Tag Archives: romance

Release Day Review: Goodbye Paradise by Sarina Bowen

Posted in 4.5 hearts, Reviews by

Goodbye Paradise by Sarina Bowen
Series: Hello Goodbye #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: March 21st 2017
Links: Ebook • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review

Most people called it a cult. But for twenty years, Josh and Caleb called it home.

In Paradise, there is no television. No fast food. Just long hours of farm work and prayer on a dusty Wyoming ranch, and nights in a crowded bunkhouse. The boys of the Compound are kept far from the sinners’ world.

But Joshua doesn’t need temptation to sin. His whole life, he’s wanted his best friend, Caleb. By day they work side by side. Only when Josh closes his eyes at night can they be together the way he craves.

It can never be. And his survival depends on keeping his terrible desires secret.

Caleb has always protected Josh against the worst of the bullying at the Compound. But he has secrets of his own, and a plan to get away — until it all backfires.

Josh finds himself homeless in a world that doesn’t want him. Can Caleb find him in time? And will they find a place of safety, where he can admit to Josh how he really feels?

Warning: Contains a hot male/male romance, copious instances of taking the Lord’s name in vain, and love against the kitchen counter. This book was previously released under the title: In Front of God & Everyone.

I love anything Sarina Bowen writes, but I have to say I think this is the most adorable M/M romance I’ve ever read. I had all the heart eye emojis while reading Josh and Caleb’s lovely, emotional, heartwarming story. I seriously ADORED this book! If you’re looking for a sweet, unique M/M romance, you’ll definitely need to read Goodbye Paradise!

Josh and Caleb grew up in Paradise, and for the past two decades, they’ve been living in this cult, working as laborers and getting few benefits from it. One perk of the job though, is the fact that Josh can be around his best friend Caleb… and he can long for him from afar. No one can know that Josh has got a crush on his best friend, who’s a guy, because they’ll be sure to kick him out of Paradise and leave him homeless. But that day comes sooner than later when the cult finds little use in Josh anymore. But when Caleb escapes so he can stand by Josh’s side, can they possibly start a new life together from practically nothing?

As they make their way to Massachusetts to find a woman named Maggie who left Paradise years ago and made a home for herself, Josh and Caleb are once again side by side, but now out in the open. It’s here that Caleb finally makes his move and shows Josh that it’s okay to love a man, because he loves Josh back. Despite how much Josh tried to keep his feelings hidden, loving Caleb was as easy as breathing and there was nothing that could stop him from being with the man he’s loved for so long.

I reached up, circling him in my arms, pulling him down beside me. “I love you.” I could say that without guilt. Because loving someone wasn’t a sin. Other things… sure. But love could never be a crime.

I absolutely adored everything about Josh and Caleb’s story. The raw and beautiful love they have for each other was so simple and easy… it was everything surrounding them that made their lives difficult. But these two are nothing if not hardworking and persistent, and even before the end of the novel, I knew Caleb and Josh would survive and thrive in their new lives.

Goodbye Paradise brought out ALL the feels and emotions out of me. My heart honestly couldn’t stop overflowing with happiness over Caleb and Josh’s love for each other. They are absolutely perfect for each other – I can’t imagine a sweeter couple than them! I almost wish this book was longer, because I didn’t want to let go of their story. I loved this book – and I can’t wait for more M/M from Sarina Bowen!

“I’m so hard for you right now. That’s never going to change. Whether I’m stupid or smart, and whether you still love me anymore, or not. I never could help loving you. It’s just the way that I’m wired.”


lacey

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

Reading Order: Hello Goodbye series

 

#1 ~ Goodbye Paradise: Ebook • Goodreads
#2 ~ Hello Forever: Goodreads (release date TBA)

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Release Day Review: Dirty Souls by Karina Halle

Posted in 3 hearts, Reviews by

Dirty Souls by Karina Halle
Series: Sins Duet #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: March 20th 2017
Links: Ebook • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review

From New York Times bestselling author Karina Halle comes DIRTY SOULS the much-anticipated, nail-biting CONCLUSION to the sexy and thrilling Black Hearts…”

Violet McQueen has always been a sensitive soul. Troubled and misunderstood, she never realized her place in the world, nor her true potential…until she met Vicente Bernal.

From birth, Vicente Bernal has always known his place in the world – he’s been groomed to be a ruthless king. Yet for a man whose soul has become morally bankrupt, it’s only through Violet he’s realizing the worth of someone’s heart.

But at what cost?

With a deadly game set in motion taking them from the stark deserts of California to the steamy jungles of Mexico, Violet and Vicente’s forbidden relationship will be put to the test. Boundaries will be pushed, lines will be crossed and souls will get very, very dirty.

Because how do you choose between blood and love when both might get you killed?

After the slightly disappointing first book in the Sins Duet, I was hoping that Dirty Souls would make up for what I didn’t feel in Black Hearts by actually making me grow invested in Vicente and Violet’s star-crossed romance. It didn’t, BUT I will say it was a hell of a conclusion to the McQueens’ and Bernals’ story. It’s nonstop action and insanely hot, filthy sex. It’s a no-holds-barred kind of read, which I admired. If you loved Black Hearts, you will most likely love Dirty Souls just as much!

I need to figure out how to keep this forever. Her, me, the open desert. I don’t fucking need anything else. I may be young but I know enough that sometimes you don’t need the world. You just need that one person to rule the world with.

Violet and Vicente are on the run from their parents. Violet has found out that her whole life and family has been a lie, and Vicente is trying to protect her from the people who want to harm her – his father and his men. But try as they might to make their world just the two of them, reality comes crashing down and both are taken by Javier to Mexico. Can Vicente and Violet’s love withstand the test of time, or will Javier succeed in breaking the both of them?

I love her with my dark and dangerous heart. I love her with my wicked and dirty soul.
I love her enough to raze the world around me to the very ground, just so we can be together.

I enjoyed Vicente and Violet’s characters more in this sequel, mainly because they didn’t feel as naive as they did in the first book. I loved the way they were around each other, but I have to admit I started skimming the sex scenes when I was deeper in the story because, even though they were hot, they started to feel like filler. Still, Karina Halle knows how to write erotic scenes filled with chemistry, but I just grew a little tired of them when there seemed to be too many scenes of them.

We get a lot more of Ellie and Javier’s POVs in this book. I liked the contrast between them and their children, the fact that their children are what they could have been if it weren’t for the lies. But then the book felt like it was focused too much on the parents’ past and story rather than Violet and Vicente’s, which was what I really wanted. That’s one of the main reasons I couldn’t love this series more, because I really wanted more of the main characters rather than their parents. But it was still nice to see beloved characters again, even if one of them (*cough* Javier) become a little unlikable.

The Sins Duet might not be a favorite of mine from Karina Halle, but it’s a dark, gritty read that had me on the edge of my seat. It was a crazy, intense ride, and while I didn’t love it, I’m still glad to have read it. If you love the author, you should definitely check this series out – especially if you love the Artists Trilogy or Dirty Angels series!


lacey

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

Reading Order: Sins Duet series

 

#1 ~ Black Hearts: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Dirty Souls: Ebook • Goodreads

The Sins Duet is a standalone spinoff series of The Artists Trilogy and the Dirty Angels series. Here are the reading orders for both series (which you don’t need to read before starting Black Hearts).

Reading Order: The Artists Trilogy

   

#0.5 ~ On Every Street: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#1 ~ Sins & Needles: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Shooting Scars: My Review •  Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Bold Tricks: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

Reading Order: Dirty Angels series

Dirty Angels by Karina Halle Dirty Deeds by Karina Halle Dirty Promises by Karina Halle

#1 ~ Dirty Angels: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Dirty Deeds: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Dirty Promises: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

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Review: Black Hearts by Karina Halle

Posted in 3 hearts, Reviews by

Black Hearts by Karina Halle
Series: Sins Duet #1 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: February 19th 2017
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review

I wasn’t supposed to know about her. I never should have found her. And I sure as hell shouldn’t have taken her…

From a New York Times bestselling author comes a BRAND NEW smoldering romantic suspense that will get your pulse racing, your thighs clenching and the pages turning.

For Vicente Bernal, truth is all he’s known. The son of an infamous drug lord, Vicente was born to help run the family business, which means he’s been raised on a throne of sordid pasts and dirty laundry, violence and pride. But when Vicente stumbles across someone he’s not supposed to know about – a woman from his father’s checkered past – he sets out to California to find her behind his father’s back.

What Vicente doesn’t expect to find in San Francisco is Violet McQueen, the woman’s twenty-year old daughter. Beautiful and edgy with a vulnerability he can’t resist, Violet tempts Vicente from afar and though he promised himself he’d stay away from her, curiosity and lust are powerful forces. Besides, Vicente has always gotten everything he wants – why shouldn’t he have Violet too?

Soon his wants turn into a sexual obsession, one that sweeps Violet into his games as they fall madly, deeply in love with each other, the type of first love that can drive a person mad.

In a world of hot sex, raw love and damaging lies, these forbidden and star-crossed lovers are going to have to fight tooth and nail for their happy ending.

Our families would die before they ever let us be together.

I was SO excited when I heard that Karina Halle would be writing this series. I was a huge fan of the Artists Trilogy when it first came out, and though I still haven’t read the Dirty Angels series, it’s been on my tbr because of none other than Javier! Now we finally get Ellie and Camden’s, and Javier and Luisa’s children’s story. This is a star-crossed lovers romance like no other. Violet McQueen’s mother and Vicente Bernal’s father were lovers turned enemies, and now their children get the chance at a love that could have been.

Vicente Bernal has known his drug lord father to be the ruthless, dangerous, insane, almost-cruel man he’s been all his life. But when he finds letters written by his father from a time when he was actually sane and possibly with a heart, he’s determined to find the woman who brought out the man Javier Bernal used to be – Ellie Watt, now Ellie McQueen. When he arrives in America with a fake identity, Vicente isn’t sure of the path that will get him to Ellie, but when her daughter, Violet, appears in front of him, it seems as if fate was deciding which path he should take.

“You’re everything I’ve ever needed,” he says through a lustful groan. He bites his lip, the corded muscles of his neck straining. “I was famished, starved, for you. For this.”

Violet McQueen doesn’t know why, but she’s always felt like her family was just a little bit… off. Her parents are hiding something, and when she finds out about a grandfather who was supposed to be dead her whole life had died only recently, she sets out to uncover the lies told by her parents. Along the way she meets the gorgeous, mysterious Vicente – the passion and lust between them is fierce, and it isn’t long before she finds herself falling and trusting him. But what will happen when she finds out that another person she loves has been lying to her?

“You’re mine, Violet,” I murmur roughly against her mouth, my fingers pressing into her cheekbones. “I don’t care how that sounds, but it’s all truth. You belong to me.”

I had high expectations for Black Hearts, but it fell a little flatter than I expected. I never connected with either of the main characters – Violet was too naive and trusting and Vicente felt wishy washy and immature. I never really BELIEVED in the love that grew between them. It seemed like one minute they were in lust and the next minute they were in love. I get that they were in moments of action so it would be hard for them to have any down time, but I would’ve liked to see the romance bloom more genuinely. I actually started disliking the parents too, which was a disappointment because I loved them in their own books. Much of the book was just a little too boring and aggravating, and I just couldn’t find it in myself to care that much about all the problems going on in the book. However, these feelings could entirely be just me, so if you were a fan of either of the original series, please don’t let this review stop you from giving Black hearts and the Sins Duet a try! Hopefully you’ll enjoy it more than I did!


lacey

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

Reading Order: Sins Duet series

 

#1 ~ Black Hearts: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Dirty Souls: My Review • Ebook • Goodreads

The Sins Duet is a standalone spinoff series of The Artists Trilogy and the Dirty Angels series. Here are the reading orders for both series (which you don’t need to read before starting Black Hearts).

Reading Order: The Artists Trilogy

   

#0.5 ~ On Every Street: Ebook • Audible • Goodreads
#1 ~ Sins & Needles: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Shooting Scars: My Review •  Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#3 ~ Bold Tricks: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

Reading Order: Dirty Angels series

Dirty Angels by Karina Halle Dirty Deeds by Karina Halle Dirty Promises by Karina Halle

#1 ~ Dirty Angels: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#2 ~ Dirty Deeds: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Dirty Promises: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads

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Review + Giveaway: Every Little Thing by Samantha Young

Posted in 4 hearts, Giveaways, Reviews by

Every Little Thing by Samantha Young
Series: Hart’s Boardwalk #2 (full reading order below)
Publication Date: March 7th 2017
Links: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
Source: I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The New York Times bestselling author of the On Dublin Street series returns to Hartwell, Delaware—the perfect place to get away from it all, and find what you never knew you needed….

Bailey Hartwell has many reasons to feel content—her successful business, a close circle of friends, and her steady boyfriend…even if their romance feels staid after ten years without a serious commitment. The only challenge in her life comes in the form of sexy businessman Vaughn Tremaine. She thinks the ex-New Yorker acts superior and that he considers her a small-town nobody. But when Bailey’s blindsided by a betrayal, she’s shocked to discover Vaughn is actually a decent guy.

Vaughn admires Bailey’s free spirit, independence, and loyalty. As his passion for her has grown, his antagonism toward her has only worsened. Every little thing Bailey does seduces him. But when Vaughn’s painful emotional past makes him walk away in fear he will hurt her, it opens an old wound in Bailey, and she uncharacteristically retreats.

Once Vaughn begins to realize he’s made the biggest mistake of his life, he has no choice but to fight like he’s never fought before to convince Bailey that the love they’ve found together only comes around once in a lifetime….

After being introduced to Bailey and Vaughn in The One Real Thing, I had such high hopes for their story – their banter, their chemistry, and the love-to-hate-you vibes had me READY for their book. TORT wasn’t my favorite Samantha Young book, so I was still hesitant to see how she would continue this small-town romance series, but she really stepped up her game in Every Little Thing. This was the book that I had been waiting for when she announced her new series, and I have to say that I’m completely in love with Hartwell and its inhabitants now. If you love close-knit towns, slow burns, and enemies to lovers in your romances, you definitely want to give Every Little Thing a try!

The man I thought I might have been waiting for my whole life.
All this time he’d been standing right in front of me, wearing a suit and a sexy-ass smirk.

After her boyfriend of ten years cheats on her, Bailey is left floundering, unsure of what to do as a thirty-four year old single woman. She had dreams of being married, having the husband and kids, but all of that is up in the air now. But she finds the strength in herself to recognize that she’s an incredible, sexy, independent woman who owns the town inn, has great friends, and is capable of winning any man she wants. But the only man she does want these days is a man she doesn’t even like – Vaughn Tremaine, a rich businessman who breezed into town a few years ago and seems to have made Hartwell his home. Bailey and Vaughn got off on the wrong start, and their relationship has only nosedived from their. They can’t seem to see each other without insulting each other – but when Vaughn ends up saving Bailey one night, she decides to seduce the gorgeous man to see what’s really underneath his cold exterior.

He loved Bailey Hartwell, and it was time to decide whether he could push past his own fears and take what he wanted, or finally let go.

To say Vaughn has issues would be an understatement. He’s a commitment-phobe, and as much as he wants Bailey, as much as he LOVES her, he can’t give her what she wants – the happy family – because he knows he’ll just hurt her in the end. It takes him a while to realize that Bailey Hartwell just might be the best thing that ever happened to him, and it’ll take him a hell of a fight to win her heart. But Vaughn is nothing if determined to win the woman he was meant for.

I adored Every Little Thing SO much! The small-town vibes were absolutely perfect here – Samantha Young did an incredible job of bringing Hartwell to life. Bailey and Vaughn had the most delicious enemies-to-lovers romance – they love to hate and hate to love each other. There’s a little angst, some jealousy, a mountain of chemistry that can’t be ignored, and underneath it all, a love that was slow to grow but once it did, it grew to epic proportions. Every Little Thing was a lovely read. I’m so invested in the story and characters now, and I’m hoping there will be so many more books in the series!


lacey

Reading Order: Hart’s Boardwalk series

 

#1 ~ The One Real Thing: My Review • Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Every Little Thing: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads

One set of the ON DUBLIN STREET series by Samantha Young! (Open Internationally)
One winner will receive all six print titles:
On Dublin Street, Down London Road, Before Jamaica Lane, Fall from India Place, Echoes of Scotland Street, and Moonlight on Nightingale Way!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Audiobook Review: Badd Motherf*cker by Jasinda Wilder

Posted in 4 hearts, Reviews by

Badd Motherf*cker by Jasinda Wilder
Series: Badd Brothers #1 (full reading order below)
Audiobook Publication Date: January 31st 2017
Length: 8 hours and 7 minutes
Narrated by: Summer Roberts & Tyler Dunn
Links: Audible • Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
Source: I received an audiobook in exchange for an honest review

Your wedding day is supposed to be the happiest day of your life, right? That’s what they say, at least. I went into that day hoping I’d get the happiest day of my life. What I got? The worst. I mean, you really can’t get any worse of a day without someone actually dying. So…I may have gotten just a little drunk, and maybe just a tad impetuous…and landed myself in a dive bar somewhere in Alaska, alone, still in my wedding dress, half wasted and heartbroken.

Eight brothers, one bar. Sounds like the beginning to a bad joke, yeah? I kinda think so. Wanna hear another joke? A girl walks into a bar, soaking wet and wearing a wedding dress. I knew I shouldn’t have touched her. She was hammered, for one thing, and heartbroken for another. I’ve chased enough tail to know better. That kinda thing only leads to clinginess, and a clingy female is the last thing on this earth I need. I got a bar needs running and only me to run it – at least until my seven wayward brothers decide to show their asses up…. Then this chick walks in, fine as hell, wearing a soaked wedding dress that leaves little enough to the imagination – and I’ve got a hell of an imagination. I knew I shouldn’t have touched her. Not so much as a finger, not even innocently. But I did.

This was such a fun listen! It was hot, humorous, entertaining, a little heart-wrenching, and overall a breeze to listen to. I really enjoyed Summer Roberts and Tyler Dunn’s narrations – if they’re the narrators for the rest of the series, I definitely wouldn’t mind! They did a fantastic job at voicing Dru and Sebastian. If you’re looking for a fun and hot romance to listen to, look no further than Badd Motherf*cker!

On the day of her wedding, Dru catches her groom with one of her bridesmaids. Angry and heartbroken, Dru takes the first plane out she can find – which turns out to be going to Alaska, of all places. Then, stuck in Alaska, she comes across a bar and its owner Sebastian Badd, the oldest of eight(!) brothers. He’s crazy sexy and the chemistry between them is intense, but is Dru ready to throw caution to the wind and go all in with him so soon after her disastrous almost-wedding?

Sebastian has been taking care of his brothers for years, and after the death of their father, he’s now also trying to take care of the family bar and struggling to keep it afloat. Dru enters his life at the best and worst time, but he recognizes that she’s a once-in-a-lifetime girl and goes after her. It’s a bit of a rocky start, but once Sebastian is determined to win Dru over, there’s nothing that can stop him.

It was so entertaining listening to Dru and Sebastian’s chemistry-filled banter. They’re both so tough and strong, but only with each other do they allow themselves to be vulnerable. Their romance is fast and hot, but not without its complications in the form of a broken wedding. The story also sets up the next Badd Brothers book, who will be about Zane. I’m hoping it will be out in audio soon because Badd Motherf*cker was a blast to listen to!

Badd Motherf*cker is now available on Audible: http://amzn.to/2mOVkhf

4 hearts
lacey

Reading Order: Ghosts and Reincarnation series

   

#1 ~ Badd Motherf*cker: Ebook • Paperback • Audible • Goodreads
#2 ~ Badd Ass: Ebook • Paperback • Goodreads
#3 ~ Badd to the Bone: Goodreads (May 9, 2017)
#4 ~ Good Girl Gone Badd: Goodreads (Aug. 4, 2017)

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