Book Review – Leave Me Breathless (Ross Siblings #3) by Cherrie Lynn

4.5 stars

“Tattooed. Pierced. Shaved head, though right now he wore a black baseball cap pulled low over his eyes…”

And yes, ladies, its THAT kind of piercing! *winks*

Do I have your attention yet?? 😀

I loved this book!!!! The banter was pure gold, the story was sweet, the sex was scorching HOT HOT HOT and the characters were lovable.

The hotness, and by that I mean hotter-than-hell-melt-your-panties-need-a-cold-shower-fanning-self-oh-my-god-H-O-T-N-E-S-S starts right in the first scene and only escalates from there. Seriously, talking about sizzling chemistry! I’m getting flushed just thinking about it!

This book should be read near an AC vent, with several drool buckets handy. I mean holyyyyyyyy!!!!

This is the story of Macy (Candace’s best friend) and Seth (or Ghost as his friends call him). We were first introduced to them in Rock Me (which should absolutely be read FIRST!!) and are finally treated to their full book. Macy and Ghost come from two completely different worlds – they lead different lives, listen to different music, have different preferences… Its cautious country girl meets tattooed, pierced, musician/tattoo artist bad boy.

“He was part of a world so separate from her own it would be impossible to bridge the chasm between them. He was heavy metal. She was all country, all the time. He wouldn’t belong at a rodeo, and she wouldn’t belong at one of his wild concerts where they probably sacrificed live chickens or bit the heads off bats onstage.”

But despite their outward differences, they are intensely attracted to each other and have both burned in the past making them a little wary of relationships despite both wanting to find their forever person.

“I’ll give you all the dates you want. But that cooling-off thing? I can’t promise you that.”

I loved that despite the intense scorching hotness, this book wasn’t just a hot ride. It had depth and a really wonderful plot and I loved that they each has issues to work through before they could fully make it work together. Their past relationship experiences had made them quite jaded and they were quite open with each other in the beginning – going into the relationship without taking anything for granted.

“I don’t know what to say,” he breathed into her hair, squeezing the air from her. “Fuck. Just wait for me.”
That was all he needed to say.
“I will.”

And for those of you Brian fans, you’ll be happy to know that we get a continuation of his and Candace’s romance in this book. Their characters were heavily featured not just as side characters but we also even got to see them work through some issues and figure out their happily-ever-after together even further. It was quite a treat 🙂

Brian and Seth also have a very close brother-like bond that was highlighted a lot. They are true best friends – always having each others’ back, helping each other, teasing, telling it straight… it was a wonderful addition to the story.

“I’m hitting the sack”
“Are you twenty-nine or sixty-nine?”
The devilish dimples appeared. “Twenty-nine with a sixty-nine waiting at home”

I can’t even begin to compare Brian and Ghost. I won’t even try. Both guys are absolutely swoony, gorgeous, tough-yet-soft, sweet, caring, and hotter-than-hot and yet, in many ways, different. Oh, and let’s not forget that they are pierced. And yes, its down there. *drools*. I can’t choose! I love them both. I’m so glad this was never a love triangle series because, if so, I’d never in a million years have been able to make a decision.

Around the 75% mark though starts a whole bit of drama starts small but quickly becomes quite a big issue. Secrets, a serious lack of communication stemming from hurt and assumptions being made without talking things through. And I guess I found it a little frustrating how long it dragged out, but I did like that it forced them to being their true feelings out and learn not to hide from each other, because if they didn’t, they both knew they’d lose what they had.

“I’m going to fix this, Macy. I don’t care if we have to start all over again. I’ll put the work in to rebuild it…. It’s what I do, you know. I get rusted-out old heaps of junk back on the road, I turn scars into art. Maybe I get once-broken cowgirls back on the horse. I’ll do the same for us, if you’ll let me.”

There was definitely a HEA at the end but I guess my only real complaint was that I wanted a little more. I don’t know… maybe a few extra chapters?

Overall though, I totally loved it! If you want a romantic, scorching read that has depth to the story and isn’t only about the sex, then you’ll love this one!

Here’s the complete reading order for this Ross Sibling series (click the links to buy them)

UNLEASHED (review)
ROCK ME (review) <— if you are new to the series, start with this one instead of Unleashed. In my opinion, its the stronger story and there is nothing in Unleashed that is vital to Rock Me.
LEAVE ME BREATHLESS