Our rules were simple.
Our passion was scandalous.
Our hearts were supposed to be safe…

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WOW!! If you’re a fan of sexy, angsty, and intense forbidden romance, then this is the book for you! I have to admit that I’m always drawn to mysterious, tortured heroes with hidden pain. They steal my heart every time and Jake made my heart ache even while making me swoon and fan myself. The romance was hot, HOT, H-O-T and Gillian and Jake were oddly so perfect for each other despite the undeniable fuckedupness of their relationship. He had rules. She had feelings. Their chemistry was sizzling. Their workplace relationship was utterly forbidden. But their connection was undeniable. And they kept being drawn back to each other over and over again…

He and I met under a cloud of clichés:
Boy meets girl. Boy charms girl. Boy fucks girl.
Our story was supposed to end right after the orgasms, right after we went our separate ways.

But then we saw each other again…
And neither of us could walk away.

Our rules were simple.
Our passion was scandalous.
Our hearts were supposed to be safe…

But when you find something so all-consuming–something so intoxicating and inescapable, you’ll risk everything you’ve ever had, even if you’re destined to crash and burn.

This is us.
This is our messed up love.
This is turbulence.

From the very first page of the book, we’re thrown right into the turbulence of their relationship. It’s chaotic and emotionally charged. Their attraction is palatable, their feelings intense, and yet his hidden pain keeps them distant.

I was really impressed with the way this author really made you FEEL for these characters right from the start of the book even before you knew anything about them or their relationship for that matter. But my heart was racing even within the first few pages. Without a doubt, I cared for them and I wanted to know more.

So here’s the rub — she’s a stewardess, he’s a pilot, their company has a strict non-fraternizing policy which they were breaking it six ways from Sunday with their secret hookups around the world. But the thing is that we don’t know the full story from the start. The first chapter is a glimpse of where they are now — their turbulence — but in order to get the full story, we’re taken right back to the beginning…

Jake fascinated me. He was completely damaged, incredibly intelligent, equally driven and broken, unabashedly brazen and unapologetic, emotionally distant, and very careful to never allow anyone to get close to him. He was also very abrupt in his mannerisms and I think that you could definitely interpret it as him being an asshole, but truthfully, he was right in just about every situation — it was the people around him who were asking stupid questions and while most people’s sense of politeness inhibits them from drawing attention to that, but I honestly appreciated his no-bullshit attitude. Also, the more you read, the more you understood what made him that way.

Gillian was just trying to get her life in order. As the black sheep of her family, she was determined to find success on her own, in her own way. But that wasn’t easy and she struggled hard in her quest for independence.

One of her jobs included housekeeping for an exclusive penthouse. The owner was rarely ever present, and even though she knew it was wrong, sometimes she would secretly stay the night in it. She put in extra effort to keep it functional and organized in the mysterious owner’s absence and somehow she justified it to herself.

Jake’s one sanctuary was his home in NYC — a gorgeous, exclusive penthouse (yup, you can connect the dots now) — but over the last few weeks he’d found certain things, disturbed there or out of their place. Not knowing why since his housekeeping denied it, this remained a mystery to him. Until his path crossed with Gillian one night at a party and the sparks flew between them…

His smirk slid into a cocky smile. “Did you come here alone?”
“I came alone,” I said, barely hearing my own voice.
“Hmmm.” His fingers slid down to my neck, his heated touch setting my skin on fire. “Did you plan on leaving here alone?”
“What if I did?”
“Then I think you need to change your mind.” With that, his hand went around my waist and he pulled me close, kissing me deeply, making me forget the people around us…

They left together and when she suggested they go to her place, imagine his shock when she took him back to HIS penthouse — with no idea it was his.

“This was his apartment. I’d just brought him here for a one-night stand and given him a tour of his own fucking apartment… “

Despite his shock, Jake found himself drawn to her almost against his will. He’d never been one to call a girl after, develop attachments, or be exclusive. He certainly didn’t let anyone into his life, but he couldn’t get this one girl off his mind. As so began their relationship — of sorts.

“Gillian.” His mouth returned to mine. “Say yes to fucking me at landing.”
“No.” I bit his lip and stepped back. “I can’t.”
He looked completely confused. “And why is that?”
“Because if I were to sleep with you again, I’d have to be your only one.”
…
“If I agree to this,” he said, his jaw clenched. “There will be no late night emotional talks, no mention of the words ‘more’ ‘us’ or ‘relationship’, and I won’t be taking you out on any dates… You don’t get to ask me questions about anything more than if I can go harder, longer, and deeper… We’ll share our bodies, not out lives… That’s all I can ever give you.”

I have to admit I loved seeing the way she slowly broke through his walls and reached into his heart that he’d so strongly shut away from the world. It was a slow process, and was one he resisted every step of the way. But for every time he tried to stay away, he kept needing to return to her. And for every time she tried to walk away, she always kept running back to him. It’s like they were meant to be, and honestly — I loved that! I don’t know why but there’s something incredibly appealing about watching a tortured hero be slowly healed by his love for the heroine. It has been done about a million times already, but it never fails to tug my heart strings!

He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close, using his free hand to wipe away my tears with his fingertips. He caresses my back and kisses the corners of my mouth, softly biting my bottom lip like he usually does, right before he fucks me. “You know that I never want to hurt you.”
“Do I?”
“You fucking should.” He bites my bottom lip again, much harder this time, and then he whispers against my mouth. “I need you to give ‘us’ another chance.”

Please note that this is definitely an erotic romance and trust me, it is HOT HOT HOT!!! I was fanning myself for pages on end and it’ll certainly hit the spot if you’ve been looking for a sexy romance to read!

Everything about the romance side of this book was addictive and absorbing to me. I couldn’t get enough of THEM and their relationship. However my one complaint is that there was a lot of “other” side storylines that I honestly just wasn’t interested in. There were things in the last third of the book in Gillian’s life that I almost wanted to skim through to get back to THEM, and there were things from Jake’s life in the first half of the book that I found to be a little confusing and towards the end, I would have liked more answers about his past. I just wish the focus of the book had been more exclusively on them and their relationship because I cared about that part with all my heart!! There’s no cheating, no triangle, and it has a resolved ending. But I have to admit I did really wish for an epilogue.

I read this book in one sitting and didn’t want to put it down. It was hot, addictive, and deliciously angsty! It was my first book by this author and definitely counts as a new favorite!

Rating: 4+ stars. Standalone erotic romance.

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“What makes you think something is wrong with your mind?”
“Because the last eight hours of my life don’t make sense. It all feels real, but it can’t possibly be.”

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What a BRILLIANT book!! Full disclosure: this is nothing like what I usually review. I’m a romance reader and this book is a sci-fi thriller so trust me, I am shocked I loved it. But I did. I seriously LOVED it! It’s a new favorite of year!

Imagine you had a life you loved: a husband/wife, a son, a lifetime of memories. Then imagine waking up one day and your family is GONE. Not dead, not taken, but gone — like they never existed. That’s what happened to this hero. And this is his story of doing everything in his power to get back to the woman he loves more than anything.

If Fringe, Orphan Black, The Notebook, and The Matrix had a book baby, this would be it. And it was awesome! I usually hate this “type” of book but as I said, this one was brilliant. It made sense. It was character driven. It had a love story. It was gripping. I could not put it down. If you’re looking for something totally DIFFERENT, try this!!

A few things I want to mention because it’s a sci-fi thriller is that the story takes place in the real world: there’s absolutely no time travel, it’s not in the future, and there’s no space stuff. Also it’s a standalone with a HEA. I’m saying that bluntly because this is a thriller and they don’t all have them and I want to reassure my largely romance-reader following that this has an ending you’ll be happy with.

One of the main reasons that I decided to read this was that I was just in the mood for something to shake my reading up. I love my “reading box” — I’m a romance addict through and through and that genre has my heart, but once in a while I just need to go in a completely other direction just to… cleanse my palate so to speak. And this book was such a pleasant surprise because not only did it deliver exactly what I was looking for by keeping me engaged and interested, but it ended up a favorite! I’ve been bugging my husband to read it all day because I just want someone to talk to about the story! It just really makes you wonder. You’ll see what I mean when you read it…

“Are you happy with your life?”

Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.

Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.

Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.”

In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.

Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? …

Dark Matter is a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human—a relentlessly surprising science-fiction thriller about choices, paths not taken, and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of.

I was hooked right from the start of the book. Can you just imagine if your husband, wife, or child suddenly disappeared — like there was literally no trace of them existing? But you spent the last 15 years of your life with them — you know they’re real. So what happened? Are you crazy? Or is there just maybe, an explanation. If there is an explanation, how do you figure it out? Luckily, the hero of this story was a scientist. Problem solving was his expertise and even though what was happening to him was terrifying beyond all reason, (to quote The Martian) he had to “science the shit” out of it. BUT the very important thing was that even though a scientific explanation was discovered as the story progressed, it never once bogged down the story. The focused remained on HIM — his emotional, personal experiences so I always remained emotionally connected to what was happening. At its core, this is a story about a man who loves his wife so much that he is willing to do anything to find her again.

I was pulled into this story.
Surprised by it.
Shocked by the twists.
Intrigued by the complexity.
Fascinated by the explanation.
Desperate for this man to find his way back to his wife and son.

My exact note from the first quarter of the book is: WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING?????!!!

I whisper, “Now what?”
And he says, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

I think it helped a lot that I really loved the hero of the story. This man was just so goddamn good — like, right to his core. I couldn’t help but feel for him and the author takes you through this journey with him that just feels so real. You understand his choices, you experience his desperation, and you cling to his fleeting shreds of hope.

And the final thing that really made this book a winner for me was that the explanation of what was happening MADE SENSE. There were no giant leaps of faith — at least no more than you’d have when watching Fringe or The Matrix — and it was just logical enough to be something you accepted without questions. There were no plot holes either. Everything genuinely came together cohesively and rounded out to a very satisfying ending!

I’d consider this to be a top favorite book of the year! The writing was strong, the story was unique, addictive, made me feel, kept me guessing, and even after I finished reading, I can’t stop thinking about it! This is the first book of its kind that I’ve reviewed on my blog but I highly recommend it to anyone looking for something really different!

Rating: 5 stars! Standalone sci-fi thriller.

• Buy DARK MATTER (Kindle)
• Buy DARK MATTER (Hardcover)
• Buy DARK MATTER (Audiobook)

PS: Yes, in my opinion this book is worth it’s price-tag. I paid full price for the eBook and then loved it enough that I also bought the Hardcover for my favorites shelf after!

PPS: According to Deadline, there’s a movie deal in the works with Sony! They said that “The author will write the script when he completes the book.” so I can’t WAIT! This story would make an absolutely fantastic movie!