Early Review: Hollywood Dirt by Alessandra Torre

Posted in 4.5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Hollywood Dirt by Alessandra Torre
Series: Standalone
Publication Date: September 7th 2015
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review

A Hollywood Superstar. A Small Town Girl. Opposites shouldn’t always attract.

Cole Masten. Abandoned by his superstar wife, Hollywood’s Perfect Husband is now Hollywood’s Sexiest Bachelor: partying hard and screwing even harder. Watch out Los Angeles, there’s a new bad boy in town.

Summer Jenkins. That’s me, a small town girl stuck in Quincy, Georgia. I cook some mean chicken and dumplins, can bluff a grown man out of his savings in poker, and was voted Most Friendly my senior year.

We were from different worlds. Our lives shouldn’t have collided. But then Cole Masten read a book about my small town. And six months later, his jet landed on our dusty airstrip, and he brought Hollywood with him.

From the start, I knew he was trouble. For our town. And for me.

Sometimes, opposites just aren’t meant to attract.

THIS is how contemporary romance is done. Hollywood Dirt is just… SO. GOOD. It’s a bit slow in the beginning, but once it picked up the pace, I couldn’t stop reading. I finished this book with a smile on my face – actually, I had a smile on my face practically the whole time I was reading. Hollywood Dirt is an exceptionally well-told enemies-to-lovers, Hollywood romance. I just couldn’t get enough of Cole and Summer – I became so fully invested in their story. It’s a Hollywood romance – famous boy meets not-so-famous girl – but the way Alessandra Torre delivered the romance made it so much more than the cliché it could’ve been.

Hollywood Dirt is pure contemporary romance, which means it’s very different from Alessandra Torre’s previous books. It’s not dark, it’s not twisty, it’s not a WTF book… it’s very much a feel-good, enemies-to-lovers, contemporary romance with some Hollywood thrown in. So if you’re a fan of the author’s other books, this won’t be what you’re used to, but I highly, HIGHLY recommend you give it a try.

Cole Masten used to be one half of Hollywood’s “It” couple, but after catching his wife cheating on him and being handed divorce papers, life’s not going so good for him. He tries to lose himself in women, but it doesn’t work. The only thing that can keep his mind off the mess his life has become is his newest project, The Fortune Bottle, which is just so happens to be set in a small Southern town named Quincy.

I hated that man; he was an asshole unlike I’d ever known. Why God deemed to gift men like him with looks like that was beyond me. Or maybe looks like that shaped men into assholes like him.

Summer Jenkins lives in Quincy, and she’s just waiting for the day she can save enough money to get out and away from all the townspeople that have ostracized her after a prank she pulled. The last thing she expects is the ticket to her way out to be in the form of Hollywood hot-shot Cole Masten. Summer used to fantasize about the movie star, but reality of him? It turns out Cole is just an arrogant, rude, and conceited prick. A good-looking prick, but a prick nonetheless. Summer is less than impressed with Cole (understatement) but she puts on a nice face because she’s Southern and also because she wants a job with the movie that can pay her some money. But somehow, she ends up with the leading female role of The Fortune Bottle.

What ensues is an amazing enemies-to-lovers romance that I couldn’t get enough of. Summer HATES Cole, Cole does everything he can to spark Summer’s ire, they get on each other’s last nerves – the banter between them was just incredible to experience. I felt like I was THERE watching the two of them go at it. These two characters were what sucked me into this book. And, of course, underneath all the glares and the snarky comments, is the underlying chemistry that the two of them can’t seem to shake off. They want each other so bad, but how can a relationship be when they’re from such different worlds?

“Summer. Look at me.”
I did. It was hard not to, when he was that close. And God, he was gorgeous. So much so that it hurt, like staring at the sun, the pull of attraction so sharp and dangerous that it physically hurt my heart. It was staring at something you could never have but desperately wanted, despite any danger that accompanied the attraction.

I adored Summer, I really did. She’s no demure Southern woman – she gives as good as she gets with Cole, and I loved her for that. I also loved how determined she was to do what she had to do in order to get out of a town that doesn’t deserve her incredible heart. Cole took a little more time for me to warm up to. He’s just so… arrogant and rude to Summer in the beginning. I mean, yes, he just found out he wife was cheating on him, and he’s COLE MASTEN, but he’s definitely not a likable guy. But this was just in the beginning – pretty soon, I fell so hard for this man. The way he feels about Summer, the way he can’t stop thinking about her, the way he banters with her because he wants to see the incredible woman he knows she is… how could I not fall for him?

This was not a rebound, this was not infatuation, this was the end of his life as he knew it, and the realization hit that even if she didn’t want him, he would never ever find another woman like her, he would never get over her.

I remember the precise moment I fell in love with Cole – it was when Summer gave him a pet rooster. A PET ROOSTER. Oh my god, I couldn’t stop laughing at Cole and the way he was with Cocky (yes, he names his rooster Cocky). My favorite part of Hollywood Dirt (besides the awesome hate/love between the main characters) is definitely COCKY. This awesome rooster that Cole ends up loving so much. THAT was when I fell for this ridiculous man. And my love for him only kept growing when he started falling for the woman he was meant to be with.

They say that love is finding your soul’s match in another. I found my match. I found him, let him wrestle me to the ground, and then turned around and made him mine.

I applaud the author for her exquisite writing and fantastic storytelling. This enemies-to-lovers romance is nearly flawless – it’s fun, sexy, and so heartwarming that you’ll want to clutch at your heart by the time you’re done. Seriously, this is a wonderful book you don’t want to miss out on. If you’re a fan of contemporary romances, Hollywood Dirt is a MUST READ!

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

Also by Alessandra Torre

Black Lies: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Sex Love Repeat: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Tight: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Love, Chloe: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Moonshot: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

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4Sep2015

Early Review: Into My Arms by Lia Riley

Posted in 3 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Into My Arms by Lia Riley
Series: Off the Map #3.2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 8th 2015
Links: Ebook • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

“You’re here because I want to touch you.”

Beth Jacobs spends her days slogging away in a corporate “fish bowl,” as the hard-working assistant for one of North America’s youngest dot-com billionaires. Aleksander “Z” Zavtra is the definition of dark and dangerous with a sexy Eastern European snarl. He’s also ruthless. Curt. Exacting. An infuriating man she loves to hate. While Beth hardly sees him, it’s as if he’s always watching her . . .

Z doesn’t do romance. But he never expected to be captivated by a whip-smart, fiery assistant who just so happens to share an uncanny resemblance to the beautiful face that haunts his dreams. He craves Beth. He wants to stroke her skin, to feel her heat beneath him. And what Z wants, he gets. And for one weekend, the lines between employer and employee are blurred as Z and Beth give themselves completely to the dark pleasures they’ve both been dreaming about.

I LOVE office romances, so that’s why I was really looking forward to reading Into My Arms even though I haven’t had the chance to read the Off the Map series. Thankfully, this story can be read as a standalone. While I liked this novella, it just wasn’t fleshed out enough for me – I didn’t have enough time to become fully invested in Beth and Z’s story.

Beth is up to her eyeballs in debt thanks to her parents, and so she can’t quite leave her tiresome job as the assistant for slave driver Aleksander “Z” Zavtra, billionaire and CEO of Zavtra Tech. She’s never even met her boss, as he only communicates with her through email and phone, so it’s a huge surprise when Z invites her to his home one evening.

Z has always been intrigued by Beth since the second he saw her. He comes off as a cold and unfeeling man, but deep down, he has scars that prevent him from reaching out to Beth – until now. Now, he opens up his home and his secrets to her, hoping that she won’t turn away from him once she knows the darkness he carries inside him.

“You kiss me with your eyes every time you look at me.”

Z and Beth’s novella was… okay. I liked reading it, but it could’ve been better. I never got the chance to connect with either characters, and there was a lot of info dumping with Z and Beth’s backstories. What I really enjoyed was the hot chemistry between them, and the deep bond they form during that one weekend at Z’s home.

“Who knows when our chapters will end? None of us know how long our stories will last. All we can do is make sure the pages are filled with life.”
“And you think we can write a happy ending?”
“I don’t know, but I’d rather try than not.”

I’m sure if you’re a fan of the Off the Map series, you’ll want to read Z and Beth’s novella, but reading as someone new to the series and with no previous knowledge of who Z and Beth are, Into My Arms wasn’t quite what I’d hoped it would be. There wasn’t really any forbidden-ness or excitement in this novella that I expect there to be in an office romance. Still, the characters were intriguing enough to keep me reading. I highly enjoyed the writing, so I’m definitely open to reading Lia Riley’s other books.

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

Reading Order: Off the Map series

#1 ~ Upside Down: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Sideswiped: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Inside Out: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3.1 ~ Carry Me Home: Ebook • Goodreads
#3.2 ~ Into My Arms: Ebook • Goodreads (Sept. 8, 2015)

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3Sep2015

Early Review: His Lover to Protect by Katee Robert

Posted in 3.5 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

His Lover to Protect by Katee Robert
Series: Out of Uniform #3 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 7th 2015
Links: Ebook • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

He’s never met a challenge he couldn’t take…

Alexis Yeung did everything right….only to watch everything go horribly, horribly wrong. Broken and angry, Alexis high-tails it to Europe, determined to face the world on her own terms and without consequence. Which includes a mind-blowing night with a sexy, scarred stranger.

Except, embittered former pararescuer Luke Jackson isn’t exactly a stranger. He’s supposed to keep an eye on Alexis without her knowing. Ending up in bed together was definitely not the plan. Now he’s chasing her (admittedly hot) ass across Europe, a game of cat and mouse that always ends with the two of them tangled up in the sheets.

Something in their scarred, damaged souls calls to each other. And God help them, the sex is unbelievably hot. But if Alexis discovers who Luke really is, he’ll lose the one thing that makes him feel whole…

I really enjoyed the previous book in the Out of Uniform series, Falling for His Best Friend, so I was looking forward to reading about Alexis Yeung. While this isn’t my favorite of the series, I still enjoyed reading this fun, sexy, emotional book. The hero had a deliciously dirty mouth – Katee Robert definitely knows hot to write a hot, dirty book.

Alexis has left home to travel all over Europe after finding out about her sister’s pregnancy. She’s happy for her sister, but at the same time devastated since she herself can’t have children after fighting her battle with cancer, the same cancer that took her mother. My heart went out to Alexis and all the pain she’s been through, but I also admired how she took charge of her life by going to Europe to regain some control in her life.

Luke Jackson is called on by an old friend to keep an eye out on Alexis while she’s in Europe. But a leg injury from his time as a pararescuer makes it difficult for Luke to keep up with his charge, to this very alpha-y man’s dismay. Luke and Alexis get off to a very rough start, but they can’t help the hot chemistry between them that explodes when they’re in bed.

He was a battle-scarred old wolf, far more likely to eat her whole than give her the sweet kind of sex she craved.

Luke keeps the fact that he knows who Alexis is and is pretty much babysitting her to himself. He doesn’t ever expect to actually fall for her, but he does. Once they get over their initial rough start and he gets to know her, he doesn’t want their time in Europe to come to an end. But how can they possibly have something more when Luke is keeping his identity a secret?

“I’m saying I want you, all of you, only you. I want you on my cock, in my bed, and in my life.”

I liked this book. It’s a quick read, but packed with a lot of emotions and some hot, dirty-talking sex. Alexis and Luke were well-developed characters I enjoyed reading about. This book is a complete standalone so you don’t need to read the previous books in the series.

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

Reading Order: Out of Uniform series

#1 ~ In Bed with Mr. Wrong: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#1.5 ~ His to Keep: Ebook • Goodreads
#2 ~ Falling for His Best Friend: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ His Lover to Protect: Ebook • Goodreads (Sept. 7, 2015)
#3.5 ~ His to Take: Ebook • Goodreads (Dec. 7, 2015)

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3Sep2015

Early Review: Ryker by Sawyer Bennett

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Ryker by Sawyer Bennett
Series: Cold Fury Hockey #4 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 8th 2015
Links: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The rugged men of the Carolina Cold Fury hockey team are winning hearts once again in another scorching novel from New York Times bestselling author Sawyer Bennett.

The stakes have never been higher for Carolina Cold Fury goalie Ryker Evans. With his contract running out, he’s got a year left to prove he’s still at the top of his game. And since his wife left him, Ryker has been balancing life as a pro-hockey star and a single parent to two daughters. Management is waiting for him to screw up. The fans are ready to pounce. Everybody’s taking dirty shots—except for the fiery redhead whose faith in Ryker gives him a fresh start.

As the league’s only female general manager, Gray Brannon has learned not to mix business with pleasure. And yet even this tough, talented career woman can’t help breaking her own rules as she gives Ryker everything she’s got. She hopes their hot streak will last forever, but with Ryker’s conniving ex plotting to reclaim her man, the pressure’s on Gray to step up and save a tender new love before it’s too late.

I’m a huge fan of the Cold Fury Hockey series, so I had high expectations for Ryker, and it didn’t disappoint! Ryker is another fantastic addition to this sports romance series I’ve come to love so much. I’d been eagerly awaiting Ryker’s story ever since meeting him in Zack (which will forever be my favorite Cold Fury Hockey book) and I loved – LOVED – that Ryker’s book was a forbidden office romance. With a female boss! Sawyer Bennett totally rocked Ryker and Gray’s book – fans of the series won’t want to miss it!

Gray Brannon is Cold Fury’s newest general manager – and she’s made sports history by being the first female GM for a hockey team. Gray is tough, smart, kickass, and a complete take-charge woman – but not everyone likes the idea of having a female GM. There are some very misogynistic people in the Cold Fury team, but she finds an ally in Ryker Evans. The sexy single father is incredibly supportive and respectful of her job… but there’s an underlying chemistry between the two of them they can’t ignore.

I. Cannot. Be. Involved. With. Him.
It’s that simple.
Except . . . I’m the type of person who’s known for bending the rules.
Hell, throwing the rules out the door.
I’m a pioneer. A risk taker. A box breaker.
I answer to no one but my self.

Ryker is the single father of two adorable little girls and the goalie for Carolina Cold Fury. These are two very tough jobs, but Ryker gives nothing less than 100% of his time and effort for the things he cares about most: his family and hockey. But when Gray Brannon became the new GM, he knows he’s met an incredible woman who he might want to spend the rest of his life with, so he goes after her, regardless of the consequences.

I adored Ryker! Seriously. He’s a wonderful dad and a wonderful person. I do wish that there could’ve been more scenes between Ryker and his daughters. I swoon so hard for loving single fathers! And I absolutely LOVED how much Ryker respected, appreciated, and admired Gray – he made the perfect hero. Even when they start their relationship, Ryker respects her enough to keep their affair a secret, though he’s very adamant that it’s not a fling. Their romance was a bit slow, but genuine, and I just really appreciated the way Sawyer Bennett wrote this forbidden romance.

For the first time in my life, I feel interest in something other than my career.
I feel needed.
I feel happy.
I. Feel. Everything.
And I don’t want to let it go.
For the first time in my life, I feel love for a man other than my father.

What I liked about Ryker was how little drama there was WITHIN the relationship. There are lots of outside forces that won’t let Ryker and Gray be together, including Ryker’s ex-wife, but the two of them are just so mature and steady in their feelings for each other. As long as the two of them have confidence in each other, which they do, they’ll come out on top.

This book is also very much about the Cold Fury team as a whole. Gray has a lot of work to do in order to win over her team and to get them to work together, but she’s a woman who gets the job done. Also? We get to see a lot of Alex and Sutton, Garrett and Olivia, and Zack and Kate. Especially Zack and Kate, which made me so incredibly happy. Fans of Zack are going to LOVE what happens in Ryker!

I seriously adore Sawyer Bennett’s Cold Fury Hockey series, and not just for the hot the covers – if you’re a fan of sports romances, these books are absolute MUST READS! They’re full of heart, humor, and sexy-as-hell hockey men. And one last reason you should read Ryker? Because Ryker’s character was inspired by this guy. 😉

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

Reading Order: Cold Fury Hockey series

#1 ~ Alex: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Garrett: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Zack: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#4 ~ Ryker: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#5 ~ Hawke: My Review • Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#6 ~ Max: Ebook • Goodreads (Dec. 13, 2016)

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31Aug2015

Early Review: Delayed Penalty by Sophia Henry

Posted in 3 hearts, Reviews by Lacey

Delayed Penalty by Sophia Henry
Series: Pilots Hockey #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: September 1st 2015
Links: Ebook • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

She closed her heart long ago. He just wants to open her mind. For fans of Toni Aleo and Sawyer Bennett, the debut of Sophia Henry’s red-hot Detroit Pilots series introduces a hockey team full of complicated men who fight for love.

Auden Berezin is used to losing people: her father, her mother, her first love. Now, just when she believes those childhood wounds are finally healing, she loses something else: the soccer scholarship that was her ticket to college. Scrambling to earn tuition money, she’s relieved to find a gig translating for a Russian minor-league hockey player—until she realizes that he’s the same dangerously sexy jerk who propositioned her at the bar the night before.

Equal parts muscle and scar tissue, Aleksandr Varenkov knows about trauma. Maybe that’s what draws him to Auden. He also lost his family too young, and he channeled the pain into his passions: first hockey, then vodka and women. But all that seems to just melt away the instant he kisses Auden and feels a jolt of desire as sudden and surprising as a hard check on the ice.

After everything she’s been through, Auden can’t bring herself to trust any man, let alone a hot-headed puck jockey with a bad reputation. Aleksandr just hopes she’ll give him a chance—long enough to prove he’s finally met the one who makes him want to change.

I was intrigued by Delayed Penalty because I’m a sucker for sports romances AND I heard it has a hot Russian hockey player! While it wasn’t quite what I expected, Delayed Penalty was still a good debut with lots of potential. I didn’t quite manage to connect with the characters, but the story overall was fairly enjoyable.

Auden Berezin needs to find a way to earn tuition money after losing her soccer scholarship. Luckily, since she’s fluent in Russian, she gets a job as a translator for Russian hockey player Aleksandr Varenkov. Unfortunately, Aleksandr turns out to be the jerk she met the other night who did not make a good first impression. Now she’ll have to be around him all during season to help him communicate with the media. She doesn’t like Aleksandr, and even worse, she hates that she’s attracted to him.

Auden was an interesting character. She’s got a lot of internal scars, as a girl who’s used to losing people. She’s a bit judgmental towards Aleksandr, even when he tries to apologize for being a jerk. But once they move on and agree to be friendly, things start looking up between them. Auden and Aleksandr spend a lot of time together, and they open up to each other. Auden finds herself connecting with Aleksandr in a way she’s never connected with anyone else. They bond over lost parents, a love for sports, and all things Russian, and eventually start to fall for one another.

Could I let myself fall in love with Alexkandr Varenkoc when I knew falling caused injuries?
Scraped knees and palms would heal, but what about a lacerated heart?

I enjoyed this story, even though I felt like it was a bit all over the place. Too many things are going on at once, and it was difficult for me to connect with anyone or anything. I really didn’t like Aleksandr in the beginning, though he grew on me in the end. Auden and Aleksandr’s romance is a slow but sweet one, but I just didn’t feel the chemistry between them.

“Everything I do and everything I am is all for you, Audushka.”

All in all, Delayed Penalty was a good, but not great book. It had a lot of potential to be another fantastic sports romance, but things got a little hectic, plot-wise. I really hope the stories in the upcoming books of the series will be more fleshed out, because I’d definitely give this author another try.

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

Reading Order: Pilots Hockey series

#1 ~ Delayed Penalty: Ebook • Goodreads
#2 ~ Power Play: Ebook • Goodreads (Feb. 16, 2016)
#3 ~ Interference: Ebook • Goodreads (May 3, 2016)

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