Furious Rush by S.C. Stephens

The first in an emotion-fueled, New Adult series from the #1 bestselling author of the Thoughtless novels!

Too fast, too furious—and way too hot to handle…

Mackenzie Cox has a lot to prove. Daughter of a racing legend, she is eager to show the world that she has inherited her father's talent in the male-dominated sport of professional motorcycle racing. The last thing Kenzie needs is to be antagonized by her rival team's newest rider, Hayden Hayes. Plucked from the world of illegal street racing, Hayden immediately gets under Kenzie's skin. His insinuations that Kenzie is a spoiled princess who was handed her career fuels her desire to win, and much to her surprise, Kenzie soon learns she performs better when she's racing against Hayden.

As Kenzie and Hayden push each other on the track, the electric energy between them off the track shifts into an intense—and strictly forbidden—attraction. The only rule between their two ultra-competitive teams is zero contact. Kenzie always does her best to play by the rules, but when her team slips into a financial crisis, she has no choice but to turn to Hayden for help. The tension simmers during their secret, late-night rendezvous, but Kenzie has too much to lose to give in to her desires. Especially when she begins to doubt that Hayden has completely left his street life behind...

He's the cocky, sexy, street racer all the girls flock to.

She's a stick in the mud, strait-laced, disciplined, daughter of a legend.

She has something to prove. Her family depends on her.. the future of her family's company depends on her.

There's something about him that had me intrigued. What is he hiding? What is he trying to prove?

"We were both struggling for respect, we were both fighters, we were both underdogs."

They have uber chemistry, but can't act on it. They are enemies. Their relationship, friendship, is strictly forbidden!

You know where this is going...

I could not wait to read this. Anyone said to be "better" than Kellan Kyle has my attention! Who said that? Don't remember, but wish they hadn't gotten my hopes up that high!

Although Hayden is very likable and charming...

The beginning was a little slow for me, to be honest. I felt there was a lot of internalizing on Kenzie's part. It took me a bit to get into it. Around the 50% mark I got more of what I was looking for. 

Their relationship started to blossom. Things were getting real.

I started to see the characters change and grow. Especially Kenzie.

"I was beginning to feel very...free...with him."

Unfortunately things seemed to kind of veer off course a bit...

and things became a little far-fetched. 

It had a little who-done-it feel in the middle of a budding romance... but things resolved quickly while others had very strange outcomes.

Can't exactly tell you who done it, but I was just left a little perplexed.

Their connection was strong. Their chemistry explosive.

I just didn't get completely wrapped up in it as I was hoping to.

Not sure if this is a cliffy per se... but I was left a little slack-jawed in the end.

Will there be a book two? I'm not sure... but of course I'll be reading it!

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Alasdair (Masters Among Monsters #1) by Ella Frank

Blurb

A DANGEROUS ALLURE

Bestowed with eternal life by the Ancient Vasilios, Alasdair Kyriakous is one of the most feared and ruthless vampires in existence. His name carries weight across all of the seven continents. 

But he is a mystery to his kind, an anomaly among the self-indulgent. While he enjoys the pleasures of the flesh, he is exceptionally particular in his choice of partners and prides himself on his ironclad self-control.

Yet with one look his control will become a thing of the past, and Alasdair will discover that eternal life doesn’t always last forever…

A DEADLY ATTRACTION

Thrust into a world he could never have imagined, Leo Chapel awakens in his worst nightmare. Taken hostage by the dangerously mesmerizing vampire, Alasdair, Leo must rely on his intelligence to escape before he reveals a secret he isn’t even aware he’s hiding.

A FORBIDDEN DESIRE

Unaware that they’ve been brought together by an outside force and are little more than pawns to a higher power, Alasdair and Leo spend time trying to uncover the other’s secrets, the attraction between them growing stronger all the while. 

But enemies are watching and preparing to act against them. When decisions that will alter lives and destinies have to be made—can a dead, grey heart learn to beat again?

My Review

Only Ella Frank could have me so immersed in a genre I wouldn't usually go for, that while on vacation I made my husband sit in the hotel room for hours while I finished reading her book!!

Vampires. Forbidden. Overwhelming animalistic desire!

The fixation and fascination they had for each other was overwhelmingly erotic. 

There was something in the air. 

I could feel it. 

I wanted to touch it. 

I wanted to be bitten!!!

"An arrogant as fuck smile stretched across Alasdair's lips, and he went from sexy to downright fucking dangerous in seconds."

Such a different world. Very different from what I'm used to reading.

I love M/M. I love Ella's erotic/sensual writing.

So add to that mystery and intrigue and I was hooked! I couldn't put it down!!!

I want more!!

I need more!!

Just One Summer by AD Justice

Blurb 

 Jagger York is the sexy, confident lead singer of a popular band who plans to take his music to the next level. 
Mali Greyson is a sheltered good girl who has her sights set on the gold–Olympic gold. 
Their paths would’ve never crossed until a mutual friend introduces them one summer night. 
Jagger can give Mali the one thing she secretly wants and desperately needs–the courage to be a little wild and crazy. 
Mali can give Jagger the one thing he desperately seeks–access to her father, a well-known, music producer. 
The deal is they both walk away at the end of the season. 
No strings, no regrets, and no looking back. 
This agreement is supposed to last for just one summer. 
But this one summer may just turn out to be too hot to handle. 

My Review

This was an entertaining, quick and fun read.

Jagger is your typical bad boy musician. Girls flock to him like moths to a flame and he loves every minute of it.

Mali is the girl next door. She's sweet, beautiful, talented and although shy and quiet on the outside.. has a wildcat inside just waiting to get out!

Let me start by saying that I usually don't read novellas.

I need depth, I need romance, angst, a connection... and it takes time to develop all of that. In a novella, time is something you don't have!

BUT, this book did have everything I look for in a great book. All the boxes were ticked.

There's a rock star, a good girl, angst, drama, lust and ultimately a HEA.. all wrapped up in a small little package.

If you're looking for a sweet and sexy, quick beach read, I recommend you give this one a try!

Amazon 

Trapped (Caged, #2) by Shay Savage

Bizarre rituals on a remote island in Maine.

My crazy neighbor lying naked in the produce section of a grocery store.

The sting of a knife as it slices through my flesh.

Now I know why they say life is never easy.

The soft touch of Tria’s hand against my chest is the only thing that keeps me going, but there are consequences. As a fighter, I should be able to deal with anything life throws at me, but there is one circumstance I simply can’t handle.

I only have one coping mechanism: a tube around my arm and a needle in my vein.

In book 1 we meet Liam and Tria. They form an unlikely friendship and eventually it turns into more, but we're left with questions...

Book 2 picks up right were 1 left off and thank goodness for that, because we were left with a glimpse into Tria's very bizarre world! 

There's no other way to explain it!

Although this one has many of the same qualities as the first, it took a bit of a turn and has quite a different feel to it.

Bizarro world is explained and understood a bit more. Tria grew up quite unconventionally and it takes a bit of getting used to. I feel I can understand her a bit better now.

Like the first book, I was laughing out loud!

Poor Liam has the patience of a saint! Well, when it comes to Tria anyway.

"I felt like the Count from Sesame Street- "Four! Four days before you can have sex! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

There's also sexy and sweet. 

Liam is a completely different person with Tria. He's attentive, kind and caring... nothing at all like Takedown Teague!

This time we also get a little more intimacy between these two... and by that I mean down right naughty!!!! And it was a long time coming! 

Finally, we're awarded a look into Liam's world, the little bit he allows us to see. He's angry, violent and just plain broken!

It's obvious he's been traumatized and although Tria seems to be the only thing that has been able to help calm him, she may not be enough!

Like a punch to the gut... this one ends on a cliffy.

A hold your breath, what the hell were you thinking, cliffy!

And I can not wait for the conclusion!!! 

AMAZON LINKS

Caged: Takedown Teague http://amzn.to/1MH1MPs

Trapped (Caged, #2) http://amzn.to/1SW3SdW

Released (Caged, #3) http://amzn.to/1KLTyq3

Out of Time (Nine Minutes, #2) by Beth Flynn

They thought with his execution it would all be over. 
They were wrong.

The leader of one of South Florida’s most notorious and brutal motorcycle gangs has been put to death by lethal injection. Days later, his family and friends should have been picking up the pieces, moving on. Instead, they’ve been catapulted into a world so twisted and dangerous even the most ruthless among them would be stunned to discover the tangled web of deception, not only on the dangerous streets of South Florida but all the way to the top. 

In this gripping follow-up novel to Nine Minutes, Out of Time takes readers from the sun-drenched flatlands of 1950s Central Florida to the vivid tropical heat of Fort Lauderdale to the halls of Florida’s Death Row as we finally learn the gritty backstory of Jason “Grizz” Talbot, the terrifying leader of Satan’s Army motorcycle gang, and the secret he spent his life trying to conceal. 

Not even Grizz’s inner circle knows his full story—the tragedy that enveloped his early life, the surprise discovery that made him the government’s most wanted and most feared, and the depths of his love for Ginny, the tenderhearted innocent he’d once abducted and later made his wife.

Once Grizz’s obsession and now the mother of his child, Ginny has spent years grieving the man she’d first resisted and then came to love. Now remarried to Tommy, a former member of the gang, the pair have spent more than a decade trying desperately to live a normal existence far from the violent, crime-ridden world they’d once carved out on the edge of the Florida Everglades. For Tommy, especially, the stakes are high. Desperately in love with Ginny for years, he’s finally living his dream: married to the woman he never thought he could have. But even with the façade of normalcy—thriving careers, two beautiful children, and a genuinely happy and loving marriage—they can’t seem to put the past behind them. Every time they turn around, another secret is revealed, unraveling the very bonds that hold them together. 

And with Grizz finally put to death, now Ginny has learned secrets so dark, so evil she’s not even sure she can go on. 

Will these secrets tear their love to pieces? And how far will Grizz go to protect what he still considers his, even from beyond the grave?

"As the old saying goes, life goes on. Time heals."

WOW, just wow! 

Beth Flynn is a master at weaving an intricate tale. I am in awe of her talent!

At the end of Nine Minutes I was left with my mouth hanging open. Not only was that one hell of a ride, but I was left with so many questions and plenty of WTFs rolling around in my head!

"So many secrets, so many."

Out of Time shed light on all of it.

Frankly, it's like two books in one. It's an in depth look, recap if you will, of Nine Minutes, with so much more detail and insight. 
Into the whys and hows.

And at the same time, it's Tommy and Ginny's life after Grizz's execution. Life after Tommy's betrayal.

"Her love for Grizz made her compromise her values. Who had she been back then? Who was she now?"

The story goes from past to present many times. Not only do we get to delve deeper into the past that we already know about from NM, but we're given the gift of both Grunt and Grizz's childhoods.

And oh my god will you need tissues!!! 
Heartbreaking!

I cried so many times while reading. So many emotions. 

Love and loss, regret and hurt.

The story jumps around a lot and is filled with twist after twist. 

What you think you know, you don't.

There were moments I was so angry. You already know about all the crying, and then there were moments of joy.

I'll have to be honest and say one thing in particular kind of left me saying 

"say what now?" but that's just me and it didn't take away from the story.

It's hard not to want to say more. There's SO much I want to talk about, but that would ruin the story for others.

It was amazing and brilliant. 

Are questions answered? Yes. 

Are there more questions to be answered now? Definitely! 

Was I left the same way as with book 1, with my mouth hanging open and a wtf? rolling off my tongue? 

Abso-fucking-lutely!

And I loved every single minute of it!!

AMAZON

Toxic by Kim Karr

Blurb

The New York Times bestselling author of the Connections novels turns up the heat in a sexy new romance about money, power, danger, and passion…

Sometimes you have to wonder if your life is just too good to be true.

Is it real or just an illusion?

Does the man lying beside you really love you like he says he does?

If the answer is yes, you’re meant to live happily ever after.

If the answer is no, you’re living my life…

and nothing will ever be the same.

I know I should walk away, but I can't.

I’ll take whatever I can get for as long as it lasts.

I know when it’s over…

I’ll never find another man like him. 

My Review

TOXIC!

Jeremy and Phoebe have just that, a toxic relationship. 

From the start their relationship is based on lies, omissions and mistrust..... 

and as the story progresses, trust, jealousy and secrets threaten to derail them for good.

I was intrigued in the very beginning, Jeremy and Phoebe couldn't be more different. Her being the daughter of a very wealthy family and he the son of a working class single mother. 

Unfortunately for me it turned out to be a bit too chaotic and the back and forth ping ponging of their relationship gave me whiplash. 

I felt as if I was watching an episode of Ron and Sam from The Jersey Shore!

Ok, maybe that is a tad harsh of a comparison!

Their chemistry was explosive, from the moment they met. They couldn't take their hands off each other! 

Literally. 

All the time. 

Anywhere. 

Everywhere.

This story has a lot of sex, hurt feelings, wrong impressions, strong bonds between friends and love.

There's also many characters, with their lives all intermingling. 

Again, for me, even the friends was a bit too much.

I know I'm in the minority here, so please don't let my opinion deter you from reading this book. I do love Kim Karr and have enjoyed her other stories. 

This one was just ok for me, but might be exactly what you're looking for.

Toxic relationship. Crazy lust. Second chances.

AMAZON

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Flawed Love by Bella Jewel

BLURB

Rainer Torrence is everything I could have wanted in my life and more.

He became my best friend when I was Thirteen years old.

From then on, we were inseparable. He was my first love and my first heartbreak.

But I always thought it was forever.

Until his Father died and things went bad.

Then suddenly, he disappeared.

Ten years and I didn’t see or hear from him.

Then came the call I’d be praying for– he was back in town.

Only the man I remembered is not him.

This man is quiet, deadly, and so incredibly beautiful.

He also doesn’t remember me.

He looks into my eyes, and he sees nothing.

Nothing.

So, I let him believe I’m just a girl that walked into his bar.

I let him believe I’m just a friend.

I let him use me on the cold, dark nights.

I let him believe that I am as emotionless about our relationship as he is.

I just let the secret go on and on.

But all secrets have an end, don’t they?

REVIEW

I loved it!!!

Ok, let me start off by saying, this was my first ever read by Bella Jewel. 

I always get Bella Jewel, Belle Aurora and Aurora Rose Reynolds mixed up! It's crazy, but I do. I always think, yeah, I've read her books before.. but when I looked into it, no, no I haven't!!

WHY? Why have I not read any of her work yet? This ends now!!

Or should I say, this begins now!!!

Best friends, tragedy, hurt, loss, secrets and sex!

What would you do if your one true love just up and disappeared? The only boy you opened your heart to, who protected and cared for you. 

That was Rainer for Amalie.

Amalie was insecure, young and inexperienced. You could call her an ugly duckling.. or was that just her perception of herself?

Rainer was a brooding bad boy. He was gorgeous. And he was her best friend.

One day he was gone, never to be heard from again.

I devoured this book! I started it this morning and was finished by mid afternoon! There was sadness, love, pain and heart ache. As well as some sexy hotness and oh so yummy Rainer. I mean, dayum!

Where had he been? What had happened and why didn't he recognize his best friend?

Ugh, the angst!

I don't always enjoy books that go from past to present, I just want to get to the good stuff and know what's happening!!! BUT, I  really did here. 

I enjoyed the supporting characters as well and am anxious to not only read on about Raide, but also backtrack and read about Max and Belle in Flawed Heart!

(I'm ass-backwards, I know)

AMAZON

Revved (Revved #1) by Samantha Towle

                 

Race car mechanic Andressa "Andi" Amaro has one rule—no dating drivers. With a good reason behind the rule, she has no plans on breaking it.

Carrick Ryan is the bad boy of Formula One. With a face and body that melts panties on sight, and an Irish lilt that leaves women on their knees, begging for more. He races hard and parties harder. The youngest driver to ever sign with F1, he’s still at the top of his game five years later, breaking hearts on and off the tracks.

When Andi is offered her dream job working in the glamorous world of F1, she leaves her home in Brazil, positive she can handle working for Carrick. But she’s not prepared for the off-the-chart sparks that fly the moment they meet.

Now, Andi has a crush on the one man she can’t have, and her resolve is about to be put to the test, because Carrick has decided he wants Andi, and he plans on testing her to the very limit…

I've given myself time to gather my words properly, but it didn't work!

Simply put, I loved this story!!

First, I have to say I read this to myself in an English accent!

Seriously.. with a little Irish thrown in. It wasn't pretty at times, but a must!

Carrick- as in Car-rick. Carr for short.

He's devastatingly gorgeous, a smooth talker, sexy, funny, sweet, and did I mention gorgeous?

Andi- beautiful, tall, looks like a model but loves nothing more than getting her hands dirty under the hood of a car.

She gives as good as she gets.

I enjoyed the banter and slick come back between the characters. There's flirting, there's laughter, and there's friendship.

Great supporting cast of characters as well.

This story was quite emotional! It's sad, sweet, funny, sexy, dirty and hot!!!

Carrick and Andi have an instant chemistry, whether they want to or not and being with each other is inevitable.

Both flawed characters, both fighting against themselves and each other.

I must admit, there were moments I wanted to reach out and throttle Andi! She was driving me crazy... but I didn't let it stop me. I knew why she behaved the way she did, even if she didn't, and I am so happy with the way things turned out and how they were explained.

I read this book in one sitting. I didn't want to put it down! Ok, I did have to stop to make my family dinner, but that's it!

Quick, entertaining and smoking hot read!

AMAZON