“I’m in love with a man who thinks love is looking for ways to hurt him. To destroy him. But that’s not love. Maybe you have never truly known
“I’m in love with a man who thinks love is looking for ways to hurt him. To destroy him. But that’s not love. Maybe you have never truly known it.”
Natasha Boyd (writing as Tasha Boyd) fuels our wanderlust with the titillating tale of a newly unemployed young architect from Charleston, South Carolina, who ends up jump-starting her life on a megayacht in the South of France, working as a nanny for a brooding, widowed billionaire. What was only supposed to be a six-week summer gig while she looks for another job in her field turns into everything she didn’t even know she needed in this deeply felt, searingly passionate romance that I loved so so much. Boyd steadily builds the love story from both perspectives, making us almost taste the mounting desire between the leads, but it’s the way she leaves no emotional stone unturned in her powerful portrayal of a broken widower who is afraid to open his heart again that had me reading until four in the morning, two days in a row. I heartily recommend this book to those looking to soothe their travel cravings from the safety of their couch, or to anyone whose catnip just happens to be a curmudgeonly, dirty-talking Frenchman with a big… yacht.
I'm ashamed to admit that I have never read a Vi Keeland/Penelope Ward collaboration before, but this book alone has moved me to buy three more from tI'm ashamed to admit that I have never read a Vi Keeland/Penelope Ward collaboration before, but this book alone has moved me to buy three more from their backlist. It's got such a unique storyline, fabulous writing, SO MUCH EMOTION, and even a few unexpected twists. Without giving anything away, it's the story of a magazine columnist who suddenly starts receiving Dear Santa letters from a little girl she's never met. Fast forward to a few months later and, in a case of mistaken identity, the columnist finds herself training the little girl's dog...in German! Add the sexy single dad into the equation and you've got a story that is pure delight from start to finish. The two narrators (Andi Arndt and Sebastian York) do a BRILLIANT job bringing the characters to life, and I'm so happy that I got to fall in love with Keeland and Ward's words through their voices. I've already started listening to another books of theirs......more
“I’m going to love you so hard, time won’t matter … distance won’t matter … all you’ll feel when you take each breath … is my love.”
It nev
“I’m going to love you so hard, time won’t matter … distance won’t matter … all you’ll feel when you take each breath … is my love.”
It never stops being an absolute thrill reading an author for the very first time and falling in love with their every word page after page. The beauty of Jewel E. Ann’s writing and the detail with which she renders her characters took my breath away time and time again, weaving a story that is sexy, funny, sad, and everything in between, and entirely impossible to put down. I read this book in my bed, on the bus, while leaning on a shopping cart in the middle of a busy supermarket, and even once in the shower because I just couldn’t stop. It’s a story of opposites attracting, of second chances at finding love and happiness, of forgiveness, of family bonds, of pet rats, of life giving us exactly what we need even when we don’t think we’re ready or deserving of it, and while it might have been my first time reading this author, I am now the proud owner of her entire back catalogue.
“How can it feel this good?” “Because it’s different when you’re in the hands of a man.”
I can’t remember the last time I stayed awake until
“How can it feel this good?” “Because it’s different when you’re in the hands of a man.”
I can’t remember the last time I stayed awake until sunrise because I couldn’t put a book down, but this deliciously addictive, toe-curling tale of forbidden love was exactly what I needed at a time when no other book was hitting the right spot. This was my first encounter with L.J. Shen’s writing, but it only took a few chapters for me to fall in love with it irrevocably, and by the end of the book, I was in a fully fledged love affair with her every sentence. One of the best age-gap romances I’ve ever come across, every aspect of this story was executed with breathtaking perfection, the author’s confident prose and her deep understanding of her characters turning a potentially unsurprising scenario into one of the most riveting books I’ve read of late. With a single-dad cherry on top.
“Never make someone else the main character in your own story.”
I’ve been waiting all my life for this book. It might sound like a melodram
“Never make someone else the main character in your own story.”
I’ve been waiting all my life for this book. It might sound like a melodramatic overstatement born of the heat of the moment, but when you stumble upon a story that is so flawlessly written, so perfectly suited to everything you always hope to find, so emotionally fulfilling that nothing else even touches you while you’re absorbed in it, you know you’ve found that book. A superbly conceived and then meticulously woven together second chance romance, J.M. Darhower holds no punches while delivering a heartfelt chronicle of love and heartbreak, of two young people torn apart by the changing tides of life, only to find their way back to one another when the time is right. I loved this book so completely and so overwhelmingly cover to cover, that I am not quite sure how to move on from such a tremendous reading experience. It ruined me in the best possible way, and I cannot recommend it highly enough—every devastatingly perfect second of it.
“I’ve been falling in love with you since the first day I met you. And, sweetheart, you have to know that, with a woman like you, it’s a reall
“I’ve been falling in love with you since the first day I met you. And, sweetheart, you have to know that, with a woman like you, it’s a really short trip.”
I seriously cannot remember the last time I became this frenzied over a story, but I was turning those pages so deliriously fast I had blisters on my fingers by the end of it. With an absolutely brilliant premise at its core, followed by a million heart-stopping surprises along the way, and a mega plot twist in the middle, this duet was one of my most gripping and exhilarating reads ever, and cover to cover, a tragic yet gratifying roller-coaster ride like no other. Aly Martinez writes with compassion and ferocity, cutting us deep time and time again, but never failing to infuse every single scene with the kind of raw emotional intensity that a story like this demands. She weaves an intricate web of truths, mistruths, sorrow, guilt, desire, hope, and parental love to create a page-turner that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end. This was one of my top must-reads of the year.
“Now you have two choices: we can sit down and eat this awesome spaghetti I just made . . . clothing optional, or w
FULL REVIEW NOW POSTED:
“Now you have two choices: we can sit down and eat this awesome spaghetti I just made . . . clothing optional, or we can go to bed . . . clothing not optional.” His eyebrows snapped low over his mesmerizing eyes and a muscle twitched in his cheek under his beard. “I’m good with either one as long as you realize the second option is happening regardless.”
What a truly spectacular read this was! A new author to me, a new fictional world to now obsess over—this was a story that hooked me in from the very first page, and I never wanted it to end. From the impeccable characterisation of its key players—fascinating, realistic, and perfectly imperfect—to a heart-warming, multi-layered storyline that tugs at every last one of our heartstrings, I rarely find myself enjoying a book so completely, so fervently, and with such abandon, but everything about this story ‘got to me’, and made me fall in love with this author’s competent writing style. A great start to a new reading year, an automatic addition to my all-time favourites.
“When you’re made to feel like the worst sort of idiot, the biggest kind of failure, for showing any time of emotion—even tears at your mother’s funeral—you learn pretty quickly that if you don’t have feelings, then they can’t be destroyed.”
Raised by an emotionally abusive tyrant of a father and an absent mother, and conditioned to believe she would never be worth time or effort from anyone, Sayer Cole has had a lifetime of being made to feel lacking in every aspect of her personality. Being taught from birth that showing emotions was the ultimate sign of weakness has left Sayer entrapped in a carefully crafted shell of self-control and perfection that serves to distance her from everyone around her. But when she learns of the existence of a long-lost brother, she does not hesitate to uproot her entire life in order to find him, leaving behind a structured and predictable existence in favour of the mere possibility of finding someone who has the power to make her feel a little less alone in the world.
“Control was everything to me, and Zeb Fuller made me want to lose it even when he was sound asleep in his own bed all the way across Denver.”
But nothing prepares Sayer for Zebulon “Zeb” Fuller, her brother’s lifelong friend, their immediate attraction leaving her flustered and unable to stop fantasising about him. The owner of a successful construction business, Zeb is a ‘fixer’ by nature and a firm believer in second chances—both in relation to old buildings that without his restoration skills would be left to decay, as well as giving people a chance to correct past mistakes—and he has spent the past seven years trying to prove to himself and to others that his own past does not define him. Until that very past suddenly comes knocking at his door and changing his life forever.
“I would craft her, mold her into something that was made up of nothing more than desire, want, need, and satisfaction if she gave me the opportunity.”
Now forced to work together and spend more and more time in each other’s company, it remains as clear as day that they are each other’s opposite in every single way, yet their attraction never dims or becomes anything less than visceral on both sides. But while Sayer fights that attraction by locking her feelings in and hiding them under a façade of cold professionalism and emotional distance, Zeb is a man used to knocking down old walls, and Sayer might very well be the greatest and most rewarding project of his life.
“She was like the best treasure, the greatest gift I had ever been handed, and I absolutely planned on appreciating every single part of her.”
A stunning love story, complex and emotionally satisfying cover to cover, this book is the full package. The perfect balance of steamy romance and engaging plotline, I never stopped feeling while reading this book, and could not put it down even for a second. The author excelled in giving these characters life, their every trait jumping off the page and instilling itself into our hearts. Their every vulnerability, their every hang-up and flaw serves to make them even more ‘real’ and compelling in our eyes, and we never stop feeling invested in their story. I adored this book, absolutely loved every word in it, and would recommend it unreservedly.
“You are more than one thing to me and I want all of them.”
When you open a new book and you find yourself gasping for air, your chesFULL REVIEW NOW POSTED:
“Hold on tight, Cherie… Don’t let go.”
When you open a new book and you find yourself gasping for air, your chest clenching only a few pages into the story, you know you’ve hit the mother lode of great reads. Once again, in true Kristen Ashley style, we are given a story that owns us from the start, our hearts fluttering to the rhythm of the powerful emotions driving every scene, every sentence, every word exemplifying this author’s distinctive and truly remarkable prose. I always take my time reading a KA book, but I gave myself even more time to savour this particular story, to absorb every hidden layer, to fully appreciate every facet of these two characters that are so unlike any of her others, because I knew she had saved some of her best work for last. A truly splendid conclusion to a phenomenal series, if you haven’t ventured into it yet, it is time you pay The ‘Burg a visit.
“I was the kind of girl who’d never dreamed because, even when I was little, I always knew I was the kind of girl who’d be stupid to dream.”
Cherie “Cher” Rivers stopped dreaming of a knight in shining armour a long time ago, learning very early in life that the only person she could ever truly depend on was herself. A single mum in her mid thirties, a hard worker, a loving parent, a woman confident in all that she is and all that she would ever be, she lives her life unapologetically and true to herself, knowing that all the sacrifices she has ever made were done in good conscience and for the good of one person and one person alone—her beloved ten-year-old son Ethan. Having pushed all her dreams of finding a good man and being loved by such a man aside, all Cherie now dreams of is giving her son a good life, teaching him how to be a decent man, and making him feel loved every single day of his life. But as closed off as Cherie’s heart might appear to be, it secretly pines for a man who’s only ever seen her as a friend—a good man, a loyal man, a trustworthy man, the kind of man she would fight with all her might to keep in her life. Just not a man who’s ever showed any signs of loving her back.
“A man who liked me. A man who laughed at my jokes. A man who smiled at me regularly. Who teased me often. Who shot the shit with me. A man who liked me a lot. A man who was my friend. A man who thought of me as a friend. The man I loved more than breath.”
Lieutenant Garrett “Merry” Merrick has only ever loved one woman in his life, but he’s never believed in happy endings. Losing their mother as young children has marked the Merrick siblings deeply, leaving them both terrified of loss, and thus prone to self-sabotaging their own happiness while in pursuit of emotional numbness. But while his sister conquered her demons and got her second chance at finding happiness, Merry’s hang-ups have led him to watching the love of his life getting engaged to another man and not wanting to do anything to stop it. Except drowning his sorrows in an expensive bottle of whisky with a friend, and opening his eyes to the possibility that the one who’s been in front of him all along might be exactly the kind of woman he didn’t even know he was looking for.
“You got good, you don’t let it go. It lets you go, you hold on. It slips through your fingers, you pull out all the stops to get it back. You got somethin’ worth fighting for, you fight for it. You do not sit on your ass waitin’ for it to come back to you. You show whoever that is they mean something and you go all out on that, and the only way you go down is doin’ that shit swinging.”
With their inhibitions lowered and their bodies aching to seek comfort in one another, Merry and Cherie share one night of unrivalled passion, a small taste of the bliss to be found in each other’s arms that neither of them can deny, but a new day brings them two very different outlooks on the night they’d shared—one of them daring to dream of more, and the other dismissing it as a one-night stand that should have never happened.
“It wasn’t walking out of a house into a taxi or your car in your clothes from the night before that was the walk of shame. You wanted what you wanted, you went after it, you got it, then you left it and went on with your life. There was no shame in that. None. The shame was lying naked in your own bed listening to a man be quiet while dressing because he woke up next to you not wanting one thing to do with you.”
Cherie’s pain from allowing herself for one fleeting moment to hope a man would want to look after her, share her load, love her and her son, and then seeing that dream vanish even before it took shape, leaves a deep scar in both her pride as well as her fragile heart, only strengthening her conviction that she is just one of those girls who would never find that kind of happiness in life, even though she would give anything to have it.
“… he’d never give me what I wanted. I forgot. I forgot I wasn’t the kind of girl who got what she wanted. Not once. Not in my whole f*cking life. Yeah, I’d forgotten that.”
But the moment Cherie’s heart closes off again, Merry’s suddenly becomes wide open to falling for a woman who now spends equal time fighting her attraction towards him and plotting his murder for making her feel everything she refuses to feel for him. And when a Kristen Ashley alpha male sets his eyes on a woman, get the popcorn ready and make yourself comfortable, because resistance is futile from the get-go and it’s going to be a ride like no other.
“What I want is more good times with you, Cher. I wanna f*ck wild and I wanna laugh hard, and while we’re doin’ that, I’m gonna look out for you. More, I can’t promise.”
A woman scared of any more heartbreak in her life, reluctant to let a man see her vulnerable side and trust him not to hurt her, and a man who didn’t even know that all he ever needed in life in order to let go of his past was a woman who would stick by him through thick and thin—Merry and Cherie are two damaged, lonely people who find everything they’ve ever dreamed of in each other, if only they can see past their fears and embrace the rare beauty they’ve uncovered in each other’s arms.
“That’s life. You have no clue what you’ll get along the journey. But you won’t get dick you stay in one place, spinning your wheels.”
I have loved all the stories in this epic series by an author who never fails to rock my world, and this was not just another great addition to the series—it was the perfect finale, the perfect conclusion, the perfect send-off to a remarkable group of characters whose stories have become some of my favourite re-reads. The epilogue alone acknowledging all the other couples in the series was far more than just the proverbial icing on the cake, the closure gained from seeing their lives fast-forwarded before our eyes leaving me in a happy daze of nostalgia laced with bittersweet tears. Each one of these stories touched me deeply in its own right and in its own way, and the beauty of Merry and Cherie’s story did not disappoint. Not by a long shot.
“God, did he know? Did he know that he was the dream come true a girl like me would never dare to dream?”
Natasha is a Book Junkie
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