Lost Boy ~ M. Robinson

In a world where I had no say, violence became my refuge, and nothing else mattered. Not even my own life.

Until her.

Skyler Bell.

It all started the first time I heard that voice. Giving me hope for tomorrow. My first love was everything all at once.

Consuming.

Maddening.

Forever.

Mine. 

Except, I never imagined there were secrets that needed to be shared. Lies that needed to be confessed. Truths that needed to be told. Demons that needed to be buried. Once I realized the depth, the longing, the sadness and sorrow in her eyes mirrored mine, it was too late. Love didn't come to me as heartbreak, it came as everything I've ever wanted. Walking away wasn't an option, but it was the only choice I had.

I finally found the price of love and it cost me...

My soul.

 

I don't know how Skyler and Noah could survive this, because I almost didn't. My heart broke over and over. The roller coaster of emotions was almost too much. The angst, heart-break and tragedies were devastating. 

I always liked Noah, but seeing how much Skyler destroyed him, but he chose to keep moving....well he has all my respect. He never had it easy. Everyone was leaving him or choosing something/someone else over him. I don't blame Noah for the decisions he made. Frustrated and screaming at the book because of them, absolutely. But I didn't blame him. I am surprised he remained as stoic as he did. 

Skyler has been misled her whole life. It just breaks my heart to hear all her secrets revealed and what she went through, even as a child. How does someone come back from that? How could she heal? How could her and Noah ever heal from all the tragedy??

I kept pushing because I knew M would pick up the pieces, but as my heart and jaw laid on the floor, it was really hard. I just wanted them to be happy for five minutes before something else tore them to shreds. I was very proud of Noah and Skyler even-though I was frustrated with their decisions. I loved this cover and Noah's place in my hear grew. I'm happy for this Lost Boy. 

El Pecador (El Santo Book 2) ~ M. Robinson

So here you are… 

Turning the pages, opening the next chapters of my life—wanting to know the next truths of my sins. As if the first half of my life wasn’t enough. 

You. Need. More. 

You want my redemption. 

My heart. My soul. 

Your happily ever after… 

You. Want. Answers. 

And I will grant you the very first one you’re dying to know. 

Why did I leave her?

So go ahead.

Turn the page. 

I dare you. 

You just might not like the answer. 

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I'm coming down from this emotional roller coaster that this book put me on, trying to come up with words to express how I feel. I almost what to write my review in emojis since I think it might express my emotional state at this point. I mean. Wow.

The twists and turns constantly had me on the edge of my seat the entire read. I was in tears one minute, angry the next. The hate, love and devastation dripped off the pages. I hate Emilio myself. He destroyed these two and their entire worlds. Their relationship, irreparable. All I wanted was for Andromeda and Perseus to have their time together, but they kept destroying each other. 

All of these emotions....It was just that good. M's writing brings you in to the minds of the characters and had you feeling their love and pain. Oh my goodness, the pain. There was a ton of that, plus all the angst you could ever imagine. El Santo was raw, emotional, hot, gripping and one hell of a ride.

Endorsed ~ Marni Mann

My client’s younger sister is off-f***ing-limits. 

Getting my first big client signed to the NFL was the second best moment of my life. Escorting his sister back to her hotel was the first. Imagining what she would feel like, look like, taste like—none of it was as good as the real thing.

If her brother found out, it would destroy my career, so I ended things between us.

Eight years later, the girl who got away still owns me.

First I’ll make her forgive me, and then I’m going to make her mine.

He’s owned my body for far too long. 

It’s been years since he’s touched me, and my skin still remembers every brush, stroke, and thrust. I want to forget how good it felt. Almost as much as I want to do it again.

We can’t finish what we started until I make my confession.

I have a secret—and one that wasn’t mine to keep.

Before he can love me, he’ll have to find some way to forgive me. 

 

Samantha and Jack have this explosive chemistry! But she is the baby sister of his client and he's just getting started as an agent. Jack can't screw this up. Yet, he can't step away. Samantha feels this magnetic pull to Jack and after their one night, feels completely shredded that she read him all wrong. 

Fast forward 8 years, these two reconnect and it's like their spark never died. Hesitant as she may be, Samantha still can't deny that her heart belongs to Jack. Jack feels Samantha is the one that got away.  Jack is now ready to go after what he wants, but Samantha isn't ready to just let him back in. There is way more at stake now. 

This is a quick, sweet read. Samantha (great name by the way) and Jack are electric, but stubborn and damaged. Jack leaving her 8 years ago really did some damage. While Jack felt like he was doing the right thing, it had some major repercussions that I didn't think they would over come. I enjoyed the "are they" or "aren't they" going to try, angst, even though I may not have agreed how both of them handled things. The story was quicker than I would have liked, but it was still written well. The characters were relate-able and fun. I am looking forward to the next book in the series (but can be read as a stand alone).

Bare (Raw #2) (The Vault Series) ~ C.A. Harms

BRYNN
He was my weakness.

The one desire I fought the hardest, but craved the most.
There was an unexplainable pull whenever I was near him.
I was addicted to him. I was crazed by his touch. I longed for his kiss.

Until he broke me...

He was cold and callus.
What we shared was nothing but meaningless acts.
A facade. I was a ploy in his game of control.

I had no choice but to move forward.
I had to forget the impact he had on me.
More importantly, I had to forget him.
Only that was easier said than done…

Each night when I closed my eyes,
I’d hear the kind words he’d whisper, I’d feel his gentle caress as he held me close.
But the dreams always ended the same.
I would see him walking away, without looking back.

ALEC
She tested my limits from the start.

The more I fought the attraction, the more intense it became.
She defied every rule I set for myself and challenged my need for control.
She made me want the things I had denied myself for too long,
so I did the worst possible thing.

I broke her heart.

What should have been my way out only left me feeling bare.
My desire to have her magnified.
It was time to pick up the shattered pieces of my life and face the harsh reality of my choices.

But my biggest fear of all was that with Brynn, it was now too late to go back... 

Totally and Completely gut wrenching. This story has so much angst that my stomach was in knots. I was furious with Alec for most of the books, but I couldn't help but still cheer for him. Byrnn is such a strong, independent woman, I just loved her. Their coming together was messy, angsty and beautiful all at the same time. 

I love the writing of this book and the flashbacks are easy to follow. This book gives more of a first-person view of everything that happened in Brynn and Alec's past. you can feel their strength and devastation in these pages. While I understand why these characters are the way they are, some of their knee jerk reactions just crushed my heart. 

I was not expecting the emotional roller coaster I went while reading these. I had to stay up late to finish the book before I could go to sleep. It was almost too many "screw-ups" and "I'm sorry's" for me. I was that heartbroken. CA does a great job of healing the crushed heart, but whew, it was an emotional read. 

Remember Me When (The Unforgettable Duet #2) ~ Brooke Blaine

My worst nightmare and your greatest fear became a reality:

You don’t remember me.

You don’t remember the accident, or the weeks afterward.

You don’t remember my bed as your safe place,

or when, against all odds, you fell for me.

You remember me only as the casual acquaintance you saw as you grabbed your daily coffee.

Three sugars, two creamers.

Perhaps an acquaintance is all I’ll ever be to you now.

Maybe I can shoulder the heartbreak and the loss of you, if it means you’ll be happy.

Unless…

You remember me when.

Remember Me When is the second and final book in The Unforgettable Duet and should only be read following Forget Me Not.

I just love Reid and Ollie. So much so, that I didn't want their story to end. The angst and heartbreak, along with the love and emotion hit me right in the feels. I'd say the only downside to this book was that it was the end. 

I have always been a fan of Brooke's and the Unforgettable Duet did not disappoint. The flashbacks and memories were easy to follow and you could understand the timeline. Even though Reid suffered memory loss, his "visions" replayed had me gushing all over again at how sweet these two characters are. 

I was so proud of Reid's mom and her cry for help. It takes a lot to try to do what was best for your child, but really not know what that is. She always had his best interests at heart, even if she wasn't sure what would make Reid's confusion better. 

I was pissed at Ollie a bit, but of course he redeemed himself. He truly is one of the good guys. He is someone that should be snatched up and held on to, to mirror Holland's words. ::wink wink:;

I can't say enough about these two. I wish their story didn't wrap up so quickly. I wanted more. Great characters and a great finale to the duet. 

Wicked Torture (Wicked Nights (Stark World) Book 3) ~J. Kenner

Outwardly, Noah Carter is riding high as the tech world’s hottest new genius. Inside, he’s still reeling from the abduction of his wife and baby daughter eight years ago, and then the devastating discovery of his child’s body. For years, he kept up hope that his wife was alive, but now that she’s been declared legally dead, he’s thrown himself even more deeply into his work, cutting himself off from emotional ties because they just hurt too damn much.

Then he meets Kiki Porter, an eternal optimist with a killer work ethic and dreams of fronting a band. And everything changes. Even though he tries his damnedest to fight it…

Sexually, they are combustible together. But their true fire is emotional, though it is a slow to burn. But once it lights, it is all consuming. The relationship grows emotionally, the sex is hot, things are good.

But just when it’s looking like they might have a real future together, the past comes back to haunt them. And Noah’s going to have to decide what he’s willing to give up for love …

I was hesitant to pick this one up, because it is the third in the series, but it definitely can be read as a standalone. There are characters that I recognize from the original Stark Trilogy series with Damien Stark, but they do not steal focus from the main characters. 

J. Kenner's writing is always good. The story flows, even with flashbacks. You always know where you are at in the timeline. The characters are well written and you can't help but cheer for them. 

I did enjoy Noah and Kiki's possible second chance romance. Previous circumstances caused them to be apart, but once they see each other again, it's like the flame never diminished. While both are working on dealing with the past, they are thrust in to a situation where they have to work together. They come to realize all the things they missed over the years and rebuilding their friendship. 

Then, BAM, plot twist that threatens all they just rebuilt. While I didn't totally love each of their reactions, I understand why they reacted the way they did. I only wish real life could work in the way this one did. 

A Little Bit Like Love ~ Brooke Blaine

What if you had everything in the world you wanted…except the man you’d left behind?

Jackson Davenport, the charismatic, strait-laced heir to the Davenport fortune, has a secret. One he’s been hiding since he graduated from South Haven all-boys academy—and that secret’s name is Lucas.

When a work trip takes Jackson back to his old stomping grounds, memories of the year he shared with Lucas come crashing to the surface. With growing pressure from his father to settle down and take over the family business, Jackson knows he’s on borrowed time, and sets out to find the free-spirited daredevil he once knew.

But Lucas isn’t the same man he was eight years ago.

One night. A shattered heart. And an endless parade of nameless faces. Lucas Sullivan is South Haven’s ultimate playboy, a reputation he’s honed since the only boy he ever loved left without a trace. To the world, he’s brash and confident, an in-demand artist who spends his days designing one-of-a-kind pieces and his nights as king of the downtown scene.

Many have tried and failed to get past the barrier he’s carefully constructed, but it’s the shy, studious boy he once coaxed out of his shell who still haunts him.

Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe it was lust. Or maybe…it was a little bit like love.

I absolutely LOVE Lucas and Jackson! I could not get enough of them and their story. Victims of a homophobic father and an almost practically arranged marriage, Lucas and Jackson look to be doomed from the beginning. But that doesn't stop the love these to find for each other.

Pressure from your family to carry on the name and/or the business is heavy enough. Couple that in with some family tragedies and your destiny is written. There's nothing else you can do to break away right. It's scary and unknown. Going to back to what you always knew is easy and expected. But, just once, you want to live for you. You want to live and be happy. I wanted this so badly for Jackson. Lucas was his happy place, even if he didn't realize how much Lucas meant to him at first. 

Lucas's broken heart spoke to me. His own family tragedies hit me on a personal level and his loneliness was palpable. Of course, the stubborn man would tell you he wasn't lonely. He'd even convinced himself he was happy....That is until Jackson shows back up. He's completely thrown on his a*$. 

I loved these characters and their friends. I was completely sucked in from page one and I read this book in two days. What I enjoyed the most is that there wasn't a conflict of a label. They didn't have to be gay, straight or bi. Even though they were asked, the boys didn't have to battle with their emotions on their sexuality. Who they loved is who they loved. Their drama was due to outsiders, not who they chose to love. I felt that was just...EVERYTHING!

#LoveIsLove