Blog Tour + Early Review & Excerpt: A Necessary Sin by Georgia Cates

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Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for A Necessary Sin by Georgia Cates!

A Necessary Sin by Georgia Cates

A Necessary Sin by Georgia Cates
Series: The Sin Trilogy #1 (full reading order below)
Release Date: December 29th 2014
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Bleu MacAllister is consumed. A horrific childhood incident has caused every decision in her life to revolve around bringing a monster to justice. With years spent studying The Fellowship, an organized crime brotherhood of liars, thieves, and killers, Bleu will rely on her skills as a special agent to cut Thane Breckenridge off at the knees. But walking hand in hand with retribution means risking collateral damage, in the form of Breckenridge’s son Sinclair—until Sin becomes so much more than Bleu bargained for. She’s always known this undertaking would place her life in danger—she never imagined her heart would be as well.

Buy Links:
iBooks • Amazon

review

Gripping, thrilling, suspenseful, and intense – Georgia Cates’ A Necessary Sin took me on one wild ride of a story, leaving me breathless and aching for more. It’s a story of revenge – and finding love where you least expect it. It was a highly entertaining book that had me hooked from beginning to end!

Most children are too naïve to recognize the moment they are being ruined for the rest of their lives. I wasn’t that lucky.

The day that seven-year-old Stella Bleu Lawrence became Bleu MacAllister was the day she lost her innocence of the world and set out to take revenge against her mother’s killer, Thane Breckenridge. She would spend the next eighteen years of her life grooming herself to become good enough, strong enough, smart enough, cunning enough, to infiltrate Breckenridge’s Scottish, mafia-like organization and kill Thane Breckenridge himself. She planned to get into The Fellowship through Thane’s son, Sin. He was supposed to be her mark, her victim – but she never expected to actually fall for him.

Bleu is a kickass, take-charge, but cold sort of woman. The life she’s led is a lonely one and not meant for companions. Ever since her mother died, Bleu has closed off her emotions, not letting anything get in the way between her and her objective: killing Thane Breckenridge. When she goes to Scotland, beginning her plan to get herself into The Fellowship, she’s surprised that she isn’t entirely against seducing Sin Breckenridge. He’s smart, sexy, and sensual – he’s a worthy adversary for Bleu, even if he doesn’t know it. Slowly, Bleu’s act of seduction isn’t an act at all, and she finds herself caring and falling for the one man she never expected to love: the son of her mother’s killer.

The one person I hate the most in this world brought me to the one I love most. Who could have possibly imagined that?

Sin was a character I had trouble warming up to in the beginning. He’s the son of the leader of The Fellowship, so he’s a bit spoiled in terms of how people treat him. But this doesn’t mean he doesn’t work hard as the lawyer for the organization. He’s loyal and fierce in protecting those that belong to him. When Bleu shows up in Scotland, working in a bar that belongs to The Fellowship, Sin is rightly suspicious of her. But he’s also intrigued by her, so to satisfy his suspicions and curiosity, he grows closer to her. But the more her gets to know her, the more he likes, and it isn’t long before he genuinely develops feelings for Bleu that he never believed he was capable of.

“I love you, Bleu MacAllister. I’ll always do what it takes to keep you safe, no matter the extreme.”

I didn’t connect with either main characters much, but surprisingly it didn’t detract much from my enjoyment of the book. Their story was an addicting one, because I just couldn’t wait to see how it would play out. Would Sin find out who Bleu really was? Could Bleu kill Thane even while loving his son?

This was definitely a book that had my mind and heart racing. I couldn’t get enough of the story, and I’m dying for more – immediately!! I absolutely can’t wait to see how the rest of the trilogy will play out!

4 hearts
lacey

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

Now here’s an excerpt from A Necessary Sin! ❤

excerpt

Sinclair Breckenridge’s POV

“I’m in the business of boundaries and limits. I’m aware of what mine are and how far I’m willing to go to get my job accomplished. It can include lying and sometimes stealing.” I wait a moment for driving the last nail into the coffin. “And perhaps the occasional killing.”

“How do you feel when you do those things?”

“Powerful.” I purposely choose that word because it’s the one she used to describe how she felt when she brought Duff to his knees. I want her to see just how similar we are.

She watches out the window for a minute before speaking again. “Do you like the way it feels?”

I can’t lie. I get a high from it. “Very much.”

Another minute passes. “Okay.”

What? “Just … okay?”

“Would you like me to be horrified?” she asks. “I can do that if it would make you feel better or improve your opinion of me.”

She’s no fucking Pollyanna. So I guess there’s no reason for her to pretend to be. “No. Okay works for me.”

I’m not sure if I should be disturbed by her lack of appall. It feels like a double standard to be shocked by an absence of dismay.

My God, has the pot met the kettle? “I wish I could get inside your head.”

“No, you don’t,” she says. “My mind is a dark place to be.”

I think I may have met the perfect woman. In her eyes, I’m not a monster at all.

Reading Order: The Sin Trilogy

A Necessary Sin by Georgia Cates The Next Sin by Georgia Cates One Last Sin by Georgia Cates

#1 ~ A Necessary Sin: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ The Next Sin: EbookPaperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ One Last Sin: EbookPaperback • Goodreads

about the author

Georgia CatesGeorgia resides in rural Mississippi with her wonderful husband, Jeff, and their two beautiful daughters. She spent fourteen years as a labor and delivery nurse before she decided to pursue her dream of becoming an author and hasn’t looked back yet.

When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about writing. When she’s being domestic, she’s listening to her iPod and visualizing scenes for her current work in progress. Every story coming from her always has a song to inspire it.

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Newsletter • Goodreads • Amazon Page

Release Day Review: Bad Romeo by Leisa Rayven

Bad Romeo by Leisa Rayven

Bad Romeo by Leisa Rayven
Series: Starcrossed #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: December 23rd 2014
Links: EbookPaperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

While performing the greatest love story of all time, they discovered one of their own…

Cassie Taylor was just another acting student with big dreams at her prestigious performing arts college, then she met Ethan Holt. She was the good girl actress. He was the bad boy on campus. But one fated casting choice for Romeo and Juliet changed it all. Like the characters they were playing on stage, Cassie and Ethan’s epic romance seemed destined. Until it ended in tragedy when he shattered her heart.

Now they’ve made it to Broadway where they’re reunited as romantic leads once again, and their passionate scenes force them to confront the heartbreaking lows and pulse-pounding highs of their intense college affair. For Ethan, losing Cassie was his biggest regret, and he’s determined to redeem himself. But for Cassie, even though Ethan was her first and only great love, he hurt her too much to ever be trusted again. The trouble is, working with him reminds her that people who rub each other the wrong way often make the best sparks. And when it comes to love, sometimes it’s the things that aren’t good for us that are the most irresistible.

Don’t miss the intoxicating romance beloved by over two million fans online–a story that will captivate you and hold you breathless until the final page.

I’m sad to say I’m… disappointed with Bad Romeo. I had such HIGH expectations for it – I mean just look at that blurb! And that cover! I was dying to read Bad Romeo ever since I heard about it, and plus, so many people were loving it. But when I read it, everything just felt flat – I enjoyed it, but I didn’t LOVE it as much as I was expecting too. I just couldn’t connect with the characters, and they annoyed me more often than not. And I’m such a HUGE fan of the second chance romance trope that Bad Romeo should have been easy to love, but it wasn’t. It was entertaining enough some of the time that I wanted to finish it, but once I did, I just felt sad that I didn’t end up loving it as much as I wanted to.

I don’t often read books that are set in the theater, so it’s always nice to read about something different. Leisa Rayven did an incredible job drawing me into the world of acting and theater. Honestly, the writing was the best part about this book. The characters, on the other hand…. Not so great.

At first, I was really looking forward to getting to know Cassie and Ethan, to knowing how their love grew and fell apart. The book is written in a way that past and present are intertwined. In present day, Cassie holds a fierce hate for the boy who broke her heart three years ago. When Ethan comes back into her life wanting to win her back, she wants nothing to do with him, of course. I admired how Cassie held her own against him, but then the more I started reading, the less I ended up liking her. She was just way too bitter and wishy-washy about her feelings for Ethan. I mean, I get that they still have chemistry together even though he broke her heart and she hates him for it, but the whole back-and-forth thing between hating him and wanting him got tiring real fast. I liked present-day Ethan a whole lot better than present-day Cassie, but his past self tainted him in my eyes because I absolutely HATED past-Ethan. I honestly couldn’t see anything good or redeeming about him. He was a total dick to Cassie and not at all hero-worthy. And his reasons for being a dick? They were so eye-roll worthy and clichéd. Past-Cassie was even worse than past-Ethan. Ethan was an asshole, yes, but she let him walk all over her, all so she could have his dick. I’m oversimplifying, of course, but thinking about past-Cassie just angers me. I didn’t feel a spark between Cassie and Ethan when they first met and I just couldn’t see how they fell in love.

Another thing that annoyed the hell out of me was that plot-wise, NOTHING happened until the very end. I felt like there was no progression in the plot or character development (at least until the very, very end). When I reached the end, I just felt like there was no point to this book. Overall, I was unimpressed with Bad Romeo. It didn’t meet my expectations, but the writing was good enough that I enjoyed some parts of the book. I didn’t HATE this book, but I definitely didn’t love it either. Will I read the sequel? …I think I will. Despite not liking Cassie or Ethan, I still do want to know how their story will end. And hopefully, book two will be more engaging than this first book was.

2 hearts
lacey


Reading Order: Starcrossed series

Bad Romeo by Leisa Rayven Broken Juliet by Leisa Rayven 

#1 ~ Bad Romeo: EbookPaperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Broken Juliet: My Review • EbookPaperback • AudibleGoodreads
#3 ~ Wicked Heart: My Review • EbookPaperback • Audible • Goodreads


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Blog Tour + ARC Review, Excerpt & Giveaway: Heart Recaptured by Tillie Cole

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Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Heart Recaptured by Tillie Cole! Check out my review, an excerpt and a fantastic giveaway below!

Heart Recaptured by Tillie Cole

Heart Recaptured by Tillie Cole
Series: Hades Hangmen #2 (full reading order below)
Release Date: December 14th 2014
Age group: Mature new adult
Genre: MC dark contemporary romance
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Even salvation can be delivered through the love of the damned…
Beauty can be a curse.
Faith can be a cage.
Only love can set you free.

A few long weeks after being reluctantly ripped from the comforting embrace of her sacred prophet’s religious commune—the only life she has ever known—a terrified Delilah is thrust into a world enveloped by evil and swimming in sin.

Steadfastly devout in her faith, and retaining the deep belief that her soul is innately tarnished as a branded ‘Cursed woman of Eve,’ Delilah is determined to find her way home to her people in The Order and away from the corrupt and damned outlaw motorcycle club—The Hades Hangmen—who hold her at their secluded compound for her protection—a ‘protection’ she strongly resents.

Delilah yearns to return home, convinced that only amongst her own people, and under the holy guidance of the Lord’s revealed prophet, can her Satan-spawned soul be truly saved. Conditioned her entire life to believe she is a witch… a life-long temptress… the devil’s whore… Delilah increasingly resents her beautiful face, her shapely body and her sensuous effect on men. But when a man of the motorcycle club—a deeply sinful yet stunningly beautiful man—is charged with her care, Delilah begins to see that this dangerous and moralless sinner from the ‘outside’ may offer her something she did not know could truly exist: unconditional love.

Kyler ‘Ky’ Willis loves his life: a daily abundance of brotherhood, liquor, the freedom of the open-road and—best of all—his pick of hot women. Raised a biker brat and now VP of the most notorious MC in the States, Ky has no shortage of club sluts warming his bed; a situation he takes full advantage of… until a certain blonde enters his life… a gorgeous pilgrim-blonde he can’t get out of his head… a pilgrim-blonde he and his club recently-rescued from some backward religious cult… and a pilgrim-blonde he’s been ordered to keep the hell away from and his whorish hands off.

When yet another in a lengthy line of drunken blunders forces Ky to reluctantly take charge of the pilgrim-blonde’s care, he realizes that there could be more to this woman than just supermodel looks and a stacked set of tits. He begins to see that she could be the woman who could do the impossible—tame his wild ways and capture his reluctant heart.

But the unyielding bonds of Lilah’s past are strong, her ‘people’ determined and, with a new Prophet in charge and hell bent on revenge, they are mightily reluctant to let her go…

Buy Links:
Amazon US • Amazon UK • Amazon AUS • Amazon CA • iBooks • B&N

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OMG. OMG OMG OMG!!!! This. Book. I freaking LOVED it!! I’d been in an MC funk for a while – I just couldn’t find one that would hook me in, and then I got to reading Heart Recaptured and BAM. I fell instantly in love with this one. I really enjoyed the first book, It Ain’t Me, Babe, but it was Heart Recaptured that sold this series for me. I loved everything about this book: the writing, Ky, Lilah, the Hades Hangmen, Flame(!!!)… there was nothing I didn’t adore!

We know from the previous book that Lilah, Mae, and Maddie have been taken in by the Hades Hangmen MC, and while Mae has adjusted well (with the help of her man Styx), Lilah and Maddie are still completely out of their element. They’ve been taken away from the Commune and from everything they’ve ever known. Lilah is the one who holds the strongest onto the Commune’s beliefs. My heart went out to this girl – she believes so poorly of herself because all she’s ever been told is that she’s cursed and that she isn’t worthy of anything. It’s frustrating that Lilah is so rigid in her beliefs, but I could understand where she was coming from. She never knew any differently, she never thought she deserved anything better, and she’s not accepting of the new life she’s been given. She detests the Hangmen, believing them full of sin, but everything changes once she meets Ky.

I lost all composure when he was near. He was crude, grossly promiscuous, and although my mind warned me of his evil and seductive nature, my heart betrayed my virtue and strived to have him close. His beautiful face and body tempted me to take him into my body. He was my very own forbidden fruit, one of which I had to keep far far away.

Ky, this beautiful, loving, amazing man… is the ultimate manwhore. I should have hated him, because manwhores are just blah for me, but Ky has so many redeeming qualities that I instantly forgave him for his manwhoring ways. As the VP, Ky gets a lot of attention from the club and from women, but no one has ever held his attention like Lilah has. The instant he sees her, he wants her but he’s been told to keep his hands off her. It doesn’t help that he’s in close proximity with her all the time, especially since he’s been tasked to assimilating her to life outside the Commune.

As Lilah adjusts to the MC life, she learns more about Ky, and what she learns, she likes. And, of course, it’s easy for her to fall for Ky and his loving, protective ways. He teaches her that she’s worth so much more than she believes and he teaches her to love herself. As for Ky, the more he spends time with Lilah, the more he wants her – and not just for sex. He wants her body, her heart… everything.

Fuck me, but she had me enthralled. I was eating, sleeping, and breathing for this very beautiful but very broken bitch.

I honestly LOVED the way Tillie Cole makes Ky and Lilah fall in love. It’s slow and sweet, but still full of hot chemistry. I love that they are so taken aback by the love they come to feel for each other, because they’ve never felt like that for anyone. I could just FEEL the love that grows between them and it swept me away.

“I’m gonna make love to you, Lilah. I’m gonna take you as mine, possess you. ‘Cause there ain’t no one out there… no one else who could do this to me but you.”

Ky will literally do ANYTHING for Lilah and oh… I adored how fierce his love is. He may never have experienced love before, but once he falls, he falls so hard. I. Love. Ky!!! And his sweet, sweet words!

“I love you, baby. We’re gonna get you through this, ’cause, fuck, you deserve more to life than you’ve been getting. You deserve to be happy with me.”

Aahhhhh, you just can’t not love Ky!

Unfortunately, the leaders of the Commune are still after the girls, Mae specifically. We get to see more of Rider, who will be getting his own book. It gets crazy intense, because when someone’s after the Hades Hangmen’s women, the club will stop at nothing to keep their women safe and protected.

Another thing I loved about Heart Recaptured… Flame and Maddie!!!! I am just SO excited for their book after reading Heart Recaptured. Flame is the most alpha, obsessive, protective man over Maddie, and it was sooo good to read! I was grinning every time Flame was worried or protecting Maddie in his own way. I need their book so bad!!

Heart Recaptured is the perfect dark, MC read. I was utterly addicted from start to finish – I couldn’t put this book down! If you’re looking to read an MC series, I must recommend the Hades Hangmen series. These books will sweep you away and have you addicted and begging for more.

5 hearts
lacey

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

Now here’s an excerpt from Heart Recaptured! ❤

excerpt button

Ky stalked toward me, his white shirt tight over his taut torso, his blue denim pants loose on his legs. As he approached, he ran his hand through his messy long hair, chewing slowly on a small, thin wooden stick gripped between his teeth.

I could not speak, could not think, could not breathe. My free hand reached behind me, resting on a shelf to keep me upright. The smoky smell of Ky washed over me. My heart was frantic and my blood rushed through my veins.

Ky’s nostrils flared as he approached, his blue gaze drinking in the sight of my modestly covered frame. He did not stop three steps in front of me as the brothers were required to do in the commune. He did not keep an appropriate distance, as a man should with a woman in public. Oh no, instead, he closed in until his impressive height towered over my head, his chest pressing flush against my breasts.

I could feel his intense gaze. I squeezed my eyes shut, too afraid to face this devilish man. I lost all composure when he was near. He was crude, grossly promiscuous, and although my mind warned me of his evil and seductive nature, my heart betrayed my virtue and strived to have him close. His beautiful face and body tempted me to take him into my body. He was my very own forbidden fruit, one of which I had to keep far far away.

Reading Order: Hades Hangmen series

It Ain't Me, Babe by Tillie Cole Heart Recaptured by Tillie Cole Souls Unfractured by Tillie Cole 

#1 ~ It Ain’t Me, Babe: EbookPaperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Heart Recaptured: EbookPaperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Souls Unfractured: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Deep Redemption: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#5 ~ Damnable Grace: Goodreads (release date TBA)
#6 ~ Crux Untamed: Goodreads (release date TBA)
#7 ~ Darkness Embraced: Goodreads (release date TBA)

about the author button

Tillie ColeAmazon & USA Today Best Selling Author, Tillie Cole is a Northern girl through and through. She originates from a place called Teesside on that little but awesomely sunny (okay I exaggerate) Isle called Great Britain. She was brought up surrounded by her English rose mother — a farmer’s daughter, her crazy Scottish father, a savagely sarcastic sister and a multitude of rescue animals and horses.

Website • Facebook • Twitter • Goodreads

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Kindle Fire HD7 courtesy of Tillie Cole

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Joint Review: Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry

Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry

Breaking the Rules Katie McGarry
Series: Pushing the Limits #1.5 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: December 8th 2014
Purchase: Ebook

A summer road trip changes everything in this unforgettable new tale from acclaimed author Katie McGarry.

For new high school graduate Echo Emerson, a summer road trip out west with her boyfriend means getting away and forgetting what makes her so… different. It means seeing cool sights while selling her art at galleries along the way. And most of all, it means almost three months alone with Noah Hutchins, the hot, smart, soul-battered guy who’s never judged her. Echo and Noah share everything — except the one thing Echo’s just not ready for.

But when the source of Echo’s constant nightmares comes back into her life, she has to make some tough decisions about what she really wants — even as foster kid Noah’s search for his last remaining relatives forces them both to confront some serious truths about life, love, and themselves.

Now, with one week left before college orientation, jobs and real life, Echo must decide if Noah’s more than the bad-boy fling everyone warned her he’d be. And the last leg of an amazing road trip will turn… seriously epic.

Oh god, OH GOD!! Katie McGarry, I truly believe there isn’t a book you could write that I wouldn’t love. I would read every single book you publish. But the fact THIS book is about Noah and Echo? I couldn’t be happier! I fell SO. HARD. for Noah and Echo when I first read Pushing the Limits. PTL is still one of my all-time FAVORITE books ever. It was the first book to make me ugly cry, and that’s saying something, because I’m the type of reader who NEVER cries. So getting another book about Noah and Echo was like a dream come true!

Breaking the Rules begins near the end of the road trip Echo and Noah took at the end of Pushing the Limits. They’ve graduated high school, Echo is selling her paintings, Noah is making money at his job, so things are different and… better. Right? Well, as much as I wished Echo and Noah a happy ever after at the end of Pushing the Limits, these two characters still have a way to go.

Noah and I are heading back home, and the nightmares I thought I was running from lurk behind every corner and coffee shop in America. In less than a month, Noah and I will start college, and I’ll have a roommate in the dorms and new classes, and a ball of dread knots in my stomach. This summer was supposed to change me, and nothing has changed.

There are new challenges that Echo and Noah need to face: Echo has been having a hard time selling her art, she still has nightmares, and Noah is afraid that he can’t be the man he wants to be to support Echo. And when the past rears its head for the both of them, their relationship gets rocky. Though there are doubts about the future, there’s no doubt that Echo and Noah love each other with everything they have. Theirs is a romance that is meant to defy anything and anyone standing in its way.

I love her. More than I thought I was capable of, and I would sacrifice my life for her happiness.

I fell in love all over again with Noah and Echo’s heartwarming romance while reading Breaking the Rules. Who knew it was even possible to love Noah even more than I already did!? Seriously, I love this boy – no, this man – to death. Noah truly becomes the man he’s meant in Breaking the Rules, and I loved that Katie McGarry got to share this with her readers.

I couldn’t get enough of Noah and Echo. I honestly could read about them forever! My heart just overflows with love for these two characters who are so near and dear to my heart.

“I’m going to spend my whole life making you happy.”
“You better.”

If you’re a fan of Pushing the Limits, then you absolutely MUST read Breaking the Rules. It was an incredible experience reading about Noah and Echo again.

5 hearts
lacey

Oh my goodness Katie McGarry you have done it again. This series tore me to pieces each time and I’m also officially in love with all of the male characters in the stories. Noah definitely ranks in the top of my list and after reading the one that started it all, I had no idea that McGarry would come back and make me fall in love with him all over again.

Breaking the Rules still captures the unease that Echo and Noah have between each other but also how strong their love is, despite it being fresh and new. Their unease isn’t necessarily between themselves (ALTHOUGH IT ALSO IS), but it’s more that they’re still holding onto their past and letting it affect them.

I love that Isaiah and Beth made an appearance into the book because I LOVE THEM SO MUCH. They’re so real and it provides that little secret nudge to the readers who read the rest of the series. BY THE WAY, if you guys haven’t read their stories yet…what the heck are you waiting for???!!!

And with that, I leave you the recommendation that you READ. THIS. SERIES.

5 hearts
shirley

Reading Order: Pushing the Limits series

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry Crossing the Line by Katie McGarry Breaking the Rules by Katie McGarry
Dare You To by Katie McGarry Crash Into You by Katie McGarry Take Me On by Katie McGarry

#1 ~ Pushing the Limits: Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#1.1 ~ Crossing the Line: Ebook • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Breaking the Rules: Ebook • Goodreads
#2 ~ Dare You To: Lacey’s Review • Shirley’s Review • Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Crash into You: Lacey’s Review • Ebook • Hardcover • Paperback • Goodreads
#4 ~ Take Me On: Ebook • Hardcover • Goodreads

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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