... as much as the word 'shouldn't' keeps resounding in my brain like a goddam siren . . . absolutely nothing about being with Layla f
4 STARS!
... as much as the word 'shouldn't' keeps resounding in my brain like a goddam siren . . . absolutely nothing about being with Layla feels wrong.
YUM! Age-gap, ex-boyfriend's father, angsty, sizzling-hot dirty talk from a usually taciturn cowboy, and just a hint of daddy kink. If you're into any of the above, you'll need to read this.
Yum . . . I only wish there had been a few more scenes to cement Issy and Judah4 STARS!
I'll be so good to her, she just needs to let me.
Yum . . . I only wish there had been a few more scenes to cement Issy and Judah's relationship. So happy to have found a new author to read. Thanks Isabella! <3...more
"You and I were destined to end up like this, no matter how we fought."
So I admit that the title of this one had my expectation4.5 STARS!
"You and I were destined to end up like this, no matter how we fought."
So I admit that the title of this one had my expectations in the basement. To me, titles that explain the book's content indicate quickie smut reads, like the author put about as much effort into naming the book as the book itself.
Well, ha! The joke was on me in this case. Because this was freaking awesome.
He gave me that kiss, and now it's mine forever.
There was plenty of depth here and I felt every angsty moment between Baylor and Owen down to my toes. This was age gap done amazingly well!
I admit, however, that I hated the events near the end . . . but I'm not going to be a dick and round down, because it's a personal preference thing. (view spoiler)[I HATE it when there's a separation between the characters. To my mind, they should be working out their shit together, not apart. (hide spoiler)]
Definitely worth reading if you love a good bodyguard age gap!...more
He knew the price was more than fair. A little fear for all of her love.
OH WOW! I'm seriously enjoying this series. I've said 4.5 STARS!!
He knew the price was more than fair. A little fear for all of her love.
OH WOW! I'm seriously enjoying this series. I've said it before and I'll say it again: NO ONE does intelligent smut like Eve Dangerfield.
Plot in a nutshell: Popular jock and awkward girl fall in love in high school. He makes it big and ditches her . . . only to seriously regret it. Fate puts her back in his path ten years later; he's convinced they'll live happily ever after, she's not interested.
On the surface, Return All is about how Derek (the manwhore) mistreats Mara (the meek submissive) but still gets his HEA . . .
===> except holy shit, you guys, this book was SO MUCH MORE. The story takes the reader deep into a layered wonderland of gender roles, double standards, and kink. I LOVED every word.
First, let's talk about these deliciously flawed characters.
Derek, Derek, Derek. The man was so true to life; self-absorbed yet oh so vulnerable and looking for meaning in all the wrong places.
It would be easier if he could stick to one-night stands, but then there wasn't time to get into anything good. Everything he liked required trust.
I loved the way Mara did her best to hold him to the coals.
"I want you to know how serious I am. Me not sleeping with anyone is a big deal." Mara couldn't help snorting. "To who, Derek?"
I wasn't the biggest fan of Mara in the beginning, but as the story unfolded and I got a better idea of how far she'd come since high school, I grew to love her.
Mara was able to hold her own against present-day Derek in all aspects except one: their sexual relationship.
She knew he was referencing the hours he'd spent as her daddy, and she didn't want him to go there. They were her memories too and she didn't want to transfer them onto this bigger, older Derek Hardiman.
The way the author wove their super-charged D/s daddy kink into 'real life' was just amazing. Because that kind of thing can't exist in a vacuum, and by addressing this question . . .
If I'm not Mara's daddy, who the fuck am I to her?
. . . the story shined.
Derek wanted to see their whole relationship through the D/s lens that he'd crafted as an eighteen year old. He wanted to be the 'big man' in all ways, all traditional ways, and Mara wasn't interested in assuaging his ego or dealing with his misogyny. She wasn't the same girl she was all those years ago.
"You got to be the star and she was your little supporting actress."
The main conflict of the story rang so very true for me and watching both characters come to terms with themselves and each other was magic.
After all they'd gone through and everything they'd missed over the past ten years, who could promise it would all be okay?
I'm now eagerly awaiting the next book in the series ===> Willow!
A huge thank you to the author for providing me with an arc of this book....more
I didn't need a charming prince at my side. I needed a villain at my back.
What an amazing premise . . . even though I didn't 3.75 STARS!
I didn't need a charming prince at my side. I needed a villain at my back.
What an amazing premise . . . even though I didn't wholly buy the dynamic between Juliet and Maximo, which felt a bit forced to me, this was still a pretty great book. It held my attention from beginning to end and I loved the comic relief in between the all the intensity....more
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