#DGRFave & Review: Ballistic by @KeriLake

BALLISTIC
Series: Vigilantes #3
Genre: Dark, Contemporary Romance
Author: Keri Lake
Release Date: October 30, 2018add-to-goodreads-button-2

A life for a life.

On the streets of Detroit, it’s the code we live by. You take from me, I take from you. A balance of power, and a ceaseless war between rivals.

As a foster kid from the projects, I never had much, besides an unshakable addiction to women and drugs. Only took one glance into the amber eyes of a slave for me to realize my two worst vices could be one and the same.

And the woman behind those eyes quickly became my obsession.

Nicoleta is more than she seems. An enigma I’m determined to crack before time runs out and our enemies hunt her down. Except, she moves by her own trajectory, an unstoppable bullet on the warpath to track down the men who murdered a girl from her past.

Me? I’m the rogue whose path is less predictable. A junkie, fiending for the one thing I shouldn’t want: the only woman who gets me high. I want to keep her for myself, but when the unstoppable bullet finally hits her mark and secrets begin to unravel, another life must be paid.
A heart for a heart.

Buy LinksAMAZON 

Review5 stars

We were as tragically beautiful and fragile as a dead rose. Two souls, broken beyond redemption.

If you’ve read any book by Keri Lake, then you already know that the woman can write a dark, gritty and captivating story like no other. She has this amazing ability to suck the readers into the dark abyss that are her books and keep them at the edge of their seat from beginning to finish. She’ll throw twist after twist your way until you don’t know which side is up. But one thing you’ll know for sure is that you didn’t just read a book of hers, you experienced it.

I silenced his argument with a kiss, feeling his fingers curl into my flesh. His mouth tasted like whiskey and sorrow, wrapped in guilt. A familiar cocktail.

I’ve been waiting for Dax’s story for what feels like forever. Ever since he watched helplessly as a young girl was driven away by one of the criminals he’d been after. He’s been searching for her ever since, only to hit one dead end after another. Until finally he finds her. But Nicoleta is not at all what she seems. And Dax definitely never saw a storm like her coming.

…my Nicoleta. The embodiment of fortitude and resilience. A brand of beauty that couldn’t be replicated because one would have to walk through absolute hell to acquire it.

While this is set in the Vigilantes series, you can easily read it as a standalone. Though I highly recommend the other two books as some of the story arcs do carry over. Ballistic was a whole different beast in this series with Nicoleta being the one seeking revenge. I loved the way that Keri Lake balanced the scales with the two characters. Nicoleta really took the driver’s seat in a lot of the story, but Dax never blended into the background. He was no less alpha and no less intense in his need to be the tool she uses to mete out her punishment. I LOVED this delicious turn of roles.

Nicoleta was a mystery wrapped in nightmares; nightmares of a hell that she’s lived through and a past she barely remembers. This is a woman that’s absolutely shattered, but she’s not weak. She’s vengeance and hell, pain and retribution. She’s a fiery ball of hatred and passion, and she was the perfect balance to Dax’s intensity.

This was a dark and twisty page turner of a story filled with blood, vengeance, and a love amongst the ashes. It sucked me in right into the dark underbelly of the worst sort of underground crime imaginable and those that rose out of the ashes of the pain it brought. It was deliciously twisty. It had me a ball of anxiety with my heart in my throat the entire time. It made me cringe. It made me cry. It made shiver in anticipation. In a word? It was UNPUTDOWNABLE!


DON’T MISS THE REST OF THE SERIES

RICOCHET (Vigilantes #1)
READ MY 5 STAR REVIEW HERE

91t23tLVXyL

The only sure way to destroy a man is to take what he cannot live without.

Three years ago, I had everything.

A beautiful wife.
A son.
A reason for living.

Until a ruthless task force, assembled under Mayor Michael Culling, with a brutal strategy to make the streets of Detroit ‘safe’, ripped away everything I loved in a deadly hunt called The Culling.

They tried to kill me, too. I wish they had. Now I’m cursed by the memories of that night, and the words I whispered to my dying wife.

A promise—to avenge the wrong and set it right.

I’m no longer Nick Ryder. I’m a masked vigilante. Faceless. Loveless. Fearless. A man with nothing left to lose—one who’s seen the dark and violent truth behind the city’s flawless veneer.

Michael Culling doesn’t know who I am. Or what I want. All he knows is that I’ve kidnapped his beautiful wife.

An eye for an eye—isn’t that how the saying goes? And Aubree Culling is the perfect pawn to destroy him.

If she doesn’t destroy me first.

Buy LinksAMAZON


BACKFIRE (Vigilantes #2)
READ MY 5 STAR REVIEW HERE

Backfire+FOR+WEB

This book is a standalone set in the same world as Ricochet.

No matter how unbreakable he may seem, every man has a weakness.

A year ago, my home became a bloodstained crime scene. That night marked the beginning of my hell—the same night I was tortured by my enemies and tossed into an underground prison to die.

They failed. I survived.

Now that I’m free, only one motive burns in my soul: revenge.

Lucky for me, they think Jase Hawkins is dead. Maybe I am. I’ve got nothing but a cold, merciless rage, and Black Betty, the sharp steel blade that never leaves my side.

Then she drifts into my life.

Lucia wants answers—so much so, she’s willing to fall into the darkness where my enemies lie in wait, to kill her for what she knows.

Or to take her for the depraved fantasies her body alone can rouse in a man’s mind.

Me? I want her for the fire in her touch that feeds my addiction, forces me to feel what has become numb, but my appetite for bloodshed runs deeper than flesh.

For my own sanity, I’ve vowed to stay away from her. Because she’s my only weakness, an obsession that leaves me craving more—one that could make even the most steadfast plan backfire.

Buy LinksAMAZON | iBOOKS

Review: Crosshairs by Kate Stewart

CROSSHAIRS
Series: Predator & Prey #2
Genre: Erotic Romance, Suspense
Author: Kate Stewart
Release Date: June 30, 2017

Safe.

It’s a liar’s word. No one is ever truly safe.

Daniello still haunted me—in my bed, in my dreams, in a ridiculous notion of a future we would never have.

I was drawn to darkness, and he was the abyss.

My love for him made me flesh and bone—vulnerable.

I was finally a woman with something to lose and would do anything to keep it.
But when my past caught up with my present, it became clear that safe would forever remain an illusion.

Laz was coming for us, his looming darkness a threat to the life I carefully designed.

Armed with hope, and ready for battle, I never imagined the casualties of the war that came to me.

And then I lost all control.

****This is the conclusion to the Predator and Prey Duet.

Duet reading order
Camouflage
Crosshairs

***If you are not a fan of cursing, erotic and extremely explicit sex, immoral behavior, violence, dysfunction or sexual scenarios that may make you feel uncomfortable this is not the book for you. FILTHY. EROTIC. SUSPENSE.

AMAZON

This Cinderella had no prince waiting, but she didn’t need one and never would. No, this Cinderella had run with the rats, fucked a prince or two, and decided that self-worth was superior to being second to a man’s ego.

Now it’s been a hot minute since I first read Camouflage but it didn’t take me long to be sucked right back into the world of Predator and Prey. Kate Stewart brings a fiery, suspenseful, and heart pounding conclusion to a story that owned me from the very beginning. It’s impossible not to become completely wrapped up in her words and her characters. She truly has a gift for creating some of the most vivid, unapologetically broken and unorthodox characters. And let me tell you, it doesn’t get more unorthodox than Taylor and Daniello.

She was no whore; she was untouchable. A self-made picture of perseverance that drew breath and exhaled fire.
A phoenix.
My phoenix.

It’s rare that I read about a heroine that truly owns her sexuality and Taylor was the epitome of power and sex. This is a woman that didn’t just fight to the top; she almost sold her soul for it. She makes no bones about who she is. She doesn’t feel bad for herself. She knows who she is and she owns it. While her heart was broken by life and lovers past, no one has truly made it beat quite as much as a man that’s even more untouchable to her today as he was before. A threat to everything she holds dear; his secrets may just cost her everything.

He was a threat to all I had built. A fatal blow to the reputation I had carefully crafted. He would tear my castle apart and ruin my kingdom if I let him. Because I loved him. Someone had to love the fucking villain.

Everything truly comes to a head here. I swear I could feel my pulse pounding through my fingers with every page I turned. It was impossible to put down. I was starving for more details of Daniello. Who is he? What does he do? This man is cloaked in danger and oozes sex from his every pore. He’s utterly magnetic and I couldn’t get enough of him.

We clung to each other as he tore me apart piece by piece and fed me for his absence. My body repeatedly shuddered as he commanded it. At his mercy, an ocean of feeling swept between us as he silenced my doubts with every soothing touch of his hands.

As desperate as I was for more information about Daniello, I was just as desperate for more of Taylor’s past. The mysterious Ray, the ultimate devastating destruction of her childhood love, her sister and the danger that follows them into the present. All of it completely sucked me in, leaving me desperately turning the pages well into the night.

Years of living like a savage had forced me to a place where very little light existed, but Taylor’s light forced her way under my skin and into my veins.

This was one of the most satisfying conclusions to a duet I’ve read in a long damn while. It was worth every second of the wait. It was, in a word, perfection. It was gritty and sexy, heart stopping, and unputdownable.

If you’re looking for a romance that’s different, with enigmatic characters that are so vivid you feel like they practically jump off the pages, and a story that’s full of twists and turns, then look no further. Because you just found your next addiction!


DON’T MISS BOOK 1 IN THE DUET

CAMOUFLAGE
READ MY REVIEW | PURCHASE

Review: ★Last Kiss★ by Laurelin Paige

review-Last KissLAST KISS
Series: First & Last #2
Genre: Erotic Romance
Author: Laurelin Paige
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Publication Date: June 14, 2016add-to-goodreads-button-2

Last Kiss

A GAME OF CAT AND MOUSE FILLED WITH DARK DESIRES AND DANGEROUS SECRETS…

Emily Wayborn has made a decision.

She might not fully trust handsome and deadly Reeve Sallis, but he is the one person that gives her what she needs. With Reeve she can finally be herself. Submitting to him is the only thing keeping her grounded as the rest of her life falls apart. But the hotelier is a master at keeping secrets and as she continues her quest for answers someone is making sure she doesn’t find them.

Time is running out and she is questioning everything she thought she knew about friendship and love. She must now make an impossible choice that will determine if she will survive with her heart…or at all.

 

Buy LinksAMAZON | B&N | iBOOKSReview-DGR4 starsLast Kiss-DGR

 

Whoever had decided that damnation was fire and brimstone was wrong. Hell was cold and ice and emptiness. Hell was watching the one I’d grasped to so tightly slip through my fingers.

The heart stopping conclusion to the erotically charged story that began with First Touch is here and it’s filled with enough twists and turns to leave your head reeling. There’s one thing I can tell you after finishing this book and that’s that Laurelin Paige can write. I mean the woman can write. Holy hell but the woman can write.

I’d let him in, let him consume me and yet I’d still kept him at a distance, even when I knew he’d tried to let me in.

I read First Touch when it first released and have been stewing in my misery since. Of all the cliffhangers I’ve read, that one had to be one of the most painful ones. I’m talking I wanting to throw a tantrum and cry sort of painful. Suffice it to say, I’ve been immensely looking forward to the conclusion.

You feel me…
Right now you feel me, Emily. That’s where I am- inside you. All the time, I’m there. No matter whose bed you sleep in.”

All of Emily’s secrets seems to be unveiling. Just as she finally got to a relationship place with Reeve, the appearance of someone from her past shakes the foundation of it to the very core, leaving her questioning everything, including herself.

She may not have intended to fall for Reeve, but she barely had a choice in the matter. The man is everything she craves. His intensity calls for her submission and her submission is what he gets…

But, oh, how I craved any risk the man offered- including the danger of love.

Last Kiss2-DGRReeve is just as intense as ever. There’s something about the man that’s just so enigmatic, he practically crackles with the electric current of it. Reeve is easily one of the most memorable heroes I have read to date. This is not a man you would soon forget. He skates just on the edge of depravity but has no qualms diving right into the dark pits of it if that’s what Emily needs. It’s what he himself craves as well. If you thought First Touch was erotically charged, guard your ovaries with Last Kiss because DAMN. The fine line between dub con and D/s is certainly present but the book is entirely in the gray. I don’t know how I would categorize it but I can tell you that it’s hot as hell.

Then he was inside me- bruising me, breaking me. Tearing me into a hundred pieces that all belonged to him.

For those that read the first book and are afraid there may be a love triangle, don’t be. At least not quite. But that’s the most you’ll get out of me because I don’t want to ruin it for you.

What I can tell you, is that I read this book in practically one sitting. The anticipation of turning each page became an obsession. I was riveted. The story was intoxicating. I couldn’t bring myself to put it down until the end.

I was so completely taken with the man in front of me. He was the master of my heart and body. Maybe even the master of my soul.

My one source of frustration through parts of the book was Emily. As much as I loved her in the first book, it didn’t quite carry through to this one. Don’t get me wrong, the author gave every character in the story quite a bit of depth. The character development was beyond amazing. I supposed I just hoped that while Emily craves to submit to Reeve, she’d take charge in other aspects of her life…primarily her friendship. While I can understand her thought process after so many years, there were times where she was just a little too forgiving. It wasn’t until the very end when things truly come apart that she finally understood things that should have been somewhat obvious earlier. But at the same time, taking her past and what she needs/craves into consideration, you can also understand it as well.

I’d never thought I was fit to glimpse heaven until I put my head between your thighs…
The taste of you should be forbidden. It’s the fruit that causes gods to war.”

If you love a romance with a touch of taboo, your heroes intense enough to give you shivers, and a story captivating enough to leave you thinking about it weeks after finishing, this is definitely a must read. It’s certainly not a book I’ll be forgetting any time soon.

My love for you is so ferocious, so dominating that I’m possessed by it. It changes who I am. It makes me someone different and yet I’m more who I’ve always believed I am than I ever have been.


FIRST TOUCH (First & Last #1)
GOODREADS | AMAZON | MY REVIEW

first-touch

DESPERATE FOR THE TRUTH. OBSESSED BY DESIRE…

Emily Wayborn is finally her own woman.

After a string of shameful relationships and reckless partying with her best friend Amber, she’s now a successful voiceover actress, her wild past and everyone in it firmly behind her. Until she receives a cryptic voicemail from her former friend that sends her spiraling into the darkness she thought she had outrun. One thing is clear from the message, Amber is in trouble.

Determined to track down her friend, Emily follows a chain of clues that leads her to Reeve Sallis, a gorgeous and equally dangerous hotelier known for his power games and shady dealings. Now, in order to find Amber, Emily must return to her playgirl ways to uncover his secrets and track down her friend. But as she becomes more entangled with him, she finds she’s drawn to Reeve and his depravity despite her growing conviction that he may be the one responsible for Amber’ s disappearance.

DGR Top Fave & Review: ★Backfire★ by @KeriLake

review-BackfireBACKFIRE
Series: Vigilantes #2
Genre: Dark, Contemporary Romance
Author: Keri Lake
Release Date: June 9, 2016add-to-goodreads-button-2

Backfire+FOR+WEB

This book is a standalone set in the same world as Ricochet.

No matter how unbreakable he may seem, every man has a weakness.

A year ago, my home became a bloodstained crime scene. That night marked the beginning of my hell—the same night I was tortured by my enemies and tossed into an underground prison to die.

They failed. I survived.

Now that I’m free, only one motive burns in my soul: revenge.

Lucky for me, they think Jase Hawkins is dead. Maybe I am. I’ve got nothing but a cold, merciless rage, and Black Betty, the sharp steel blade that never leaves my side.

Then she drifts into my life.

Lucia wants answers—so much so, she’s willing to fall into the darkness where my enemies lie in wait, to kill her for what she knows.

Or to take her for the depraved fantasies her body alone can rouse in a man’s mind.

Me? I want her for the fire in her touch that feeds my addiction, forces me to feel what has become numb, but my appetite for bloodshed runs deeper than flesh.

For my own sanity, I’ve vowed to stay away from her. Because she’s my only weakness, an obsession that leaves me craving more—one that could make even the most steadfast plan backfire.

Buy LinksAMAZON | iBOOKSBackfire-DGR teaser 2

Review5 starsBackfire2-DGR teaser

Shit thing about life is, when you throw an immovable object into the path of a bullet, it doesn’t follow any laws or principles.
It backfires.

It’s official; I have PTKD (Post Traumatic Keri Disorder). The woman has ruined me. This book? I hope you all have your big girl panties on, because a walk through the meadows with unicorns it. Is. Not.

Backfire is dark, gritty, and unapologetic. You’ll be reading it with your heart in your throat and your stomach twisted up in knots. It’s violent, a touch depraved, darkly erotic, action packed and absolutely, positively unputdownable. The story is filled with so many unpredictable twists and turns that it will make your head spin! It’s brilliantly written and I will even go so far as to say this was darker than Ricochet and that’s saying something, trust me.

He was dark and threatening, sexual and magnetic all rolled into one three dimensional package of fuck me.

Jase has spent the last year of his life in hell. Now he’s free and the only thing burning inside him is revenge. It’s what he eats, breathes, and lives. The chain of events that began on that one bloody night a year ago that cost him him his family all lead back to one man; Tesarik. Only problem is? He’s so powerful he’s practically untouchable. So when the mystery man standing before him promises him the vengeance he seeks for the price of a favor, he knows that he may fight it but he’ll agree. The favor will take him deep into the bowels of the worst sort of human depravity. Into a something only known as The Seventh Circle; a group of men that get off on pain and death.

And his first stop? Finding the mystery woman with the camera that may be the reason why he was thrown into the crosshairs of Tesarik in the first place. But Lucy is not at all what Jase thinks though. A photo journalist that saw something she shouldn’t have seen, she’s on the run for her life, and the only man that can help her may be the most dangerous of them all…

I’ll be the bastard you need me to be, Lucy. Whatever darkness you crave, I’ll give that to you.”

What begins is a story filled with heart-stopping moments, eroticism in a way only Keri Lake can write, and enough grit and darkness to leave you crying for your mama.

My life was a turbulent storm and she sat in the center of it, in the calm, making me forget the chaos that swirled all around me. I needed that calm, to own it, if only for one night.

If you’ve read any book by this author, then you already know she’s not afraid to go to the very pits of darkness. She’ll take the readers deep into the bowels of the worst of humanity. Her writing is raw, gritty, and absolutely unapologetic.

You’ll live and breathe Jase and Lucy’s story. It’s a page turning, heart in your throat, painful to read but never wanting it to end anyway sort of book. Jase is the epitome of the perfect anti hero.
Backfire-DGR teaser 3He’s not a good man, but he skates that fine edge between the good and bad. He’s a man that was forced to do some bad things for some very good reasons and you’ll love him for it. Guaranteed.
If nothing else but for his dirty mouth alone.

Set aside a whole night, because this is one book you’ll read in one heart-pounding sitting. Trust me on that.

You’re in my blood, infecting every dark part of my soul, Lucy. Nothing else matters to me.

The characters are incredibly multi-layered and the story has depth. It’s not your run of the mill dark romance.

For my brother, I was willing to go to war. For you, mia Luce, I’m willing to wage it.

Long story short? I loved the absolute fuck out of this book and I cannot wait for all of you to meet Jase and Lucy!

If you haven’t read Ricochet yet, I highly recommend it. But while Backfire is set in the same world as Ricochet, you don’t have to read Ricochet first in order to enjoy this one.

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhbke…


DON’T MISS THE BOOK THAT STARTED IT ALL

RICOCHET (Vigilantes #1)
READ MY 5 STAR REVIEW HERE

91t23tLVXyL

The only sure way to destroy a man is to take what he cannot live without.

Three years ago, I had everything.

A beautiful wife.
A son.
A reason for living.

Until a ruthless task force, assembled under Mayor Michael Culling, with a brutal strategy to make the streets of Detroit ‘safe’, ripped away everything I loved in a deadly hunt called The Culling.

They tried to kill me, too. I wish they had. Now I’m cursed by the memories of that night, and the words I whispered to my dying wife.

A promise—to avenge the wrong and set it right.

I’m no longer Nick Ryder. I’m a masked vigilante. Faceless. Loveless. Fearless. A man with nothing left to lose—one who’s seen the dark and violent truth behind the city’s flawless veneer.

Michael Culling doesn’t know who I am. Or what I want. All he knows is that I’ve kidnapped his beautiful wife.

An eye for an eye—isn’t that how the saying goes? And Aubree Culling is the perfect pawn to destroy him.

If she doesn’t destroy me first.

Buy LinksAMAZON

New Release & Review: ★Divided★ by @ivystoneauthor

Review-DividedDIVIDED
Series: Unguarded #2
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: February 22, 2016add-to-goodreads-button-2

26254602

We were strangers.
Two people on different paths that were never meant to cross.

He saved me.
I ruined her.
We had no control.
We were powerless against fate. 
It wasn’t wrong, it wasn’t right, but it was real.
Ours was a toxic love. So lethal it was destined to ruin us both, and it did. In the end, everything went wrong for all the right reasons. 
Our lives divided. But our love would be infinite.

A forbidden crush.
A destructive romance.
A fierce love.

Roamyn & Alison
An Unguarded Novel

Buy LinksAMAZON

Review4.5 starsDivided teaser-DGR

 

He wasn’t supposed to show up on that bridge.
He wasn’t supposed to fill me with a slither of hope, for more, for different. But he did.

When I read Exposed last year, I knew two things immediately:
1. I found myself a new author to read
and
2. I desperately needed Ali and Roamyn’s story

The set up for their book sounded utterly delicious, in a super angsty and tortured way. Clearly this couple had a backstory that I needed to know about.

He fought for the both of us. He pulled away. I pushed back. We’re a mess. Reckless. Beautiful. Destructive. And I’ve never wanted anything more in my life.

Ali is not the typical heroine you’d find in books. She’s a tortured soul; a drug addict, a stripper, a woman that put her sister through hell and back in the first book. You know that there must be a good reason for her to have become the woman that she is now, and that is the story that Divided gives you.

This book takes you back all the way to the beginning. To the night that changed Ali irrevocably. To the night that is the sole reason for who she is today. Her backstory was utterly gut wrenching and heart breaking. I wasn’t sure from reading the first book and seeing Ali’s behavior if I’d connect with her as a heroine. I knew I was curious about her as a secondary character, but was she a strong enough character to hold her place as the heroine of the story. I can safely tell you that she was and more…

You’re not lost. You just haven’t found yourself yet.

Roamyn is twelve years older than Ali. But what her sister and Roamyn’s best friend don’t know, is their history goes back years. He first met her when she was just a broken little girl. But that meeting, that one fateful night, changed the course of both their lives.
Divided 2-DGRRoamyn and Ali’s story is not an easy one. It’s filled with heartbreak and pain. It’s angsty and gritty. It’s basically everything I love in my romance and Ivy Stone serves it up brilliantly.

Roamyn is not a perfect man. He struggles with his connection to Ali, and the age difference is just a small reason why. Their relationship is a slow burn built up over several years. But when these two finally do get together? They’re combustible!

Seven fucking years.” He breathes out through each thrust…
“You’re worth every excruciating second of the wait.”

While Divided focuses on a different couple from the first book and their HEA, do yourself a favor and read the series in order. While the author does a fantastic job giving you the backstory along with any details you may have missed without having it sound redundant, it helps to read Exposed first. It gives you the bones of the backstory of Ali and her sister. I highly recommend you read that first.

As for Divided? I loved it just as much as the first book. It had just that right amount of angst and grit that I come to crave in my books. If you’re looking for a gritty and sexy romance with imperfect characters that are simply perfect together, you’ve found your next read.


DON’T MISS BOOK ONE IN THIS AMAZING SERIES! 51sOKD9PKHL._SX311_BO1,204,203,200_GOODREADS | MY REVIEW | AMAZON

Review: ★Camouflage★ by @AuthorAngelicaC

Review-CamouflageCamouflage
Series: Predator and Prey #1
Genre: Erotic Suspense
Author: Angelica Chase
Release Date: October 30, 2016add-to-goodreads-button-2

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I lived my life by two principles: order and excellence.
My moral compass steered me out of the slums of backwoods Tennessee and towards the woman I was destined to become, but not without gathering a few skeletons along the way.

Eventually, I found success, but my restless, relentless nature still left me feeling unsatisfied.

Then I met a ghost of a man.

At first, I was sure Daniello was a figment of my imagination, a beautiful and dangerous apparition with a fat cock and an animalistic hunger. He threatened my control and need for order, and in his absence, I became more haunted by my past.

He wanted me submissive.

I wanted to know him.

Then my ghost met my skeletons.

***EROTIC SUSPENSE***
Camouflage is the first full length book of a duet.
If you are not a fan of cursing, erotic, extremely explicit sex, immoral behavior, dysfunction, or sexual scenarios that may make you feel uncomfortable, this is not the series for you.

Buy LinksAMAZON

Review4 starsCamouflage-DGR

Two things were clear to me in that moment. I wanted to fuck this man. And he would be very, very bad for me.

Well, hell. That was certainly…different. It was also erotic as hell, a little gritty and a whole hell of a lot entertaining. Angelica Chase has a certain edge to her writing that I’ve come to be a bit addicted to. She doesn’t write traditional characters, there are no cookie cutter hero or heroines to be found here. Hell no! After binging myself on her Excess series, I couldn’t wait for Taylor’s story. Taylor was Nina’s assistant turned business partner and you just knew that right below the surface were brewing some dark desires. And boy was I right!

Taylor Ellison is unapologetically sexual. This is a woman that enjoys sex for what it is and has no grand illusions of love or a relationship being attached to it. She’s also inexplicably drawn to a man that seems to be oozing danger from his every pore. She knows nothing about him aside from knowing she wants him. It’s a cat and mouse game but with an added edge because this man is danger clouded in mystery.

Who are you?” I asked aloud, thought I didn’t mean to. He paused his hand and leaned in with a whisper.
“I am the man who will disappear from your bed one night without any explanation.”

Now if you’re a fan of more…erm…orthodox relationships, this book may not be for you. What takes place between Taylor and Daniello is nothing of what may constitute as normal. Hell, if Taylor wasn’t lusting after him they way she does, it’s borderline dub con at times. Though truth be said, it’s skating the edge of dub con without fully diving into it which just makes it slightly more delicious.

Daniello is a dangerous enigma filled with so much sexual prowess, the mere mention of his name alone had me feeling hot and bothered. This is a man that makes no apologies for who he is, promises nothing, and takes rather than asks for what he wants. While Taylor is an extremely strong female lead, there’s something about Daniello that demands her submission no matter how much she may hate it. I liked Taylor just as much as Nina. It’s refreshing to read a heroine that makes no excuses for her sex life and owns who she is.

Taylor’s history is definitely not an easy one and that’s what this book truly delves into. You get to see how and where she grew up and witness the events that led her to turn into the power-hungry and take charge woman that she is today.

As always, Angelica Chase delivers on some incredibly erotic scenes that will make you squirm in your seats.

I’d never been kissed that way, touched that way, coveted that way, fucked that way, and I was truly addicted. And I’d never in my life wanted a man more than I did in that moment.

But while you get to see the progression of Taylor’s character, you still know next to nothing of Daniello. He remains a mystery until the last page which only served to whet my appetite for the next book. You know he’s dangerous and you certainly know he’s not a good guy. Though how bad is he?

Camouflage gives the reader just enough to hook them and yet leave them begging for more answers. And the twist at the end? Hoo boy! I can’t wait to see how all this resolves!

 


DON’T MISS THE EXCESS SERIES

OPULENCE: PURCHASE / MY REVIEW

REVERENCE: PURCHASE / MY REVIEW

HINDERANCE: PURCHASE / MY REVIEW

Review: ★Unhinge★ by Calia Read

Review-UnhingeUnhinge
Genre: Romantic Psychological Suspense
Author: Calia Read
Release Day: January 12, 2015add-to-goodreads-button-2

9780553394788

With Unravel, Calia Read took readers inside the mind of a tormented young woman confined in Fairfax Mental Institute, seemingly without cause. In her new standalone novel of psychological suspense, UNHINGE (Ballantine Trade Paperback, On Sale 1/12/16), Read takes us back to Fairfax, this time to meet a very different patient, equally trapped, but doubly lost.

Hold your breath and count to ten.
Soon it will be over before it ever began.

No matter how many times Victoria Donovan repeats that rhyme to herself, she’s still locked inside a mental institution.

Once upon a time, her life was a fantasy: Wes, the handsome fiancé, a storybook wedding and a white picket fence. But then a picture-perfect marriage warped into something sinister. As Victoria’s world twisted from dream to nightmare, her husband’s jealousy pushed her beyond the breaking point.

Calia Read breaks the mold in this explosive story that grabs hold and doesn’t let go until the shocking truth is revealed. UNHINGE is about a woman trying to reconstruct her past and find the truth somewhere between her memories and her madness with the help of a handsome, mysterious stranger.

Buy LinksAmazon | iBooks | B&N | KoboReview3.5 starsUnhinge-DGR teaser

I’m beginning to see the truth has its price.
It’s your sanity it wants and craves more than anything.

I was craving a romance that was different and preferably a little bit of a mind fuck and when I read the synopsis for Unhinge, I knew I found myself a winner. It was a book that I read in practically one sitting not only because it read quickly and the writing grabbed me, but because the mystery of what was going on was driving me almost as crazy as Victoria was. Unhinge was exactly the kind of different I wanted.

This is how crazy begins. It creeps up on you very slowly, tapping your shoulder. It makes you turn around in fear. And then, when you think you’re in the clear, it attacks. It grabs a hold of you and drags you down, down, down…

Victoria has no recollection of her life before Fairfax Hospital, where she believes she’s been for the past three years when it’s really been six months. She knows two things; she loves her baby daughter, Evelyn, that’s in the institution with her and that she’s told that her beloved husband, Wes, is dead after a tragic accident. The details of how, why, and when are blurred within the shadows of her own mind. Determined that the hospital doesn’t hold her answers, she stops taking her pills. But there’s another two things that she knows; She sees her supposedly dead husband every day when he visits her in her room and a mysterious stranger that visits her is tugging not only at her memories but her heart. Her mind is frayed, but she’s convinced her husband is alive. So then why is everyone telling her he’s dead?

If you never remember us, that’s okay; I’ll remember for the both of us.

The story is told in alternating flashes of past and present, but what I enjoyed is the past plays out like Victoria’s memory so the reader experiences it right along with her. With ever puzzle piece that she unravels, you get it along with her. Having it told solely in Victoria’s POV just solidifies the experience.

Little by little Victoria begins to unravel the mystery of her past through the pictures that her therapist shows her. She begins to remember the man she loved and the details of the events that led them down the path of her ending up where she is…

I would die for him. Kill for him. I loved him more than life. I couldn’t let him go. I’d found a man who could undress me with just one look. He spoke and I was undone. His actions unraveled me.

The writing was captivating and I was sucked in more and more with each page I read. I was salivating for every new detail and eager to put all the puzzle pieces together.

I think this could have easily been a solid four or five star read for me up until the ending. Unfortunately, I found it to be convoluted, OTT and quite honestly it ruined the effect the entire book had for me quite a bit. I don’t want to say much since I don’t want to give it away, but while it was meant to wrap things up, it left me with more questions than answers about the hows of it. I certainly didn’t see it coming, so I suppose the twist of it worked in that respect.

While the ending left a little something to be desired for me, I still enjoyed the book and definitely recommend it for readers that are looking for something a little different with a dash of suspense. I loved Calia’s writing style and I’m hooked on the series. I love the Girl Interrupted vibe of it all so I’m definitely looking forward to the next installment which I’m hoping will be Reagan.

Every single day. Every fucking hour. Every second you’re on my mind.

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Review: ★Break Even★ by @LisaDeJongBooks

Review-Break EvenBreak Even
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: Lisa De Jong
Release Date: December 27, 2015add-to-goodreads-button-2

2015-12-30-1451490427-6445778-BreakEvenhigh

My story isn’t a love story … not the typical kind anyway.
As a lawyer, I’m used to discovery, but I never saw this one coming.

Every day, River gives me ten reasons to stay away, and then eleven reasons why I can’t. Our relationship was to remain strictly business, or at least I tried.

Four years of marriage, and everything with Cole has changed. I never knew two people who lived together could be so distant. But I’m not ready to give up on him.

One man wants to break me.
The other is just trying to get even.

Both are lying to me.

**This is a standalone!**

Buy-Links10AMAZON / iBOOKS

Review4.5 stars

Break Even teaser 2 @DGR

To an outsider, I have it all- the job, the husband, and the house- but inside I’m nearly empty.

I’m not a reader that has many hard limits in books, but damn if this didn’t take me out of my comfort zone in the best way possible. Evocative and unpredictable, Break Even crossed many lines, but written in the flawless and gripping way it is; it just worked. See I’m one of those rare readers that doesn’t mind cheating in books so long as I feel that it fits the story. I’m not saying that I condone it, but I don’t see romance in black in white with books. I can appreciate that fictional characters, much like real people are not perfect and mistakes happen. If the author can endear me to the MCs, I can look past a lot; cheating, love triangles. So long as I have a connection to the characters and I understand the why’s of their behavior, I can overlook their imperfections. To be frank, that’s the best part of reading for me; for something to take me out of my comfort zone and make me think. I don’t want perfect characters and idealistic situations. I want them real. I like the grittiness of imperfection. With that being said, I can see that this book won’t be for everyone. But if you decide to venture out of your comfort zone I can also tell you that you will not regret it.

I love him. I truly, deeply love him, but sometimes I have to search forever to remember how I feel in the first place.

Break Even is the story of a woman that’s torn. A woman that loves her husband but has also felt herself drift apart from him though the years. Marley is a strong, independent and professional woman, but she’s not perfect by any means. In a vulnerable point of her life she meets a man that changes everything…

River is unlike anyone I’ve ever met. He’s untouchable-unobtainable- and I’m married.

River Holtz is a sexy enigma. He entices Marley and threatens her control, yet beyond him being her new client she knows nothing about him. River was easily my favorite part of the book. He’s magnetic. His words, his mere presence effected me with every page. He’s a character that you don’t soon forget.

Every inch of your perfect little body is aching to know what my hands would feel like. Every. Fucking. Inch. You hold a shield up, thinking it will keep me away, but there’s nothing I don’t see.

Break Even-TeaserThis is a book about imperfect people dealing with an impossibly imperfect situation. What do you do when you see your marriage falling apart? When you’re vulnerable and in need of simple attention and affection. Do you strive to make your marriage work or do you give into one moment of weakness that can cost you everything? Those are just a few of the questions addressed and none of them have a simple answer.

Break Even was unpredictable and filled with the sort of twists that will send your mind reeling. You think you know what’s happening, but you don’t. You think you know where it’s leading, but you don’t. It’s evocative and erotic, and yet it has that touch of emotion that will make you understand the characters and their decisions even if you don’t agree with them.

I hate him.
I want him.
I loathe him.
I need him.

This was my first book by this author and I can certainly tell that it will not be my last. This book was exactly the sort of different I was looking for. It took me out of my comfort zone and kept me reading well into the night. I loved every word of it. It’s not black and white. It’s firmly rooted in that gray area. But the fact that Lisa De Jong truly made the reader connect with the heroine made it work.

Each character drove the plot in a meaningful way and the end result was a twist I never saw coming. It was utterly delicious. If you’re looking for a book that’s not your typical every day romance, I can’t recommend this one enough.

You ruined me, Marley. You fucking ruined me.”

Review: ★Worth It★ by @lindakage

Review Worth It WORTH IT
Series: Forbidden Men #6
Genre: New Adult Romance
Author: Linda Kage
Release Date: August 25, 2015add-to-goodreads-button3

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I fell in love once.

It was amazing. She was amazing. Life was amazing.

I lived for each time I could see her, and nothing else mattered, not that our families were enemies, our time together was forbidden, or we had to meet in secret.

Our love could conquer all.

Until it didn’t.

So I was ripped away from the love of my life and shoved into hell, forced to continue without her.

It shattered me, broke the best parts of me, left me permanently damaged.

Or so I thought.

Years later, I swear history’s trying to repeat itself because she’s back in my life, and I’m just as drawn to her as I was before. But I’m older and wiser now, and I know she should stay away from a worthless ex-con like me.

So, I will not let her in. I absolutely refuse to hurt her. I will keep her away.

Then again, sometimes risking your greatest fear to get to a smile makes everything worth it, and besides, I’m not sure I can resist her, anyway.

This is the story of how Felicity Bainbridge changed my life forever, starting one summer day long ago after I was forced to change a dirty diaper…

–Knox Parker

Buy LinksAMAZON

Review

4.5 starsWorth It- Dirty Girl Romance

I craved every little second I got to see her, but I knew I should stay away. It was torment, the two cravings rivaling and constantly churning in me, playing tug-of-war between what my heart wanted and what I knew was best.

Wow. Suffice it to say that I’m drained. This book absolutely gutted me. It was devastating and beautiful all at once and I loved every painful second of it. Worth It is unlike any other book this author’s ever written. It has much darker undertones than the other books in this series, and it’s no light read. It’s gritty, it’s emotional, it’s devastating, made you ugly cry while hugging your kindle sort of read. It’s a beautifully unforgettable second chance romance about two people that didn’t belong, but yet belonged to each other that fate ripped apart in the cruelest of ways, only to bring them back together a little more broken to put their shattered pieces back together six years later. If you don’t recall these characters from previous books, that’s because they weren’t introduced there. Linda Kage managed to flawlessly interweave them, so if you’re wondering why they got a book before Asher, trust me when I tell you that you’ll understand once you read. Both of them have such a profound connection to a few of the previous characters that I never saw coming and definitely loved reading about. This also makes this book an easy standalone, so if you haven’t read the rest of the series, you’d still be able to enjoy this one fully.

I think the worth of person comes from who you are and less from WHAT you are.”

Knox Parker is the boy from the wrong part of the railroad tracks, so to speak. His father’s a drunk, and his family are the pariahs of their town. He’s the last boy that should catch the eye of the daughter of the rich and influential Bainbridge family, but that’s exactly what happens. One chance meeting in the woods between Knox and Felicity is the start of an incredible friendship that soon turns into a unforgettable young love. Knox may only be 18 to Felicity’s 16, but that doesn’t make their love any less real.

Stop looking so sad when I don’t kiss you, and stop trying to leave when you’re sad. You’re not allowed to walk away from me unless you’re smiling.”

Worth It is told in alternating POVs, jumping from present to the past of six years ago, slowly showing the reader how they fell in love and what ultimately led to the devastating event that tore them apart. This was probably my one biggest quibble about the book. The “past” is set in our “present”. Meaning the books, movies and songs that are described are from this year; but it’s set to six years ago. The “present” doesn’t have a year, but it starts pretty much almost right where A Perfect Ten ended. I’m one of those readers that has a hard time turning off my disbelief during books, so this was a little odd for me to wrap my head around. Also there was the part about Knox (this is not a big spoiler (it’s revealed in the very first chapter), but just in case you don’t want to know more than what the synopsis gives you, I’ll hide it)(view spoiler) Luckily it wasn’t significant enough to ever take away from the story because I was completely enraptured in it.
Worth It teaser2-DirtyGirlRomanceSix years after they were ripped apart, Knox is back in the town he grew up in, but he’s no longer the boy he once was. He’s broken and he’s harboring his fair share of demons from his time in hell.

I’m just some wasted shell of space who won’t stop breathing. And I can do nothing but hurt you. There’s this stain on me. I’ll never get it out.

There’s enough hints and bits and pieces given about what he’s been through to slowly let the reader connect the buttons, and my hear absolutely broke for Knox. His life was so tragic and when the whole truth of it gets revealed, I flat out sobbed. It was one thing trying to connect the pieces, but when you’re hit with the full picture of what he’d been through, it’s absolutely devastating.
Worth It teaser-DirtyGirlRomanceIf you love broken and tortured heroes, trust me when I tell you that you will absolutely fall in love with Knox.

Felicity was a wonderful heroine. She always had this understated strength about her, and I loved the way she fought for Knox and what they once had even though he does his best to push her away because he doesn’t think he’s good enough for her now.

These last six years have been hell. Because being without you is like an open wound that bleeds and festers every day. It hurts and it’s miserable, and now you’re right here, yet you keep pushing me away.”

This book was definitely a step away from the rest of the series, but it was amazing in it’s own right. It was emotional and completely unforgettable. It’s a story that will definitely be staying with me for a long long while. It’s just one of those books that truly touches you on a visceral level with the amount of emotions it brings out in you.

With a choked sound of defeat, I crushed my mouth to hers. I had to shut her up. Her words were slaying me. Her tears were like poison. I died a hundred deaths from each aching confession. And I need her to stop before I ceased to exist.

There’s also a hell of a teaser in the epilogue for Asher’s book that’s sure to whet your appetite if you’ve been waiting for it like I have. If you’re on the fence about reading this book, I can only tell you that you need to. It may not be a light read, but it’s so worth it. I love a good second chance romance, and this one was just so beautifully tragic and yet wonderful all at once. I simply can’t give you more than that because you need to experience it for yourself. But believe me when I tell you, that that’s what you need to do; experience it.


Read this amazing series in order!

Price of a Kiss
Book #1

17833099

To Professor, With Love
Book #2

20566630

Be My Hero
Book #3

22067087

With Every Heartbeat
Book #4

23019564

A Perfect Ten
Book #5

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Review: ★Strong Enough★ by M. Leighton

Review Strong EnoughStrong Enough
Series: Tall, Dark, and Dangerous #1
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Author: M. Leighton
Release Date: August 4, 2015add-to-goodreads-button31

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From the author of the New York Times bestselling Bad Boys novels comes the first in a dark, sexy contemporary trilogy.

Is she strong enough to trust the most dangerous man she’s ever met? And is he strong enough to let her?

How would I describe myself? Well, I’m Muse Harper. I’m a twenty-something painter who loves red wine, quirky movies, and men with a fatal flaw. But that was before I met Jasper King. He became my fatal flaw. Eight months ago, I had a choice to make—abandon everything I’ve ever known to protect my family, or stay and risk someone getting hurt. I chose the former. My plan was working just fine until I found out my father had gone missing.

That’s when I met Jasper. A bounty hunter with the eyes of a tiger and the nose of a bloodhound, he was supposed to help me find my father. What I didn’t know was that meeting him was no accident. Hunting people isn’t all that Jasper does. And helping me was only part of his plan. I just wish I’d found out sooner, before my heart got involved. But even then, I don’t know if I’d have done things differently.

Now, I have another choice to make—trust the man that I’m falling in love with and hope that he’ll do the right thing, or run as far away from him as I can get.

Buy LinksAmazon | iBooks | Nook | Kobo | Google Play

Review

4 starsStrong Enough- DirtyGirlRomance

I want her bad. But even when that happens, it will be with the knowledge of what’s to come, of how I’ll betray her. What kind of person could do that?
A monster, that’s who.
And I’m that monster.

If the prologue here doesn’t grip you by the throat and suck you right in, we’re not reading the same book, because HOLY SHIT! Talk about your attention grabber. M. Leighton really doesn’t pull any punches and I knew I was in for a page turner from the first chapter alone. Intense, gritty, erotic, with a dash of mystery and suspense, Strong Enough is the beginning of what’s bound to be yet another winner from this talented author.

He doesn’t have to say a word, doesn’t have to move a muscle to exude confidence and capability. And danger. Lots and lots of danger.

Muse Harper left her life to protect someone she loves, but now with her father gone missing, she’s desperate for answers and bounty hunter, Jasper King, may be able to help her with the answers she needs. There’s just one problem; he’s not who he is and has his own agenda that poses a much bigger threat to Muse than the disappearance of her father.

I’m probably the worst thing in the world for you. The worst thing that would feel like the best.

Strong Enough1-DirtyGirlRomanceThe reader is left to assume Jasper’s history and you’re definitely in the dark about his agenda through most of the book, which just serves to make him even more intense than he already is. Jasper was the perfect enigma. He’s deliciously sexy while exuding a raw danger, all wrapped up in muscled tattooed perfection. The man was pure sex on a stick. The chemistry between him and Muse is instant and burns so hot, the pages practically sizzle with it. Jasper knows that he’s deceiving Muse, he may be helping her find her father, but his end game is not one that she expects. The more he gets to know the woman, the more ridden he is with guilt about his inevitable betrayal. Wanting her is not a question, allowing himself to have her is the ultimate taboo.

The kiss is different from his first. That one said wanting me was an inconvenient truth. This one says having me is an inevitability.

While Jasper was a character I fell for right away, Muse took a while to warm up to for me. She’s just a touch away from being almost too naive. She definitely dangles on the very fine edge of it and there’s things she does and says that made me want to shake her. It’s like the woman has absolutely zero self preservation instinct. Jasper may fight his attraction to Muse, but Muse certainly knows what she wants and she’s not as willing to deny herself. She also wants more than she knows Jasper will be able to give her, but that doesn’t stop her from craving.

How do you think love is supposed to work? How does it work for you?”
“It holds you captive, whether you want it to or not. It never lets you go, no matter how much you want to be set free.”

Strong Enough 2-DirtyGirlRomanceAs much as Muse may have frustrated me in parts of the story, I absolutely loved the two of them together. It’s this push pull that exists between them that just makes things even more erotic that they already are. It’s like you’re privy to something that Muse doesn’t know yet and you’re still rooting for Jasper who for all intents and purposes may very well be the bad guy.

I trust my tongue into her pussy. I thrust my finger into her ass. I penetrate her, body and soul, until she pours out for me like she’s making a sacrifice to the god of war. And I drink her in. Her acquiescence, her surrender, her acceptance, I drink it all in.

Fans of her other books will appreciate the appearance of a certain couple here that made me a little giddy to read about; Cash and Olivia. There’s also the introduction of a few secondary characters that I’m already desperate to read about.

The ending gives you just enough to satisfy while also leaving you practically salivating for the next book. An MMA fighter that’s also special ops? Are you freaking kidding me. I don’t think I’d survive the wait. If you’re looking for an erotic romance with just the right amount of edge, Strong Enough is certainly that. The title of this series is quite appropriate, and that’s exactly what you’ll get. I simply can’t wait for more.

Sarò sempre pensare a te.

Copyright © 2015 · Dirty Girl Romance

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