THE BAD BOY WHO WANTS ME - GEORGIA LE CARRE ... @georgialecarre

It'd be criminal to not start this review by stating my love for Georgia Le Carre's books!! I think other than one at a 4.5 all of them have been solid 5 star reads for me. 

I'm passionate about them. 

They totally have my heart.

 

HOWEVER!!...I'm not going to lie!!

My star off is for the first 15% ish of this one which honestly threw me off course.

  

I couldn't get a single shred of my beloved 

Georgia Le Carre in the writing or story and having read every one of her books and knowing within two pages that it's one of hers, I found this a bit off putting. 

Gone are the conspiracy theories, quotes, smart headers (the 'OMG...' chapter headers were just awful), poems, deep, deep smooth beautiful writing 

and even the odd joke! 

The story itself didn't feel 
as if it was going to be strong at that point 

and for me that was a proper WTF hour...

 

BUT!!! 

It is a GLC (and admittedly Laura Jack who I haven't read) so I had to push through the pissy mood it was putting me in and PHEW!!! I'm really glad that I did!! 

Although this isn't billed as a dark read, I did initially find the premise quite dark, super fan turns stalker gets job with the family in order to get close to the H, but as I read it, it came to life in a much lighter way and I had to remember that the h was a kid when she was heavily into him - so all was well and Cash's beautiful bad boy turns good man attitude won me over.

  

And when it got hot, it got sizzling!!!

Overall, it is a really good book - one that I read in a 

couple of sessions and couldn't put down in the end.

   

ARC Review: Hypnotized by Georgia Le Carre

Poss 3.75 for me - see review!

Not much beats a Georgia Le Carre read!
She writes smart smut that I love to devour.

 It's always so much more than a simple romance. For women that need a bit more to think about in their erotica than just the erotic bits, she's the perfect author! I spend a fair portion of each of her books googling the detail and content of them! I always learn something new and I love that. 

Hypnotized is a standalone, darkly fascinating story set in London. It tells the tale of Lady Olivia Swanson who's lost her memory and Dr Marlow Kane the Neurologist turned Hypnotist that heals her. There is an abuse element in
the story told through Olivia's thoughts and Marlow's hypnosis of her, but none of it is crass or overwhelming. Georgia oozes class into her work so it's never going to be nasty.


And as always with a GLC when it gets hot... 




...it gets 
scorching!
Oh yes!!

I'm reviewing at a 3.75 to a 4 because it does have a melancholic feel (Particularly in the the first half) that I personally don't ever thrive on. I can appreciate a story with melancholy, but I never feel a connection with the characters of this kind of read (when there's gloom involved) even dark erotica isn't necessarily gloomy - for me, funny erotica will win out every time.

Cue my Blind Obsession by Elle Frank review/thoughts... 

A brilliant author but Ughhh two years on and I'm still not over how depressing that book was for me!! 

I found in this story that I was much more fascinated by Marlow's history than Olivia's. Not quite sure that that was the plan for this book but the letters from his wife were so bitter and shocking, so twisted that it felt like the ultimate revenge and I wanted to explore that more. You have to get all the way to the HEA ending to understand his history fully - making this a worthwhile read that I hope you'll give a chance to.

Loved the joke again Georgia! I've repeated it a dozen times to friends! LOL who knew bestiality could be so funny! ; )

ARC REVIEW: Vandal {Ashes & Embers #2} by Carian Cole

“Loving me will not be easy, loving me will be war. You will hold the gun and I will hand you the bullets. So breathe, and embrace the beauty of the massacre that lies ahead.”

 - R. M. Drake

~Perfection~
I love that quote so much 

"Without you, I wouldn't want to live, Tabitha. That’s where I was when we met. I wanted to die, just like you did. I was slowly trying to kill myself. I was drinking all the time, and taking pills, cutting myself, torturing myself.I got kicked out of the band. My life was destroyed, and I didn't give a shit."

Wow! The quotes above pretty much tell you everything you need to know going into this one!

It also means that this isn't 

the easiest book for me to review. 

It's a darker read than Storm - it packed a lot in. 

I'm pretty sure that had the story line been simpler and a bit more loving I could have hit a 4.5/5, 

but it is what it is and it didn't really ignite me 

the way that I hoped it would.

I think my biggest problem (and the dropped star) was that Vandal Valentine just wasn't my cup of tea. Between him being a millionaire, Dom wanting a 24/7 sub, (from a woman that he should have been much more honest and decent with) 

a rock star, a tattoo artist, 

a self harming control freak with 

a bad attitude toward his friends and family 

(no wonder they didn't seem to be around much!) but above all a grieving father 

- it was almost too much for me - like everything and the kitchen sink was thrown at it.

I think prefer the main character to be one or two 

of the above and that the plot follow just one or two paths? I don't know? But all of that took a bit away from the story for me. I think if you love Vandal, you'll fall hard for him. Personally I preferred Storm.

I don't think there's a way to explain how I feel about the story line without major spoilers and going into how strange I found Tabi's behavior

(like not wanting to know Vandal's name/band etc 

 I don't know a single woman on the planet that wouldn't want to know those things)

Overall, I enjoy this authors way with words 

she's a talented lady - I sincerely hope that this book does well and that 4 stars puts me in the minority. I wanted this to be a 5 star read so badly!

My Storm Review...

Quick mention for Sterling the blind cat 

(and star of the book!)

I really, REALLY loved his inclusion, his story 

and that the real life Sterling is being looked after. 

He's definitely a 10!!

Well done Carian for helping him 

with a portion of sales from the book.

click the pic to go to Sterling's page!

 In exchange for an honest review 

ARC REVIEW: Bend Don't Break - Skye Callahan

I've got to be honest and say that I thought Irrevocable was a standalone read!

I'm definitely not complaining that 

Skye wrote this 2nd book! 

With the overlap in time (love, love, loved! It answers lots of questions I had about James - I think we needed that) and 

a continuing story from James' POV it

became a more complete story. 

I really liked James and especially his coming 

to terms with what he'd done at the retreat

and the man he'd become because of it.
It just worked.

You can't beat a great HEA!

...With a bit of kink!

This second book isn't as dark
 as Irrevocable, it's more suspense filled. 
I enjoyed that side of it but not quite as much 
as the darkness of book one. 

Overall it's a great story, 

I'd highly recommend it.

My book 1 review...

Thanks so much Skye for kindly gifting us.