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Running From Forever by Ashley Wilcox

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Book Synopsis:

My Review

Well damn damn damn and double damn. I think books need to come with a warning for people like me. Warning: This book has insta-love. Before I go into more detail, let me preface by saying that my 3 star rating here is not a bad thing. This was neither a hit or a miss for me, it fell into that weird limbo of an “OK” read. I feel like these are the type of reviews that are the hardest for me to write since I didn’t feel strongly about a book one way or another, neither loved nor hated it.



What worked for me


The writing. I truly enjoyed the author’s “voice” and writing style. This was my first book by Ashley Wilcox, and I will gladly read her future ones.

Merrick Tattooed bartender that happens to be a dirt bike racer? Hell to the yes, sign me up for that. I’m really looking forward to his book.

The twist in the middle of the book
Holy drama batman! I did NOT see that coming.

What didn’t work for me

Kayla. It started off so good. When Kayla admits to a history of being a slut and a party girl, I thought, “FINALLY! A book that doesn’t have an almost 30yr old virgin. Thank you Jebus!”
But then…she took a turn for the worse. Kayla moves to NY and leaves behind her boyfriend of 3.5 years to pursue a career and in search of something more for her life. She starts a new job…but then turns into a blushing slobbering fool over a man she JUST met in an elevator. All of a sudden, her new-found independence and job come second. And she becomes all about the sexy and mysterious Miles, who she pretty much knows barely anything about.

The insta-love
Let me summarize this.
Day 1: She meets Miles in an elevator. Looks and breathy hello’s are exchanged. Lust is in the air…
Day 2: Some more conversation and drinks at a bar. Miles pretty much puts her on the spot in front of her boss to let her know that they’re dating. Ummm…
Day 3: A date? I think it was a date?
Day 4: Sexy times ensue after their gala date
Day 5: Love is in the air

The multiple POVs
The book had 3 POVs, Kayla, Merrick, and Miles. Typically, this would really work for me. Unfortunately, in this case, I developed more of a liking for Merrick. For me, this was because we get zero background on Miles until the very end. At least, I think that was why.

Kayla and Miles
I never really felt a connection with them. For me, this was probably the speed at which everything happened. I found the relationship development really lacking. This is the biggest reason I struggle with insta-love in books.
I felt more of a connection between Merrick and Kayla.

This book was a quick and mostly enjoyable read. I read it in one sitting. While it was not a 5 star book for me, that’s not really a reflection of the writing. It truly had potential. But unfortunately, I always struggle with insta-love and it barely turns out to be a good experience for me. I think many would still enjoy this book, so don’t let my personal bias turn you off from reading it.

I am really looking forward to Merrick’s book next. The sneak peek we get of his story at the end of this one definitely has be intrigued.

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Book Blurb

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.

 

 

   

I’ve been this way for a long time. I make responsible choices. My life is neat and organized and my heart rate stays constant. I like it that way most of the time. I should be proud of where I am in my life. But the truth of the matter is sometimes I feel like I’m suffocating in my perfunctory life.

But beneath the perfect layers lies a dark past with an even darker secret. And if controlling her environment allows her to keep it buried and wake up without nightmares, then that is what Elle will do. But then Nico Hunter walks through her office doors, and everything changes. Nico was a six-foot-three, two hundred and twenty-one pounds, green eyed sex on a stick. When he sees Elle, he knows what he wants and the man knew damn well how to go after it. I have to admit he certainly had a way with words.

Why do you want to have dinner with me?” “Aside from the obvious, that you’re gorgeous?” “When I look in your eyes I see a little light flicker…” He pauses for a second. I look at him, but still don’t speak. “And for the last twenty four hours all I could think about was what it would take for me to turn that flicker into a flame.”

 

You’re a beautiful, smart, strong woman who is used to being treated like a lady.” I’m confused at his words and Nico sees it on my face. He pulls me to him and buries his face in my neck. His breath is so close to my ear when he speaks, I feel the words throughout my body as he speaks them. “But when I finally get you underneath me, I’m definitely not going to treat you like a lady.”

If you follow my reviews, you know I have a soft spot for the dirty talkers, and Nico did not disappoint in that department.

Ride me. You’re so tight and wet.  I’m going to fill up that sexy little pussy and make it mine. I want my smell on you. In you. So that the whole god damn world knows you’re mine.”

 My thoughts:

I really enjoyed this book. There was no unnecessary angst. They didn’t play games with each other. I loved that even though Nico had a womanizing past, he doesn’t hesitate to stake a claim on Elle. He was a straight shooter and didn’t have commitment issues.

The relationship between Nico and Elle was not a perfect one since they are both characters that are trying to deal with a past that has scarred them. While Elle knows the nightmares that haunt Nico, Nico doesn’t realize the darkness that Elle hides. While we learn what haunts Nico pretty much right away, there are only hints and pieces alluding to Elle’s past. I had a feeling about what it was from the beginning, but I don’t think it was meant to be a big secret. But still, when I found out the whole story, my heart broke for her. 

My only complaint? I really wished the author gave us some sort of physical descriptions on the supporting characters. Aside from a description of what they wore, I never noticed anything mentioning what they look like: hair color, eyes, anything. When I read a book, I like to have an image in my mind of what I’m reading; to feel like the author is showing me a story as opposed to just telling it. Don’t get me wrong, the writing itself was fantastic. I suppose I just wanted a little bit more from it. It wasn’t something that bothered me so much that it took away from the story, but it was enough for me to notice it. I’m a reader that likes to have a visual in my head of every character I read, not just the main hero and heroine. The book itself was fantastic, I enjoyed the characters and the story. This is definitely a series that I will be following. If you enjoy steamy stories with sexy MMA fighters, definitely give this one a shot.

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About the Author

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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Unattainable by Madeline Sheehan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Love, they say, has the potential to kill a person if they aren’t careful. I wasn’t careful. I let that love blossom uncontrollably until it was in full bloom, exploding from within me, with nowhere to go.

Well Madeline Sheehan has done it again, she has taken broken, damaged, and completely imperfect characters and managed to write a dark and gritty book that you will not be able to put down until the very last page.

I was not a fan of Tegan from the past books, and I’ll be honest that I wasn’t thrilled to be reading a book with her as the main heroine. But I love this series, and I loved Cage, so I thought what the hell. Well I am eating my words, I’m not too proud to admit that, because this book was fucking awesome!

Cage is the son of Deuce, the president of the Hell’s Horsemen MC, and he’s also the asshole manwhore responsible for breaking little Tegan’s heart at the tender age of 16.

Considering the woman didn’t have a sound below screeching, it’d be hard not to. She’s a vulgar, rude, mean, mouthy little bitch. But considering what she has been through in her 24 years, it’s somewhat understandable. Tegan is the the daughter of Dorothy, a “club whore” and has been in the MC life since she was eight. She has also been in love with Cage just as long, up until he shattered her world and her heart when she was 16, and she hasn’t been the same since. She learned one very tough lesson from all of it

You stupid bitch. You ignorant, stupid bitch. Love isn’t a fucking answer. It hurts more than it doesn’t, it’s harder than it is easy, it takes work, guts, and perseverance.”

Tegan escaped to California for college and to be as far away from the club as possible. To say that she hates them and the life they lead would be putting it mildly. But now she’s back at the request of her mother, who’s still dealing with the fallout and issues following her gunshot wound the head courtesy of Jase’s wife a year ago, and Tegan is forced to come face to face with everything that she had hoped to forget.

Wow wow wow! The side story of Dirty and Ellie was one of the best parts of this book for me. I think they were the saving grace to Tegan’s constant screeching, yelling, and swearing. Ellie is Danny’s friend from UnBeautifully; she was the reserved and somewhat shy one of the group of friends. Dirty was a character that I barely paid any mind to from the past books…until he pretty much stole the show in this one.

My heart broke for him with every new bit of information I read. He was such a broken, dark, and damaged soul.

He was nothing. He was shit. He was a damaged, deranged, sick motherfucker who deserved to be put the fuck down. He shouldn’t have lived for as long as he had; he didn’t deserve to share the same earth with people like Ellie.

Ellie was the light to his dark. I absolutely loved her and the way she treated Dirty. Their story was gut wrenching and beautiful at the same time. My heart broke for each of them and what they were going through.

Every day she was faced with his beautiful face, his long, lean, sculpted body, and his personality, so damaged, so fragile, she couldn’t help but want to fix him. He was a woman’s worst nightmare— beautiful on the outside, ravaged on the inside. A deadly combination.

Their story was the perfect yang to the ying of Cage and Tegan. Had it been just Tegan and Cage, the book would have been something close to 3.5 stars for me. But Dirty and Ellie added that dark and damaged softness that this book so needed to bring it to a beautiful 5 star read.

But I wouldn’t have it any other way. Madeline Sheehan has a writing style that’s dark and gritty but at the same time so incredibly emotional that I’ve come to fall in love with it. There’s been plenty of MC books I’ve read before and after, but not one of them compares to her books. Not even close.

There was so much that happened in this book that I don’t want to go into since I don’t want to spoil or give anything away, but prepare yourself for another roller coaster of emotions.

ZZ, oh sweet baby jebus! I cannot wait for his book. The event that took place toward the end of Unattainable

I can’t even imagine what his book will bring. Wow, just fucking WOW!

And of course there was more Dorothy, Hawk, and Jase. I can’t wait to see what happens with them.

Madeline Sheehan just keeps getting better and better with each new book. Yes, her characters are far from perfect. Yes, they will piss you off more than make you happy. And yes, her stories will gut you and at the same time make you feel eeeeeeverything. You will hate it, you will love it, and you will be unable to set it down.

But that is enough gushing from me. You will want to drop everything you’re doing and READ. THIS. BOOK. And I thank you

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Maverick by Anna Cruise
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The ocean was an extension of myself, the only place where I could find solace and peace. And even though I’d lost my best friend to it, I couldn’t let it go, couldn’t turn my back to it. I couldn’t exist without it.

There was something in his voice, in his eyes, something that hinted there really was more to him than the public persona I’d read about. He was damaged.

If I’m being honest here, what initially drew me in to read this was the hot cover. What? Like you’ve never done that! Please!

I was so happy to find that this book was filled with more depth than I had when I was choosing it. 🙂

Kellan Handler is a professional surfer. It is all he’s ever dreamed of doing, and the ocean is the only thing that is able to give him peace.

He hits the water hard, and parties even harder. His reputation and good looks never leave him without a female body in his bed. But he’s not interested in anything more than a casual hook up. So he goes through women like he goes through waves; he find one, takes it on, and then moves on to the next one.

But beneath the shallow exterior, still waters run deep. He is still dealing with the pain of losing his best friend in a tragic accident; his hidden grief causing him to walk a fine life that can ultimately cost him everything.

When tour officials essentially tell him that he either clean up his image or be suspended from the tour, Kellen reluctantly agrees to work with the PR rep assigned to him, Gina Bellori.

Gina is dealing with demons of her own. But unlike Kellan, hers are buried even deeper, and she refuse to let them break the surface.

When Kellen and Gina begin to work together on righting his image, things began to blur. The damaged guy is forcing Gina to fight even harder to keep her demons hidden. All of a sudden her past begins to collide with her present, with Kellen right in the center of everything and her feelings are becoming more difficult to control.

Kellen begins to find that for the first time in his life, he wants something more from a woman other than a few moments spent between the sheets.

She knew everything about me and pretty much the only thing I knew about her was her name. And that she was starting to get under my skin. In more ways than one.

Can the two damaged souls heal each other? Or will the secrets that they keep ultimately cost them everything?

I really enjoyed this one, and read it pretty much in one sitting. I really loved Kellan, but had a few issues with Gina and her behavior. While Kellan’s past and secrets come to the surface fairly early in the book, Gina’s tragic past takes a little longer to learn about.

These two characters were both damaged in their own right. I really liked that there was no case of insta-love, or even insta-lust. There was definitely a connection between the two of them, but it grew over time.

So why only 4 stars? I felt that the character POV’s didn’t have a clear transition. It caused me to get slightly confused, since I didn’t know when they switched, and didn’t know who’s POV I was reading right away.

The book had a very realistic HEA, and I was glad that the author went the route that she did with the ending. I felt it was very fitting to the story and the characters.

ARC courtesy of publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Getting Rowdy by Lori Foster
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

She was like a drug, the very best kind. She’d turned him world upside down, but for the first time in forever, things were starting to feel righ.

She couldn’t play with him without getting burned. She couldn’t indulge with him without risking a broken heart.

I’ve been anticipating Rowdy and Avery’s story since first meeting them in Worth The Riske. Nothing better than a womanizing bad boy…well maybe if you added a motorcycle and some tattoos to the mix. But I can deal with 2 out of 4 🙂

Rowdy Yates is man that is constantly battling the demons from his past. His childhood was a nightmare, and his priority has always been to take care of his sister. He is not above lying, stealing, or breaking the law to get what he wants, and it’s certainly landed him in plenty of hot water in the past. The only thing that takes his mind off his troubled thoughts are women. He doesn’t really have a type, but all they are are nameless faces in a never ending list. But ever since he met Avery, something about him just calls to him.

He’d fucked his way through a miserable upbringing, using sex to counter the ravages of poverty and abuse. He used it still to rid his mind of plaguing memories. But now, with Avery, the need that consumed him had nothing to do with any of that- and everything to do with her.

Avery is attracted to Rowdy, who in their right mind wouldn’t be. The man is pure sex on a stick. But she knows better than to give into his shameless flirting. She has no interest in being another notch on his bedpost, no matter how tempting he may be.

Being sexy as sin, charismatic, and a shameless flirt never leaves Rowdy without a willing woman. But no matter which woman is currently warming his bed, it’s Avery’s face that seems to come to mind each time.

This was probably my favorite book in the series. I loved that Avery, while having a few hangups, was still a very endearing heroine. She wasn’t unwittingly getting herself in dangerous situations and knew to ask for help when she needed it. She wasn’t excessively naive and virginal. She knew what she wanted, but she also had the backbone to go after it.

Rowdy, my darling manwhore Rowdy. I have to admit, when Avery walked in on a certain “situation” in the beginning of the book, I wanted to throttle him. But the more I learned about his past, the more I fell in love with him. He was just so imperfectly lovable.

I liked that Avery saw him for the man that he was, and accepted all of him, faults and all.

I also liked that she didn’t run from her feelings for him.

The story itself was fairly interesting as well. Thankfully, in the 3rd installment of the Love Undercover series, we finally take a step away from the Human Trafficking plot line. The mystery of the who’s after Avery only heightened the interest. I was fairly sure I had things figured out from the beginning on who the bad guy is, and the ending completely flabbergasted me.

Lori Foster didn’t disappoint with the steam in this one. There was enough sexual tension to drive me crazy for the first half, and when Rowdy and Avery finally got together…

I can’t say that I LOVED this book, but it was still an enjoyable read. There were hints to who the next book will be, and I’m pretty sure I will be skipping it. While Dash is all kinds of sexy, I just can’t get myself to like Lieutenant Peterson. I’m not big on ball-busting, super prim and proper heroines. But who knows, maybe I’ll cave in and read it.

The ending…well…it was a bit on the cheesy end, but the rest of the book more or less made up for that.[Having Avery and Rowdy just survive a crazed lunatic with a gun, it was highly unrealistic for Rowdy to chose exactly THAT moment after to propose. I mean, c’mon! (hide spoiler)]

On a different note, I am absolutely DYING to get a book for Cannon. He was one of my favorite parts of this book. Please please please give us a book for him. Did I happen to mention that he’s a fighter? I would squeal like a teenage girl spotting Justin Bieber if Lori Foster gives us another series like her SBC Fighters with Cannon. Seriously, I’m not even embarrassed to admit that.

Getting Rowdy, while being part of a series, can be easily read as a stand alone.

3.75 stars

**ARC courtesy of publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

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Seduce by Missy Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 Erotic and Heartbreaking Stars

Jack Flacon is a rich, sexy, womanizing, heartless asshole…or so it would seem.

He is who he is, and he doesn’t feel like he needs to apologize for it.

The thing is, I’m happy being me and I sure as fuck won’t change for anyone. I don’t need fixing because I’m not broken. I simply work hard and play harder.

His form of play comes with a good glass of scotch, and spending each night with a different woman. After all, variety is the spice of love, and why should he settle down?

Love fucks you up, which is why I didn’t do relationships. Relationships lead to love and being in love opens you up to the possibility of being hurt. Love rips your chest open and puts your heart out there to be broken.

Jack may be an asshole of the first order, and treats his cat with more respect than he does women, but that certainly doesn’t hurt his game. Because when it comes down to it, Jack seemingly has it all.
Looks…

Money, charm, oh….and a magic penis.

Without trying to sound cocky, it wasn’t unusual for women to orgasm three or four times when with me. Maybe I had the perfect shaped dick. Or maybe I just knew what to do with it.

He is seemingly happy with his life. Until he meets her…and then everything changes.

This was not a case of insta-love. But there was insta-love. When Jack first sees a beautiful green-eyed brunette, he can’t get her out of his head. Something about her just calls to him and draws him in like no other woman ever has.

What starts out as one night of passion

Begins to turn into something so much more.

All of a sudden the beautiful brunette is more than a nameless face, she’s Belle, and she’s unlike any other woman Jack has been with.

It was like she saw right through the fifteen years’ worth of barriers I’d built up around myself to the real me. The one I never showed anyone.

In the midst of secrets that could tear them apart, and the passion that burns between them, their bond grows from lust into something so much more.

Jack begins to understand what love can really do to you. But he is terrified that the man that he has become will never be enough for Belle and he will eventually break her heart.

The steam in this book…I thought my kindle would catch on fire. There were parts that made me pant, parts that made me laugh, and parts that made me want an ice cold shower. And then…then there was that ending!

THAT FUCKING ENDING! It caught me by complete and utter surprise.

I’m pretty sure I bawled my eyes out for the entire last 20%.

Seduce is the prequel for Beautiful Rose. It is the story of love lost and learning to move on. It was erotic, it was intense, and it was HEART BREAKING.

I need…MUST HAVE the next book like YESTERDAY!

Missy Johnson, woman, you owe me here! (well not really, but you know what I mean). But seriously, after you made me cry like a maniac, I think we need to come to an arrangement with the next book here. It’s only fair! I might go a little batshit here waiting until September. GAH!!!

ARC courtesy of author in exchange for an honest review

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