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Everything in me is saying give up; that I don’t need her, but I do.
I need her like I need to breathe.

• Buy MY UNEXPECTED FOREVER (Kindle) – see reading order below
• Buy MY UNEXPECTED FOREVER (Paperback)

My Unexpected Forever told a beautiful, emotional story about love and healing. It was never rushed and focused just as much on family bonding as it did on romance. It was both sexy and heartwarming. Seriously, there’s just something about a bad boy rocker who is also a loving, caring dad that is absolutely heart melting!! I finished the book with happy tears in my eyes. Loved it!

It is important to note though that this is the second book in the Beaumont series and despite it being about a different couple, I would not consider it a standalone. Book #1 in the series, Forever My Girl, must be read first otherwise you will be missing a lot of context and character familiarity.  If you want, here’s my review of it. The couple from the first book, Josie and Liam (and their son Noah), play a huge role in this book. Not to mention the fact that the heroine of this book, Katelyn and her twin girls Peyton and Elle are introduced early in Forever My Girl  following the loss of her husband Mason, so that whole core group of characters play an essential role in this book. Basically, the series must be read in order to fully appreciate it.

The story here follows Harrison, the drummer in Liam’s band who since moving to Beaumont has found himself drawn to Katelyn. He’s been a single dad ever since his three day old son he knew nothing about was dropped on his doorstep and since them he’s devoted himself to be the best dad he could be for Quinn. He wasn’t looking for anyone, but sometimes love is unexpected like that.

But Katelyn is still mourning the sudden death of her beloved husband, Mason, who she had been with since she was 15. His loss left a giant hole in their lives and she’s not yet ready to offer her heart to anyone else. Not to mention that with his tattoos and rock star life, Harrison is the polar opposite of Mason and just not her ‘type’. But Harrison understood that and was willing to wait for her. He knew she needed time and didn’t want to rush her in to anything despite desperately wanting more.

But when the band goes on tour, their families all join in. Liam, Josie and Noah go, as well as Harrison and Quinn, and, as their new manager, Katelyn is also on board along with her two girls. Over the tour, bonds solidify and are built up and it becomes clear that the feelings between them aren’t going away so… they decide to give their unexpected love a chance and maybe bring some healing to their two broken families.

“Imagining a life with her is as easy as breathing. I just have to find a way to make it happen without putting too much pressure on her.”

I absolutely love reading about heroes with kids. They just bring out this beautiful extra measure of protectiveness and caring that never fails to melt my heart. And Harrison was about as loving and caring and protective as you get. Seeing him with the kids just melted me over and over again.

I supposed he’s too big for me to carry, but in my eyes he’s still my baby.

And I have to say that I how flexible they all were. Their kids were the center of their worlds. In another book, I have no doubt that the idea of a rock tour with relationships and kids would be used as a major source of drama but these guys just took it all in stride. Separation was not an option and tour had to happen so they just all did it together. I totally loved their attitude. It gave the story such a wonderful family feeling.

Now, given Katelyn’s more hesitant, timid side, I wavered back and forth a little on how I felt about her. On one hand, I kind of wanted her to hurry it up and get with Harrison but on the other, I honestly loved how loyal she was to Mason. I knew he was gone but a part of me totally understood how she wasn’t yet ready to let go.

The story is told in alternating POV chapters between Harrison and Katelyn and for the most part takes place in present day but in many of the chapters were flashback scenes from both their lives. We saw Katelyn’s memories of Mason and how dear he was to her and we saw how Harrison ended up with Quinn and how that changed his life.

“You can’t replace Mason even if you tried, but you can find happiness and love if you allow yourself to.”

I wish I could offer her a place to sleep… on my chest. I could hold her in my arms. Rub her back until she falls asleep. I’d never let her go. I’d never let her nightmares haunt her. I can make things better for her.

I actually really liked the slower pace of their relationship. It allowed them to genuinely bond first. Nothing was ever rushed and more than anything was how much I loved how respectful Harrison was of Mason’s memory and place in the family regardless of his physical presence. He respected Katelyn’s love for him and never once tried to replace him. He just loved her enough to want a place in her life as well.

That being said, Katelyn did have moments were she just plain, flat out messed up but she was scared and as frustrating as it was at times (especially the last time), I did understand it. She had loved Mason with all her heart, they’d been high school sweethearts and a cruel twist of fate had ripped him away from her and their family. Of course she couldn’t move on. And here she was fighting the feelings of falling in love with Harrison while still feeling loyalty to the man she had loved her whole life. She had a lot of growing to do over the book and also had a lot of other areas too where she needed to learn to open her eyes a little.

“I don’t think she like my tattoos…”
Quinn rolls his eyes. He’s far too smart for his age. “I think your tattoos tell a story, maybe she should learn to read.”

Harrison and Quinn’s realtionship was one of the highlights of the book for me. They had such a special, beautiful, tight bond. It was precious and heartwarming and was one of the most wonderful father/son relationships I’ve seen in a book.

The romance was incredibly slow building but there was so much more to develop than just their relationship. There were three kids to think about and bond with and there was so much healing to go through and trust to build before the romance could be taken to the next level. I actually enjoyed the pacing. It was slow but steady and felt right given their situation.

The ending was absolutely gorgeous!!!!! It was a 5++ star ending to me. I read this book start to finish in one sitting ending at 5AM still glued to my kindle with happy tears in my eyes and my heart filled to bursting. It was honestly one of the sweetest endings I’ve ever read!!

The story centers around strong themes of family, bonding, healing, friendship, and love. I truly love these characters and would highly recommend this series 🙂

4.5 – 5 stars!!

• Buy MY UNEXPECTED FOREVER (Kindle) – see reading order below
• Buy MY UNEXPECTED FOREVER (Paperback)
  

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** SERIES READING ORDER **

Book #1: FOREVER MY GIRL — Kindle | Paperback – Liam’s story

Novella #1.5: MY EVERYTHING — Kindle | Paperback – Nick’s story

Book #2: MY UNEXPECTED FOREVER — Kindle | Paperback – Harrison’s story

Book #3: FINDING MY FOREVER — Kindle | Paperback — Jimmy’s story

Book #4: FINDING MY WAY — Kindle — prequel (Liam)

“I’m not much, but I’m all yours…. I know I’ll fuck up, but I promise you will never feel unloved or unwanted every again.”

• Buy INFRACTION (Kindle) – full reading order below

SQUEEE!!! (This is a spoiler-free review)

This book left me with the hugest smile on my face! After as long and hard a journey as these two characters had been through, that ending was just a perfect way to finish this book. It really leaves you in a wonderful place. No cliffhanger!!

The story in Infraction picks up right where Breach left off (here’s my review of Breach) and after the devastating cliffhanger that it had ended on, I was left absolutely desperate for answers! And boy, did I ever get them!

I don’t want to say too much about the plot here because this isn’t a standalone and should only be read after Breach but suffice it to say that all the questions that were built up in the first book were answered, the issues were addressed and worked through (in a healthy, healing way), and the emotional depth of the romance was deepened.

The vibe was very different than the first book though even though it continued the story perfectly. While Breach was very rocky and tumultuous, Infraction was very healing and developmental and really counter-balanced the first one well.

The pacing was wonderful and constantly moved the story forward, the writing was fluid and kept me fully connected to the story and the plot was gripping. I read it in one sitting and just didn’t want to put it down.

I found this book to be considerably more emotional than the first. While I didn’t actually cry, I still felt very deeply connected to both Nathan and Lila because in this one the walls are down and the masks are off. Everything is in the open and we got to see the real Nathan and the real Lila. We saw their pain, their heart ache, their guilt, sadness, love, loss, need, desires… everything was on display and finally brought into the light. There was no more hiding.

The mask was gone, and for the first time I was seeing the true Nathan without any inhibitions. He was raw and lay bare before me.

“I love you, Lila,” he declared. “I’m so scared about what that means for you.”

The focus of this book was on rebuilding trust, finding a way to deal with the demons that haunted them and healthily working to build a functional relationship. Both Nathan and Lila had their separate issues to worth through and years of respective traumas to overcome but they both desperately wanted to find a way through it.

“For the first time in four years, I want to get better, I have a reason to get better. I want you to get better, too. I want to be with you.”

It was a struggle for both of them though. Sometimes it was two steps forward, sometimes it was one step forward, two steps back. Their struggles were raw and often painful but their love for each other was at the heart of everything and kept them throughout it all.

“I’m yours. All that I am, if you want it. I’m not much, but I know I can be so much more with you.”

The story wasn’t all heart breaking though! There were some scenes that seriously made me laugh right out loud! I really liked that there was that balance allowing you to kind of regroup your emotions and just have a happy break in the midst of it all.

“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say thank you. That’s what I was told to say after my lobotomy.”

I also fell much deeper in love with Nathan in this book. I think it was because finally his back story came out and actually knowing the things that haunted him, knowing his loss, his pain and guilt and fears, allowed me to genuinely connect with him through a real understanding of what he’d been through.

The way he cared for Lila just melted me. I could feel his love for her in every one of his actions. He really stole my heart in this one! Completely.

This book had several ‘reveals’ in it and especially a few big ones that sent chills down my spine as it all came together!! Such an awesome feeling!

What I loved most about this book though was that there was literally no stupidity in the whole book! There were certainly set backs and times when one or both of them made mistakes and totally fucked up but it was always over something understandable and it was always worked through. I loved that very realistic feeling that it gave the story of being able to make mistakes but also grow and heal and learn from them.

“I’m not much, but I’m all yours…. I know I’ll fuck up, but I promise you will never feel unloved or unwanted every again.”
“You can’t promise that.” …
“Maybe not, but I will work damn hard to make it the truth.”

Oh, and about the dirty talking… this was my one “semi-issue” from the first book. I do love me a dirty talker and let me tell you… Nathan is the dirtiest of all the dirty talkers I’ve ever read buuuuut he was just a wee bit dirtier than was my personal preference (like the use of the words whore and slut). The truth is that it didn’t float my boat but it sure as hell floated Lila’s so since it was something they both loved, I basically just tried to not think about it and be happy that they were happy especially since that was only the way he talked during sex and it never carried through to any other part of their relationship. It was crystal clear that he had great respect for her both as her own person and as his lover so clearly this was just something they both got off on, nothing more. Not to mention that, those two words aside, the sex scenes were scorching!!

“Your moans are mine, your orgasms are mine, your body is mine.” he said through clenched teeth. “You are fucking MINE!”

*fans self*

As the story went on, I got that feeling of dread. You know, that one where everything is finally going so well that you just know that the shit is bound to hit the fan in some huge unexpected way? Well, it did… and totally took me by surprise! Definitely a heart-in-my-throat moment. But again, I loved where it took the story and I loved that the issue was external to the relationship.

I’ve said this before in other reviews but I really can’t stress enough how much I love it when the sources of drama in a romance come from outside the relationship. Don’t get me wrong, I totally understand and love conflict between the couple but I don’t like fearing for the survival of a relationship, y’know? And I loved that I always had the feeling in this one that they were going to make it no matter how long or hard their road was.

“I want to pull you inside me so your safe,” he said as he climbed back onto the bed and wrapped his body around mine.

The ending was absolutely AMAZING!! Totally squee-worthy! I guarantee that you will end this book with a HUGE smile on your face. Nathan and Lila’s story isn’t finished but we are left in such a wonderful place. Again, there is really no cliffhanger. It honestly even felt almost like a HEA.

Infraction continued an intensely passionate romance that was both heart breaking and healing about two truly damaged people finding healing through their love for each other. I loved it!

4.5+ stars

• Buy INFRACTION (Kindle)

Casting:

• Nathan & Lila
• Nathan
• Lila

** SERIES READING ORDER **

Book #1 BREACH — Kindle | Paperback | My Review

Novella #1.5 DISSOLUTION — Kindle | My Review

Book #2 INFRACTION — Kindle | Paperback | My review

Book #3 RECIPROCITY — Kindle

 

“He took from my body, my heart, my soul. In return he gave himself to me the only way he knew how: with bruising hands, passionate kisses, and hard thrusts. His body was sin, his cock was sin, and I was a sinner.”

• Buy BREACH (Kindle) – full length novel
• Buy BREACH (Paperback)

4.5 stars

Both heart breaking and intensely passionate, Breach tells the tumultuous story of two broken and damaged people finding love, security and healing in each other. It’s a dark, gritty, captivating roller coaster ride from start to finish and will leave you eager to jump right into the next book!

Breach and Dissolution really go ‘together’ as a story so I’ve done a double review here. Breach is the first book in this trilogy and Dissolution is a small novella that retells the last three chapters from Breach in the hero’s POV. I’d originally been holding back on reading these books because despite them sounding so intriguing to me, they were part of an incomplete trilogy and I knew that the first book had a cliffhanger so I was planning to wait until all three were out before starting. But since book #2, Infraction, was recently released and I was told that it had a non-cliffhanger ending, I immediately dove in and WOW…

I. Am. Hooked.

The story follows Lila, a hardworking, career-driven lawyer who is hiding layers upon layers of hurt and sadness behind a happy facade. Her job gives her something to dedicate herself to and she throws herself into it with all her heart. But her law firm has a very strict non-fraternization policy and when Nathan, a gorgeous, confident new co-worker, is brought in to share her office, the sparks just flew!

“My mouth dropped open at the tall god-like man with light brown hair and seductive blue eyes that stood before me.” …
“Delilah, was it?” the God asked with a smirk. A smirk!

They rubbed each other the wrong way and yet at the same time were irresistibly drawn to each other. Forbidden to have an office romance and yet utterly incapable of ignoring the intense pull they both felt towards each other. And so began the breach…

But there was so much more hiding beneath Nathan’s polished, god like, smirking exterior. Inside was a deeply tortured, broken, and damaged man scarred both inside and out by the horrors of his past.

He was such an enigma. I wanted to know more about him. What had happened to him? What was he hiding? What were his secrets? Despite their relationship starting off as borderline hostile, he was the kind of guy who would follow her home from the bar just to make sure she got their safely. Somewhere inside was a gorgeous soul… he was just so beaten that he rarely let the world see who he really was and often, he didn’t even realize himself.

“You should stay away from me, Lila. I’m no good for you.” He placed a soft kiss on my shoulder blade with the tenderness of a lover. “Run while you can. Run away from me, and  don’t look back. I’m not worth your life.”

*sigh* Can I hug him?

Tortured heroes really are my most favorite to read about. Something about them just calls to me, tugs at my heart strings and makes my heart ache with a desperate need to see them find happiness. And Nathan Thorne was about as tortured and damaged as you get. His story just broke my heart and filled me with questions upon questions. I still don’t know everything but what I know is just absolutely crushing.

Ok, now my one and only complaint was this… So, Nathan was a dirty talker in the bedroom. Now, that I am more than fine with. It’s hot. He was hot. And their chemistry was just scorching. But… he used two words which really just rubbed me the wrong way: slut and whore. Now, the only reasons that I didn’t let it bother me quite as much as it otherwise might were that a) Lila was clearly getting off on it and b) it was such a vast deviation from the kind, loving, caring person he also showed himself to be that I could tell he didn’t mean them in perhaps quite the same way I was taking them. I don’t know. I didn’t like it but at the same time, I also think (or hope) that it’s something that will be addressed in future books. I’d like to think he has a reason behind it.

Contrasting to the controlling, dominating person he was in the bedroom was a beautifully tender side of him that only Lila brought out. It terrified Nathan to see how much he was falling for Lila. Every time he got close, he broke down… haunted by his past. And when the few pieces of his back story were eventually revealed, it was just gut wrenching and utterly horrific.

“The sob broke from my chest, and it was painful and raw” ….
“What happened? What happened to you?” 

He was so guarded in every aspect of his life and I loved watching his walls slowly come down the closer they got together. They had an unconventional relationship to be sure, but it was no less strong. And in their own way, what they had was extremely heartwarming.

“You know, that mask of yours is slipping a lot lately.”
“He shrugged, his smile faltering. “There’s no point in pretense around you.”

The sex was scorching. Erotic. Raw and also rough. They were crazy about each other and craved each other in an intense way that was borderline abusive but it was what they both wanted – what they both needed. Nathan was naturally hard, dominating, and possessive and didn’t hold back and Lila craved that connection and craved to be wanted. They were both driven by an all consuming need for each other and in the bedroom, there were no boundaries.

“I want your hands and lips on me. You’ve kept me waiting long enough, Mr. Thorne.”
“Fuck.” His teeth nipped at my jaw. “What about my cock?”
“I want it in my pussy where it fucking belongs.”

This is the story of a woman who has never known love and a man broken by the horrors of his past who were drawn to each other and despite being haunted by the demons of their pasts, somehow find a way to begin to heal each other. Away from the prying eyes of the world, the masks that they hold in place slip off and despite both being deeply tortured and broken, they were also perfect for each other.

“Nathan had scars on the outside to match the scars he held on the inside, where as mine were all inside… I could barely keep myself standing; how could I save him?”

Not all the questions are answered at the end and we are left on a huge cliffhanger that had my heart lodged firmly in my throat. Thank God I have the next book ready to go because I need to know what happens next!!

“What we have is fucked up.
“It may be fucked up, but it’s helping us both. We need each other.”

4.5 stars

____________________________________________

Mini-review for Dissolution
(companion novella to be read between Breach and Infraction. 29 pages)

• Buy DISSOLUTION (Kindle) – novella 

This short but essential novella retells the story from the last 3 chapters of Breach from Nathan’s POV and trust me, at the end of Breach, you will be dyyyyying for this!!

I was desperate for any tidbits I could get that would shine more light on this enigmatic, tortured character and while everything isn’t revealed in full, there are certainly some revelations in here that confirmed many of my suspicions about what his back story was.

This also really served to fully make you understand the sheer depths of this man’s pain. It was just heart wrenching. I felt for him and finally was able to understand him more. Truly such a broken man. Shattered into two parts. Aching to be whole again.

“She deserved more, so much more than me; an angry, depressed, broken man. I couldn’t give her what she needed – love.”

I read this in literally just a few minutes but felt that it gave a much needed sense of completion after Breach, a bit more of an understanding and most importantly, it gave me hope.

Ok, on to book #2, Infraction!

• Read my review of book #2 Infraction

Casting:

• Nathan & Lila
• Nathan
• Lila

** SERIES READING ORDER **

Book #1 BREACH — Kindle | Paperback | My Review

Novella #1.5 DISSOLUTION — Kindle | My Review

Book #2 INFRACTION — Kindle | Paperback | My review

Book #3 RECIPROCITY — Kindle (optional)

 

• Buy CONVERSION (Kindle)
• Buy CONVERSION (Paperback)

“Silly human,” he breathed across my skin. “I keep telling you… I won’t bite until you ask.”

Conversion is a sexy, thrilling and romantic twist on the traditional vampire story that I think will appeal to all fans of romance regardless of whether or not they are ‘paranormal’ readers. Teren Adams will make you SWOON!!!

The mythology is very simple and is presented in a very matter of fact way that makes it easy to accept. It’s there but it doesn’t take over, allowing the story to remain very character-driven. The focus is always on Teren and Emma’s romance and the paranormal aspect was woven in very naturally. I loved the balance!

Trust me, you’ll be smiling from the first page! The writing is just brilliant!

The story follows Emma, a regular human who one day literally runs right into a tall, dark, and very handsome stranger, Teren, who it turn out is more than just a ‘man’…

“There was nothing at all that made me think he was anything other than an interesting human guy, that I’d literally run into…. But then, one day… I saw his fangs. Those were a little harder for him to explain away.”

Turns out that Teren Adams is a ‘little bit vampire’. He drinks cappuccinos, has a heart beat and walks in the sunlight but also just happens to have certain… enhanced… abilities. To Emma though, he’s human enough for her to take everything in stride and just accept him as the man she’s falling for.

But the more she’s sucked into his world, the more she learns that things aren’t quite as simple as they appear. Teren’s condition is a little worse than than he let on, his family is desperate for an heir, and the stakes are raised calling for big sacrifices that put the strength of their love to the test.

“Things will change, Emma… but one thing will not.”
“What?”
“I’ll still love you.”

I can’t tell you enough how in love with Teren I am. That man just makes me swoooooon!!! I loved how sweet and caring he was and I loved how much I could always feel how crazy he was for Emma. And speaking of Emma, she was such a wonderful heroine! Her attitude towards everything was both understandable and refreshingly down-to-earth. She and Teren were such a perfect match in every way. They really had a wonderful, heartwarming relationship and their banter was just awesome…

“If you bite me, it will be the last thing your vampire ass does.”
He laughed… “I wasn’t going to… How exactly were you planning on ending me anyways?” ….
“I would find a way… you just keep that in mind, buddy. I’m no snack.”
He chuckled again and kissed me gently. “You might like it…”

Now, one of my most favorite things about this book was how the whole story revolved around them. Always them. Them and their families. There were no side stories or anything, this was their story – start to finish. There was no extra drama, everything made sense, and everything grabbed my attention and my heart. *happy sigh*

It was so refreshing to read about a couple who both wanted each other, both wanted the relationship and were willing to do anything to be able to be together. I loved how they worked through everything together. There was such a feeling of “we’re in this together”. All the ‘drama’ in this book was external to the relationship. Nothing that would make you roll your eyes or be frustrated. No cheating, crazy ex’s or threats to them being together. This was just straight up character-driven romance with a paranormal twist.

Another very central theme to this book and series is that of ‘family’ and the family dynamics in this are absolutely heartwarming! It was so wonderful seeing two warm, loving, tight knit family units who supported each other no matter what. Yet another thing I loved about this story.

I laughed and squeed so many times over the course of the book!! The majority of the it was just a wonderfully engaging but yet relatively calm reading experience right up til the 80% mark and then it got intense!!! My heart was in my throat!! But it was just so so SO good!

There is absolutely no cliffhanger at the end of this book. It’s really a very reader-friendly ending because despite this being the first of a trilogy, it is absolutely safe to jump in right away. There is a happy new development revealed towards the end which will be central to the next book but the story here leaves off a really good place and technically, you could even read this as a standalone if you wanted so please don’t hesitate to start if it sounds interesting to you!

And, if it helps to know this, I’ve actually already read the entire series and can tell you that it just keeps on getting better and better!

Regardless of whether you’re a fan of paranormal romance or not, I definitely think this is a story that every romance reader can enjoy 🙂

Highly recommended!

4.5 stars

• Buy CONVERSION (Kindle)
• Buy CONVERSION (Paperback)

Casting

• Teren