Yup. I’m an Ethan Blackstone fan now!
Fans of Fifty Shades and Crossfire should definitely check this out!
Naked is a quick, sizzling read. It’s hot, passionate and erotic – but in a tasteful way. The writing style is engaging, the story progresses quickly and while there is a cliffhanger, the second book is currently available so you can go straight on to it once you’re done with this one 🙂
I was intrigued from the first paragraph and by the end of the prologue, I was hooked. I’ve included the prologue at the end of the review to see if it’ll sell you on it too because everything about it made me want to know more!
The story starts out when Ethan Blackstone, ex-Special Forces and now head of a high end British security firm, is given the task of protecting Brynne, an American student studying in London. And while at first he refuses the job, it all changed the moment he sees her picture.
“That picture changed everything. I was not the same after I saw it and I couldn’t go back to the man I’d been before seeing it either. Not after we met that night on the street. My whole world altered because of a photograph. A photograph of my beautiful American girl.”
He arranged to run into her at an event and offers to take her home. Drawn to him somehow, she agrees. But he wants more – he wants to see her again, and he isn’t going to take no for an answer.
“I’m not your girl, Ethan.”
“You were during that kiss, Brynne.”
But they both have scars in their past — his show physically, hers show emotionally — that are touched on in this book and hopefully we’ll get to learn more about in the sequel.
I loved Ethan. He oozed an intense confidence and protectiveness and managed to be both commanding and territorial as well as sweet and understanding. His nature was to be controlling, but not overbearing. He wanted a relationship with Brynne and was very fair in the way he approached it, was not afraid to apologize when he messed up, and yet at the same time was always direct with her about what he wanted.
“He might be reserved in public, but in private with me, he wore his heart on his sleeve. What you saw was what you got. He told me what he wanted from me with no apology for how blunt the words were.”
Brynne was wonderful and sweet but with a troubled past back home that she seemed to be escaping in London. The story is told mostly from her POV and while her past held her back from being fully comfortable with Ethan, it was in a completely understandable way and I just absolutely loved that he had no problem with it. He was willing to be with her no matter what she was going through.
He tilted his head and spoke softly. “I want to be with you so badly right now. I want to take you home with me, and put you in my bed and have hours and hours with your body wrapped up in mine to do with as I wish. I want to have you there in the morning so when we wake up I can make you come, saying my name. I want to drive you to work and pick you up when it’s time to leave. I want to go to the shps with you and buy food we can cook for dinner. I want to watch some crap television and have you fall asleep against me on the couch so I can watch you and hear you breathing.”
Both of them just craved each other and wanted to make things work.
“Right now I just wanted to be wanted. Ethan wanted me. And that was enough to make me agree. Baby steps. I would accept his conditions and he would accept my inability to share my past with him. We would go slow.”
But Ethan was keeping a secret… all I’ll say is, when you’re reading, remember the prologue!
Naked is only 192 pages long (I read it in less than two hours) and while I usually find that shorter stories usually makes it a bit harder to connect quite as deeply with the story, I really enjoyed this book, found it quite addictive, and will be going straight on to book #2 🙂
4 stars.
Full Prologue (posted with the permission of the author)
Series Reviews
Casting
*** SERIES READING ORDER ***
Book #1 — Naked
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback |My Review
Book #2 — All In
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | My Review
Book #3 — Eyes Wide Open
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | My Review
Book #4 — Rare and Precious Things
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback
Spin-off Standalone Novel — Cherry Girl
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback
This is an optional read in the series about a different couple.
Jackie @ the Hardcover Obsession says
WOAH! only 192 pages and you got ALLLLL that – woah. Seems like a very intense read and I might ahve to pick up a copy for my e-Reader. I feel like I am in this obsession with romance as of late and I’m liking how I’ve been finding all these gems I’ve never heard of before particularly Naked!
Thanks for making the choice a little bit easier 😉
Erin S. says
I have been interested in starting this series, but was reluctant cause I’ve heard mixed reviews. 95% of the time I make my own decisions regarding a book and just dive in and now that I’ve read that prologue, I think it’s time to introduce myself to Mr. Blackstone 🙂 lol..Thank you for your reviews..you do an awesome job and have lead me to some fabulous reads! Keep the recommendations coming.