, or the likes will not be quite as impressed by the “darkness” of the plot. Also, this is not set in present time. It’s set in futuristic world where food and water are sparse, money means nothing, and the only power to be had is influence. Influence which is mainly in the hands of the criminals and the corrupted.

This will be a SPOILER FREE review, and I would advise to go into this book blind. Do not read reviews as there are some details that while they aren’t big spoilers, they’re best to find out as you go along.

Autumn is living on borrowed time. She’s running from someone that wants her dead, starving and alone, she’s desperate. Seeing no other alternative, she sells herself to what she feels is the lesser of the evils. An organization that is known as Stoker. She may not know much about them, but she does know that they sell women and she may or may not be better off with her new master. But knowing the fate she’s running from, she takes the chance, and is given to a man she comes to know as Tate. But will he be her salvation or her ruin?

I’m not going to give you any more about Tate. The author trickle feeds you information about him throughout the story, and it’s best that you know next to nothing going in. His alter ego of The Viper was something that I struggled with, though. He has conversations with The Viper at times, and it always threw me. It’s like he had a dual personality…yet they were one in the same. It was strange.

Now I love a good anti-hero, but I struggled to see Tate as one. I’m not sure what it was exactly, but his constant power struggle with The Viper and his back and forth with Autumn left me seeing him as more of a broken man than a truly dark one. But there were times where that darkness in him did come out, and I gobbled it right up.

This girl had the audacity, the sheer fucking balls to assume that I was a human being. That I could be trusted to treat her with a modicum of dignity.

It’s obvious he has a story, and I really enjoyed the way that it was revealed bit by little bit. I suppose I just wanted something a little more from him. (But hey, that could just be me.)

Autumn’s character I struggled with a bit as well. She was so up and down, it was hard to keep track. I didn’t understand her almost instant “attraction” to Tate (view spoiler)[and the part where she heard his voice before meeting him really had me scratching my head (hide spoiler)]. But I did really like that she wasn’t a weak heroine. While she may have been out on her luck, she did her a core of strength that at times was subtle and at times really prevailed.

Her fierceness, the intelligence in her eyes, the way she met me eye to eye, no matter what the circumstances. She could kneel, she could bow, but she was never broken. She couldn’t be broken.

The romance aspect is something that I really liked. Despite the quick connection that Autumn had to Tate, it was still a very slow build. I couldn’t imagine it being any other way.

Though don’t expect smooth sailing anywhere in the story with the relationship between these two…

This girl was going to be the death of me. But at least I could enjoy the journey on my descent into hell.

I wanted a little bit more from the ending, but again, that may have been just me. (view spoiler)[Unless I missed something, what happened with Birdy? I wished there was more information given about the time when Tate was gone (hide spoiler)]. There were some things that wrapped up too neatly and almost too quickly.

But everything aside, I did like it quite a bit. The author definitely has an incredible talent, and I look forward to see what else she has in store. If this was her debut novel, I can only imagine how good her future books will be. So give it a try, I can tell you it will be different from anything you’ve read lately.

This is written in dual First Person POV

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~ Signed book of Pieces of Autumn ~

They say men like a lady in the living room and a whore in the bedroom. I never knew the sentiment was reciprocal. Until I met Jax Knight. A gentleman in public, a commanding, dirty talking rogue in the bedroom.

Daughter of legendary fighter “The Saint,” Lily St. Claire knows firsthand how fighters can be. As the owner of a chain of MMA gyms, she’s no stranger to aggressive, dominating, and possessive men. That’s why she’s always kept her distance. But the day Jax Knight walks through her door she’s captivated by his charm. Stunningly handsome, well mannered, Ivy League educated, and confident, he shatters all the preconceived notions she’d come to think were true about men who trained to fight.

But falling for someone so soon after her breakup wasn’t something she’d planned on. And definitely not something her ex plans to allow.

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There’s only two choices with a man. Forgive him or forget him. If you can’t do the latter, then you need to forgive him because he’s already stolen your heart.

I knew I would love Jax the second he was first introduced in Worth the Chance. And you know what? I was so right. This man was EVERYTHING.

Suit clad rich business man by day, dirty talking MMA fighter by night. And when I mean dirty talker, I mean dirty talker. This man could melt the panties of a nun. I mean Oh. My. Gawd.

Tell me what you thought I meant.”
“You know what I thought you meant.”
“Yes. But I want to hear you say it.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to hear you talk dirty to me.”

He was sweet and protective, sexy and dirty, and rang every single one of my bells. I loved him.

I’ve really enjoyed the previous 2 books in the series with Vince’s book being my favorite. Unfortunately I found this one to be the weakest in the series. Thank goodness for Jax because he’s the one thing that truly made the book for me.

I wanted to love Lily, and in the beginning I almost did. The daughter of legendary fighter “The Saint” and the current owner of the chain of MMA gyms he once started, she comes across as a little broken and gun shy when it comes to relationships.

But hell, given her recent ex boyfriend, who can blame the girl.
Oh. I can. Because why would this girl maintain a “friendship” with an ex that not only crosses any boundary she puts up, she actually fears him…and with good reason. Caden was psycho! And I mean PSYCHO. The man was utterly diranged with some serious anger management issues.

I spent most of the book waiting for her to really come into her own (read: grow a pair) and put him in his place. Welp, that never really happened.

At times I understood her struggle, especially being in the emotional place she was in and with the recent grief of losing her father so unexpectedly

For almost a year I’ve walked around numb, filled with an emptiness I never thought would be filled.

But as the book progressed my patience with her wore thin.

Luckily there was Jax. If you’re on the fence about reading this book, it’s worth it just for him. Trust me. And this is coming from someone that can’t easily overlook a weak heroine.

I want to be there to catch you if you fall from now on, Angel.

While this may not have been my favorite book in the series, I do think that Jax was my favorite hero.

Given everything it was still looking to be a very solid 4 star read for me…up until the “conflict” of the story happened. Of all the stupid, pig headed, idiotic things. I have never had a bigger urge to reach through my Kindle and shake (read: bitch slap) some sense into a character. I won’t spoiler what happened for you, but I will say that I simply couldn’t believe it. For Lily to believe who she did and what she did, it didn’t make sense for me. And maybe even if it did warrant such a reaction, the extent to which she took it, didn’t.

And I wanted her to be the one doing it. Scratch that, I wanted her to flat out grovel. Instead we get Jax being the one that’s “worth forgiving.” I almost didn’t feel like she deserved him in the end after everything he does for her.

But then Vi Keeland gives us that epilogue. And my anger with Lily somewhat (not fully) dissipated. It was such a perfect way to end this series, I just couldn’t ask for anything better.

So all in all, I did genuinely enjoy this book minus a few things, of course. Would I recommend reading it? Absolutely. If you’re a fan of the series, you don’t want to mix Jax. And hey, it may not frustrate you as much as it did me. It was sweet, sexy, and of course the sex was scorching. I may not have loved it, but I definitely liked it a whole heck of a lot.

ARC gifted to Dirty Girl Romance blog in exchange for an honest review

MMA Series Reading Order

Worth the Fight (Book One)

It didn’t matter that the ref called it a clean hit. Nico Hunter would never be the same.

Elle has a good life. A job she loves, a great apartment, and the guy she’s been dating for more than two years is a catch and a half. But it’s boring…and she strives to keep it that way. Too many emotions are dangerous. Her own past is living proof of what can happen when you lose control.

Then Nico walks into Elle’s office and everything changes…for both of them. But what can the tattooed, hard-bodied MMA fighter and the beautiful and always steady attorney have in common? A lot more than they bargained for.

***Author’s note*** THIS IS A STAND-ALONE NOVEL. Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.

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Worth the Chance (Book Two)

Meet Liv Michaels

It may have been seven years, but I’d know him anywhere. Sure, he’s grown, filled out in all the right places, but his captivating blue eyes and cocky grin are exactly the way I remember. Even though I’d much rather forget.

Liv Michaels is almost there. She’s smart, determined and weeks away from landing the job she’s dreamed about for years. Time healed old wounds, even her broken heart from the devastation of being crushed by her first love.

Meet Vince Stone

Women love a fighter, especially a good one. Lucky for me, I’m damn good. But there’s one woman that isn’t interested. Not again, anyway.

Vince ‘The Invincible’ Stone is every woman’s fantasy…strong, sexy, confident and completely in control. Growing up surrounded by chaos, he’s learned never to get too attached. Love will drag you down. He adores women, treats them well, puts their own needs before his own…for the night anyway. With the biggest fight of his life coming up, his focus should be on training.

When fate brings Vince & Liv back together again, there’s no denying the chemistry is still there. But can Vince erase the old scars their past left behind? Or will Liv hurt him instead?

***Author’s note*** THIS IS A STAND-ALONE NOVEL. Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the 18.

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Additional Books by Vi Keeland

                                     

Vi Keeland is a native New Yorker with three children that occupy most of her free time, which she complains about often, but wouldn’t change for the world. She is a bookworm and has been known to read her kindle at stop lights, while styling her hair, cleaning, walking, during sporting events, and frequently while pretending to work. She is a boring attorney by day, and an exciting smut author by night!

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