BOUND TO THE BOUNTY HUNTER
Series: Bound #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Hayson Manning
Release Date: July 18, 2016
Harlan Franco, Colorado’s busiest bounty hunter, and security expert, lives by his rules: be in control, be detached, and never touch the asset. These rules are tested when the asset he’s being paid to secretly guard is none other than his rival, sexy, unpredictable, pain in the butt, Sophie Callaghan––a woman determined to stay away from him. If she finds out he’s in her life on an assignment, he’ll never get the info he needs. But those lips, those curves, that attitude, he bets he’ll have her for one night where she’ll play by his rules.
He didn’t expect his heart to have an opinion.
Freedom loving private investigator Sophie Callaghan is on a mission. The daughter of a con-artist is not going to be used by a man again. What she doesn’t need is hot, broody and controlling Harlan barging into her life and digging into her past. Her brain may say no, but her body craves this bad boy. After a night where both live their darkest desires, Sophie must fight their explosive chemistry because one wrong move could destroy her. She bets he has to stay far, far away.
As the stakes ramp up and secrets explode around them, both are determined to win the bet.
But there can only ever be one winner.
Number one rule of being on a guard and intel job:
Be detached.
Rule number two:
Be professional at all times.
Rule number three:
Don’t fuck the asset.
Well hot damn! Looks like I got myself a brand new series to stalk! Bound To The Bounty Hunter had a little bit of everything; broody and tortured hero, kick-ass sassy heroine, a little suspense and a whole lot of sexy!
I first fell in love with Hayson’s writing when I read Winning the Boss’s Heart a few years ago. I simply adored that book and I kept waiting (pretty impatiently) for this amazingly talented author to write another book. When I saw she’s coming out with this series, I was sold. When I saw the cover for it? I was drooling. But that’s neither here nor there.
So why is Sophie Callaghan sitting in a dark lit club watching a stranger have kinky sex with two blondes while thinking how to properly bug his table? She has a damn good reason. The daughter of a con man that left her with a lot of debts and even more guilt, Sophie is determined to write all of her father’s wrongs. But first she needs to figure out why the name of an infamous criminal was in the notebook her father left behind. The last person she needs to run into while on her stakeout is the ridiculously sexy bounty hunter that enrages her almost as much as he turns her on. Their brief history doesn’t help matter any either…
Harlan Franco is a successful bounty hunter. But what Sophie doesn’t know, is she’s his newest assignment. Sparks fly when these two go head to head!
I have to say I was super intrigued by the mystery and suspense at play here. I loved the chemistry between Harlan and Sophie and I loved all of the fun secondary characters that were introduced…especially the men Harlan works with (yum!)
Sophie is a tough chick, even if at times she’s too stubborn for her own good. At least she can back it up with her skills and take care of herself when she runs from Harlan determined to solve her own problems. Harlan is a broody, domineering, dirty talker. So basically exactly as I prefer my heroes.
This was a lot different from the other books I’ve read by Hayson. It’s a whole lot sexier and a little bit edgier. She’s definitely heading into some unchartered waters with this series and I can’t wait where it all leads. Admittedly, I got the sense that the author was a bit out of comfort zone while writing some of the sex scenes because they didn’t have a flow to them. Some of the encounters weren’t exactly awkward, but they felt rushed and almost stunted at times.
That being said, I still enjoyed the book immensely. And with the preview at the end of the mysterious character that will be getting his book next? NEED IT. While it may not have been the perfect 5 star read I was hoping for, it was a wholly satisfying one. It was exactly enough to hook me on the series and guarantee that I’ll be reading all the future books to come. I have a feeling once this author really comes into her own with this series, it’ll just get better and better! And I for one, can’t wait!
RETRIBUTION
Retribution marks my second book by this author and it definitely confirmed what I knew after the first; I’ll definitely be reading all her future books. The woman can write one hell of a tortured, brooding, anti-hero alpha. This was a dark and twisty tale of revenge and pain and second chances. It was gritty, violent, and erotic as hell!
The writing was engaging and the story was fast paced, yet somewhere around the 25% mark, it began to lose some of the intensity for me. Adam starts off so strong, but soon enough becomes almost wishy washy in his drive for vengeance. He wants to make her pay, yet his conscience gets the best of him. I suppose I just didn’t feel as much connection to his character to truly understand the why’s of it.
If you’re looking for a perfect beach read to spend an afternoon with, look no further than this book! No Pants Required was full of quirky humor and heavy steam. It’s a light, feel-good sort of romance that will leave you with a smile on your face.. and at times uncomfortably aroused. Because let’s be honest here, people, Camden Walters is one deliciously sinful dirty talker and if you’re not uncomfortably aroused through parts of this book, I’d say there may be something broken with your downstairs regions. Uhem.
Well hot damn! I need more anti-heroines in my life because Rage? Rage was freaking kick-ass! If you’ve read any of my reviews then you already know I’m usually a total heroine hater. If they’re weak, sniveling doormats, it’s a recipe for disaster for me. But not Rage. Nope! This woman was killer. Pun intended.
I was super curious to see how the author would handle Rage falling in love considering she’s describe as essentially a borderline sociopath. As hard as it was for me to shut off my logical brain, I took the character for what she way…a whole lot of gray area. Is she a sociopath that has no feeling of empathy? A cold blooded killer that gets her rocks off on death and destruction? Someone that has barely restrained rage that she can only control by giving in and feeding? Heck if I know. Basically she’s something in the middle, and that’s where I left it.
In typical T.M. fashion, the author crafts a twisted and gritty tale that packs a whole lot of surprises that you never see coming. Nolan is certainly not at all what he seems to be and I loved it when he lets that inner bad boy out. The man can dirty talk the panties off of anyone within a 50 mi radius.
Luke is the devil, the darkness. He encounters Mina when she tries to manipulate him and seeks him out in a time of weakness. After he discovers her true motive, he is still determined to keep her. I loved that Luke’s character wasn’t too serious. He was laid-back, yet powerful, with a sense of humor.
Mina can manipulate people with the sound of her voice. She uses this ability but doesn’t like using it. She initially comes across as a strong, sultry woman, but she is vulnerable and hurting at the same time. She doesn’t like her ability because her enemy has exploited her ability for their gain. She is running from someone who wants to hurt her, so she seeks out the devil himself to try to steal an item that will take away her power so that her ability cannot be used for evil any longer.
I’ve been looking forward to Levi’s book for a long while now. There’s always been something about him that showed hints towards a certain intensity that I love in my alphas. Still waters run deep with that one, that’s for sure. Because Officer Levi is not the quiet man he seems to be at first sight. This is a man with some dirty dirty kinks, and it hit the spot just right for me.
Readers, are you ready for the kinkiest guilty pleasure book ever? Because Stealing His Thunder is sure to hit every spot you have. No joke. Think Fast and the Furious meets BDSM in funny, easy, and light romance. You have your Dom uber alpha, you have your slightly OTT sassy heroine, all wrapped up in a super sexy BDSM romance that’s sure to please every palate.
Mmmm hmmm. Not a bad visual to have while reading, let me just tell you. Beard, tattoos, and a penchant for kink. Delicious.
I’ve been sitting on my rating for several days now and if I’m being perfectly honest, I still have no idea how to rate this fairly. On the one hand, I absolutely loved the writing style and the premise of the story. I loved the emotion, the feeling, the vividness with which Mia Sheridan wrote the characters. I’m a sucker for the revenge plot and a second chance love story and this book had it in spades. It was written with plenty of emotion to grip the reader and make the characters’ struggles their own. On the other hand there were some things about the story and the direction some things took and decisions made that left me conflicted and frustrated. This is really one of those times where I NEED a half star, because while this book wasn’t exactly a three star, it just wasn’t quite a solid four for me either.
As a long time fan of all things Lara Adrian, when I saw she’s releasing an erotic romance trilogy, I was all over it. I’ve been obsessed with her 
If steamy, feel-good rom coms that are light on the angst and heavy on the swoons are your thing, then B.J. Harvey’s Game series is your holy grail. 
Zach was a refreshing change of pace for me that I absolutely adored. It’s not often you read about a man that actually wants a relationship. Everything that came out of his mouth had me swooning like a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert. Swear to god. The man was utter perfection.
