Book Review: Digital Velocity (McAllister Justice #1) by Reily Garrett

The deadliest weapons are the ones we never see.

Keyboard prodigy, Lexi Donovan has risen from teenage orphan of the streets to complete independence with little help along the way. When a friend is threatened, Lexi’s anonymous message sends police into a firefight, leading to a wounded cop.

Detective Ethan McAllister’s well-ordered life turned upside down the day an obscure text message led to a sexual predator’s identity. Since then, Callouston PD’s finest can’t trace the elusive hacker. The latest tip leads him to a brutal mutilation and a riddle indicating the identity of the next murder victim.

The dark net houses a playground for the morally depleted and criminally insane. When Lexi discovers the killer’s digital betting arena, she finds herself centered in a cyber stalker’s crosshairs bearing equal talent.

Street life strengthened Lexi while toughening her protective shell, but nothing could shield her from the shrewd detective forging a path to her heart.

This is the first book I've read by Reily Garrett and while I jump into this one totally blind, I really didn't know what to expect on these pages. I found the blurb to be pretty interesting, so when the author asked me to give it a read, I jumped on it. 

The beginning of the book was a little slow for me and I think that it's because you're meeting multiple characters and you're caught in a game of catch up at first while you're delving into the plot. It's all completely necessary information but it did slow the book down a little bit for me. I found out after the fact that there is a novella that precedes this book. While I'm under the impression that it's not a "must read" for the series, I'm fairly certain that the back story included in that novella would have enriched what I was reading in this one and maybe make things seem more like a reintroduction rather than an overwhelming jumble. 

Now once you get into the book and past the beginning where you're meeting everyone, things do speed up. I was blowing through pages but then it slows down again and speeds up. I soon found myself on a literary roller coaster. Which made the book lag and then add in the fact that personally, it was just a little too descriptive and you have another lag. I just prefer to have a lot of excitement and a book that chugs along at a fairly quick pace. I'm pretty sure it's because I have to put down and then pick up whatever I'm reading multiple times throughout the day so I need something that chugs along quickly or I become lost and bored within the plot. 

The characters were okay. I really didn't have this massive connection to Lexi and like I said before, I'm pretty sure I would feel differently if I had read the novella. Apparently, that is where you get to know Lexi on a deeper level and really dive into who she is and what her motivations are. I did like Ethan but ... this will sound weird ... I liked him better when hew as with his brothers. When you first meet Ethan's brothers ... you'll fall in love with them immediately. I'm totally serious; all of them were absolutely fabulous and the camaraderie between them was wonderfully ornery and endearing. 

So when Ethan was with his brothers, the story came to life for me. 

When it comes down to it, I think that the reason this wasn't a five star book for me was because it was a little too descriptive for my tastes and I didn't really connect with the main characters. But those are all just personal things and this book is rated highly on Goodreads and Amazon, so don't take just my word for it.

* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *

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Book Review: Thursday Afternoon by Beth Rinyu

I'm just your typical working girl who never mixes business with pleasure. Although some may say my business is all about pleasure. For the past four years, I’ve allowed my profession to define me, distancing myself from family, friends and most of all love. Hating the reflection I see staring back at me in the mirror, I muddle through each day with my heart sealed off like a tomb, until two strangers enter my life.

One teaching me the true meaning of friendship.

The other teaching me the true meaning of love.

She’s everything I’m not.
Humble, loving, and devoting her life to others.
We’re an unlikely duo who are polar opposites, but at the same time so alike.
Never in a million years could I be friends with someone like her...until I was.

Then there’s him.
He’s my Thursday afternoon client.
Just like all the others: handsome, rich and charming…yet so very different.
Trying to overcome a painful past, he seeks out my services as a refuge, only to find that we’re opening our hearts to each other in ways that neither of us could've imagined.
I could never fall in love with someone like him...until I did.
And now I'm finding myself longing for it to be Thursday afternoon all week long.

I've never read a book by this author, so I really didn't know what to expect as I dove into the pages. The whole concept of the book was intriguing ... you've got this female escort/call-girl that (as the blurb states - no spoilers, promise!) falls in love with her Thursday John. I mean client. And before someone jumps their soapbox, I have no problem with that profession, to each their own but let's not sugar coat it - a polished penny is the same as a dirty penny, you know?

As I started to read, I really thought that when I got to know our main character, Bree, that she would be one of two extremes - either she really hated being a paid escort and detested every moment or that she loved what she did and didn't want to give it up. But Bree was neither of those. She was just kinda 'meh' about everything. I was a little surprised. With her lackadaisical outlook on her career, it made the story a little convenient. And by convenient, I mean she didn't have any real hurdles to get over. There wasn't enough conflict, in my mind at least. I won't lie, there was one situation that happened and that added to the story but other than that one struggle, there really wasn't anything else for Bree to overcome. Which is sad. Because it took away some of the depth that Bree could have had with more inner strife or something.

And along those same lines, the story felt really drawn out and sluggish. That could be attributed to the conflict issue that I experienced throughout in the book. It felt like I was trudging up a super steep mountain and every once in a while, I'd find a pretty flower but for the most part, I was just wearing myself out. Or the sluggishness could have come from the characters themselves. 

I liked the characters enough but there was just something missing. It didn't feel like there was any real chemistry between Bree and Thursday. There weren't enough sparks. Now, in MY mind, if you're reading a book about a paid escort, you expect some good stuff when it comes to the steamy scenes but I didn't get that. It was a bit ... wah-waaaah ... in my mind. I just wish that there had been more between those two. This book had so much potential but it just didn't ring any bells for me. 

* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *

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Book Review: Arm Candy (Real Love #2) by Jessica Lemmon

Last call! At the end of the night, a clean-cut hunk and a rebellious bartender act on their unlikely chemistry in this frisky standalone novel from the author of Eye Candy.

Davis: I’ve had my eye on Grace Buchanan for a while now. Unlike the bubbly blondes I usually date, the feisty, flame-haired bartender both intrigues and bewilders me. Something about Grace—the tattoos? the nose ring?—makes every part of me sit up and beg. There’s only one problem: She hates me. Trading insults and one-liners has become our M.O. But when Grace bets me that I can’t get a date with a non-blonde if my life depends on it, I’m determined to prove her wrong by landing the ultimate non-blonde: her.

Grace: I’m used to regulars hitting on me, and I’ve turned them all down, except for one: Davis Price. I like giving him a hard time, and he’s kind of cute in his suit and tie—if you’re into that kind of thing. Anyway, I don’t care how many blondes he takes home . . . until one of them sidles up to him in my bar. Nuh-uh. But after my little bet with Davis backfires, our first date lands us in the sack. So does the second. And the third. Neither of us wants more than the best sex of our lives. The trouble is, it’s not a question of what I want. It’s what I need. And what I need is Davis.

 

I've read quite a few books by Jessica Lemmon and one thing I know that I can always count on with one of her books is that it will keep me entertained and I'll enjoy my reading experience. Once again, Lemmon delivered. Not that I expected her not to, but it's always a pleasant surprise when a book is awesome. 

I liked Arm Candy. Was it my favorite book by Lemmon? No. But it also wasn't the worst book I've ever read. I think that my only issue with it was how slow it was. There's nothing wrong with a book that is at a slower pace ... it's just not something I had experienced with this author before, so I was a little taken aback. Now all of that being said, I think that the pace really matched up with the characters - especially Davis. Our leading man, Davis, is some sort of day trader or stock something-or-other. He goes to the bar that Grace works out to decompress a little bit. I think that the pace of the book was really just the pace of Davis as he sits on that bar stool a few times a week. I liked Davis ... he wasn't one of those characters that made me fan myself, but I liked him. 

Now Grace ... this chick is awesome. I really liked her character and just the way that she presented herself. She's sassy and doesn't really care what you think about it. I think we could all use a little inner Grace sometimes. And Grace and Davis together ... he changed a little bit when the sparks started flying between them. I enjoyed the little transformation that he went through. 

The story itself was great. I liked the direction that the book went in and I really have no complaints about it. Everything was stellar, even if the pace was a little slow for my liking - it seemed perfect for the characters though and that's really what counts. It seems that it doesn't matter what Lemmon writes, I'll be picking it up. Guaranteed good time with her stuff. 

*I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *

Available: September 5th, 2017

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Book Review: The Dating Bender by Christina Julian

Here I am, on my knees in front of the Trevi Fountain, hoping like hell the legend is true. That the fountain gives you solace and love by a mere toss of a coin.

Why am I here, exactly? Let's see...

It started with my parents telling me to get married. Of course, being the good Catholic girl I am, I did.

Needless to say, that marriage nosedived, and my parents weren't exactly happy about it.

Newly ditched and shamefully disowned, I decided to follow the advice of Babs, a tart-of-a-mentor, who offered me a job in Colorado.

Her advice? Sex...and lots of it.

The temptation of freedom, to do whatever--whoever--I wanted was too damn strong for me to say no.

And that's how it all started. The men, the sex, the journey...

The dating bender.

Because everybody deserves a do-over.

 

You know how when you're driving down the road and you see an accident off to the side and you tell yourself not to be one of those annoying rubberneckers and then you find yourself looking anyway as you drive past? That accident is this book for me. I knew I shouldn't finish it but I'm no quitter and I just had to see if it could redeem itself. To put it nicely, it did not. This review is going to be rough and I'm going to try super hard to behave and be constructive with my criticism. But it will be difficult.

I was approached by someone to read this book ... it wasn't the author and I'm not entirely sure who she was ... the author's rep or a PR rep or something. Anyway, I was intrigued when I first read the blurb and I wanted to know more. But I'm going to be super honest right now and tell you I don't know where in the blue bloody blazes this blurb has come from because it doesn't even sound like the main character, Samantha and part of it doesn't go with the book. As I was getting this review together, I reread the blurb and what the hell ... I had to double check that I had the right book info because it did not match up to the book ... I mean seriously, W.T.F. Let's go to the 3rd sentence in this blurb ... it talks about the parents telling Samantha she needed to get married ... um ... in the book, it is made VERY clear in the VERY beginning that Samantha is getting married to ESCAPE her parents. That is really said quite a few times and I remember zero times that her parents were on her ass to get married. I could be wrong. Maybe her parents harped on her over and over but all I remember is the parents being uncaring douchecanoes and telling her they were going to disown her if she didn't do exactly what they wanted.

So she goes from that super healthy relationship with her parents saying ugly things to her constantly and immediately jumps into a super healthy marriage with a dude that I don't even think she knew well. Which would be fine, IF THAT WAS EXPLAINED. She seemed in love with him and totally sure about marrying him. Sheldon seemed like a nice dude and then he stops talking to her for months and treats her horribly? I mean come on. Unless the dude you're marrying is a sociopath, they wouldn't change THAT much after you get married. Yes, people change after they get comfortable in a relationship but to pull the stuff that this donkey, Sheldon, did? No. I doubt it. But then again, Samantha and Sheldon barely had a relationship at all. Not that you get the chance to find out that they didn't have a relationship with the way this book's timeline jumps around.

That's another thing. A distinguishable timeline is absolutely non-existent with this book. The author skips days, weeks and even months. And then the reasoning for the jumps from the main character are as flimsy as her marriage. There needs to be a REASON to skip 6 months. Hell, there should be a reason to skip even a week. Readers don't want stuff skipped over unless there is a payoff in the end from that skip. If the story is enriched by the skip, I'll take that. I'll even take it if the character slipped on her brother's cousin's dog's uncle's hat and she was in a coma for a month because she landed on a stack of Harry Potter books and knocked her head on a Monopoly box. I don't care what the darn reason is, just give one the readers a reason that does justice to the storyline. 

This is the last thing I'm going to say and then I'll get off my soap box and the lovers of this book can take a moment to go grab their voodoo dolls and name them after me ... this main character ... Samantha ... I'm 98% sure she has never had an original thought in her entire life. She quotes magazine articles and tv shows like they are the damn bible and she worships them at an alter in her garage. I don't know if Samantha spouting off every five seconds what some nobody wrote on the pages of Cosmo or some other nonsense magazine is supposed to be endearing but it wasn't. It was irritating. It made me want to light my Kindle on fire. 

I don't know why this book has enraged me so much. Maybe it's because the time I invested in what I thought would be a good book ... but this isn't the first time ... maybe it was the relationships or the lack of entertainment I found in the book. Who knows. It is probably a combination of things. I should ask someone at Cosmo why I didn't like this book. Or write in to Dr. Oz. What am I thinking, Oprah probably knows ... I bet she'd tell me why I didn't like this book and why I prefer the outside of the TicTac to the inside.

*I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *

Available: August 22nd, 2017

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Book Review: Ready to Run (I Do, I Don't #1) by Lauren Layne

The Bachelor meets The Runaway Bride in this addictive romance novel about a reality TV producer falling for her would-be star: a Montana heartthrob who wants nothing to do with the show.

Jordan Carpenter thinks she’s finally found the perfect candidate for Jilted, a new dating show about runaway grooms: Luke Elliott, a playboy firefighter who’s left not one but three brides at the altar. The only problem? Luke refuses to answer Jordan’s emails or return her calls. Which is how she ends up on a flight to Montana to recruit him in person. It’s not Manhattan but at least the locals in Lucky Hollow seem friendly . . . except for Luke, who’s more intense—and way hotter—than the slick womanizer Jordan expected.

Eager to put the past behind him, Luke has zero intention of following this gorgeous, fast-talking city girl back to New York. But before he can send her packing, Jordan’s everywhere: at his favorite bar, the county fair, even his exes’ book club. Annoyingly, everyone in Lucky Hollow seems to like her—and deep down, she’s starting to grow on him too. But the more he fights her constant pestering, the more Luke finds himself wishing that Jordan would kick off her high heels and make herself comfortable in his arms.

As I was starting to write this review, I realized that I have NEVER given this author, Lauren Layne, less than a 5-star rating on any book that I've read by her. That's pretty amazing!! I can't say that about too many authors. 

So I guess it comes as no surprise that I gave this one five stars as well. Once again, Layne has created some unforgettable characters. Jordan is our leading lady this time and she's this polished city girl and she is as stubborn as a mule. Jordan goes for what she wants and she refuses to take no for an answer. You find out really quickly that when Jordan hears no, she interprets it as "find another way". And sometimes ... the ways she tries to go around that no are absolute genius. You can't help but just love her right from the beginning. 

And on to my favorite ... good ol' Luke. Luke is a country boy. A hunky country boy. A hunky firefighter country boy, actually. Goodness. With each word I added on there, it made me want to read this book all over again. Luke is as loyal as they come. He sticks by his friends and will take a beating if it will protect someone he cares about. I think the best thing about Luke is how he would let Jordan get under his skin and not even realize it. Let me tell you, it made for some interesting situations. The booth!!! OMG. If you have to read this book just to hear about the booth, it would be totally worth it. That was one of about a hundred of my favorite scenes in the book.

The story flows so smoothly along that before you know it, you've read the whole thing and you're left sitting there wishing that there were more pages. Layne writes such a phenomenal romance - the sex scenes are steamy, the laughter inducing situations are heartfelt and hilarious, the few sad parts are soul crushing and as a whole, the story is always absolutely unforgettable. Here's the deal ... if you're looking for a new author and you've not read anything by Layne (first of all, shame on you), give her a shot - she's one of my favorites and an author I can go to if I want a guaranteed amazing reading experience. Especially if you read this one.

* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *

Available: August 22nd 2017

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Book Review: The Corner Office by Katerina Baker

Tara Johnson's sacrifices are about to pay off: a senior executive at thirty-five at a Fortune 500 company, she's one of the two finalists in line for a Managing Director position. Unfortunately, her rival of fifteen years, the charming, infuriating Richard Boyd, is just as qualified, and unlike her, he's willing to cross pretty much every line to get what he wants.

Of all the things Tara stored in the attic to make it to the top, it's her personal life she misses the most. That is, until she starts a steamy affair with sex god Aidan, her direct report. Interoffice relationships with a subordinate can mean the end of a career, and when Richard finds out, it's the perfect opportunity to take his high-heeled nemesis out, especially since he's still nursing a grudge against Tara for rejecting him years ago.

But Tara's increasingly domineering lover has his own dark secrets, endangering more than just her career. As her liaison spirals out of control, salvation will come from the man she always thought she hated, and perhaps the only one to truly understand

 

It's been a long time since I've given a book only one star. As ridiculous as it sounds, rating books is something I take pretty seriously and I don't like the idea of being all lackadaisical about it because occasionally, reviews do get read and they do influence other book lovers. Basically, I don't just toss around one-star ratings for the fun of it. 

First off, I didn't like the characters. Any of them. I didn't like Richard, I won't even get into Aidan and I kind of hated Tara with the fire of a thousand suns. I couldn't find even one redeeming quality about her that I could connect with. She's super wishy-washy and if that's how she was intended, that's one thing. It's another thing entirely when the author didn't intend for her to be full of hot air ... which I think is actually the case. This chick is all of woman's equality. Which is all good! But you can't be for women's equality and then knowingly get sexually harassed for over a decade by a coworker. It just doesn't make sense. Why have your character be contradictory like that? I mean if you want for women to be equal in the workplace, why would you sit by and just put up with this dude telling you to go have a threesome with him? There are tons and tons and tons of things that Richard said that Tara just brushed off and it just doesn't fit. 

Speaking of Richard ... the reason that Tara and Richard don't get along is the most flimsy and non-existent reason I've ever heard of. And that's because you're not really given a reason. You're told these little snippets of situations that if Tara would just take half a second to get over herself, wouldn't even matter. Aside from the sexual harassment, it's like playground stuff ... equivalent to hair pulling and pinching in elementary school. It just showed the immaturity in both of these "executives". 

Then there was this one part about how tattoos are taboo and basically it is said that if you want to have an important job and not have to ask people if they want fries with that, you can't have tattoos. There was this long winded story about a CEO (or some other acronym) that flew to another country in shame just to get his tattoos removed. Really? That is not the case out here in the real world and that story was absolutely ridiculous and not accurate to how things actually work. 

I really didn't have time to really dive into this book. The reason is because I was wading through all of the ridiculously long inner monologues from Tara that the book just dragged. It would have taken me another 500 pages just to get interested with the way this story was going. It was rough for me. More than rough. Not a fan. 

* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *

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Book Review: Mann Cakes by Mysti Parker

Love makes men do desperate things, if desperate things means opening a rival cupcake shop to drive your ex-girlfriend crazy.

Twin brothers and Air Force vets, Tanner and Garrett Mann, return from deployment to find their thriving business burned to the ground. Time for Plan B: Move back to their hometown of Beach Pointe to start over.

But that means running into Paige and Morgan Baxter –gorgeous, curvy, and owners of Two Sisters Cupcakes.

There’s an old diner for sale across town, Garrett’s a great cook, and Tanner has an idea. They’ll make savory cupcakes that men would like. We’re talking bacon and Cheez Whiz. Even better? They'll call it Mann Cakes. Problem is, they end up attracting an unexpected crowd.

Paige is furious. Every man in her life has left her behind, including Tanner. She’s sacrificed everything for her shop. She won’t lose it over some egotistical ex-boyfriend, even if he does have an Air Force-chiseled body. Her younger sister, Morgan, isn’t helping matters. She’s been gaga over Garrett since high school.

To hell with that. If it’s a fight Tanner wants, it’s a fight he’ll get. But how much is Paige willing to risk to win a cupcake war?

This is one of those times when I hate reviewing books. I feel badly when I have to tell everyone that a book and I didn't really get along. And this time, it's for a few reasons. One of which has nothing to do with the plot. For the most part, I liked the meat of the story and by meat, I don't mean the yummy military guys either. 

The whole concept behind the book was pretty interesting: two brothers creating a savory cupcake shop that is involuntarily in competition with two sassy sisters and their cupcake shop. Interesting, right? The cupcake shop idea is not a new one in romance novels, it's been done ... it actually seems to be a theme that runs rampant in the contemporary romance genre ... sometimes it's done well and sometimes not so well but this one was just a little different. You still have the flour and powdered sugar covered heroines but this time, the author threw in some treat baking dudes to stir things up a bit with some healthy competition. 

Unfortunately, I think that the plot was the best thing about the book because I didn't connect with the characters at all. And I should have. I should have connected with Paige on a level that I don't with most other people because like her, I have an autistic son. But I didn't and it was because of something that Paige's sister, Morgan, said. I think that I really resented the sisters because at one point in the story, it says something about the autistic son acting out. Dude, I reached boiling in about two milliseconds. Every time I hear or read something about an autistic kiddo "acting out", instead of just feeling sorry for the person's ignorance for saying that, I get angry at the person's ignorance. Because these are the people that think my son is acting out when he's just had a bit of sensory overload. Anyway, this was a totally personal and what some may think as completely irrational reason to not like a couple of characters in a book. And you know what, that's okay. But that was why I was just totally turned off by these sisters. After that point, I just totally shut down to them. 

The brothers didn't fare much better for me either. And I don't think that their characters were tainted by what I thought of the sisters but that's only because I found the brothers completely interchangeable. Since this book was really about all four of these characters and their corresponding love stories, I was expecting to at least be able to differentiate between the brothers but they read like they were the same person, just with different names. Yes, they are twins but these were the same dude. And I got the feeling that they weren't intended to be like that since it says that they both have different strengths and all of that but it didn't come across like that with me. 

Now, I'm definitely in the minority on my thoughts with this book. It has a super high rating on Goodreads and Amazon, so if you're reading this before you buy, make sure you read some other reviews as well because I'd hate for someone to miss out on a book that they would love just because I'm an angry momma bear. 

* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *

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Book Review: Tempting Her Neighbor (Small Town Temptations #1) by Laura Jardine

Tired of big city life, software developer Cole Sampson moves to a small Canadian town to get some peace and quiet. Unfortunately, his keep-the-hell-away-from-me vibes don’t work on his gorgeous new neighbor.

Waitress Rachel Malone is intrigued by the hot curmudgeon living next door and his very sexy scowl. Sure, he keeps shutting down her every advance, but before long, she finally catches his interest.

A red-hot, sex-only relationship is what they want. But Cole can’t get over the fact he likes cuddling, and Rachel won’t let herself fall in love, not when she’s finally decided to follow her dreams and move to the city. Still, it’s just sex. Isn’t it?

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't usually read novellas ... the reason is only that I like a longer book. Weird, I know ... it's just that if it ends up being something that I really like, then I want as many pages as the author is willing to crank out, you know? Anyway, I went against my usual "rules" and decided to give this one a go. Not too shabby.

 

I really enjoyed our hero of the story - Cole. He was all grumpy and prickly. He reminded me of my husband. For some reason, I think that stand-offish personality is sexy as hell. I don't know why ... most of the time people think that these grouchy dudes are assholes but they really aren't ... there is usually a very good reason behind the donkey attitude. Then again ... sometimes there isn't and the dude is really just a jerk. Anyway ... Cole was a good dude. I enjoyed his grouchy attitude and the reason why he was that way. You also get to experience a pretty interesting (and extremely slow) transformation within his personality and I always enjoy a good character metamorphosis. 

I kinda liked Rachel as well ... but not as much. It was literally her character that kind of irritated me. She's the kind of chick that wants to just have fun, which is fine. I have no problem with a woman wanting to just go out there and have a much sex as possible - more power to you if that's your deal. But she would say how this is how she is and she's not apologetic for how she is but then in the same breath, she would whine and bellyache that people pick on her and if she was a dude, no one would say a thing about her promiscuity. Look, lady. You can't have it both ways. Either you don't care what people have to say or you do. Anyway, it was just the hypocrisy of her ... is that even the right word? If it isn't, hopefully you know what I mean. 

This isn't your run of the mill, sickeningly sweet romance novel. It's a bit gritty at times and definitely raunchy and naughty at other times. One thing that did stand out is that it's not really what I would consider a romance ... you don't see the romantic interaction between our two main characters ... you see this animalistic need to mate. It's not flowery with a bunch of scented candles and massage oils, it's more get your rocks off, wham-bam thank you ma'am. All in all, not a bad book, but not one to read if you're looking for the mushy love-sick page turner with the dashing guy and the girl next door wallflower. 

* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *

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Book Review: The Playboy Bachelor (The Bachelors of Arizona #2) by Rachel Van Dyken

She's no Sleeping Beauty. And he's definitely no prince . . . 

  Margot McCleery could have lived her whole life without seeing Bentley Wellington again-her ex-best friend and the poster boy for Hot, Rich Man-Whores everywhere. But Margot's whiskey-augmented grandmother "buys" Bentley at a charity bachelor auction, and now suddenly he's at her door. Impossibly charming. Impossibly sexy. And still a complete and utter jackass. Bentley's just been coerced by his grandfather to spend the next thirty days charming and romancing the reclusive red-haired beauty who hates him. The woman he abandoned when she needed him the most. Bentley knows just as much about romance as he knows about love-nothing. But the more time he spends with Margot, the more he realizes that "just friends" will never be enough. Now all he has to do is convince her to trust him with her heart . . .

I've really loved this author since I got hooked on her Eagle Elite series a few years ago. I was more than excited to give this book a shot once I saw that it was by her. 

This book is the second in a series that I've not read any of before. That's usually a no-no for me but I'm doing it more and more often lately. I kind of wish that I hadn't. This book IS a stand-alone but I think that my reading experience would have been enriched greatly if I had read the first book. I think that's just because while I didn't feel like I was missing anything, I also felt like I didn't know the characters as well as I could have. I mean, who wouldn't want a little more Bentley, right?

Bentley was a fascinating character. It's not often that you read a romance novel with an intense anxiety angle and it's SUPER not often that the character with anxiety is male. I think that the author was really able to show how anxiety can be crippling and have a massive impact on someone's life. It was interesting to watch Bentley interact and cope with the issue that caused his anxiety to begin with. I really couldn't get enough of this man. And our leading lady, Margot was this reclusive firecracker that was equally as captivating. These two together were positively explosive. Bentley brought out the worst in our little stubborn Margot. 

The story read very quickly. I don't know if it was because the characters were so completely intriguing or if it was just an all-around great book ... probably a bit of both. You just get hooked from the very first page and it doesn't let up until the very last period. Such a great romance novel. One that I'd read again. And the list ... the list was adorably hilarious. I would read the book again just to experience that list again. 

* I received this novel in exchange for an honest review *

Available: August 29th, 2017

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