Lord of the Last Heartbeat by May Peterson was the second debut book and author I had on my reading list this week. This one is set in a fantasy world full of magic and the supernatural, complicated politics and a mystery that I didn’t have a clue how was going to turn out until the big reveal.
Honestly, the writing here is gorgeous. Absolutely brilliant. And it definitely kept me reading through the rather confusing beginning when I had no idea what was going on. The author kind of throws readers right in amid a confusing mesh of magical politics, paranormal beings, and death curses. It took me a few chapters in to really get a grip on the main plot and each character’s place within it.
I enjoyed the main characters and their relationship. There is a rather huge power imbalance between them, which I don’t always enjoy in my romance, but I feel like it was handled gently and with a great deal of respect here. There are also frank discussions of gender and sexuality that were handled very well. Mio and Rhodry have this soft, quiet love for each other, full of respect and understanding, that had me believing in their HEA.
Now that I am familiar with this world I feel confident my next read by this author will go more smoothly. I’m eager to find out.
Ripped, the second book in the Blood Money series by Edie Harris, left readers in a daze when Adam, beloved youngest brother of the Faraday clan, was kidnapped right off the street in the epilogue. Adam! They took Adam. sob Crazed is Casey’s story and thankfully picks up immediately where book two left readers hanging.
With Adam missing and no ransom note, the Faraday siblings and their significant others quickly realize that he must have been taken for other purposes. After acquiring camera footage from the area where he was kidnapped, they pretty quickly come to the conclusion that the Marin Cartel is involved. Having been embedded with the cartel four years earlier when he was with the CIA, Casey is the natural choice to go in and locate his brother’s whereabouts. What no one, not even his family, knows is that when he left Colombia last he left his heart behind with his dead wife. Casey has no desire to step foot in the town where the last memory he has is searching through the surrounding countryside while the church where they married only hours before burned to the ground. But he’ll do it to save his brother.
When Ilda Almeida is given instructions to meet a man in the local hotel and to get him an in with Pipe, the head of the Marin Cartel, she has no idea that it’ll be her supposedly deceased husband who opens the door. The man she remembers as Casi clearly is someone else altogether, but her love for him is still alive even after all these years.
I loved this book, it’s probably my favorite of the series so far. It’s filled with ‘aha’ and ‘omg’ moments and even a few ‘I can’t believe they are doing this right now’ scenes. Not to say that I didn’t enjoy the first or the second book, I totally did, but it seems like everything that has led up to this point is working its way to something big as the series progresses. There is a lot going on, and with every new development I have to remind myself of all the players and what all happened in the previous installments, but it’s a wild ride that I love.
Crazed is told in present day, but also with a series of flashback memories from both Ilda and Casey’s POV. Their history is complicated, especially since Ilda had no idea Casey was working undercover four years ago. They met, fell in love and married in secret, then it all came crashing down. Each thought the other had died during a fire/gun battle between rival cartels and members of a task force rescuing hostages. Neither has really moved on, although Casey immediately quit the CIA and came fully into the Farady fold while Ilda… well I’m not going to get into what Ilda has been doing because that would be a huge spoiler and I wouldn’t do that to you guys. Just trust me when I say there is A LOT of angst, indecision, and grief. As well as plenty of sexytimes at completely inappropriate moments. Who knew Casey was so forceful or had such a dirty, dirty mouth. :)
I had a few frustrating moments when I wasn’t sure what would happen or why certain characters made the choices they did. Ilda certainly surprised me a time or two. Casey was obviously all in as soon as he realized his wife was still alive, but I’m not sure he exactly realized what that meant until the very end. This couple was crazy in love and stuck in a crazy situation that had me on the edge of my seat wondering what in the world would come next. With two more books in the series, I KNEW some plot threads would be left dangling and picked up in the fourth book, and I was right. Don’t worry, there is an HEA, but if you’re expecting all your questions to be answered you’ll end up disappointed. Something huge is coming, you can feel it with every conversation the Faradays have about past events and how they seem to all connect in some way.
Adam makes appearances throughout and if you didn’t love him before, you are guaranteed to fall hard this time around. He’s pretty awesome. In fact, the whole family shows up at some point throughout and I think one of my favorite things about this series is despite their differences and occasional difficult or volatile history they always manage to come together in whatever way the need to in order to protect their own.
Once again the epilogue left me with that OMG I WANT THIS NOW feeling. The wait for the fourth book in the series, Thrilled, which has a release date of October 17th, is going to be so, so hard. Final Grade- B+
P.S. Follow this link if you think you need a little brushing up on the series.
Favorite Quote:
“Ask me for anything, Ilda, and I’ll give it. That’s how this works.”
Frowning, she finally looked up at him. “How what works?”
The one person who stood out to me in the first book in this series, Dirty Deeds, was Alec’s youngest brother Finn. I kind of expected his story to be the last in the series, because that’s usually the case when I fall in love with a character. So color me surprised when I discovered that the second book would feature Finn and give him his HEA. YAY! No waiting!
Unfortunately, I can’t say this book really worked for me. I didn’t hate it, but I really didn’t love it either. And it all boils down to the prickly, argumentative, distrustful, jump to conclusions about EVERTHING Justin. I did not like Justin from the moment he was introduced in the first chapter and I never warmed up to him. Maybe because he remained an asshole right up until the bitter end.
Let me backtrack a bit… The second book in the Dirty series by HelenKay Dimon features Finn Drummond, youngest brother from the billionaire Drummond family who run an agricultural business. Finn wants to run the charity arm of their business, which is why he answers a summons by the man who runs the operations on the ground on a small strip of land between Morocco and Spain. That man is Justin Miller. He was expecting Alec Drummond to show up, but instead gets Finn, which is a huge problem because he’s had a thing for Finn since the moment he clapped eyes on him. His other problem is that shipments are going missing and he believes that they are being traded for guns. He needs someone to help him figure out what is going on, but he can’t work with Finn.
The book opens with Finn arriving at the charity’s main complex and meeting with Justin and from that first meeting right up until the very last chapter Justin is rude, argumentative and disrespectful. If I was Finn I would have fired him and sent him home in the first ten pages of the book. Regardless of what you think of Finn and all his money, dude you work for him COME ON. But for some reason Finn puts up with his crap and even falls into bed with the guy. I don’t know why. They have lots of arguments and lots of sex. It’s not until the last 4% that they talk and decide they are in love and want to be together. By that time I was mentally exhausted, still disliked Justin, and did not believe the sudden love words.
I did like the setting, mystery and the action scenes. I felt like I understood what was going on much better than in the previous release. I kind of suspected who the bad guy might be, but there were plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing. That is what kept me reading, even when I wanted put my Kindle down. The romance didn’t work for me, which is sad because I was truly looking forward to Finn’s story. Final Grade-C-
Favorite Quote:
Justin’s eyes widened. “Let me get this straight. You thought we’d fuck and I’d become nicer?” “No, because it was sex, not a miracle.”
The one person who stood out to me in the first book in this series, Dirty Deeds, was Alec’s youngest brother Finn. I kind of expected his story to be the last in the series, because that’s usually the case when I fall in love with a character. So color me surprised when I discovered that the second book would feature Finn and give him his HEA. YAY! No waiting!
Unfortunately, I can’t say this book really worked for me. I didn’t hate it, but I really didn’t love it either. And it all boils down to the prickly, argumentative, distrustful, jump to conclusions about EVERTHING Justin. I did not like Justin from the moment he was introduced in the first chapter and I never warmed up to him. Maybe because he remained an asshole right up until the bitter end.
Let me backtrack a bit… The second book in the Dirty series by HelenKay Dimon features Finn Drummond, youngest brother from the billionaire Drummond family who run an agricultural business. Finn wants to run the charity arm of their business, which is why he answers a summons by the man who runs the operations on the ground on a small strip of land between Morocco and Spain. That man is Justin Miller. He was expecting Alec Drummond to show up, but instead gets Finn, which is a huge problem because he’s had a thing for Finn since the moment he clapped eyes on him. His other problem is that shipments are going missing and he believes that they are being traded for guns. He needs someone to help him figure out what is going on, but he can’t work with Finn.
The book opens with Finn arriving at the charity’s main complex and meeting with Justin and from that first meeting right up until the very last chapter Justin is rude, argumentative and disrespectful. If I was Finn I would have fired him and sent him home in the first ten pages of the book. Regardless of what you think of Finn and all his money, dude you work for him COME ON. But for some reason Finn puts up with his crap and even falls into bed with the guy. I don’t know why. They have lots of arguments and lots of sex. It’s not until the last 4% that they talk and decide they are in love and want to be together. By that time I was mentally exhausted, still disliked Justin, and did not believe the sudden love words.
I did like the setting, mystery and the action scenes. I felt like I understood what was going on much better than in the previous release. I kind of suspected who the bad guy might be, but there were plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing. That is what kept me reading, even when I wanted put my Kindle down. The romance didn’t work for me, which is sad because I was truly looking forward to Finn’s story. Final Grade-C-
Favorite Quote:
Justin’s eyes widened. “Let me get this straight. You thought we’d fuck and I’d become nicer?” “No, because it was sex, not a miracle.”
“Save your shiny armor and white horse for something better than my sensibilities.”
This was such a lovely romance.
The hero, Eli Dawes, Earl of Rivers, rides off to war a cocky, young rake and returns home many years later a broken, wounded man. He would have rather disappeared and never returned at all, but when his father passes solicitors are hired to find him and bring him home. So return he does, to his quiet estate in Dover, where he hopes to spend time alone and avoid the trappings of London society.
There is just one small problem… his estate has been leased out to the Haverhall School for Young Ladies and it is far, far from empty. This isn’t any ordinary finishing school either, but a progressive school that educates young ladies in fields that otherwise might be forbidden to them, such as medicine and architecture and engineering.
The heroine, Rose Hayward, is the sister of the school’s headmistress and functions mainly as an art teacher. Rose also takes commissions, both the mundane and the scandalous. Her great passion is painting portraits and revealing to the models the beauty that they might not see for themselves. Rose and Eli have a history and a whole heck of a lot of pain and anguish between them. At one time they were friends, although Eli would have liked more. When Eli rode off he did so with his friend, and Rose’s fiancé, and a huge mess was left behind. A mess his friend made when he secretly published some awful cartoons he’d drawn about the women of the ton, Rose included. She has blamed Eli for what she assumed was his part in it for years and it’s not until he shows back up that she realizes he has no knowledge of what happened.
I liked Rose so much. Strong, honest, and not afraid to step outside social norms and be her own person. The broken, hesitant Eli at the beginning of the book transforms into a more self-confident man because she won’t let him hide away and she doesn’t give a crap about his scars. She has her own issues to deal with, left over from the betrayal of her fiancé. I think this couple and their dealings with each other were mature and honest, something I love to see in any romance.
I think my very favorite thing though, was how Rose viewed beauty and how she saw the world.
“Beauty can be found everywhere, should you only look. It is not a finite commodity. It changes with time and circumstance to become something new and different, but no less valuable. Your aunt is no less beautiful now than she was fifty years ago.”
So lovely. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
“Save your shiny armor and white horse for something better than my sensibilities.”
This was such a lovely romance.
The hero, Eli Dawes, Earl of Rivers, rides off to war a cocky, young rake and returns home many years later a broken, wounded man. He would have rather disappeared and never returned at all, but when his father passes solicitors are hired to find him and bring him home. So return he does, to his quiet estate in Dover, where he hopes to spend time alone and avoid the trappings of London society.
There is just one small problem… his estate has been leased out to the Haverhall School for Young Ladies and it is far, far from empty. This isn’t any ordinary finishing school either, but a progressive school that educates young ladies in fields that otherwise might be forbidden to them, such as medicine and architecture and engineering.
The heroine, Rose Hayward, is the sister of the school’s headmistress and functions mainly as an art teacher. Rose also takes commissions, both the mundane and the scandalous. Her great passion is painting portraits and revealing to the models the beauty that they might not see for themselves. Rose and Eli have a history and a whole heck of a lot of pain and anguish between them. At one time they were friends, although Eli would have liked more. When Eli rode off he did so with his friend, and Rose’s fiancé, and a huge mess was left behind. A mess his friend made when he secretly published some awful cartoons he’d drawn about the women of the ton, Rose included. She has blamed Eli for what she assumed was his part in it for years and it’s not until he shows back up that she realizes he has no knowledge of what happened.
I liked Rose so much. Strong, honest, and not afraid to step outside social norms and be her own person. The broken, hesitant Eli at the beginning of the book transforms into a more self-confident man because she won’t let him hide away and she doesn’t give a crap about his scars. She has her own issues to deal with, left over from the betrayal of her fiancé. I think this couple and their dealings with each other were mature and honest, something I love to see in any romance.
I think my very favorite thing though, was how Rose viewed beauty and how she saw the world.
“Beauty can be found everywhere, should you only look. It is not a finite commodity. It changes with time and circumstance to become something new and different, but no less valuable. Your aunt is no less beautiful now than she was fifty years ago.”
So lovely. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series....more
When Mark comes home on day to find his live in lover banging the hairy, married landlord he goes a little crazy. How else to explain him walking intoWhen Mark comes home on day to find his live in lover banging the hairy, married landlord he goes a little crazy. How else to explain him walking into the local church and beating his cheating lover over the head with a bible? Or getting pulled over fleeing the scene by his friend Tony, while going 15 in a 40 zone? Or taking all the cheater's belongings and throwing them in the local dump? When he takes a trip to the bank shortly after he finds out it's much worse than he thought, all of his accounts have been cleaned out. He's also broke.
Toney has been patiently waiting on Mark for years. They've always been friends, but things never progressed to more, as much as Mark would have liked it to. Because of some misunderstandings they have grown apart in the last couple of years. But when Mark's problems start to pile up it's Tony that saves the day time and again and Tony who Mark calls when he needs help.
This book was alot of fun to read. Mark has a smart mouth, makes irrational decisions, and drives Tony nuts, but you can't help but like him. I think his craziness stems from the fact that he has just realized that the whole town seems to have known that his lover was a loser but him. That would have made me a little crazy too. Tony is the staid, solid man to Mark's craziness, but they meshed well together. I was rooting for them from the beginning. Once they got together they had a couple of very hot, dirty sexy scenes. For a man who was so upstanding and respectable the rest of the book, Tony gets a little dirty in these scenes.. and did I enjoy that.
I am so glad I found this book the second time around. I can't believe I missed it when it was released as Gobsmacked. Carina Press is re-releasing the rest of this series and I can't wait to get my hands on those as well.
Merged review:
When Mark comes home on day to find his live in lover banging the hairy, married landlord he goes a little crazy. How else to explain him walking into the local church and beating his cheating lover over the head with a bible? Or getting pulled over fleeing the scene by his friend Tony, while going 15 in a 40 zone? Or taking all the cheater's belongings and throwing them in the local dump? When he takes a trip to the bank shortly after he finds out it's much worse than he thought, all of his accounts have been cleaned out. He's also broke.
Toney has been patiently waiting on Mark for years. They've always been friends, but things never progressed to more, as much as Mark would have liked it to. Because of some misunderstandings they have grown apart in the last couple of years. But when Mark's problems start to pile up it's Tony that saves the day time and again and Tony who Mark calls when he needs help.
This book was alot of fun to read. Mark has a smart mouth, makes irrational decisions, and drives Tony nuts, but you can't help but like him. I think his craziness stems from the fact that he has just realized that the whole town seems to have known that his lover was a loser but him. That would have made me a little crazy too. Tony is the staid, solid man to Mark's craziness, but they meshed well together. I was rooting for them from the beginning. Once they got together they had a couple of very hot, dirty sexy scenes. For a man who was so upstanding and respectable the rest of the book, Tony gets a little dirty in these scenes.. and did I enjoy that.
I am so glad I found this book the second time around. I can't believe I missed it when it was released as Gobsmacked. Carina Press is re-releasing the rest of this series and I can't wait to get my hands on those as well....more
“You’re the original light, Anya. Brighter than them all.”
I picked this book to read and review because not only was this the first book in a new series, but Juliette Cross is a new to me author. This series is labeled PNR, but there isn’t a shifter or vampire in sight. This series features angels and demons and their war with each other. The hero, (anti-hero really) is a demon who has been marked as a traitor to his kind. The heroine is an angel who is desperate to find a missing archangel in hopes that he will save her life. They are brought together by a mutual ally and their desire for each other is apparent from the moment they meet.
I found the world building of this series fascinating. Angels and demons set amid a post apocalyptic world full of sin and desire and war and death. Anya and Dom travel across the world looking for clues about Uriel’s whereabouts. The line between good and evil is blurred and even the demons running fight clubs and singing in hard rock bands can be allies, while hard nosed angels leading an army to defeat demons show their true colors in their disregard for human life.
Anya and Dom quickly form a bond and their relationship is suuuupa sexy. Super, super sexy. I love it when the bad, bad boy falls for the good girl. But while I did enjoy their love story quite a bit, I think my favorite part of this story was the atmosphere and world-building. It was so dark and gritty. I absolutely can not wait to find out what comes next. I have a feeling this will be one of those series that just gets better and better as the series evolves.
“You’re the original light, Anya. Brighter than them all.”
I picked this book to read and review because not only was this the first book in a new series, but Juliette Cross is a new to me author. This series is labeled PNR, but there isn’t a shifter or vampire in sight. This series features angels and demons and their war with each other. The hero, (anti-hero really) is a demon who has been marked as a traitor to his kind. The heroine is an angel who is desperate to find a missing archangel in hopes that he will save her life. They are brought together by a mutual ally and their desire for each other is apparent from the moment they meet.
I found the world building of this series fascinating. Angels and demons set amid a post apocalyptic world full of sin and desire and war and death. Anya and Dom travel across the world looking for clues about Uriel’s whereabouts. The line between good and evil is blurred and even the demons running fight clubs and singing in hard rock bands can be allies, while hard nosed angels leading an army to defeat demons show their true colors in their disregard for human life.
Anya and Dom quickly form a bond and their relationship is suuuupa sexy. Super, super sexy. I love it when the bad, bad boy falls for the good girl. But while I did enjoy their love story quite a bit, I think my favorite part of this story was the atmosphere and world-building. It was so dark and gritty. I absolutely can not wait to find out what comes next. I have a feeling this will be one of those series that just gets better and better as the series evolves....more
I’m always happy to try a debut author, especially in the historical romance genre, so when I spied the cover and read the blurb for The Vicar and the Rake I jumped on the chance to read an early copy.
I think this was a strong debut. There was a lot to like about the characters, setting, and backstory of these once close friends who haven’t seen each other in years. Edward is the rake in this story and Gabriel the vicar. While Edward was living it up in London and bedding every strong, young buck, Gabriel has taken vows and promised God that he would do his best to serve him if he would overlook Gabriel’s sexuality.
They are brought together when Edward flees London after getting caught in a compromising position and decides to hide out at a family estate and discovers Gabriel has taken ill…. in his flower bed.
This was a fun, steamy story that is kind of a mix up of the friends to lover/second chance romance tropes. There is a lot going on… murder, mayhem, house fires, a secret love child, missing jewels, and an underground club. I won’t go into it, but just when I thought the conflict was going to be resolved something else would pop up. LOL.
In the end, I did enjoy myself. I’m interested in learning more about the remaining members of The Society of Beasts in future installments.
I’m always happy to try a debut author, especially in the historical romance genre, so when I spied the cover and read the blurb for The Vicar and the Rake I jumped on the chance to read an early copy.
I think this was a strong debut. There was a lot to like about the characters, setting, and backstory of these once close friends who haven’t seen each other in years. Edward is the rake in this story and Gabriel the vicar. While Edward was living it up in London and bedding every strong, young buck, Gabriel has taken vows and promised God that he would do his best to serve him if he would overlook Gabriel’s sexuality.
They are brought together when Edward flees London after getting caught in a compromising position and decides to hide out at a family estate and discovers Gabriel has taken ill…. in his flower bed.
This was a fun, steamy story that is kind of a mix up of the friends to lover/second chance romance tropes. There is a lot going on… murder, mayhem, house fires, a secret love child, missing jewels, and an underground club. I won’t go into it, but just when I thought the conflict was going to be resolved something else would pop up. LOL.
In the end, I did enjoy myself. I’m interested in learning more about the remaining members of The Society of Beasts in future installments.
“I want to show you everything. One day, I’m going to show you everything.”
This is probably one of the most low-key science fiction romances I’ve ever read. I anticipated a whole lot of angsty conflict after reading the first chapter, but.. there really wasn’t too much. The first time readers are introduced to Gael he is trying to talk himself into committing a murder. Before he can convince himself to pull the trigger, someone else does the deed for him. Which leaves him running from not only the man who just blew a guy’s head off, but also from his employers who sent him to complete the mission. The only way off the hell hole of a planet he resides on and away from the people looking for him is to accept a contract off world as a companion to a lonely miner.
The first time readers meet Abraham Bauer, better known as Bram, he is down in the dredges of his claim, trying to figure out the size of the seam he just discovered. A retired foreman with the Muedini Corporation, now he mines his own claim and farms his leased land. He’s built himself a nice homestead, but he’s lonely and wants to find a nice man and maybe start a family someday. Which is why he goes looking for love on the holo terminal and sees Gael for the first time. Gael is running from a shitty life on a planet where the poor are basically owned by powerful families. Slavery and child labor are legal and the only way out is to become someone else and run to another planet. He takes Bram up on his contract thinking he was finally getting at chance at a different kind of life. Bram is ready for a partner to share his life and farm with. This could be something good for both of them.
Their relationship is slow, and steady, and the getting to know you is romantic. Bram is gruff, but tender. Gael wants so much to be accepted and wanted. I liked how these two fit together, different strengths, different vulnerabilities, but they fit together like puzzle pieces. I also appreciated how Bram was determined to not in any way pressure Gael into a sexual side to their relationship. By the time they finally fell into each other I was convinced that it was the exact right time for it to happen. There are some complications… a stowaway that pops up at the beginning, Gael’s past, Bram’s reservations, and the unforgiving harsh environment. But these two really want that chance at a new life together.
The science fiction aspects were done very well, and it was very easy to follow along and understand the world building. The stark, desolate surroundings leant a certain tension to the storyline, even as Bram and Gael’s relationship built slowly, but steadily. Very nicely done and I would definitely recommend.
“I want to show you everything. One day, I’m going to show you everything.”
This is probably one of the most low-key science fiction romances I’ve ever read. I anticipated a whole lot of angsty conflict after reading the first chapter, but.. there really wasn’t too much. The first time readers are introduced to Gael he is trying to talk himself into committing a murder. Before he can convince himself to pull the trigger, someone else does the deed for him. Which leaves him running from not only the man who just blew a guy’s head off, but also from his employers who sent him to complete the mission. The only way off the hell hole of a planet he resides on and away from the people looking for him is to accept a contract off world as a companion to a lonely miner.
The first time readers meet Abraham Bauer, better known as Bram, he is down in the dredges of his claim, trying to figure out the size of the seam he just discovered. A retired foreman with the Muedini Corporation, now he mines his own claim and farms his leased land. He’s built himself a nice homestead, but he’s lonely and wants to find a nice man and maybe start a family someday. Which is why he goes looking for love on the holo terminal and sees Gael for the first time. Gael is running from a shitty life on a planet where the poor are basically owned by powerful families. Slavery and child labor are legal and the only way out is to become someone else and run to another planet. He takes Bram up on his contract thinking he was finally getting at chance at a different kind of life. Bram is ready for a partner to share his life and farm with. This could be something good for both of them.
Their relationship is slow, and steady, and the getting to know you is romantic. Bram is gruff, but tender. Gael wants so much to be accepted and wanted. I liked how these two fit together, different strengths, different vulnerabilities, but they fit together like puzzle pieces. I also appreciated how Bram was determined to not in any way pressure Gael into a sexual side to their relationship. By the time they finally fell into each other I was convinced that it was the exact right time for it to happen. There are some complications… a stowaway that pops up at the beginning, Gael’s past, Bram’s reservations, and the unforgiving harsh environment. But these two really want that chance at a new life together.
The science fiction aspects were done very well, and it was very easy to follow along and understand the world building. The stark, desolate surroundings leant a certain tension to the storyline, even as Bram and Gael’s relationship built slowly, but steadily. Very nicely done and I would definitely recommend.
The first thing you should know before I get into this review is that I’ve never read this author before, so it was the blurb for The Love Experiment that caught my eye and had me hitting my request to review button.
Blurb:
Can you fall in love in thirty-six questions? The closest rookie lifestyle writer Derelie Honeywell gets to megastar reporter Jackson Haley is an accidental shoulder brush in The Courier’s elevator. That is, until the love experiment: a study designed to accelerate intimacy using thirty-six questions and four minutes of sustained eye contact. As far as Derelie is concerned, Jack Haley has always been a man best imagined in his underwear. He’s too intimidating otherwise. But participating in the love experiment is her make-or-break chance. With another round of layoffs looming, Derelie knows holding on to her job means getting the story no matter what. Even when the what is kissing Jack like a maniac. Jack Haley has zero interest in participating in a clickbait story. He didn’t plan on finding Derelie smart and feisty and being mesmerized by her eyes. He certainly had no intention at all of actually falling in love with her. The conclusion to this experiment? Thirty-six questions might lead to love, but finding the answer to happily-ever-after is a lot more complicated.
The second thing you should know is that I kind of expected this to be a book about a silly love experiment and maybe for there to be some enemies to lovers and office politics thrown into to spice things up. The third and last thing, is that this book took every expectation I had and exceeded them.
Yes, this book starts off with two reporters being thrown together for a clickbait story. Jackson Haley is a larger than life investigative reporter who would rather get run over by a car repeatedly than engage in some stupid experiment on love and intimacy. Derelie Honeywell is new to the paper and happens to be one of the digital only reporters that Jackson has no time for. But this story was given to Derelie and despite Jack’s downright douchiness, she is going to get it done. She gives as good as she gets and their back and forth banter made me smile.
“I thought you were too young to be paid to work here, Honeywell. And other than that first impression, I haven’t spared two brain cells on you.” He was unreal. “I bet your dinkus brings all the girls to the yard.”
He really is a jerk through the first several chapters. Hmmmm, okay maybe up until about the 35%, but then something happens. In the midst of arguing over whether he will agree to do this love experiment thing, Derelie and Jack start to get to know each other and fall in lust. Love comes just a bit later. In fact, not only does the love experiment follow these two as they fall hard, but it has a good bit of their relationship post love announcement and moving onto more than just lovers, and also shows them navigating two careers at one place of employment and how they deal with it. Because really, to get to the HEA you have to know that your main protagonists can weather the storms of life.
The second half, once Derelie and Jack move past colleagues to lovers, is so romantic. I think I highlighted half the book.
“Five things are not enough.” His voice pitched so low it curled inside her. “Five things puts a limit on you. You’re not five positive things. You’re five hundred, five thousand.”
Happy sigh.
Between the sheets she was more than wonder. She was the saint, the angel, the sinner. Apple pie meets sex fiend; farm fresh gets filthy. Whatever lesson she was teaching, he was her star student.
Jackson Haley in love is a beautiful thing.
When she got back to her desk there was a text from Jack. You’re the headline of my heart. She responded, Derelie loves Jack. Verily, merrily No clickbait. She put hearts at both ends of the phrases. He came back with, Sub head: Jack Can’t Believe His Luck.
Angela dies of cuteness.
There is this thing Jack does where he goes to a club run by an ex-priest to get beat on and beat on other guys in order to let out his aggression and get his head straight and at first I thought it would be weird. You know, just thrown into the story to make the hero look tough and über masculine, but it really wasn’t. It actually helped show Jack’s vulnerability and how he coped with all the pressure of his life. I enjoyed this aspect of the story.
My favorite thing about The Love Experiment has to be that the reader is allowed to explore the new relationship with Jack and Derelie. Their love story doesn’t just stop once they figure out that they love each other, but rather follows along as they navigate the first few months. What that means for them professionally, especially since they work for the same company. Do they keep it a secret? Do they let their newfound happiness out for all the world to see? They learn how to be together and exactly how much they want and need each other. There is a blow up at the end that settles the question of their HEA quite nicely. I was kind of expecting it, and was actually glad that the angst and drama didn’t last too long.
The Love Experiment started out a romantic comedy, grew into a lovely, intense romance and ended up a book that has earned a place on my keeper shelf. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ainslie Paton is a new to me author, but one I will now keep on my radar in the future. Final Grade-B+
Favorite Quote:
Honeywell was nobody’s footnote. She was a front-page headline all on her own.
The first thing you should know before I get into this review is that I’ve never read this author before, so it was the blurb for The Love Experiment that caught my eye and had me hitting my request to review button.
Blurb:
Can you fall in love in thirty-six questions? The closest rookie lifestyle writer Derelie Honeywell gets to megastar reporter Jackson Haley is an accidental shoulder brush in The Courier’s elevator. That is, until the love experiment: a study designed to accelerate intimacy using thirty-six questions and four minutes of sustained eye contact. As far as Derelie is concerned, Jack Haley has always been a man best imagined in his underwear. He’s too intimidating otherwise. But participating in the love experiment is her make-or-break chance. With another round of layoffs looming, Derelie knows holding on to her job means getting the story no matter what. Even when the what is kissing Jack like a maniac. Jack Haley has zero interest in participating in a clickbait story. He didn’t plan on finding Derelie smart and feisty and being mesmerized by her eyes. He certainly had no intention at all of actually falling in love with her. The conclusion to this experiment? Thirty-six questions might lead to love, but finding the answer to happily-ever-after is a lot more complicated.
The second thing you should know is that I kind of expected this to be a book about a silly love experiment and maybe for there to be some enemies to lovers and office politics thrown into to spice things up. The third and last thing, is that this book took every expectation I had and exceeded them.
Yes, this book starts off with two reporters being thrown together for a clickbait story. Jackson Haley is a larger than life investigative reporter who would rather get run over by a car repeatedly than engage in some stupid experiment on love and intimacy. Derelie Honeywell is new to the paper and happens to be one of the digital only reporters that Jackson has no time for. But this story was given to Derelie and despite Jack’s downright douchiness, she is going to get it done. She gives as good as she gets and their back and forth banter made me smile.
“I thought you were too young to be paid to work here, Honeywell. And other than that first impression, I haven’t spared two brain cells on you.” He was unreal. “I bet your dinkus brings all the girls to the yard.”
He really is a jerk through the first several chapters. Hmmmm, okay maybe up until about the 35%, but then something happens. In the midst of arguing over whether he will agree to do this love experiment thing, Derelie and Jack start to get to know each other and fall in lust. Love comes just a bit later. In fact, not only does the love experiment follow these two as they fall hard, but it has a good bit of their relationship post love announcement and moving onto more than just lovers, and also shows them navigating two careers at one place of employment and how they deal with it. Because really, to get to the HEA you have to know that your main protagonists can weather the storms of life.
The second half, once Derelie and Jack move past colleagues to lovers, is so romantic. I think I highlighted half the book.
“Five things are not enough.” His voice pitched so low it curled inside her. “Five things puts a limit on you. You’re not five positive things. You’re five hundred, five thousand.”
Happy sigh.
Between the sheets she was more than wonder. She was the saint, the angel, the sinner. Apple pie meets sex fiend; farm fresh gets filthy. Whatever lesson she was teaching, he was her star student.
Jackson Haley in love is a beautiful thing.
When she got back to her desk there was a text from Jack. You’re the headline of my heart. She responded, Derelie loves Jack. Verily, merrily No clickbait. She put hearts at both ends of the phrases. He came back with, Sub head: Jack Can’t Believe His Luck.
Angela dies of cuteness.
There is this thing Jack does where he goes to a club run by an ex-priest to get beat on and beat on other guys in order to let out his aggression and get his head straight and at first I thought it would be weird. You know, just thrown into the story to make the hero look tough and über masculine, but it really wasn’t. It actually helped show Jack’s vulnerability and how he coped with all the pressure of his life. I enjoyed this aspect of the story.
My favorite thing about The Love Experiment has to be that the reader is allowed to explore the new relationship with Jack and Derelie. Their love story doesn’t just stop once they figure out that they love each other, but rather follows along as they navigate the first few months. What that means for them professionally, especially since they work for the same company. Do they keep it a secret? Do they let their newfound happiness out for all the world to see? They learn how to be together and exactly how much they want and need each other. There is a blow up at the end that settles the question of their HEA quite nicely. I was kind of expecting it, and was actually glad that the angst and drama didn’t last too long.
The Love Experiment started out a romantic comedy, grew into a lovely, intense romance and ended up a book that has earned a place on my keeper shelf. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Ainslie Paton is a new to me author, but one I will now keep on my radar in the future. Final Grade-B+
Favorite Quote:
Honeywell was nobody’s footnote. She was a front-page headline all on her own.
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