Release Day Review: The Score by Elle Kennedy

Posted in 5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

The Score by Elle Kennedy
Series: Off-Campus #3 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: January 11th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review

He knows how to score, on and off the ice

Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn’t have the first clue about what she’s going to do after college. To make matters worse, she’s nursing a broken heart thanks to the end of her longtime relationship. Wild rebound sex is definitely not the solution to her problems, but gorgeous hockey star Dean Di-Laurentis is impossible to resist. Just once, though, because even if her future is uncertain, it sure as heck won’t include the king of one-night stands.

It’ll take more than flashy moves to win her over

Dean always gets what he wants. Girls, grades, girls, recognition, girls…he’s a ladies man, all right, and he’s yet to meet a woman who’s immune to his charms. Until Allie. For one night, the feisty blonde rocked his entire world—and now she wants to be friends? Nope. It’s not over until he says it’s over. Dean is in full-on pursuit, but when life-rocking changes strike, he starts to wonder if maybe it’s time to stop focusing on scoring…and shoot for love.

DEAN!!!! *heart eyes*

If you know me, then you know I absolutely LOVE the Off-Campus series. The Deal and The Mistake made my top reads of 2015 so to say I had high expectations for The Score is an understatement. I couldn’t WAIT to get my hands on ~~Dean~~ Dean’s book, and of course, Elle Kennedy met all of my expectations. To be honest, she surprised me a bit with The Score. It went in a completely different direction than I anticipated, but I loved it all the same.

I know some people are worried about Allie being the heroine for Dean, that they were hoping he would be with Sabrina instead, but I can tell you that Dean and Allie are absolutely PERFECT together. They are sweet, hilarious, sassy, hopeful, and just plain perfect for each other. Fans of the series won’t be disappointed with this next installment in the series – it’s got the usual laugh-out-loud humor, fantastic sexy-times, amazing bromances, even some Twilight references, and a romance that warm your heart and leave you smiling and wanting more.

Allie Hayes has broken up with her boyfriend Sean for the last time, and she’s in need of someone to keep her from taking Sean back. Enter Dean Di-Laurentis, resident manwhore and hockey player. Dean lives by his own rules, doing what he wants, when he wants, and for the moment, what he wants is Allie. But one night of drinks leads to sizzling-hot passion and Dean can’t quite seem to get Allie off his mind or stop wanting her…

I dip my head to whisper in her ear. “Please, baby, I’ve been such a good boy… I’ve waited a whole week for this. Don’t I deserve a reward for my patience?” I rub the side of her neck with my lips. “I’ve been—” I kiss her jaw “such—” I kiss my way up to her mouth “—a good boy.”

Holy hell, this book is HOT. Who knew Dean would have a dirty mouth and some alpha in him!? I normally don’t care for manwhore heroes since I’m getting so sick of reading them these days, but there’s just something about Dean that makes him so charming and easily lovable. So I had no problems with Dean being a manwhore, since the second he’s with Allie, he can’t even think of having another girl. When Dean falls, he falls hard, and my heart swooned like crazy over the love he gradually grows to have for Allie.

Allie is a fantastic heroine! There’s so much sarcasm and sass in this girl, I loved it. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect from her, but Elle Kennedy has yet to disappoint me with a weak heroine. Allie might’ve given in her body over to Dean, but her heart is an entirely different matter. She’s not about to fall for his charms or naively believe that she’s the one girl who will change his manwhore ways, with the track record he has. Allie is wonderful, relatable, and even when she’s feisty, she’s super sweet as well. I really enjoyed her character and watching her slowly lower her defenses against Dean.

“I though you said you didn’t want to salsa dance. And Dean De Laurentis only does what he wants, remember?”
He shrugs. “I am doing what I want.”
My eyebrows knit together as I wait for him to clarify.
“I’m making you happy.”

I loved this book, even when the author shattered my heart when she took the story somewhere unexpected. This part of the book will definitely tear your heart up a bit, but don’t worry, Elle Kennedy won’t leave you hanging because she’s awesome that way. She mends your heart back together… and leaves you dying for Tucker’s book. Allie and Dean’s romance was nothing short of wonderful, even when a wrench is thrown into their relationship. If you loved the previous books in the series, you absolutely DON’T want to miss The Score!

…I will do anything that woman asks. I’d sell my fucking soul to the devil himself if Allie told me to do it.

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

Reading Order: Off-Campus series

#1 ~ The Deal: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ The Mistake: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ The Score: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

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6Jan2016

Release Day Review: Big Rock by Lauren Blakely

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Big Rock by Lauren Blakely
Series: Big Rock Standalone (full reading order below)
Publication Date: January 6th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review

It’s not just the motion of the ocean, ladies. It’s definitely the SIZE of the boat too.

And I’ve got both firing on all cylinders. In fact, I have ALL the right assets. Looks, brains, my own money, and a big c&$k.

You might think I’m an as%*$le. I sound like one, don’t I? I’m hot as sin, rich as heaven, smart as hell and hung like a horse.

Guess what? You haven’t heard my story before. Sure, I might be a playboy, like the NY gossip rags call me. But I’m the playboy who’s actually a great guy. Which makes me one of a kind.

The only trouble is, my dad needs me to cool it for a bit. With conservative investors in town wanting to buy his flagship Fifth Avenue jewelry store, he needs me not only to zip it up, but to look the part of the committed guy. Fine. I can do this for Dad. After all, I’ve got him to thank for the family jewels. So I ask my best friend and business partner to be my fiancée for the next week. Charlotte’s up for it. She has her own reasons for saying yes to wearing this big rock.

And pretty soon all this playing pretend in public leads to no pretending whatsoever in the bedroom, because she just can’t fake the kind of toe-curling, window-shattering orgasmic cries she makes as I take her to new heights between the sheets.

But I can’t seem to fake that I might be feeling something real for her.

What the hell have I gotten myself into with this…big rock?

This was the sweetest book ever! I was hoping to get something better than a typical manwhore hero story, and Lauren Blakely certainly delivered. This is actually the first book I’ve read by her, but it won’t be my last. I adored this romantic comedy of a book – if you’re looking for something light, quick, sexy, and sweet, I highly recommend Big Rock.

I love, love, looove friends to lovers romances, so I just couldn’t resist reading Big Rock. I was a little hesitant about Spencer being a manwhore, but his character got rid of my doubts quickly and I absolutely loved him from the start. Even as he has his fun with women, he respects them and treats them well. But the number of women he’s slept with is getting him into trouble for the first time – so what does he do? Pretends he’s engaged to his best friend and business partner, Charlotte.

Spencer and Charlotte have never crossed the friendship line, but with this fake engagement, the chemistry between them skyrockets until all Spencer can see is Charlotte. This gorgeous, funny, incredible woman has been right under his nose the whole time, and now Spencer can’t help but want more between them.

My heart trips over itself in a race to get closer to her.
Something is happening. Something strange and completely foreign. My heart is speaking a language I don’t understand as it tries to fling itself at Charlotte.
Great. Now, that’s two organs I have to do battle with every day.

This is the perfect light-hearted read if you’re in the mood for it. Big Rock is written entirely in Spencer’s POV, which I loved. He’s so funny and charming, you can’t help but love him. Charlotte is perfect with him – you can tell that even when they’re faking an engagement, the two of them are meant to be together for real. Their romance was a delight to read and I highly recommend it for romcom lovers!

I’ve broken the biggest ground rule of all.
I’ve fallen in love with my best friend.

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

Reading Order: Big Rock series

Each book can be read as a standalone.

#1 ~ Big Rock: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Mister O: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Well Hung: Goodreads (Sept. 12, 2016)
#4 ~ Full Package: Goodreads (May 23, 2017)

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5Jan2016

Release Day Review + Giveaway: An Ounce of Hope by Sophie Jackson

Posted in 4 hearts, Giveaways, Reviews by Lacey

An Ounce of Hope by Sophie Jackson
Series: A Pound of Flesh #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: January 5th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

From the fanfic phenom whose debut A Pound of Flesh had over 4.5 million reads, this sequel, An Ounce of Hope, tells the passionate love story of Carter’s best friend, Max.

Max O’Hare can’t seem to let go of his past: his drug habit, the end of his relationship with Lizzie Jordan, the woman he knows he’ll never get over, and the loss of their unborn son.

After successfully completing rehab and learning to explore his deepest fears and dreams through painting, Max meets Grace Brooks. With her innate optimism, and her love of art and photography, Grace appears to be the perfect girl. Yet no one knows where she came from, or why she keeps her past so closely guarded. Over time, Max and Grace gradually allow each other in—but will he ever be able to fully let go of his past? Or will his heart remain closed forever?

I absolutely loved Sophie Jackson’s A Pound of Flesh last year (my review here), so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on more of the series! An Ounce of Hope is Max’s story, Carter’s best friend and a cocaine addict. I wasn’t particularly a fan of his in APoF, but I found myself rooting for him and hurting for him so much in his book. An Ounce of Hope is an intense, emotional romance between two broken people as they struggle to heal and build a new life for themselves. It was a little slow at times, but overall, it’s another stunning read from Sophie Jackson.

“Do you know what I see when I look at you?”
Max shook his head fervently. “I’d rather not know—”
“I see a man who wants so much to be better, who regrets the decisions he made, who wants to make amends and move on with his life. I see a man terrified to take a chance, to trust, but desperate to do so. I see a man who’s fractured, but trying, I see hope.”

The death of his unborn baby and loss of his fiancé had Max spiraling down into a dangerous coke addiction, but with the help of his best friend, Max is finally entering rehab and on the way to recovery. And with his therapist and art, Max has found a way to curb his addiction and rebuild his life once more. His heart is still broken over Lizzie, but when he meets Grace after leaving rehab, she seems to breathe life into him, even if he won’t allow himself to go through such heartbreak again.

Grace had an abusive ex-husband who left her physically and emotionally scarred. She’s terrified of men, unsure of so many things in her life, but the one exception seems to be Max. With Max, Grace can open up her bruised heart and see herself creating a new, better life for herself. The two of them become close friends, but when their relationship crosses over into something sexual, feelings start to develop – but can Max reciprocate them and be the kind of man Grace needs?

An Ounce of Hope is an emotionally exhausting story. It’s a tough journey for both Max and Grace, but you have high hopes for the both of them, because these are the kind of characters who deserve something good in their lives. They’ve been through such difficult times, but they come out of it even stronger. I really enjoyed their romance – it wasn’t easy to read, and sometimes it dragged it bit, but Sophie Jackson has woven a fantastic story about loss, healing, and recovery that I really recommend.

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

Reading Order: A Pound of Flesh series

#1 ~ A Pound of Flesh: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ Love and Always: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ An Ounce of Hope: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2.5 ~ Fate and Forever: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ A Measure of Love: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads (June 21, 2016)

Paperback of An Ounce of Hope (US ONLY)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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5Jan2016

Release Day Review: Never Tear Us Apart by Monica Murphy

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Never Tear Us Apart by Monica Murphy
Series: Never Tear Us Apart #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: January 5th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Perfect for readers of Colleen Hoover, Jay Crownover, and K. A. Tucker, the first novel in this darkly sexy contemporary series from bestselling author Monica Murphy kicks off an emotionally powerful two-part tale of forbidden love.

Crazy how eight years can disappear in an instant. One look at Katie Watts, and I’m a fifteen-year-old again–the one who risked everything to save a terrified girl from her twisted kidnapper. She’s grown-up now–beautiful, quiet, composed–and telling her story to the world. A story that involves me in more ways than you can imagine. She used to call me her guardian angel. Sure, I risked my life, but she was worth dying for.

I need to make contact with her. Just to ensure that she’s safe.

Somehow we reconnect. We become friends . . . but I want more. I want to make her mine. And she wants me too. Does she know who I am? Has she figured me out? Not yet. But she will. In the meantime, I need to make sure that whatever hold that animal had on her is gone.

So, yeah, I’m stealing these moments with her. Savoring them. Knowing, dreading, that she’ll soon find out who I really am. And everything will fall apart. All because of that twisted, perverted monster sitting on death row. Her kidnapper. A convicted serial killer.

My father.

Oh. My. God. What an emotional read! This story is one of the most intriguing I’ve ever read, and it’s nothing like what Monica Murphy has previously written. It’s intense. Gritty. Raw. Captivating. Heartbreaking. It’s a story of innocence lost and hearts reconnecting. I’m pretty stunned at what Monica Murphy has created in Katie and Ethan’s story – this might be my favorite book of hers yet.

But I’m none of those things. Confident. Strong. Carefree. Those words belong to the old me. Once innocence is lost, you can never get it back. That’s my problem. I lost my innocence at the age of twelve, far too early. And the man who stole it from me will haunt me forever.

Eight years ago, when Katie Watts was twelve, she was kidnapped and raped by a serial killer. She’s a survivor, but for the past eight years, she’s lived in silence, a shell of herself, but no longer. Now, hoping to free herself of her past, she’s ready to tell her story of her abduction, and of the boy who saved her – her hero, her guardian angel… her kidnapper/rapist’s son.

Will Monroe, now Ethan Williams, has never forgotten the girl he saved. She haunts his dreams as his father haunts his nightmares, and now that Ethan has found Katie again, he can’t walk away from her a second time. The powerful connection that existed when they met all those years ago has never truly gone away, and Ethan is now compelled to be there for Katie, to be her hero and savior once more. The only problem is that when Ethan enters Katie’s life again, he doesn’t tell her the truth of who he is and hides behind his Ethan persona. So what happens when past is dying to be free and Ethan can’t hide who he is anymore?

I wanted her, body and soul, as much a part of me as breathing.

If you’re worried about how Monica Murphy portrays Katie’s kidnapping and rape, don’t be. The author does not romanticize what happens to Katie. She doesn’t write it in some gentler light, but neither does she go into all the details, all of which I appreciated.

Never Tear Us Apart is brilliantly written, told in Katie and Ethan’s past and present POVs. Monica Murphy had me feeling like I was experiencing every heart-wrenching feeling right alongside these characters. What was interesting to me was that the past wasn’t told in a consecutive timeline, and instead jumped around a bit, which threw me off sometimes. Ethan did weird me out in the beginning when he got a little too intense with his feelings for Katie, but otherwise, I was hooked onto this unputdownable story. It wasn’t perfect, but it’s different, and if you’re looking for something intriguing and unique, I highly recommend this book. Be forewarned though, this is a two-book series, so Never Tear Us Apart does end in a cliffhanger, but the cliffie is definitely worth the read.

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

Reading Order: Never Tear Us Apart series

#1 ~ Never Year Us Apart: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Never Let Me Go: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

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4Jan2016

Early Review: What You Need by Lorelei James

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

What You Need by Lorelei James
Series: Need You #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: January 5th 2016
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Lund name is synonymous with wealth and power in Minneapolis–St. Paul. But the four Lund siblings will each discover true love takes a course of its own. . . .

As the CFO of Lund Industries, Brady Lund is the poster child for responsibility. But eighty-hour work weeks leave him little time for a life. His brothers stage an intervention and drag him to a seedy nightclub . . . where he sees her: the buttoned-up blonde from the office who’s starred in his fantasies for months.

Lennox Greene is a woman with a rebellious past, which she conceals beneath her conservative clothes. She knows flirting with her boss during working hours is a bad idea. So when Brady shows up at her favorite dive bar and catches her cutting loose, she throws caution aside and dares him to do the same.

After sparks fly, Brady finds that keeping his hands off Lennox during office hours is harder than expected. Though she makes him feel alive for the first time in years, a part of him wonders if she’s just using him to get ahead. And Lennox must figure out whether Brady wants her for the accomplished woman she is—or the bad girl she was.

This is actually the first book I’ve read by Lorelei James, and it was so much fun to read. It’s a sweet contemporary romance with unique characters and little drama. I really enjoyed Brady and Lennox’s characters – Brady isn’t the typical millionaire hero, as he’s a little shy and awkward and has no social life, and Lennox is a woman with a wild past she’s trying to hide at her respectable job. Their romance is light and sweet, with just the right amount of intensity and sensuality to make for an incredibly satisfying read.

As CFO of Lund Industries, Brady Lund lives and breathes his job. He has zero social life, which his family has noticed and taken upon themselves to fix. They drag him out to a club, where it just so happens that the gorgeous blonde from the office that he’s had crush on for months is there too. So Brady finally decides to live a life other than his job, and he wants to start with Lennox.

Lennox Greene is shedding her wild-child past, and her job at Lund Industries is the beginning of her new life. But even though she can hide her tattoos under her clothes and take out her piercings, she can’t hide who she really is from Brady. With Brady, she can be her true self and deal with the baggage of her past. Falling for the millionaire CFO isn’t difficult, especially when the only time she comes alive is around him.

Brady curled his hand around the side of my face, his gaze firmly on the left side of my mouth. Then his thumb slid over to stroke my bottom lip. “This lip ring . . . Christ, do you have any idea how much I want to suck on it?”
The sexy way he growled that sent slow, delicious heat unfurling in my belly.
“Before the end of the day, Lennox, I’ll know what that metal feels like on my tongue.”

The steam in What You Need wasn’t crazy hot like I expected, but there was still a good amount to leave me satisfied. I adored how Brady is sexy-as-hell, and yet still a little awkward around Lennox. He’s definitely not a smooth playboy, which was something I appreciated. I’m a big fan of romances with rich heroes, but it’s a nice change to read about one who doesn’t have a revolving door of women.

If you love office romances, you’ll want to check this book out. Lennox and Brady are utterly sweet together, and I enjoyed the way their romance played out. This book is also so funny – mainly because of Brady’s family, and I’m hoping all of them will get books of their own! What You Need is a great start to a new series with the potential to become even better. I’m excited to read more from Lorelei James!

“I want more of you.”
“You have all of me.” I’d never said that to another man in my life and the fact I’d said it without conscious thought scared me a little.

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

Reading Order: Need You series

#1 ~ What You Need: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Just What I Needed: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

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