Review: Exposed by Kristen Callihan

Exposed by Kristen Callihan
Series: VIP #4 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: July 13th 2021
Links: EbookPaperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review

Brenna

There are some people in life who know exactly how to push your buttons. For me, it’s Rye Peterson. We can’t spend more than ten minutes together before we’re at each other’s throats, which makes working together that much harder. Rye is the bassist for Kill John, the biggest rock band in the world, and I am his publicist. It doesn’t help that the man is gorgeous, funny, talented, and…never takes anything seriously. Avoidance is key.

But everything changes when he overhears something he shouldn’t: a confession made in a moment of weakness. Now the man I’ve tried so hard to ignore is offering me the greatest temptation of all—him.

Rye

Brenna James is the one. The one I can’t have. The one I can’t get out of my mind. Believe me, I’ve tried; the woman loathes me. I managed well enough—until I heard her say she’s as lonely as I am. That she needed to be touched, held, satisfied. And I could no longer deny the truth: I wanted to be the one to give her what she craved.

I convinced her that it would just be physical, mutual satisfaction with nothing deeper. But the moment I have her, she becomes my world. I’ve never given her a good reason to trust me before. Now, I’ve got to show Brenna that we’re so much better together than we ever were apart.

Things are going to get messy. But getting messy with Brenna is what I do best.

I’m always SO happy to read a Kristen Callihan book, and Exposed did not disappoint! I adore this rock star romance series and its cast of characters, so it was a delight to be back with them. It’s got a frenemies-to-lovers romance between a bassist and the band’s PR manager. Their romance has been years in the making and when they finally fall into bed for a frenemies-with-benefits fling, they can’t get enough. I enjoyed Brenna and Rye so much!

Brenna and Rye have been at each other’s throats for years. There has always been a simmering tension between and they finally get to act on it when, after overhearing Brenna talk about needing some all-consuming sex, Rye offers himself up on a platter for her. He never expects to fall so hard for her – or for her to be so adamant against being with him for real. But there’s nothing that can stop him from proving to Brenna that the feelings between them are real and that he’s worth taking a chance on.

Kristen Callihan is always so good at drawing me back into a series even though it’s been years since I last read it. Reading Exposed was like being back with a group of friends, even though they’re all rock stars. What I love about these characters is how dow-to-earth they are, despite all the fame and glory. Brenna and Rye’s romance is also so wonderful to read. I love an unexpected pursuing hero, and Rye is exactly that. You just know how much this man adores Brenna even though they haven’t always gotten along. The care and attention he gives to his heroine is swoon-worthy! Brenna herself is a take-charge heroine who you can’t help but root for and love. She’s had to climb her way up in her industry to be the successful woman she is today.

Exposed might not have topped my love for my #1 VIP book, Managed, but it easily takes the #2 spot. I had so much fun with Brenna and Rye’s heartfelt, steamy romance. I loved how much we get to see the rest of the band members and their significant others and can only hope we get Whip’s story next!


lacey


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ARC Review: Exposed by Brighton Walsh

Exposed by Brighton Walsh

Exposed by Brighton Walsh
Series: Captive #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: July 21st 2015
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

In this sexy, suspenseful New Adult novel, a young woman hiding from her criminal past is taken captive by her ex-boyfriend, the ultimate bad boy.

Evie is about to embark on the perfect life. Beautiful, poised, and engaged to a rising business star, she fits the part of trophy wife perfectly, except for one thing: her entire identity is a lie.

Five years ago she created a new identity for herself, but it all crashes back when something she witnessed years ago comes back to haunt her. Now she’s in danger of losing more than her social status.

Determined to protect the careful life she’s built for herself, Evie doesn’t want anything to do with Riley, the criminal for hire who broke her heart years ago. But Riley has other ideas. He’s never forgotten Evie, and to protect her, he steals her away. Hidden from the world, sparks begin to fly as old memories resurface and their passion reignites.

This is the first book I’ve read from Brighton Walsh, but I know it won’t be my last. Although I didn’t particularly LOVE the story, the beginning was super intriguing and overall I still really enjoyed it – what made the book for me was the author’s fantastic writing, which is spot-on for a suspenseful novel. I seriously fell in love with it – the writing was what had me hooked in the beginning and what kept me reading even when towards the end of the book things started to fall flat.

The premise of the book was seriously calling to me. A heroine who’s living a lie, on the run from a dangerous man, PLUS a second chance romance? Hell yeah, I was all in. And for the majority of the book, I dug it. I was intrigued by Evie, wondering what the hell was going on with her and why she was living as a different identity for the past five years. And when her cover is blown, Riley enters the story, enters back into Evie’s life. I was hooked onto their second chance romance. If I had to rate this book solely on the romance, it would get a perfect 5. I LOVED Riley and Evie together, because it’s clear that they’re meant to be together. They had such a sweet yet powerful relationship all those years ago, and they’re still connected even after five years.

“Anything can happen, except when you’re with me. No one is getting to you when I’m here. No one is getting through me. I’d have to be dead first.”

I fell so hard for Riley. I loved that we get his POV along with Evie’s, so we can see his inner turmoil at seeing the girl he loved as a teenager, the girl he thought died five years ago, back in his life again. He’s definitely my second favorite part about Exposed, right below the writing. Riley is protective, loyal, and sexy as hell in his determination to make sure Evie is safe – and the best part is that he can protect her, with the skills he learned during the five years he sought vengeance for Evie’s supposed death. Riley and Evie have some great chemistry and I loved the two of them together.

He was my past, the tiny flicker of light in a sea of darkness. He was my present, when everything was jumbled and uncertain, but where I’d be able to figure it out if I was with him. And I knew, with utter certainty, he was my future.

Evie was an intriguing heroine. She’s fierce, independent, and very cautious about starting anything with Riley again since she’s not sure she’ll be able to make it out alive after all is done. There’s also an aspect about her character that was heartbreaking that the author handled very well. I predicted what it was, but it wasn’t something I really wanted to be able predict. Evie is a strong heroine, though sometimes too independent, but I really liked her character up until a certain part near the end of the novel.

There are many layers to the story, what with someone after Evie, but I felt like the suspense, the action, was underwhelming. Evie and Riley spend the majority of the book holed up, hiding in an apartment, so not much happens in action-wise, though this is where their relationship regrows. So while I loved the romance, I didn’t get the amount of suspense that I wanted.

This book should’ve been perfect for me – it’s a second chance romance, my absolutely favorite trope, and the story was super intriguing, but the climax of the book was a bit disappointing, mainly because of how utterly annoyed at the heroine I was. She’s not stupid, but she does make a stupid decision at the end all in the name of ‘independence’ that had me rolling my eyes. At that point of the book, I was just not interested in the story anymore.

So would I recommend this book? Yes, because I still loved about 80% of the novel. The writing is flawless, and the characters were well-developed. Even with the couple problems I had with Exposed, I still really enjoyed reading it, and would definitely recommend it for the writing and second chance romance.

3.5 hearts
lacey

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


Reading Order: Captive series

Captive by Brighton Walsh Exposed by Brighton Walsh

#1 ~ Captive: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Exposed: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads


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Blog Tour + Excerpt & Giveaway: Exposed by Tracy Wolff

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Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Exposed by Tracy Wolff!

Exposed by Tracy Wolff

Exposed by Tracy Wolff
Series: Ethan Frost #3 (full reading order below)
Release Date: May 5th 2015
Add to Goodreads

Ethan Frost, the irresistible leading man from the New York Times bestsellers Ruined and Addicted, returns once again in Exposed—a novel that’s perfect for fans of J. Kenner and Sylvia Day.

Will Ethan Frost go too far for the woman he loves?

The moment Chloe Girard walked into my life, she exposed secrets and emotions I always thought were best kept buried.

She wants to move on, to ignore the past. But I can’t do that. Not when she still suffers. And not when the man who hurt her remains unscathed. So when I discover the perfect opportunity to make him pay for what he did to Chloe, I can’t walk away, no matter the consequences.

But there’s a fine line between justice and obsession. As I turn up old crimes and new lies, I know that I’m playing with fire—and risking the very foundations of our relationship.

My love for Chloe is absolute. I just hope it’s enough to save us both.

Buy Links:
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • iTunes • Kobo

Now here’s an excerpt from Exposed! ❤

excerpt

After several long minutes, my heartbeat finally returns to normal. I pull out slowly, rolling Chloe over so that she’s cuddled into my chest and I can feel her breath against my neck, her heart beating against my own.

“I love you,” she says, her lips moving drowsily against my sweat-slicked skin.

“I love you, too.”

It’s a vow on my part as much as it is a declaration. Because loving her has never been the problem. I’ve loved her almost from the beginning—I started falling the minute she refused to drink the blueberry smoothie I made her and by the time she’d returned the Vitamix I’d bought her for the second time, I was all in.

Yes, loving her is easy. But keeping her—that’s something else entirely. I’ve already fucked things up with her, twice. I lied to her, tried to break up with her, hurt her over and over again when all I’ve really wanted to do is protect her.

I don’t know how one man can fuck up as badly—and as many times—as I have. And yet, by some miracle, she’s still here. In my arms. In my bed. Though, technically, we’re in her bed at the moment.

That’s something else I intend to change as soon as possible. Not that I have anything against Chloe’s room—or her roommate. But I need her with me, in my space. I need her in my house, her stuff cluttering up my dresser, her shoes tripping me on the way to the bathroom, her sexy-sweet scent hanging in the corners of every room I enter.

I need her things mingled with mine, need her life mingled with mine.

Because no matter how much I’ve fucked up, no matter how many mistakes I’ve made, I can’t let her go. I won’t let her go. Not now. Not ever. We’re tied together, our lives twisted and tangled together long before we had a clue what we would mean to each other. I wouldn’t have chosen our past, how we started out. But it exists. It’s real, and it’s something we’re both going to have to live with—for better or worse.

That’s the nightmare. That one day she won’t be able to live with what Brandon did to her. With the part I played in keeping him safe because I didn’t know better. Because I was blind.

But that’s a future I hope will never happen—a future I’m determined to never let happen. Right now, in the present, she’s still here. Still in my arms. Still willing to give me—to give us—a chance to get this right.

It’s more than I deserve, but I’m taking it.

I stroke her back, murmur nonsense words in her ear as Chloe snuggles close to me. Her breathing evens out and she’s asleep again within minutes. She’s exhausted, the toll of the last few weeks—the last few months—impossible to ignore. For both of us.

I close my eyes, try to follow, but my mind is too crowded to allow any kind of sleep to creep in. Chloe’s words from earlier chase themselves around inside my head—and there’s a part of me that knows she’s right. That knows I’ll be messing with all kinds of old wounds if I keep pursuing this. Opening them up, making them bleed. Making her bleed.

Hurting her any more than she’s already been hurt is the last thing I want to do.

But as I lay here staring at the ceiling, I can’t stop thinking about my brother. About the fact that he hurt her when she was young and defenseless. About the way he continues to hurt her even now.

I flash back to the way he looked at her in my driveway that day when the whole world came crashing down around our ears for the first time. So smug, so satisfied, so convinced of his own invincibility. The nondisclosure agreement—agreements, I remind myself, thinking back to the call I just took—make him untouchable and he knows it. More, he revels in it.

I’m not okay with that.

I’m not okay with any of it. Not what he did to Chloe and those other women. Not how he got away with all of it. And most definitely, not how he’s planning to run for Congress and beyond, building a life for himself making laws that he feels absolutely no compunction to follow.

None of that is okay.

Chloe might be strong enough to live with the past—and a future where Brandon never pays for his crimes. But I’m not. And I never will be.

Reading Order: Ethan Frost series

Ruined by Tracy Wolff Addicted by Tracy Wolff Exposed by Tracy Wolff

#1 ~ Ruined: Ebook • Goodreads
#2 ~ Addicted: Ebook • Goodreads
#3 ~ Exposed: Ebook • Goodreads (May 5, 2015)
#4 ~ Flawed: EbookGoodreads (Dec. 29, 2015)

about the author

Tracy WolffTracy Wolff lives with four men, teaches writing to local college students and spends as much time as she can manage immersed in worlds of her own creation. Married to the alpha hero of her dreams for twelve years, she is the mother of three young sons who spend most of their time trying to make her as crazy as possible.

Twitter • Facebook • Blog • Goodreads

giveaway

Loveswept will be hosting a Month Long Giveaway Including:
(1) Loveswept Mug
(1) Flirt Mug
Ebook of RUINED by Tracy Wolff
Ebook of CLAIMED by Stacey Kennedy
Ebook of ONCE PERFECT by Cecy Robson
Ebook of SURRENDER by Violetta Rand
Ebook of LAST OF THE RED-HOT COWBOYS by Tina Leonard
Ebook of RAVEN by Ashley Suzanne
Ebook of UNTIL YOU FIND ME by Amber Hart
Ebook of RUSH by Gina Gordon

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