This had the potential to be 4 star but the fact that the Rhys was so infatuated with Thayer from the get-go and a complete simp was a bit off puttingThis had the potential to be 4 star but the fact that the Rhys was so infatuated with Thayer from the get-go and a complete simp was a bit off putting. The author, on the other hand, has gotten significantly better in her writing since Rogue and Bellemy's story.
However, this story lacked the angst and drama that I generally like in my stories. If this story had some deeper heated arguments, some enemies to lovers moments, it would have been perfect.
The fact that the h was named Thayer was a bit confusing for me. Every time I tried to pick up from where I'd left off reading I'd get confused whether Thayer was the h or H.....maybe just me bc Thayer is male name imho.
Looking forward to Phoenix and Six's story. I'm hoping their fighting will result in an enemies to lovers book....more
**spoiler alert** This is Tempest's story. He lives a secret life in order to pay for his role in his dad's debts I believe.
The story starts of inter**spoiler alert** This is Tempest's story. He lives a secret life in order to pay for his role in his dad's debts I believe.
The story starts of interesting and there are a couple of very dramatic and interesting moments.
Tempted can't seem to decide whether he hates Ardyn or is intrigued by her and eventually ends up falling for her brand of twisted charm.
Ardyn has always had a crush on Tempest and goes on to fall for him further despite her better just or lack thereof.
There are a number of bad guys in the story but disappointingly their paths go nowhere. They just suddenly disappear from the plot. Frustrating.
Tempest and Ardyn all of a sudden decide they've had enough and want to be together, overnight and the story just ends abruptly! No real conclusion to anything. It's like the author just gave up mid story. Very weird. I feel unfulfilled and there should have been a sequel or at least a short story with a decent ending.
And the whole witches, ghosts tangent? Went absolutely nowhere!
Perhaps some of the loose ends will get tied in Clover's story....more
Ebony discovers she has a mate and Ford is a werewolf. They navigate their mating and claiming carefully. A cute couple and a vanilla relationship. CuEbony discovers she has a mate and Ford is a werewolf. They navigate their mating and claiming carefully. A cute couple and a vanilla relationship. Cute story....more
**spoiler alert** I received this arc for an honest review.
This is part one of Preston and Dolly's story which ends on a cliffhanger.
I have to be ho**spoiler alert** I received this arc for an honest review.
This is part one of Preston and Dolly's story which ends on a cliffhanger.
I have to be honest, when we were introduced to Preston and Dolly in the Exile series, I wasn't sure how the story would unfold knowing that Preston was already in love with Dolly. But knowing Selena, I knew she'd have one hell of a yarn to weave and she did.
This story provides the backstory to Preston and Dolly, and Dolly and Devlin's relationship, focusing on their teen years.
The reader gets to see different povs from events that took place in the Bully Me series and it was interesting to see takes from the different perspective.
This was an angsty emotional ride for me. There were so many moments that hit me in the feels. It was interesting to find out what caused Preston's damage before the Bully Me series in which I hated him for being so horrible. Over the course of the Exile series, I forgave Preston and grew to want to protect him. This story made me fall in love with him and root for him despite some of his misdeeds. Can't wait to start book 2 Deviant Deception....more
**spoiler alert** Hayes has a secret that he's ashamed of. Morgan meets Hayes when his desperation pushes him to try to end his life. Morgan saves Hay**spoiler alert** Hayes has a secret that he's ashamed of. Morgan meets Hayes when his desperation pushes him to try to end his life. Morgan saves Hayes and continues to be his guardian angel whenever he starts to spiral. But Hayes resents her because of who she is and his secret. He forces himself on her out of anger for her and his situation and because he wants her to understand he's not a good guy.
Everything was deliciously clandestine and hawt until we learn who C is and how the characters in the whole story connect. Everything ties up smoothly and beautifully without any further drama. Hayes and Morgan go to college together and love each other. The end....more
Hawk is damaged by his past with his psycho ex wife. Yasmine is suffering from a broken heart after a cheating fiancé. They both regroup at their Key Hawk is damaged by his past with his psycho ex wife. Yasmine is suffering from a broken heart after a cheating fiancé. They both regroup at their Key West houses and rekindle their friendship while Hawk reluctantly gives in to his urges and propositions Yaz. They both work on healing each other.
This story had a lot of potential but somehow was lacking ooomf. Although feelings were described the emotions weren't felt. It just didn't suck me in the way I wanted it to.
I didn't like that Hawk wasn't very alpha...he felt too much that he came across as being too emotionally damaged. He just wasn't the take-charge kind of guy I needed him to be. Overall it just fell flat as much as I tried to like this story. 2.5....more
I love Ashley Jade's Royal hearts series and I wanted to love this story as much but I found it really hard to suspend my disbelief. The biggest stumbI love Ashley Jade's Royal hearts series and I wanted to love this story as much but I found it really hard to suspend my disbelief. The biggest stumbling block for me is that Phoenix, the hot, alpha, badass fuckboy would willingly open up to Lennon so freely and easily about his secrets within days of knowing her. There was nothing special about her that would have realistically allowed him to be an open book for her. If they had gone through some hardships together and he found her to be reliable, caring etc over TIME, then it would've been more believable. But for a quiet, fat, nerdy, awkward teen virgin to have such a huge impact on Phoenix after just a few weeks is quite far fetched. Add to that the fact that he's willing to give up everything for her after, again, a few weeks of reconnecting?!?! The ending was quite predictable and wrapped up too nicely. The last few pages came to a screeching halt which totally upset the pacing of the story....it was a slow, steady pace and then the end came out of nowhere and was quite abrupt and dissatisfying.
When I found out the h was a large, shy girl, I was excited to see how things would play out. I was really disappointed that she had to lose weight and change for much of the story to play out.
I wonder if there'll be a story about storm and quinn....not sure I'm interested in Memphis and Skylar tho.
The writing was great as usual and a page turner. I just couldn't get past my disbelief to enjoy it. The fairytale ending is just too ideal to be realistic....even Lennon voices her doubts about a fat girl getting a fuckboy rockstar and all the reasons it couldn't work....and I'm in full agreement....it was just too unrealistic. It didn't sit well with me thinking of their impossible future. So its a 3.5 for me....more
**spoiler alert** I see a lot of people giving this 5 stars. Did we read the same book? For the record, I am a huge fan of dark antiheros so that is n**spoiler alert** I see a lot of people giving this 5 stars. Did we read the same book? For the record, I am a huge fan of dark antiheros so that is not the resoning for my low rating. This book just had no direction at all. So on with my critique:
When I heard Sam Mariano had a new release, I was really excited to get my hands on it. After reading it, I was left with WTF did I just read?, but not in a good way. This was no Boy on a Bridge nor an Untouchable. I honestly don't know how to categorize this story because the plot had no direction at all. It couldn't decide if it wanted to be a dark, non-con romance, a very weak feminist half assed protest or a contemporary romance. It was ridiculously all over the place. The first 1/3 of the story seemed like a non-con with mild bdsm themes but was not enjoyable at all due to the h's constant analysis of her predicament, even during the sexy times which made it super annoying and boring. Top that off with her half-assed attempts to fend him off and appear strong and feminist was not only repetitive but she gave up ridiculously easily. For the entire story Hallie's character can be summed up as half-assing her protests with weak attempts to question Calvin and pretty much giving up and accepting her fate before he even answers her. I was extremely frustrated with her dual personality. I wanted to shake her and tell her to either smarten up and stand strong or shut up and give in. It was incredibly annoying to read about her whining and doing nothing about it. She's also an adult woman using the words "icky" and "tummy"....how childish!
Calvin - had great potential to be an amazing anti-hero but falls short. At the beginning, there's barely any physical description of him so it was easy to chalk him up as unattractive especially when given his character description and Hallie's constant rejection of his advances. There was very little that described about Calvin to make the reader find him sexy or attractive. i.e. Hallie continually calls him a rapist, lunatic etc. How attractive! His personality also does a complete superficial about turn from being a domineering sociopath to what appears to be a mild-mannered husband. His dark sexual appetite seemingly disappears once Hallie is discovered to be pregnant at about 2/3 of the story. At this point, Calvin makes no demands on Hallie other than to marry him and proceeds to shower her with various expensive gifts in order to convince the reader that he's redeaming himself somehow! His sociopathic personality never changes but gets extremely watered down and we're supposed to believe that Hallie simply falls in love with him overnight....presumably because he's basically bought her love. Calvin on the other hand also falls in love with Hallie overnight simply because she's pregnant. How ridiculously farfetched!
Neither of these characters are given any credible reasons for the change in their feelings towards each other. Calvin is incredibly obsessed with Hallie and it's not even clear why. He sees her at a christmas party and is all of a sudden obsessed to the point of kidnapping and keeping her prisoner. She on the other hand shows him zero affection, sparkling personality or indeed any valid reason for his possessiveness. He hints at his parents' dysfunctional relationship and how he's nothing like his father and I'm not sure what the purpose of that reference was because the parallels are far fetched.
After the incredibly strange and circular ride, the pacing of the story somehow speeds up and many plot holes are quickly tied up thankfully.....I don't think I could have sat through reading more of this inane plot. In the end, the h and H live happily ever after in a very Hallmark contemporary romance ending. Once again, WTF did I just read?...more
I love Ashley Jade's Royal hearts series and I wanted to love this story as much but I found it really hard to suspend my disbelief. The biggest stumbI love Ashley Jade's Royal hearts series and I wanted to love this story as much but I found it really hard to suspend my disbelief. The biggest stumbling block for me is that Phoenix, the hot, alpha, badass fuckboy would willingly open up to Lennon so freely and easily about his secrets within days of knowing her. There was nothing special about her that would have realistically allowed him to be an open book for her. If they had gone through some hardships together and he found her to be reliable, caring etc over TIME, then it would've been more believable. But for a quiet, fat, nerdy, awkward teen virgin to have such a huge impact on Phoenix after just a few weeks is quite far fetched. Add to that the fact that he's willing to give up everything for her after, again, a few weeks of reconnecting?!?! The ending was quite predictable and wrapped up too nicely. The last few pages came to a screeching halt which totally upset the pacing of the story....it was a slow, steady pace and then the end came out of nowhere and was quite abrupt and dissatisfying. ...more
This story started out strong with potential. Adeleine and Drew are twins and best friends with Hayden. At 13, Hayden attempts to drown Addy while swiThis story started out strong with potential. Adeleine and Drew are twins and best friends with Hayden. At 13, Hayden attempts to drown Addy while swimming with Drew and she forgets much of the circumstances. Now at 18, she is forced to return home to an angry twin and a bully Hayden who is not only bullying her sickly brother but taunting her. Her mom seems to hate her and her dad is a drunk.
The story unfolds and we find out the the mystery surrounding her drowning. At first, writing was engaging and a page turner. But around the halfway point, the plot began to suffer. The MC's motives were confusing and wavered for no reason. Out of the blue the H turns into a simping idiot. Once they hooked up, their chemistry fell apart. The steam level was a 3/5. The ending was ridiculously OTT dramatic and the epilogue was unsatisfactory. Basically the story took a nosedive after about 40% of the way. It had potential. Hope Gage's story is better....more
**spoiler alert** There was SO much potential but unfortunately I have to give it a 3 star. One big complaint is that it's written in the 3rd person a**spoiler alert** There was SO much potential but unfortunately I have to give it a 3 star. One big complaint is that it's written in the 3rd person and falls victim to all the negatives of 3rd person. We don't get to experience the characters' true emotions and motivations. This made the lack of romantic plot much more pronounced. Also this one was so long and drawn out. So many unnecessary details that did little to drive the story.
The H, Nicholas was not likeable at first but grew on me. His motives and actions made sense.
The h did not grow on me. She seemed quite stunted and very naive. Her life experiences should have given her better insight but she simply becomes helpless and apathetic. She hates her experiences with the H but gives in easily or acts immaturely. She is best at avoiding and running away. She has no backbone and had even less will to survive/succeed. She assumes a lot and it seems like she feels it's beneath her to communicate clearly.
I found it quite disappointing that we didn't get to see the h's thoughts or deeper emotions. She simply lives her life by going through the motions mindlessly. She allows everyone to walk all over her, the H, her mom, stepdad, "friends". The H makes a correct observation towards the end that the h is unable to form a true relationship. Regardless, it would have been nice to understand her motives. I also didn't like the fact that the h acted like a long suffering martyr while the H tried in his own desperate way to reach her and help her. She gave him no credit and we still don't get to see her emotions when she finally realizes how much the H has done for her. She still seems to be on her own pedestal feeling sorry for herself.
I hated the ending just because it was so abrupt and we still don't know what the h feels, if she has forgiven the H or if she even loves him or is continuing to be a martyr. It would have been nice to have one more chapter or an epilogue after such a long, drawn out story....more
The "conclusion" of Judas and Rhiannon's story leaves a lot of unanswered questions. This is book 3 in the series, the longest. The first 2 books are The "conclusion" of Judas and Rhiannon's story leaves a lot of unanswered questions. This is book 3 in the series, the longest. The first 2 books are so short it could have been combined.
The story was a pageturner but frustrating in it's lack of forward movement in the plot. We're still in the dark about Riannons adoptive parents. Evie and Marcus' motives and backstory is never revealed.
It was frustrating to read how Rhiannon is completely a fake tough girl. She has all the makings of a tough nut but it's all words and zero action. When it comes to Judas, there's not even words, she's just a docile pussycat. Rhiannon never questions anything out loud, never pushes for an answer, never fights back. She simply has an inner dialog in her head, assumes the worst and gives up before trying. Her inner dilemmas always end with zero effort to the point one wonders why she even questions anything. She had zero backbone and allows herself to be taken by Judas many times, gets engaged and married and has a kid without ever raising even a fuss. Her fake strength is all in her head.
There were also many plot holes that made no sense. Evie and Marcus are described as poor, but have money stashed away but have no staff but can run illegal operations and unalive people and stand up to the Barrons and Saldanas. What?
Why did Santiago never go after Evie and get Rhiannon back? Especially if Evie had no money or power?
Why did Judas talk about Rhiannon like they were destined to be childhood sweethearts in an arranged married when it wasn't?
Another very annoying habit of Rhiannon is how super shallow she was. More concerned about her appearance and remarking more on all the opulence than all the horrific things that she witnessed or took part in. Her priorities were completely screwed up and reversed. She was more concerned about the Sandusky on her feet and wet shoes rather than the unaliving that caused the situation.
Judas was delicious but very far fetched in his complete, blind devotion to Rhiannon...and why? She did absolutely nothing to ingratiate herself to him. Yet he was magically obsessed with her from her first time with him while beautiful, experienced women were falling at his feet. Made zero sense.
An ok read. I really want read Audrey and Gavins story....more
The story of Abel and Riley. Riley is Avalon's computer geek hacker former roommate. Abel is Dean's Sickboy brother. Abel and Riley had chemistry in tThe story of Abel and Riley. Riley is Avalon's computer geek hacker former roommate. Abel is Dean's Sickboy brother. Abel and Riley had chemistry in the last couple of stories if I recall correctly.
Abel becomes obsessed with Riley but it isn't clear why. They don't have a friendship, she hasn't done anything to endear herself, she's described as a geek....perhaps even mousy. But Abel becomes OTT possessive of her and falls in love with her. He then takes over when she runs from her childhood tormentor Daniel. Everything ends neatly but I was disappointed in the "epilogue" which mentions nothing of our couple but sets up Braxton's story....more
**spoiler alert** 4.5 Alec and Oakley are childhood friends. He saw her first and befriended her until his brother Rowan steals her friendship. Ever s**spoiler alert** 4.5 Alec and Oakley are childhood friends. He saw her first and befriended her until his brother Rowan steals her friendship. Ever since then, Alec has had to watch from the sidelines growing increasingly frustrated and angry.
Alec finally gets his chance when he's required to move in with Oakley to keep her safe as a favor to her dad. Things heat up.
Then the wife shows up and there's tons of drama. The ending and epilogue was a little far fetched and hallmark but overall a page turner....more
DNF at 43% This was not romantic or interesting. Some old, bored, rich guy with too much money and time pays a young girl to do his bidding - not evenDNF at 43% This was not romantic or interesting. Some old, bored, rich guy with too much money and time pays a young girl to do his bidding - not even very spicy or edgy...just run of the mill stuff even teenage boys have more imaginative desires. The H was boring and creepy. The h was OTT sarcastic and rude yet eager. Zero chemistry. Blah....more
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