Gentleman Nine ~ Penelope Ward

Growing up, the three of us were friends.

He was the nerd.

I was the playboy.

She was the beauty.

Deep down, I only ever wanted her. I kept it inside because Rory and I made a pact that our friend, Amber, was off-limits.

He lied.

I went off to college, and he got the girl.

Amber never knew how I felt.

They were together for years—before he broke her heart.

Through it all and across the miles, she and I casually stayed in touch.

When my job sent me to Boston for a three-month contract position, Amber let me stay in her spare room.

Still reeling from her breakup, she’d sworn off men.

One night, I opened her computer to find the shock of my life. She’d hesitantly contacted a male escort company. Afraid to date and get her heart broken again, she was looking for sex with no strings.

Every emotion imaginable ran through me: protectiveness, jealousy—curiosity.

Amber had chosen Gentleman Number Nine and sent him a message.

She opened up to him, confessing, among other things, her physical attraction to her friend—me. But she considered me off-limits—and she thought I was a manwhore. (Ironic, considering the circumstances.)

Eventually, she set up a date to meet Gentleman Nine at a hotel. 

When she showed up several nights later to meet him, she was stunned to see me standing there—with an offer I hoped she wouldn’t refuse.

Channing is the stereo-typical womanizer. Or at least Amber thought he was. Their past had a lot of feelings, emotions and "pacts" that neither seemed to know about. Whether it was one was totally oblivious or the other tried so hard to hide their feelings, they both wanted each other, but neither never knew it. 

I wasn't sure how Rory played in to this little "friendship" until I read the entire backstory. Penelope did a great job of having the characters discussing the past or having a flashback, while maintaining my interest. I didn't become bored and each look in to the characters's past had to do with their future or possible future. 

I give major props to Amber for even thinking of meeting with Gentleman number nine. I completely understood her inner turmoil, but hey! A woman has needs too.  I mean what's the motto? Get over a man by getting under another, right? Just sucks that she had to tip-toe around that with a man she had wanted since she was younger, but was always "off-limits." 

The twists of this story are things I definitely didn't see coming. While Channing called one of them, the reason behind it shocked me. The other, well I had hoped for some type of clarity of Amber, but I didn't want her getting hurt to have it. 

I'm doing my best to not include spoilers, because I want you to read it and have the same surprises I did. Gentleman Nine was well written and had developed characters with content that hits you right in the feels. As well as some super sexy and hot sex scenes. Wow. Definitely one-click worthy.  

At Her Own Risk ~Rachael Duncan

Amazon US

Sex.
That’s all it was supposed to be. No strings attached, no feelings, no heartache. 
But if I thought Sean Riley would be content having only parts of me, I was dead wrong. His persistence wore me down and I found myself in the one situation I was trying to avoid. 
Little does he know a life with me will lead to nothing but disappointment and heartbreak. He’s a good man and deserves everything I can’t give him. Not because I don’t want to, but because I’m unable. 
Pushing him away in the beginning was to protect me, now I’m trying to protect him as I gear up for the fight of my life. 
A fight I could lose. 
Getting into a relationship was my risk, but as things get worse, I’m not the only one who will have something to lose. 
I just hope it’s worth it.

Can we first talk about this cover? I absolutely love it! Just gorgeous! I was super excited to read about Paige and Sean's stories since I have kind of become invested in all the characters from the "Risk" series, but I do think this can be read as its own stand alone. 

I absolutely love Sean. Usually, I tend to find myself relating to or rooting for the heroine in the story, but in this one, I was all about Sean. He was so determined, dedicated and completely head over heels for Paige. He would walk through hell and back for that girl, even though she tried, several times, to push him away. He was committed and just a really good guy. He has this huge heart, coupled with his sexy good looks and I couldn't help but swoon. 

Paige is a hard nut to crack. She didn't let her guard down easily and there were times I wondered if she ever would. I mean, Sean had more faith in the girl than I did at times. I really wanted to know what made her so gun-shy about men. We have all had our fair share of breakups, but she really just wanted to keep things fun and in the friend zone. Therefore, I loved Sean even more when he broke down Paige's walls and set out to prove how different he was than the other guys. 

While Paige had her walls, she also had this undeniable strength and her own determination. While breaking down at times, she still was able to concur and face some tragedies that would make a lesser woman give up. I was definitely proud of Paige.

There was just the right amount of sex, angst, love, tragedy and fun that balanced this book out nicely. It just flowed and with the flashbacks, I could still follow the story line and all the characters. I definitely can not wait for the next one of this series!

Whisper Forever ~ C.A. Harms

I wanted to forget him so many times. Erase the memories we shared and pretend he didn’t exist. It would have made his absence easier to accept.

Lucas Rivers broke my heart more than once. 
In my world he was my guy, the one I’d grow old with and laugh with. But things aren’t that simple, and time changes everything.

That naive girl with dreams of happily-ever-afters was gone. 
I didn’t need a man to complete me. I was enough—no, I was more than enough. I was strong and determined. I was Madelyn Emery, and never again would a boy break my heart.

But the moment Lucas returned after four years, acting like we could pick up where we left off, that strength inside me shifted. The more I tried to ignore his efforts, the harder he fought.

How can one simple word whispered by one man mean so very much?

Just another fabulous story from CA Harms. Major #FanGirl right here. I always know her characters are going to be well written and she is going to make them completely relate-able to real life. The issues and scenarios Madelyn and Lucas go through in this story are all relative to real life.

Lucas is that sweet, young boy who lets his high school celebrity get the best of his ego. As any typical young man would do, he relishes in the attention and leaves behind his best-friend, Maddy. With thoughts of bigger and better things outside of their small home town, he continues to break Maddy’s heart.

Maddy is tired of being heartbroken. She’s tired of being the vulnerable girl that Lucas makes her. When he leaves her behind, she vows to not be that little girl any more. I am super proud of the thick skin she grows and the walls she builds. She’s fiercely independent and strong willed...well stubborn really.

Their relationship and connection transcends the time away from each other. As much of a front that Maddy puts up, she’s still in love with Luke, but refuses to put herself out there. Lucas’s guilt is palpable for not seeing Madelyn as more than a friend than before. His own thoughts of not being good enough for her could have contributed to this, but if he ever wants a chance, he has a lot to make up for.

The emotions are high and I found myself rooting for them to work everything out. Their love for each other was strong and all encompassing. Yet, their own insecurities could cause the down fall of whatever friendship they are trying to salvage. Absolutely loved the feels in this book and loved CA’s writing. 

Torn ~ C.J. Fallowfield

Amazon US / Amazon UK

Torn - One will break her trust - One will break her heart - One will kill for her. 

When Sky’s parents moved from San Francisco to Boulder City in Nevada, she thought her life was over, until she met the Hudson boys. Two years older than her, tattooed bad boy Nate was confident, cocky, good looking, and a straight talker. He was the unattainable guy that all the girls wanted, but the one their fathers warned them to steer clear of. Josh had all of his brother’s looks, but he was the sweet charmer your mother would beg you to marry. Their cousin Billy lacked the brothers’ good looks, so relied on his quick wit to attract the girls. 

When all three of them set their sights on Sky, they became competitive, and cracks in their close bond began to form. 

Torn between her loyalty to all three, and feelings for one, Sky was faced with a dilemma. 

When she made her decision, she had no idea that her choice would set them all on a path that would tear the group apart. 

Torn is a standalone new adult erotic romance novel, heavy on the angst. Tissues may well be required!

This story stuck with me days after I finished it. It was moving right along, I was completely falling for the characters, deciding who I thought Sky should choose and then BAM! Plot Twist. Holy Crap, I wasn’t expecting that.

I was Team Nate the whole time. I mean, I understand he had a reputation, but as we learn more about him, like Sky did, you couldn’t help fall for him. He became the man of the house when his father passed away and starting burning the candle at both ends with school, work, baseball and taking care of his brother and mother. He’s a stand up guy that his brother Josh looked up to.

Josh, Josh, Josh…. At first, I felt bad for him. The geeky kid that’s hidden by his brother’s shadow, but as time went on; he started to grow into his own. He starts to take on more responsibility at home and alleviate the pressure from Nate. I because really proud of Josh. He definitely grew into a great man….who still fell for Sky.

Billy, Nate and Josh’s cousin, rubbed me wrong. There was something off about him, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. There were too many things that made me question his intentions with his cousins and Sky. He seemed to use the boys for their generosity, yet at the same time, he would but heads with them. I was not a fan.

Sky frustrated me a bit, by not going with her instinct or her feelings in the first. While I didn’t agree with how she dragged things out, I also understood that she was young and faced with the affection of three guys, when she never had this type of attention before. That being said, Sky has a huge heart and she is great to these boys. She’s smart, sweet and has a great head on her shoulders. She loves with her whole heart.

I was definitely on a roller coaster ride, especially that last 45% of the book. The plot twist and turn of events had me floored. The emotions….gah, the emotions. I was smiling one minute, crying the next and then preparing to throw my kindle. Definitely stuck with me days later.  

Neighbor Dearest ~ Penelope Ward

After getting dumped, the last thing I needed was to move next door to someone who reminded me of my ex-boyfriend, Elec.

Damien was a hotter version of my ex.

The neighbor I’d dubbed “Angry Artist” also had two massive dogs that kept me up with their barking.

He wanted nothing to do with me. Or so I thought until one night I heard laughter coming through an apparent hole in my bedroom wall.

Damien had been listening to all of my phone sessions with my therapist.

The sexy artist next door now knew all of my deepest secrets and insecurities.

We got to talking.

He set me straight with tips to get over my breakup.

He became a good friend, but Damien made it clear that he couldn’t be anything more.

Problem was, I was falling hard for him anyway. And as much as he pushed me away, I knew he felt the same…because his heartbeat didn’t lie.

I thought my heart had been broken by Elec, but it was alive and beating harder than ever for Damien.

I just hoped he wouldn’t shatter it for good.

Damien! The sexy and brooding, jerk of a neighbor. I was so angry with him, before I even knew him. He lets his dog bark at all hours in the morning and then he listened to Chelsea’s therapy appointments through a hole in the wall!! Granted, he was a 100% correct that her phone therapy sessions were a sham, it was super embarrassing for him to listen in to all Chelsea’s insecurities. I felt shy and insecure after all that and I wasn’t in the book.

That being said, the more Chelsea and Damien hung out, the more we could see that he really is a good guy. He’s an amazing artist and ends up coming through for Chelsea at one of her shows, when another artist cancels at the last minute. Not only does Chelsea start to fall for Damien, Damien’s dogs, Dudley and Drewfus, completely fall for Chelsea.

I think Damien is falling for Chelsea as well, but he won’t let himself truly realize it. He’s fighting against something he promised himself he couldn’t have. His secrets that he’s keeping from Chelsea are really holding them back from becoming more. Chelsea realizes she really can’t have what she wants with Damien, so she decides to move. It’s time for her to move on and hope that they can still remain friends.

I was really hoping that Damien would pull his head out of his a*$ and go after Chelsea. Gah! So frustrating, but when we find out why Damien’s been holding back, it completely makes sense. Not that I agree with it, but Damien’s intentions were always good. There’s a lot that can go wrong, but I still think these two would be perfect together.

I really loved Damien and Chelsea’s story. I liked getting a glimpse in to each of their families and to watch their friendship grow. They are truly two great people and their love could be great as well. There was happiness and sadness, some hot sex and an ending that left me emotional. Well done Penelope. Well done.

First and Last ~ Rachael Duncan

 Mia’s my best friend.

We’ve been inseparable since she moved next door when we were six years old. Then it all changed.

I don’t know when or why, but suddenly I want more. I wanther. The problem was she didn’t.

At first.

But everything changes when you cross that line between friends and lovers. 

I thought convincing her to give us a chance would be my biggest hurdle. Little did I know that was only the beginning. 

Mia consumes all of my thoughts when we’re apart, and all of my senses when we’re together. There’s no going back to the way things were and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure she isn’t just my first, but also my last.

Will we be able to hold on, or will our relationship go up in flames?

First of all, I absolutely love this cover!! Holy Hotness!! 

I really liked First and Last!! My heart broke a couple of times there, but thankfully Rachael put it back together. 

This story is told completely from Blake’s point of view. I was surprised it was all from the male’s perspective, but I think Rachael did a great job writing him. He was definitely one of those book boyfriends you want to hold on to. A little sappy, yes, but a definite lover. Did he make mistakes? Absolutely, but he always did so with good intentions. He did everything for Mia.

Mia was kind of like the dude in this relationship. She was very hesitant to get in to the relationship with Blake since they were best friends since being kids. At the same time, she was all in when they did start dating. She was a great heroine, super sweet, beautiful and smart. These two were meant for each other, which made some of Blake’s decisions give me heart burn.

The twists and flashbacks kept me teary-eyed. The story was not how I was expecting it to be told and without giving too much away, the ending, just ahhh. Then the epilogue in Mia’s perspective….GAH!! Get your box of tissues!