BEAUTIFUL LIAR (Previously published as I, Porn Star)
Series: Dark Desires, #1
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance
Author: Zara Cox
Release Date: September 13, 2016
“An exotically filthy, devastatingly beautiful story that will captivate and tease you long after the book is finished.” -Audrey Carlan, New York Times bestselling author
Previously published as I, Porn Star.People call me many things: CEO, billionaire, bastard. Q.
I love women. I love sex. I love money. I love hot, wild nights with no promise of a future, because a future is one thing I don’t have. I’m twenty-eight years old. I won’t live to see thirty, and I don’t care. Or I didn’t, until her.
Nobody plans for a life like this. Some of us just end up here.
They call me Lucky, though luck has never been on my side. Before I met Q, my life was a big, twisted mess. Never enough money, never anyone to trust. No way out. With Q, the shame and fear disappear. Instead I feel pure pleasure, and that’s something I’ve never had before. But if what I’ve just learned is true, we’d better enjoy every second together while we can…before our time runs out.
The hate, the vengeance and sex are instruments that oil my existence and keep my compass true.
HOLY. SHIT.
I did NOT see this book coming. I’m so happy it got a title and cover change because the old one didn’t do it justice AT ALL. I’m serious. If you think this is yet another run of the mill smut filled romance read, think again. The writing. The story. It was hauntingly captivating. I’m absolutely blown away and got myself a new author to stalk.
Q is a man of wealth and power. He’s a man skirting the fine edge of revenge and depravity and he makes no excuses or apologies. Every single move is calculated to achieve his end goal. His revenge. To right a wrong of years past, to punish those responsible, even if he doesn’t survive to bask in the glory of the fallout. It’s not time to make his most calculated move yet. Everything he’s been doing has been leading up to this…his grand plan. And the key to it is a woman with haunted eyes and a closet full of skeletons who may be hiding more baggage then even him. Lucky.
The writing in this story is absolute perfection. It’s haunting and lyrical. The characters are so well developed, they practically have an energy that you can feel through the pages. The sheer power of Q’s presence is enough to captivate even the most cynical reader.
Every word has a purpose. Every description leading to a new revelation. It was dark and hypnotic. Erotic and captivating. I was glued to every single page, practically salivating for more.
While Q was an erotic enigma full of sex appeal and secrets, Lucky was an interesting blend of cracked glass about to shatter but with a hidden steel reinforcement. This is a woman that survived her own hell and will do anything to escape it…even sell her body and her dignity for a million dollars.
A voice cleverly disguised by state of the art technology and a face hidden behind a steel mask is all she sees of Q. The rest is a veil of blindfolds, mind games, and sex so mind-blowing that she struggles to hold on to the fact that none of it is real…and it doesn’t take long for the lines to begin to blur… for both of them.
This story is so much more than a romance. It’s a story of survival and revenge. It’s a sizzling romance wrapped around a captivating mystery. It’s a splash of dark and suspense. And while the book is long, the pacing was perfect.
If you’re looking for a new author to check out and a read that’s totally different from the norm, this is the one book I can’t recommend enough. Zara Cox now has a forever fan in this girl. I will gleefully pick up anything this woman writes. No questions asked. She’s a talent that I wish I discovered sooner and am kicking myself for not reading this book when it first hit my radar. But better late then never, if you ask me.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to immediately dive into book 2!
Pre-Order BLACK SHEEP, book 2 in this sizzling series releasing March 14!
In a family of cold-hearted black sheep,
I, Axel Rutherford, am the blackest.
My father has hated me since the day I was born. The feeling was mutual. In the shady underworld that was my legacy, Cleo McCarthy became my light. She was beautiful, passionate, and my whole world. So naturally my father had to destroy us. First he sent me away. Next he claimed Cleo as his own. But now I’ve returned, and nothing will stop me from taking back everything that is rightfully mine.He was the love of my life – when my life was still my own.
We were young enough to believe we would last forever, Axel and I. But neither of us realized how cruel life – and our families – could be. Now I’m trapped in a gilded cage: desired by Axel, who must never know the full truth, and controlled by his father, who would sooner see me dead than free. And I wouldn’t even care, except that it’s no longer only my life at stake.
EVERY LITTLE THING
Bailey is the owner of the inn on the boardwalk. She is the glue that helps keep the town running. I love this small town where everyone knows everyone (even though I would hate to live somewhere like this in real life. Lol). I love the side characters and group of girls (it’s very similar to a Kristen Ashley posse. Love).
Vaughn pushes her away for good reason. He knows he is a player and his heart has been broken in the past. He eventually finds his way back, and I love that Bailey is so strong that she doesn’t let him stay away for long. They can’t stay away from each other. The boardwalk brings them back together. I love this whole magical, legendary story of this boardwalk that I can get lost in.
Throne of Truth
Talk about your gripping conclusions. WOW. I did NOT see this book coming at all. Full of twists and revelations that will leave your head reeling, Throne of Truth was the much anticipated conclusion that definitely lived up to the promise of the first book! This duet was Pepper Winters at her finest and exactly why she’s an auto-buy for me when it comes to dark romance. The woman can write one twisty and emotional tale that’s as gritty as it is sexy.
Starting immediately where 
My only quibble is I wished that the conclusion was a little more fleshed out. I’d have loved to see the chain of events rather then reading the wrap up. But that aside, I enjoyed it thoroughly.
THE WING MAN
I have a confession to make; having first fallen in love with Natasha Anders’s signature brand of angst and delicious alphahole heroes back when I read 
ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE
Swoon. Swoon. SWOON. ALL OF THE SWOONS!
THE DUKE
Cole is a soldier, a spy, a duke….an animal. He is many things in this book. He travels through war and pain and torture, barely making it out alive. Imogen is his savior, in more ways than one, but he doesn’t even know it. He is trapped in the darkness, and she is light. He cannot escape and is constantly fighting against himself.
If you are fan of Julia Quinn, you will love Kerrigan Byrne! They are very similar in the story-telling, character development, and the feels.
GOOD BOY
To say that I’ve been eagerly anticipating this release from two of my favorite authors may be a miiiild understatement. But as excited as I was, I was also just a teeny bit worried too. See, I remember Blake from 
You may remember Jess, Jamie’s older sister, from US. I have to admit, she got off on the wrong foot with me in that book, but she totally won me over here. This is a girl that’s having a hard time finding herself. Forever viewed as the flaky one by her overachieving family, she wants to prove them wrong. That for once she can pick a career, and stick to it. That’s how she finds herself in nursing school in Canada, and once again facing the man she’s gone through great lengths to avoid.
I also loved that it didn’t follow the formulaic romance novel with the crazy misunderstandings in the end. It was perfectly paced and unfolded naturally.
MENACE
Want to know a recipe for a whole lot of awesome?
Morgan aka “Scarlet” was easily my favorite heroine that this author has written to date. This is a woman that’s running but with a purpose and using any means possible to get what she wants. She’ll pick pockets, lie, and use her body if she has to. She’s full of nails and vinegar. She’s sassy, sarcastic, snarky and everything I love. She’s broken but not defeated. If anything her weakness just make her that much stronger. She was a fascinating combination vulnerable and deadly.
I loved her internal monologue almost as much as I loved Lorenzo’s
RIVAL
Why the hell did it take me this long to read this book?! Why? WHY I ASK YOU?! I’ll admit that reading a few reviews made me a little nervous to pick this one up. I should have known better. Other people’s pet peeves tend to be my catnip. What? I never said I wasn’t a 
The Danger of Desire
Warren is a rake (of course!). What good is a historical romance without a rake? And Warren does not disappoint. He wants nothing to do with Delia, but his cousin is pushing him to look after Delia. He soon discovers how intriguing Delia can be. She is intelligent and mysterious. There is something about her and he is determined to figure her out. After following her, he soon discovers her mysterious outings are at a gambling club trying to find the man that ruined her brother. And I absolutely loved all of this! The banter between these two is priceless!
