Blog Tour + Character Interview, Review & Giveaway: Falling Away by Penelope Douglas

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Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Falling Away by Penelope Douglas! I’m so excited to share the Q&A I had with KC, Jax, Madoc, and Fallon!

Character Interview: KC & Jax from Falling Away (with Madoc & Fallon)

KC, what is it about Jax that perfectly complements you?

Jax taught me how to let go of things. All my life I’d been following rules and doing things the way I was taught without even considering why or that I could live my life my own way. He taught me to think outside the box. It was okay to make my decisions and change it up.

And Jax, what is it about KC that perfectly complements you?

She taught me to hang on. That I was just as good as anyone else, and I didn’t need to be alone to be strong. I realized I wanted to build something good with someone else.

Jax, why did you decide to finally start pursuing KC? And how did it feel to be able to finally pursue her?

It was the Weight Room kiss. I’d planned to stay away from her. I knew she looked down on me, and had her own hang ups, so I was prepared to leave her alone, but after the kiss…I just couldn’t. Her body in my arms, her lips on mine…it felt better than anything I’d felt with another girl. And then when I gave her the driving lesson and everything started to come together and she started to give in it was like waking up after a long sleep. Being alive never felt so good.

KC & Jax, your stories were the most heartbreaking of the series and yet you both managed to overcome your pasts. Is there a message you’d like readers to take away from your book?

I guess we want people to know no one’s opinion of you is more important than your own. We all have a story and if anyone isn’t willing to open their minds to accept you, then that’s not your problem.

KC & Jax, will either of you be getting any more tattoos?

Oh, I think so. Juliet got “I Defy You, Stars” under her arm and I got one to match my brother’s new tattoo. You’ll hear about it in Aflame.

KC, how do you like being with such a hot nerd (emphasis on hot) who totally stalked you in the most romantic way possible?

He’s the yin to my yang. I have no idea about techie stuff, so Jax helps a lot with that. I got the total package. Smart and sexy.

Jax, how did if feel teaching KC how to drive a stick?

It felt great just being alone with her. Both of us doing something productive together other than going round and round with the foreplay. I loved seeing her relax and smile.

Madoc! How does it feel to have Jax getting #1 in Romantic Erotica on release day?

The kid had to learn from somewhere, didn’t he?

KC & Jax, what’s in store for your future? What did you two do or see in New Zealand?

We’re continuing college and planning trips. New Zealand was amazing. We spent very little time in the cities. But we did love getting lost hiking and climbing, and the rafting was wonderful. It’s definitely a place for the outdoor travelers.

Madoc & Fallon, what are your plans for the next couple years?

Law school and grad school and practicing for when it’s time to get pregnant.

Jax!! You sexy mofo, do you have anything to say to your lady fans (of which I am one)?

I’ll be watching you.

What are your favorite songs currently?

Slipknot The Devil and I and Papa Roach Getting Away with Murder

Are any of you worried about Jared and Tate?

Jax: I’ve talked to Jared. He’s hanging in there.
Madoc: Of course he is. He always takes care of himself first, doesn’t he?
Jax: Don’t start, Madoc.
Juliet: *clears throat* Tate is doing fine. She’s focused on school.
Fallon: Yeah, everyone’s fine.

And that concludes this interview! Thanks again for being here everyone!

Falling Away by Penelope Douglas

Title: Falling Away
Series: Fall Away #3 (full reading order below)
Author: Penelope Douglas
Genre: NA / Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 6th 2015
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Jaxon is the guy she’s supposed to avoid. K.C. is the girl he won’t let get away….

K. C. Carter has always followed the rules—until this year, when a mistake leaves her the talk of her college campus and her carefully arranged life comes crashing to a halt. Now she’s stuck in her small hometown for the summer to complete her court-ordered community service, and to make matters worse, trouble is living right next door.

Jaxon Trent is the worst kind of temptation and exactly what K.C. was supposed to stay away from in high school. But he never forgot her. She was the one girl who wouldn’t give him the time of day and the only one to ever say no. Fate has brought K.C. back into his life—except what he thought was a great twist of luck turns out to be too close for comfort. As they grow closer, he discovers that convincing K.C. to get out from her mother’s shadow is hard, but revealing the darkest parts of his soul is nearly impossible.…

Buy Links:
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“Only. Ever. You.”

I am so utterly in love with the Fall Away series. Penelope Douglas has a way of bringing her characters to such life that I grow to love and adore every single one of them. These characters and their stories punch you right in the heart – they gut you in the best way possible. You feel so much while reading the books in the series. And Falling Away is another fantastic addition to this series – it’s a book full of angst and heartache, hope and love. I devoured K.C. and Jax’s story and wished it never ended!

Ever since reading Rival, I had such high hopes for Jax’s book. I mean, seriously, Jax screamed sex and alpha-male, and he was only seventeen in that book. Now he’s nineteen, bigger, better, and badder than ever. I was squealing all over the place when I got my hands on him Falling Away – I knew even before I started reading that Jax would blow me away, and he did. Holy moly, did he ever.

“I wanted your mouth on mine,” he whispered, his breath tickling my forehead. “And your legs wrapped around my waist as you rode me.” Oh, my god. “Man, I wanted you, K.C. I wanted to undo you.” His lips were so close my face I could feel the moistness of his breath as he whispered, “I wanted to dirty you up.”

Now K.C…. She was the best surprise of all. In the previous books, K.C. was a character who was just there, not very interesting, and she certainly didn’t seem like a good match for Jax. K.C. was always known as the “good girl,” but after getting into serious trouble for the first time in her life, she’s forced back home in the middle of college. She sees Jax again – they’ve always had a little thing for each other back in high school, but now their chemistry is off the charts. I absolutely LOVED the way the author built up their chemistry. It’s a raw, intense kind of sexual chemistry that was years in the making. I can say without a doubt that Jax and K.C. are the HOTTEST couple of the series. Jax has a dirty, filthy mouth that had me blushing so hard!

I didn’t expect it, but for me, it was K.C. – her character growth and transformation – that made fall in love with this book. It seems like there is always this one pivotal moment in each of the Fall Away books where the main female character has that moment where she shines and continues to shine throughout the book. For K.C., it’s in a moment where you realize that there is so much more to this girl. I never expected to love K.C.’s character, but I did. I adored her and admired the way she broke out of the cookie-cutter box she was forced into.

“You’re going to be okay,” Jax offered.
I shook my head, my voice turning sad. “I don’t want to be okay,” I countered. “I want to be off the rails, Jax. I want to fight and scream and rage and lost myself. I want to be hungry.” I dropped my voice to a whisper as I looked out the windshield. “I want to be a mess. For once.”

I love the dynamics of K.C. and Jax’s relationship. Sex is what brings them together, but it’s what they do for each other’s souls that keeps them together. Jax and K.C. have scars from their painful pasts that they haven’t overcome, but as they fall in love, those scars are uncovered and begin to heal. They bring out the best and most out of each other. And I loved that even as sexual as they are, they have tender and romantic moments that stole my heart.

“You’ve owned me since I was seventeen.”

Falling Away was the kind of read that had me feeling breathless. Jax and K.C.’s story spoke to my heart and I couldn’t get enough of them. I do feel like some parts felt too rushed, and I wished they were fleshed out a bit more, but those are my only complaints. I adored Falling Away! 4.5 hearts!

4.5 hearts
lacey

Reading Order: Fall Away series

Bully by Penelope Douglas Until You by Penelope Douglas
Rival by Penelope Douglas Falling Away by Penelope Douglas Aflame by Penelope Douglas

#1 ~ Bully: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Until You: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Rival: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Falling Away: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Aflame: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads

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Penelope DouglasPenelope Douglas is a writer and teacher in Las Vegas. Born in Dubuque, Iowa, she is the oldest of five children. Penelope attended the University of Northern Iowa, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration, because her father told her to “just get the degree!” She then earned a Masters of Science in Education at Loyola University in New Orleans, because she hated Public Administration. One night, she got tipsy and told the bouncer at the bar where she worked that his son was hot, and three years later they were married. To the son, not the bouncer. They have spawn, but just one. A daughter named Aydan. Penelope loves sweets, the show Sons of Anarchy, and she shops at Target almost daily.

Website • Facebook • Goodreads • Twitter • Pinterest

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Penelope is offering up the following prizes. The giveaways are international and ends at 11:59 PM CST 01/27/2015.

  • (2) Swag Pack with a signed set of the Fall Away series + other swags (Intl)
  • (2) $100 Amazon or B&N Gift Cards (Intl)
  • (1) ARC of AFLAME to be gifted April 1, 2015 (Intl)

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ARC Review + SIGNED GIVEAWAY: The Mason List by S.D. Hendrickson

The Mason List by S.D. Hendrickson

The Mason List by S.D. Hendrickson
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: January 10th 2015
Purchase: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review

An epic love. An epic hate. An epic story that would last a lifetime.

Today, 8:15 p.m.
I hurt. I hurt so deeply, I felt the pain searing in my bones and jabbing like a hot poker into my heart. I knew nothing would make it better as the memories pulled from the crevices of my mind, detailing the bad and the ugly, filling my thoughts with regret as I slipped into the darkness. . .

When I was eight, my mother was dying of cancer, my father lost his job, and the bank kicked us out of our house. I was forced to move to the strange town of Arlis, Texas where my father and I slept in our car in the hospital parking lot. Desperate and hopeless, we lived on fumes of our former life.

Then one night, everything changed forever. A knock on the car window brought a family into my life that I only wanted to shut out. I hated charity and I hated the Masons. Well, except one. He made it impossible to hate him.

Jess Mason had the biggest blue eyes and ornery smile of any boy I had ever seen. He was a ray of sunshine in my dark world. A boy full of adventure, dragging me across the meadow of Sprayberry Ranch; a beautiful Texas paradise full of horses and tree houses that got us into more trouble than anyone ever imagined.

Jess was my everything as a kid until we grew up and the rules changed. Instead of living happily ever after with a boy full of love. . . I destroyed it.
Alex Tanner

An epic love. An epic hate. An epic story that would last a lifetime.

Oh my goodness!! The Mason List is one EPIC love story of a book!! You all HAVE to give it a try – it’s the kind of book that wrings out SO MANY EMOTIONS out of you!! I was exhausted in the best way by the end of the novel. It. Was. Brilliant!

The Mason List begins with an eight-year-old girl named Alex who has been dealt a rough hand in life. She’s had to grow up fast – her mother is dying of cancer and her father has lost his job and their home. Alex and her father are essentially homeless, and just when it seems all hope is lost, the Mason’s come in and save their lives. Alex owes everything to the Masons… and she hates that she does. The more the Masons give to the Tanners – food, a home, a job, a life – the more Alex resents them.

The one good thing that comes from the Masons is Jess Mason. Jess, who is sweet and kind and thoughtful and playful, who offers his undying friendship and loyalty. He and Alex soon become as close as childhood friends can be and they build the foundations of their friendship that would last a lifetime.

Spending time with Jess made the days pass with bursts of happiness. Those days kept me from falling completely into a black hole. The years of anger and sadness crept into my pale skin like a stain that refused to go away. I think that is why the idea of Jess felt so appealing. He was like sunlight to my dreary cloud.

S.D. Hendrickson’s writing is phenomenal. I loved how easily the author was able to suck me into the story. I quickly became immersed in Alex and Jess’s beautiful friendship. The author wrote in such a lovely way that I could FEEL how their friendship developed and how much they grew to love and care for one another. They are truly the best of friends… until Jess makes Alex realize that they could be so much more.

“We’ve got somethin’ that people look for their whole lives. We just found it when we were eight.”

Jess’s love for Alex is clear as day, but my heart hurt for him because Alex is adamantly against forming any sort of relationship except friendship. Alex is a stubborn and sometimes infuriating character – I wanted to shake her and open her eyes towards the fact that what she and Jess could have would be beautiful. But because of how much she owes her life to the Masons, Alex won’t get involved with Jess, no matter how much he meant to her.

I needed him. I needed him the way I needed air; a little bit every day just to survive in this dark world.

Ohh, the angst. The angst was so incredibly well written that my heart and stomach were aching throughout much of the novel. Jess doesn’t give up on Alex – he is a steadfast constant in her life, freely giving his love, friendship, and support throughout the many years, but there’s only so much rejection and hurt he can take from Alex. Alex is frustrating, no doubt, but even when I should have hated her, all I felt was compassion and pity.

My heart was put through the wringer – it’s a roller coaster of emotions with the highs and lows in this book. Alex and Jess both love each other but they both hurt each other. And yet… I never gave up on them. Because theirs is the kind of love that is true and epic and only comes once. The author managed to perfectly illustrate what soulmates are through Alex and Jess. The Mason List is a heavy, heart-wrenching book, but the end left me breathless and full of smiles. I was swept away by the epic romance and storytelling – I highly recommend The Mason List for those who love an unforgettable story.

He would always be my boy. My happiness. My sunshine. My forever.

My rating: 4 hearts for the characters and 5 hearts for the story – 4.5 hearts!

4.5 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.


SIGNED GIVEAWAY

One winner will receive a signed copy of The Mason List. Open Internationally.

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Also by S.D. Hendrickson

Waiting for Wyatt by S.D. Hendrickson

Waiting for Wyatt: My Review • Ebook • PaperbackGoodreads


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Joint Review: Never Never by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher

Never Never by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher

Never Never by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher
Series: Never Never #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: January 8th 2015
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

Best friends since they could walk. In love since the age of fourteen.

Complete strangers since this morning.

He’ll do anything to remember. She’ll do anything to forget.

HOLY MACKERAL!!!! WHAT did I just read!?!?

So I got this book because 1) it’s Colleen Hoover, 2) it’s Colleen Hoover, and 3) it’s Colleen Hoover. I fucking love that woman and everything she writes. I could honestly read anything she puts out and love it, and Never Never is no exception. It’s completely different from the other books she’s written and has a completely different feel. Never Never is darker, edgier, more mysterious, and more suspenseful than anything she’s written before and this book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

I’ve never read anything from Tarryn Fisher, but if her books are anything like Never Never, I’m going to read them asap. I mean, hello, she wrote this:

How odd to be made of flesh, balanced on bone, and filled with a soul you’ve never met.

Tarryn Fisher’s writing is genius! Her and Colleen Hoover’s writing flowed perfectly together, yet each of their writing styles was distinct and unique. The story they’ve woven is also genius – I’m not sure what goes on in these authors heads to have created the mindfuck that is Never Never, but I’m seriously glad they wrote this book. This is the kind of book that is everything I never knew I wanted or needed, and these authors wrote it flawlessly.

I’m not going to say much about the plot, because I highly recommend going into this blind. The blurb doesn’t tell you much, and that’s exactly the way it should be. All I will say is that even though it’s highly suspenseful and heart-pounding and you’re literally going “What the fuck is going on” the entire time, at its heart, Never Never is a love story – a love story that’s captivating and heartwrenching. I fell in love with the Charlie and Silas. Especially Silas. The two of them together are a hot mess and yet they’re perfect for each other.

I adored Silas (like, can he exist in real life?).

“You think you can make me like you again?”
I look over at her and give my head the slightest shake. “No. I’m gonna make you fall in love with me again.”

My heart was just gone at what he said there, because he totally stole it and owned it from then on. Sigh.

In actuality, we don’t really know anything about these characters since they themselves are “complete strangers” to each other, but somehow Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher were able to write them in a way that makes them lovable and relatable. I never wanted to stop reading about Charlie or Silas.

I can’t give a perfect 5 hearts because dang it – I just needed MORE! Shirley and I were discussing last night about the possibilities of what could happen next (after that amazingly horrid ending), and we came to the conclusion that we have no effing clue. At the end, I was left with more answers than questions, which usually annoys me, but I’m willing to forgive because I totally expect the other books in the series to blow me away just as much as, if not more than, Never Never did.

4.5 hearts
lacey

HOW DO I EVEN START.

Wow. WOW WOW WOW. Alright let me first say that I am in love with Silas. He is cute, artistic, caring, athletic and such a sweetie. Second. OH. MY. GOD. COLLEN HOOVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love you.

This book was…mind-blowing to say the least. I love how Tarryn Fisher and Colleen Hoover tied in this, supernatural sort of world with the “normal” world of high school. I love how as I was reading it, I was as clueless as the characters were and as they were slowly discovering themselves, I was also being introduced to them at the same time. I love that Silas and Charlie are MADE FOR EACH OTHER AND SHOULD ALWAYS BE TOGETHER AND NEVER BREAK UP. Love, love, love.

I could imagine thinking up of a plot like this but as it continued further down the line and I reached the end…HOW CAN ANYONE THINK OF THIS?! I can 500% think of a story where the characters lose their memories, but…the ending. HOW. How do you possibly move on from that point and think of a reason for what was happening?! I’m sorry I had to rant about that so if you want to empathize, read the book 🙂

5 hearts for you, Colleen Hoover (& Tarryn Fisher)! As always.

5 hearts
shirley

NOTE: Soooo for those who are wondering when Never Never #2 will be releasing, rejoice! The authors have announced that part 2 of the series will be releasing May 17, 2015!!!


Reading Order: Never Never series

Never Never by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher Never Never Part Two by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher Never Never Part 3 by Collen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher

#1 ~ Never Never: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Never Never: Part 2: Lacey’s Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Never Never: Part 3: Goodreads (Jan. 26, 2016)


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Review: Raze by Tillie Cole

Raze by Tillie Cole

Raze by Tillie Cole
Series: Scarred Souls #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: December 29th 2014 (republished June 16, 2015)
Links: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads

TO TAKE BACK LIFE, ONE MUST FIRST FACE DEATH…

Conditioned in captivity to maim, to kill and to slaughter, prisoner 818 becomes an unrivaled and unstoppable fighter in the ring. Violence is all he knows. After years of incarceration in an underground hell, only one thought occupies his mind: revenge… bloody, slow and violent revenge. Revenge on the man who wronged him.

Kisa Volkova is the only daughter of Kirill ‘The Silencer’ Volkov, head of the infamous ‘Red’ bosses of New York’s Russian Bratva. Her life is protected. In reality, it’s a virtual prison. Her father’s savage treatment of his rivals and his lucrative and coveted underground gambling ring-The Dungeon-ensures too many enemies lurk at their door. She dreams to be set free. Kisa has known only cruelty and loss in her short life. While working for her church-the only reprieve in her constant surveillance-Kisa stumbles across a tattooed, scarred, but stunningly beautiful homeless man on the streets. Something about him stirs feelings deep within her; familiar yet impossibly forbidden desires. He doesn’t talk. Doesn’t communicate with anyone.

He’s a man beyond saving. But Kisa becomes obsessed with him. Yearns for him. Craves his touch. Needs to possess this mysterious man… … this man they call Raze.

Ahhh!!! I loved Raze! It was just, wow, what a thrill of a read. I honestly couldn’t put it down – Tillie Cole had me hooked from start to finish with her incredible storytelling. Raze is dark, gruesome, painful… yet it’s also surprisingly romantic – I was taken away by how sweet the love is in this book. I seriously LOVE Tillie Cole’s dark books, and she’s once again done an incredible job with Raze. It’s an incredible, heart-pounding, sexy read I highly recommend!

“Out there, all the men betting on your strength, on your will to survive. You’ll become addicted. You’ll live for the kill… live to see the life force drain from your opponents’ eyes. In that cage we’re both Gods and monsters.”

Raze – also known only by his fighting number 818 – has been living in a dark, cruel world since he was a boy. It’s like a worst, painful nightmare come to life… but Raze is surviving by being the strongest, the fastest, the best at killing. And his main goal is to get out and get revenge against the man who sent him into this nightmare.

Kisa is the only daughter of one of the top mafia bosses in New York, so her life is basically all planned out for her. She’s to marry Alik, the heir to one of the other mafia bosses, even though he’s a cruel, manipulative man and she doesn’t love him. The only boy she ever loved, her best friend, died when he was young. Now, the weight on her shoulders grows heavier and heavier as the days grow closer to her and Alik’s marriage. But then Raze suddenly appears in her life, a mysterious fighter at her gym who intrigues her like no other.

He was smelling me, a deep rumbling growling in his chest as he inhaled my floral perfume. The attention he was giving me was almost primitive… Neolithic. It was like Raze had been stripped bare of any manners, ripped from the Stone Age and stripped of any boundaries.
And I’d never been so captivated, so mesmerized by someone in all my life.

Tillie Cole has created a fantastic set of characters, and she’s written them so well. I adored Kisa and Raze as much as I loathed Alik. Raze is just so deliciously alpha – so primal and MALE. I loved him, and I loved Kisa. My heart went through the wringer with this book – my emotions were going haywire for them. Hurt for both Raze and Kisa’s awful situations, hope that they’d somehow get through it all in the end. Tillie Cole is truly a masterful storytelling – I was addicted to this book from the very first page.

As cruel as the worlds that Raze and Kisa live in are, there’s also so much joy and love between these two characters. The romance took my breath away – the mystery in this book is a little predictable, but it nearly didn’t matter because I was so swept up in it.

“Can I have you?”
… “You can have me, solnyshko. You can have all of me. You always have, and you always will.”

Raze is a stunning, emotional, dark read that’s certainly not for everyone, I highly encourage everyone to give it a try. The writing is powerful and the story is riveting. It seems Tillie Cole only gets better and better with each books she releases!

4.5 hearts
lacey


Reading Order: Scarred Souls series

Raze by Tillie Cole Reap by Tillie Cole
  

#1 ~ Raze: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Reap: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Ravage: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Riot: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#1-2 ~ Scarred Souls: EbookPaperback • Goodreads


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Release Day Review: Ripped by Katy Evans

Ripped by Katy Evans

Ripped by Katy Evans
Series: Real #5 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: December 9th 2014
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher (Gallery Books) in exchange for an honest review

A ripped rock star with attitude. An ex-girlfriend with a reckless plan.

Pandora assumed getting her heartbroken by her bad boy ex could only happen once–until Mackenna Jones comes back to town for the biggest concert of his career. They say girls are getting pregnant just thinking about the Crack Bikini tour and it’s destined to be a huge hit.

Oh, it’ll be a hit alright–when Pandora comes out swinging. She and her friend Melanie are determined to humiliate him onstage. But when they’re caught by security and her ex is summoned, Mackenna decides not to press charges if she’ll join him on tour and follow certain conditions–rules designed to give him the upper hand and keep her in close contact with him once again. Soon, the passion they once shared is reignited, and no matter how much Pandora wants to hate him, her hard exterior starts to crack.

And worse: Mackenna knows it, too. But he hasn’t uncovered all her secrets…

Katy Evans has done it again! Ripped is another spell-binding, addicting novel in the Real series. Ever since reading Rogue (check out my review), I simply HAD to read Pandora’s story. Ripped was one of my top highly anticipated reads. I NEEDED to know who was the man to turn Pandora into such a hateful, pessimistic woman. And when I got to read her story, I was blown away! Every second of this book is riveting, intense, and oh so sexy. I loved it!

So the man who broke Pandora’s heart? His name is Mackenna Jones, and he is a rock star. No matter how much Pandora wishes to never see Mackenna again, she can’t avoid seeing his face because of his rock star fame. We slowly discover the truth to Pandora and Kenna’s story, about how they once fell in love when they were teenagers, and how they were ripped apart when Kenna left Pandora without a word.

As far as I was concerned, he was it for me, and I for him.
He was my best friend too.
My world broke when I heard he left Seattle.
He didn’t even say goodbye.
The last thing he’d said to me was that he loved me.
Now. I. Hate. Love.

Pandora is filled with bitterness and hatred. Kenna was Pandora’s first everything, and he ruined their love when he left. But Pandora can’t pass up the chance to see him when he comes back to town during his tour. Why does she want to see Kenna when she hates him? So she can throw food at him onstage. And it’s great and all – until she and her friend Melanie get taken by security and she comes face to face with Kenna for the first time in almost six years.

I absolutely loooove second chance romances, and as far as Ripped goes, it’s nearly perfect. There was the perfect amount of angst between Pandora and Kenna that I was hoping and looking for. They still want each other after all these years, but while Kenna wants to start something again, Pandora is adamant about staying away from him. Too bad that because of what happened with Melanie, Pandora is forced to go on tour along with Kenna. And being in such close proximity with him makes him that much harder to resist.

I loved that we also get Kenna’s POV in Ripped. You can easily tell how much Kenna still loves Pandora, even though he doesn’t want to. She was the one girl he had ever loved and now that she’s here, he wants her back for good.

So what if I had to tell myself she didn’t exist? For six years, it worked. But now she’s here. Like some demon–some poltergeist–reminding me of what I wanted as a teen and could never have. Reminding me what I lost. What I’d do to get it back.
Pandora.
My nightmare, my dreams, my walking, talking fantasy.
Here.

There’s an incredibly intense chemistry between Kenna and Pandora, so this book is HOT! Kenna and Pandora fall into bed with each other, but while Pandora just wants to use Kenna, Kenna wants Pandora back in his life forever. So he’ll take what he can get for the moment, but he’ll win her and her love back if it’s the last thing he does.

“I had your heart once, Pink, and it wasn’t enough. I have your body now, but it’s not enough.” He holds my face in order to force my eyes to stay on his as he demands, “I want your mind, your dreams, your hopes, your fucking soul. I want it all.”

I honestly love Katy Evan’s unique writing – it’s what makes these books so utterly riveting and enjoyable. I fell for Pandora and Kenna, these two broken characters. Their story is raw and not without pain, but just like they were meant for each other when they were younger, they’re meant for each other now. I loved that in Ripped, we get the sweet moments and funny moments to go along with the heartache. Reading Ripped had me in a roller coaster of emotions, and I loved it!

If you’re a fan of the Real series, you don’t want to miss Pandora’s story. It’s another fantastic, heartbreaking, heartwarming story from Katy Evans!

4.5 hearts
lacey

Quotes are taken from the arc and are subject to change in the final version.


Reading Order: Real series

Real by Katy Evans Mine by Katy Evans Remy by Katy Evans
Rogue by Katy Evans Ripped by Katy Evans Legend by Katy Evans

#1 ~ Real: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Mine: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Remy: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Rogue: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#5 ~ Ripped: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#6 ~ Legend: My Review • EbookPaperback • AudibleGoodreads


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