Review: Don’t Pretend I’m Yours by Natasha Anders

June 12, 2023 by · Leave a Comment

DON’T PRETEND I’m YOURS
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Natasha Anders
Release Date:  June 6,  2023

When Ben Templeton asks Lilah Beckett to marry him, she’s over the moon. She’s been in love with him for years and now, finally, it looks like those feelings are reciprocated. She eagerly accepts his proposal, but on her wedding day, all expectations of a happily ever after with the love of her life come crashing to her feet. Lilah discovers that her new husband does not love her; he barely even likes her. He married her for all the wrong reasons and now expects her to be satisfied with the scraps of affection and attention he throws her way.

To preserve her heart and her sanity, Lilah knows that she cannot allow this sham of a marriage to continue. But her much-loved grandfather is ecstatic about the union and to avoid disappointing him, Lilah informs Ben that she’ll play at being his wife for one year only. Ben, however, seems perfectly content to remain tethered to her in a loveless union for all eternity. He has his own reasons for marrying Lilah. Reasons he’s hiding behind a wall of secrets, half-truths, and blatant lies.

And when that wall comes tumbling down, Lilah is emotionally unprepared to deal with the further devastation and heartbreak that follow.

AMAZON 

The woman seemed have been operating under some massive misapprehension about this marriage. He wasn’t doing this for her. He barely even liked her.

This, THIS was the book I didn’t know I was waiting for from Natasha Anders. I still remember the rabid giddiness I read The Unwanted Wife back in 2012, which marked my obsession with all things Natasha Anders. While she’s a well rounded contemporary author able to bring sweet and angsty in equal measures, there’s just something about her angst ridden romance with alpha holes that just does it for me. And boy did Ben deliver on all of the things.

The story was in the vein of Unwanted Wife, but also remarkably different. I’ll explain. This is an arranged marriage trope where the heroine is going into the marriage blissfully happy believing it’s love and the hero has anterior motives which love doesn’t enter into. But that’s about where those similarities end. It’s also not your run of the mill arranged/marriage of convenience trope. It’s so much deeper.

Ben and Lilah grew up together, but where Lilah idolized and crushed on Ben, Ben resented Lilah. He found her to be a petulant, spoiled child who could do no wrong in her beloved grandfather’s eyes. While Ben is the Forster child taken in by him and idolizes his mentor to a fault. Theirs is not a marriage built on love or even like, and Ben wastes no time disillusioning Lilah of any notion of anything otherwise.

Lilah was absolute perfection. She was such a wonderfully endearing combination of strength and vulnerability. She wants love and will settle for nothing less. She doesn’t take any of Ben’s BS and isn’t afraid to stand up for herself and boy did she give as good as she gets. Ben was insufferable for the first half (just like I love my heroes); cold and unfeeling. And let me tell you, there is nothing more satisfying then seeing him fall helplessly for his wife and begin to see her in a light he never did growing up. And when he finally sees beyond the impression he built in his eyes, he wants more. But at this point Lilah wants nothing more than a divorce from him. Oh the grovel! The sweet sweet grovel.

I know that right now you hate me, but I’m fucking begging you to give me another chance, mo chridhe. I swear to God, I would move heaven and earth to make you happy and make you love me again.”

I hope we get books for all of Lilah’s garden ‘hoes’. Their friendship was the sunshine needed to break up some of the more heavy elements of this book. But man did I devour this story. Only thing that could have made it better is if it was written in first person POV. But this took nothing away from the story that sucked me in from the first page and kept me glued to it until the end.

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Review: Protect Me Not by Natasha Anders

December 27, 2021 by · Leave a Comment

PROTECT ME NOT
Series: (Un) Professionally Yours #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Natasha Anders
Release Date: October 6, 2021

Some temptations are just not worth the complication.

Victoria Hollingsworth does not need a surly, uncommunicative bodyguard cramping her style, following her everywhere, and intimidating any would-be male callers. She’s a florist for goodness sake, not a princess or a pop star. Having a massive, mysterious bodyguard always hovering is an inconvenience. And yet… there he is, Tyler Chambers, her unwanted protector, ultra-serious, no-nonsense, and off-the-charts hot. Vicki doesn’t want, or need, him as a bodyguard. Yet, disturbingly, he may be everything she wants, and needs, in a man.

Ty hates his current long-term assignment. It’s mind-numbingly tedious. Vicki Hollingsworth is a pain in the butt who talks too much, laughs a lot, and frequently tests his patience. And her life isn’t exactly filled with intrigue and action. Ty is ready for this job to be over. He has a couple of months left before reassignment. So close to being out of here he can taste it. The last thing he needs is to suddenly find his cute-as-a-button charge irresistibly attractive. She’s not his type. Wholesome, adorable, and sweet, Vicki is the kind of woman who needs long-term commitment. And all Ty has to offer is a few short weeks of far-from-wholesome pleasure.

How much chaos can one little florist introduce into his regimented life? Ty is about to find out.

 

AMAZON

 

Some temptations were just not worth the complication.


I love me a good bodyguard romance, and while this one took me a minute to really get into, once I did, I couldn’t put it down.

Now usually, I love my bodyguard romance with a touch more suspense. Ty had been assigned to Vicki by her overprotective brother after one break in in her flower shop. Being a top notch professional in the field, Ty isn’t exactly thrilled at what he considers babysitting duty. And Vicki is just as thrilled at having a constant baby sitter. Suffice it to say they have a bit of a rough start when Vicki purposely antagonizes Ty in the beginning. You’d think that Ty’s sudden waking up 15 months into his charge to realize that he’s attracted to Vicki would be somewhat hard to believe, but it just fit.

Natasha Anders writes very character driven stories, and this one was no different. Admittedly it took me about 20% to really get into this story, but once I did, I couldn’t put it down. I loved Vicki’s sweetness and pure heart in comparison’s to Ty’s brokenness. After heartbreaking losses, Ty has put up walls around his heart. PTSD and loss will do that to a man. And he feels the only thing he has to offer is a short lived physical relationship with Vicki until his job is officially over and they both move on. He struggles with his attraction to her, but when this slow urn finally explodes, YOWZA! As much as Ty hot and cold, I want you but can’t give you anything back and forth drove me nuts, I still loved him. There are so many layers to this man, that you can’t help but fall for him with each layer you peel back. Vicki’s sweet nature was the perfect balance, and I loved that she wasn’t too much of a push over.

Ty goes from cold to hot to back to cold, and I couldn’t get enough. It was a slow burn romance full of heart and emotion, and a well deserved HEA that put a huge smile on my face.

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Review: Nothing But This by Natasha Anders

July 30, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

BroNOTHING BUT THIS
Series: Broken Pieces #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Natasha Anders
Release Date: July 30, 2019

A married couple yearns to rediscover lost love in this novel about forgiveness, reconciliation, and emotional growth.

It’s always been complicated between Libby Lawson and Greyson Chapman—and married life isn’t any simpler. But when Libby gets pregnant, she at last sees a bright future ahead. There’s just one problem: Greyson says he’s sterile.

Furious, Greyson abandons the young family. Equally furious and deeply hurt, Libby cuts all ties with him. After all these years, it seems their relationship has finally expired. But love is resilient and endures even when you don’t want it to. Greyson still longs for Libby, and though Libby’s heartbroken by Greyson’s lack of trust, she holds out hope for a complete, happy family.

And so they embark on the journey back to each other, wary of all the obstacles between them. It’s been a long road already—one strewed with fear, doubt, and misunderstandings. Will they keep looking to the past, or will they look to each other and walk hand in hand toward a broad new horizon?

AMAZON

I’ve been trying to find the right words. The proper combination of sounds that would make you forgive me, that would make up for what I said and did. But those words don’t exist.”


Ever since Natasha Anders introduced Grey and Libby in More Than Anything, I’ve been completely enamored and invested in their story. If there’s one thing that I love more than a hero that royally screws up with his woman, it’s watching him grovel to get back into her good graces again. And this book? It’s one long, delicious, and emotional grovel.

Now I love a good alphahole as much as the next girl, but this book didn’t focus on that. You get plenty of Grey’s generally cold disposition in the first book. Enough of it to know that when the man makes a mistake, it’s the biggest mistake of his life. This book focuses on him dealing with the repercussions of that mistake and trying to grovel his way back and somehow make amends. You get flashbacks of what transpired to bring Grey and Libby to the point where they are now. I loved that Libby really grew into herself in this book. She goes from a besotted girl to a woman that’s not afraid to make him work for it. She’s not willing to forgive and forget, nor should she. I mean, the man thought their child was the result of an affair.

The flow is really organic and the pacing is superb. It highlights every bump along their road and twists and turns your heart right along with them. Their journey is painful and emotional and totally enrapturing.

Nothing But This was a painfully beautiful story of second chances. It was sweet, funny, and utterly gut wrenching in parts. It wasn’t an overly angsty read but it was certainly an emotional one. I really loved this book. It was a gripping and charming and hits every single feel.

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Review: More Than Anything by Natasha Anders

June 13, 2019 by · Leave a Comment

BroMORE THAN ANYTHING
Series: Broken Pieces #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Natasha Anders
Release Date: June 11, 2019

Two lovers strive to trade a grim past for a bright future in this story of bittersweet yearning.

Tina Jenson belongs to the same social stratum as Harris Chapman, but he’s out of her league—at least that’s what she thinks before they jump in bed together. It’s the perfect night, but when she overhears crude, hurtful comments the next morning, she can’t get away fast enough.

Ten years later, Tina’s life is a mess. That night with Harris didn’t just hurt her feelings; it started a cascade of disappointment and heartbreak. Every time she bumps into Harris, her heart twists inside out. She still wants him, but she’s harboring a painful secret from their night together that she’s not ready to reveal.

Crossed signals, high-society whispers, and shame have kept Tina and Harris apart for years, but deep down, they’re hungry for each other and eager to write their own rules. Can they let go of the past and find their way back to each other, or are the barriers between them too high and too strong?

AMAZON

Some pain was just too huge to be self-soothed away…

I have a general rule when it comes to Natasha Anders books; she writes them, I read them. The woman can write a grovel like no one’s business. And she’s the queen of creating these perfectly imperfect and broken characters that you can’t help but fall for.

The second I read the blurb for this book, I was foaming at the mouth to get my hands on it. But I have to admit that it was not quite what I had expected. I thought I was going to read about a devastating hurt, and then a delicious grovel. And while this book was definitely one of those things, it wasn’t exactly. Confused? I was too. But let me explain.

Harris Chapman has been a boy that young Tina always had a crush on and who was entirely out of her league. Tina is a girl that was a slave to her own self consciousness about her looks and weights, and the cruel words of her classmates didn’t always help. One night with the boy of her dreams suddenly ended in the biggest heartbreak of her life. But Harris is not the cruel guy she’s made him out to be all these years. In actuality, Harris is a sweet, down to earth type of man that’s spent over ten years trying to make things right with Tina while she spent them avoiding him.

And while I enjoyed the story, I struggled quite a bit with liking Tina. To be perfectly frank, I never really warmed up to her. This is a woman that’s spent ten years in a spiral over something that could have been fixed over letting Harris have a second of her time and a conversation. Don’t get me wrong, this is a woman with some deep rooted pain and it’s no little thing. But I also wanted her to get her life together and finally shake herself out of her neurosis. She’s so scatterbrained and flighty, that it took almost the entirety of the book for me to connect to her. I felt for her, I really did. But I also wanted to shake her throughout most of the story.

Harris is so sweet and patient with her. He tries so hard, only to be shut down time and time again.

Now here’s the thing, though, while I struggled to connect with Tina, I still found myself enjoying the book. There’s a somewhat of a secondary plot that gets unraveled here with Harris’s twin brother and Tina’s best friend that I was dang near rabid to get more on. I loved the cute small town setting and the crossover with some of the previous characters we got in Natasha’s Alpha Men series. And even though Tina frustrated me, I still couldn’t put the book down and read it in practically one sitting. Was it my favorite story, probably not. But it sure set the stage for the next book and it did ultimately wrap up quite sweetly and made me finally see Tina in a different light.

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Review: The Wrong Man by Natasha Anders

December 20, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

THE WRONG MAN
Series: Alpha Men #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Natasha Anders
Release Date: September 4, 2018

No commitments. No expectations. No way this could possibly go wrong…right?

Former special-ops soldier Sam Brand is used to getting what he wants. What he wants is to unbutton the buttoned-down, sweet, and shy Dahlia McGregor. He’s hot to find her wild side. She’s eager to let him explore it. So he makes his proposition—no strings, no hurt feelings, and no promises—save for one: she’ll have the time of her life.

After a broken engagement, Lia’s looking to someday find the right man and settle down. That’s some day. Now it’s all about the night. A hot, meaningless fling with a magnificently weathered blue-eyed stud like Sam couldn’t hurt: he’s sexy, and sure he’s arrogant, but best of all, he’s here. In other words, he’s perfect…for now.

But when Sam is wounded in the line of duty and left in Lia’s tender loving care, all bets are off. Because the more time they spend together, the more it becomes clear: this “one night” deal is getting steamier and lasting longer than they counted on. It started as a fun little game. Is it possible they could be playing for keeps?

AMAZON

I was your rebound guy, now let me be your final fling guy. Let me be the last wild thing you do before you settle down.”.

I knew when Sam first graced the pages in The Best Man that he was going to be my favorite Alpha Man. After finishing this book, I can also tell you that it was my favorite in the series! I love a good unrepentant womanizing alphahole, and Sam definitely brought his A-game as the commitment phobic alpha with a sharp tongue and no small lack of insults. While I can see that he may not be a hero for everyone’s likes, he definitely did it for me and I couldn’t wait to see him fall for the sweet and proper Lia.

Dahlia was a heroine I wasn’t sure I’d like, but ended up absolutely loving. She’s sweet, thoughtful, innocent, but not overly naive. This was definitely a formula that worked for me. She’s the sweetest of the three McGregor sisters, and I was rooting for her from the very beginning.

After her engagement to an a-hole of epic proportions goes up in flames, Lia gives into something that’s completely out of character for her; a one-night fling with a womanizer that she never expects to see again. Sam makes no secret of his love-them-and-leave-them preferences, and he makes it crystal clear that he will never be Mr. Right. Lia is determined to find her forever man, and when a series of catastrophic (yet comedic) dates leave her disillusioned and giving up, seeing Sam again make her willing to pick right up where they left off.

Sam never expects to be back in the small town or to see Lia again. But when his job leaves him wounded and unable to fend for himself, what better way to heal that to hire the beautiful Lia to care for him and take the opportunity to try to lure her into his bed once more.

I loved the combination of Lia’s sweetness and Sam’s snark. These are two characters that don’t really make sense on paper, and yet their chemistry is off the charts. I loved seeing Lia slowly cave to Sam’s alluring nature and Sam slowly fall unwittingly for Lia’s sweet and endearing one. What starts off as a fling to scratch an itch soon begins to turn into something so much more for both of them. Natasha Anders crafted two incredibly well-developed characters with this book. As much as you want to hate Sam for the things he does and says, you simply can’t. You see just enough of his vulnerable side that he keeps cleverly hidden behind a smart-mouthed persona to know there’s a lot more to him than the initial playboy that meets the eye.

The Wrong Man had a little bit of everything; humor, steam, and plenty of emotion. It was incredibly satisfying. And even though I wanted Sam to work for it a little harder at the end, I couldn’t help but love their HEA. The epilogue was especially wonderful. It was the perfect conclusion to the series and it couldn’t have ended with a better book.

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Review: The Best Man by Natasha Anders

April 7, 2018 by · Leave a Comment

THE BEST MAN
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Alpha Men #2
Author: Natasha Anders
Release Date: April 10, 2018

It has all the makings of a picture-perfect wedding. There’s just one detail that could have used a little more planning…

Hulking ex–rugby player Spencer Carlisle has crushed on Daffodil McGregor since high school. On the field he knew the moves. Off, he was a clueless clod who never gained an advantage. Rejected and rebuffed, his infatuation finally cooled—like ice.

Now, it’s impossible not to feel the chill—since he’s the best man and she’s the maid of honor at their siblings’ wedding. For the sake of harmony, they’re calling a truce.

Daff has her reasons for being a cynic when it comes to romance. And twice as many for not letting on that she finds Spencer attractive—although she’d rather gnaw off her thumb than admit it. Still, there’s more to the sweet and sexy lug than meets the eye. Maybe he is the one who can heal her emotional scars. Maybe he’ll give her a second chance. Because Spencer could be Daff’s own best man—if it’s not too late to come to terms with the past.

AMAZON

As a long time fan of all things Natasha Anders, I don’t even bother to read the blurb before adding her books. But when I saw that this book will featured Daisy’s sister and Mason’s older brother from The Wingman, I was that much more excited.

If you haven’t read this series yet and are expecting it to be on the same level of angst as some of Natasha’s previous books, you’re in for some disappointment. While there’s definitely emotion brimming from the pages of these stories, it’s not that angsty overload the likes of The Unwanted Wife or A Husband’s Regret. I love a little variety from authors, so this didn’t bother me one bit.

With a delicious unrequited love setup in the previous book, The Best Man was sure to deliver some feels, and it certainly did. I’ll admit, I struggled quite a bit to stay engaged to the story in the beginning. This is a character driven story and was entirely too slow paced for my particular taste. Having said that, the pacing fit the story and anything more than that would have ruined the effect.

Spencer Carlisle was a bit of a bumbling alpha in the previous book, I fell head over heels for him in this one. You truly get to know the heart of this incredible man, and it was full of love and depth. He’s been in love with Daffodil McGregor since high school only to get her scorn and be ignored time and time again, almost cruelly. This is ultimately where my rating lowered. I’m a reader that has to love the heroine in my book, and if I don’t, it will color my entire reading experience. And truth be told, I struggled hard with Daffodil. The author did a wonderful job with her character development and peeling back her true self layer by layer to reveal the scared and somewhat insecure woman beneath the boastful and sassy exterior. And even though I wanted so badly to connect with it and empathize, most of the time I just wanted to throttle her. Her constant hot and cold personality with Spencer drove me out of my ever loving mind. I adored how understanding and patient Spencer was with her and even though Daffodil tried to wrong her rights, most of the time it just didn’t feel like enough.

Because of this, I really struggled to completely buy into their romance. That’s not to say I didn’t still enjoy the story, because I did. While it was frustrating at times, it was still satisfying. And the set up for the third McGregor sister is nothing short of delicious so of course I can’t wait for that.

THE SERIES

THE WINGMAN | THE BEST MAN | THE WRONG MAN

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Review: The Wing Man by Natasha Anders

March 5, 2017 by ·

THE WING MAN
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Natasha Anders
Release Date: March 7, 2017

She was supposed to be his one-night distraction. But their attraction is undeniable.

Introverted Daisy McGregor is used to being a wallflower, but what she lacks in style, she makes up for with an acerbic wit, a passion for life, and a deep devotion to her family. So she’ll suffer through her sister Dahlia’s bachelorette party and accept the cloud of pity for going stag to the wedding.

Out at the pub, sexy bad boy Mason Carlisle is a reluctant wingman tasked with entertaining Daisy while his brother flirts with her oldest sister, Daffodil. When the plan fails and Mason’s true intent is revealed, he feels intense guilt—and a sensual spark of desire for the unlikeliest of women.

Daisy decides to use this unfortunate encounter to her advantage: to make it up to her, Mason will be another kind of wingman, playing the role of her boyfriend and wedding date. Will their ruse unravel completely—or will Mason and Daisy’s undeniable attraction ignite a scorching love affair that knows no rules?

AMAZON 

he couldn’t bring himself to let her go. He didn’t think he would ever have the strength to let her go. He fell asleep resigned to that fact.

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 The Unwanted Wife, I didn’t even bother to read the blurb to this book. I already knew I’d like it. I didn’t care what it was about. Having now finished, I’ll say two things; it was nothing like what I’ve come to be used to from this author, and I adored every page of it.

The Wingman was a quirky and swoony perfection. It reminded me all over again why I love romance. It was sweet and funny, quirky and sexy, it was nothing I expected and I’d read it all over again in a heartbeat!

Take a look at all of you, and then take a look at all of me.”
She rolled her eyes, and his jaw clenched. “I’ve been looking at you for the last half an hour, and up until this very moment, I saw a smart, funny, entertaining woman with whom I wanted to spend more time,” he said, his voice so low she barely heard him over the crowd and the music. “That was before the self-pity, though.”
“Self-pity? I was being realistic.”
“Fine, don’t go out with me!”
“Fine! I will go out with you,” she rejoined, and he looked completely confused. “Wait, what?”

If you’re a fan of the quirky heroine, you’ll fall in love with Daisy McGregor. With two stunning sisters, Daisy is used to being “the other one”. The smart one. The one with the personality. She’s a wallflower, and she’s just fine with it. When she suddenly gets the attention of one of the most handsome men she’s ever met, she almost doesn’t believe.

Mason was the bad boy from her youth that every girl wanted to have for one night. Growing up on the wrong side of the tracks, his family is nothing like the wealthy and entitled kids at their school. Now Mason is back to the small town he couldn’t wait to get away from, but he’s not the same boy that left it. He’s made something of himself. The last thing he wants is a woman. He’s had his fill of bad experiences and he’s not eager to dip back into that pool. So when his brother begs for him to entertain that “other” McGreggor sister so he can hit on the older one, he figures what’s a little conversation. He just doesn’t expect for quirky and unassuming Daisy to grab his attention so thoroughly.

I have to say just how much I love the way that Natasha wrote Daisy’s character. She was so adorably quirky. She’s not the stunner, she’s not a perfect size two, and she doesn’t want to be. She’s a bombshell in her own right, but it takes the right man to make her see that. What I truly appreciated was that she never changed. She didn’t feel like she needs to lose weight or be a different person. She just slowly discovered who she is and became more confident. It was such a sweet pleasure watching her come into her throughout the book. This wasn’t an insta lust sort of romance. It was a slow build, yet it was so believable. With every new piece that Mason discovers about Daisy, he falls for her more and more.

Mason certainly had his moments where I wanted to shake him a little, but ultimately he stole my heart with his sweet persistence. He really won Daisy over. I loved that he never tried to change her. It just took him a while to see her full appeal. And when this man falls? Oh boy does he fall!

What do you see when you look at me, Mason?” Mason ran a shaky hand over his head and lifted his eyes to hers, hoping she could see everything he wanted to say in them, hoping she understood, even if he made a mess of his reply. “Everything,” he grated out. “I see my whole fucking world, Daisy. I see all my days, my weeks, and my years. Every season of my life. All spent with you. I see everything I want, need, and desire all wrapped up in you.”

All of the swoons!!!

If you’re looking for an alphahole, you won’t find it here. There’s no enemies to lovers, hate lust thing going on. Mason Carlisle was ALL man. A caring, loving, protective man. Daisy McGregor was a quirky and adorable hot mess. I adored these two. Simply adored.

I hope there’s more to come with these characters. There’s a certain older McGregor sister that I’m hoping to get her HEA next. If you’re craving a different read from the usual angst filled romance, you can’t go wrong with this one. It may be angst light (compared to Natasha’s usual) but it’s no less satisfying.

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