Contemporary Romance

Almost 4 stars

“This has to be the craziest, scariest, sexiest, most emotionally exhausting and unbelievably orgasmic vacation I ever had.”

Another great fluff read! A super hot ‘n’ steamy, best-friend-to-lovers romance about the healing of two broken hearts. A great light read for in between intense books.

For those of you who have read Rock Me, this is the first book from that series, about Brian‘s older brother. The books in this series do not need to be read in order though – they are each stand alones.

Basically, Kelsey and Evan have liked each other since they met 10 years ago – but Evan didn’t find himself worthy enough of her and Kelsey was too shy to do anything about it so 10 years later, she finds herself divorced from her husband (who was also Evan’s best friend) because he cheated on her with Evan’s finacee. When Kelsey gets a call from Evan asking if she wants to go on a week long vacation to Hawaii with him (which was supposed to be his honeymoon with his ex-fiance), she is wary but can’t resist spending a week with the guy she’s secretly been in love with all these years. Together, away from the world, they are able to let go of their pain over their unrequited love and past mistakes and finally give in to their true feelings for each other … leading to some serious steam and a sweet HEA.

Its not too long, I read it in a couple hours. There is a LOT of steam – a hot-as-hell hot tub scene and their first sex scene takes up 20% (!!) of the book *fans self*

“Give me time to do this right. To give you everything you deserve. And I will, I promise.”

 

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5 stars

“I’m not lettin’ you go. I’m not lettin’ you push me away and I’m not giving up. I’m gonna keep working until I piece together what [they] stole from you. I’m gonna keep at you until you let me in. I’m not gonna stop until you tell me you’re mine, until it comes straight from your mouth, preferably when I’m deep inside you and you’re lookin’ at me like you look at me when I’m close to makin’ you come.”

*squeeeee* I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! This is tied with book 1 for fav in the series so far! What a winner! It had me laughing out loud, squeeing (out loud), tearing up, grinning for pages on end and fanning myself from the hotness (seriously, KA sure knows how to write make up sex!)

Ava has known Luke since they were kids. But he went off to become a professional Badass fairly early on, and so they never actually got together. Unfortunately, her experience in life has led her to believe that all men are pretty much scum. But when her best friend’s lying cheating scumbag of a husband finally pulls one stunt too many, she decides to find Luke, now a professional investigator/Badass and enlist his help to get some dirt on said scumbag. He of course is more than happy to help but Ava is nervous and wary about dealing with him due to some of her personal insecurities. But it soon becomes very clear that that was only the tip of the problem iceberg and when things blow up, and he realized she isn’t going to share, he hand cuffs them together and takes them home to figure things out and the “Badass Motherfucker Courtship” begins 😀

“I’ll put money down that she’s livin’ with him in 4 days.”…
“3 days.”…
“A week, she’s got spirit.”…
I shook my head, I needed to focus…and go, go, go. 
I opened the door.
Before it closed behind me, I heard Luke say strangely, “Tonight.”
Then everyone laughed.”

I’ll say this first. I. LOVED. LUKE. Seriously. WOW! What a character <3

“I’ve known you since you were eight… I’ve liked you since you were eight,” he said.

I fell in love with him since we first saw him several books ago in the series but he really just shines in this book.  God I love a man who is not only insanely HOT, brutally honest, defends his woman to the ends of the earth and takes no shit from anyone about anything, but at the same time has a deeply soft side that with which he deals with Ava. He just was seriously functional, and a totally swoony over-protective Alpha Badass (yes, with a capital B) who was really creative with his handcuffs and had no problem literally ripping the clothes off his girl *waggles eyebrows*.

I just loved how tolerant, understanding and patient he was with Ava. He really truly understood how how deep her hurt goes and how much it has made her wary and untrusting and he’s just so willing to show her through determination and rock steady efforts that he’s not like the other men who have hurt her before and that he’s absolutely, 100% seriously into her.

“Ava, you missed it when it happened so I’ll clue you in. last night, around the time you fell asleep against me, you became mine. “

Lol, but it was hilarious to finally see Luke deal with a woman of his own. We have been waiting for so long and seeing him handle it was hot-as-hell, hilarious and heart-melting.

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered to the ceiling. “All those times I sat in the office and laughed my ass off at stories of Lee, Eddie, Hank and Vance. They should have fuckin’ medals.”

And Ava! Gah she just about broke my heart with her cuteness at times while other times I just wanted to throttle her. But she was a totally awesome addition to the Rock Chick group. In the beginning she does do some things that are a bit annoying but, given some of her life experiences, her general wariness and mistrust of men is understandable.

“He isn’t my man.”
“Girl, it dont matter you don’t think he is, he thinks he is. Therefore in Badass Motherfucker Land, that means he is.”

And what makes it okay is that Luke sees riiiight through her so her behaviour doesn’t actually ever come between them.

“You wanna taste me?” he murmered.
Yes, I wanted to taste him. I would pay every penny of Aunt Ella’s inheritance to taste him.
“No,” I lied.
He did a full grin  this time, a full satisfied grin. It was hot, so hot my knees totally buckles and he took all my weight into his body.
“Liar,” he whispered, knowing he had me. 

And he just keeps relentlessly working at their relationship, never giving up on her, and yet never giving in to her insecurities, until she feels safe enough to let her walls down and  truly give her heart over to him.

“Daisy said to me that I was trying to find ways to protect my heart but I was doing it wrong. She told me the best way to protect my heart was to trust it to someone who will protect it for me”.
More silence but his body went completely still.
“That’s you. It’s always been you.”

Their chemistry was intense! You totally felt it! They had a bit of a rough start – lots of interruptions (buzzers, phone calls etc lol), but once they finally came together… *fans self*

“Oh my God, you totally need to fuck him or you’re going to spontaneously combust.”

And they worked through the bulk of their issues by about the 70% mark so we got to see them completely and acceptingly together as a couple for a good chunk of the book. Seeing them deal with some very painful and serious events that happen totally made my heart clench. It was heart-meltingly beautiful, at times very emotional and utterly squee-worthy.

KA is just absolutely BRILLIANT at writing families and conveying deep connections between characters. She is very subtle and direct in her writing style but you FEEL their emotions so strongly. It just feels so real. Her writing style is like no other. It hide nothing, implies nothing, its just in-your-face, straight up awesome story telling that sucks you right in.

This book was a bit emotionally deeper than the last few. It had my throat choked up and my eyes all misty more than a few times. Ava was reeeally hurt in her past and the tone come through in the story despite its overall typical ‘Rock Chick’ lightness. Something about it just really had my heart reaching out for both her and Luke.

The humour and the banter was just off the charts. Very few other writers have every made me laugh or squee as much as KA has. Everything from the vibrator burial scene to the betting pools over how it would take Luke to give Ava the business to Smithie getting treed by rabid rottweilers… so much fun! And of course, lets not forget the healthy dose of typical KA kidnappings, hostage situations, rescue missions, etc.

I love how, as the series progresses, we see more and more of the characters. What a HUGE core group – there must be at least like 25 of them and just the dynamic of all of them together makes for some absolutely BRILLIANT scenes.

Some pretty serious stuff goes down later in the book involving one of Ava’s psycho ex’s and when it does, seeing, literally e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e come together and mobilize to be there for her (and Luke) was so beyond heart warming. *mega shivers* it led to pages and pages of utterly squee-worthy scenes!! Including the first (INTENSE) Alpha showdown between two of the “good guys” and also what has to be THE most EPIC car chase scene in book history! I was grinning like an idiot when I was reading it.

“Swear to God, these boys should be locked up. It isn’t safe, men with that much testosterone coursing through their blood free to roam.”

I just love how all the Hot Bunch men in this series are the total macho Alpha badass do-not-mess-with-me men on the outside but are all heart-meltingly soft and sweet on the inside. SERIOUS SWOON MATERIAL!! … have I used the word ‘brilliant’ yet? lol BRILLIANT BRILLIANT BRILLIANT!!!

“I figured the Nightengale Investigations job application form had the question “Are you hot? Yes. No. If you answered no, please exit the building.”

oooo and there is a wedding at the end of this book – I won’t spoil it with telling whose it is but it actually took me a little by surprise even though I’ve read all the books in order. So beautiful!

Can’t wait for the next book! When this series is over, I’m gonna be seriously sad.

• Buy ROCK CHICK REVENGE (Kindle)

** SERIES READING ORDER **

Book #1 — ROCK CHICK (Lee & Indy)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #2 — ROCK CHICK RESCUE (Eddie & Jet)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #3 — ROCK CHICK REDEMPTION (Hank & Roxie)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #4 — ROCK CHICK RENEGADE (Vance & Jules)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #5 — ROCK CHICK REVENGE (Luke & Ava)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #6 — ROCK CHICK RECKONING (Mace & Stella)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #7 — ROCK CHICK REGRET (Hector & Sadie)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #8 — ROCK CHICK REVOLUTION (Ally & Ren)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

 

• Buy EASY (Kindle)
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3-3.5 stars

Le sigh…. I wanted to love this book. I really did. But the characters frustrated me to no end. I did however, love Lucas and Jacqueline – the parts of the book where they were actually interacting were by far the highlights of the story for me.

The story follows Jacqueline who goes off to university with her high school boyfriend of 3 years, sure that they will always be together. When he suddenly dumps her, she is devastated. Not only did she follow him to a university she didn’t have personal interest with but now she has to be there while watching him sow his wild oats. One night, leaving a party, she goes alone to her car and is cornered by one of her ex’s frat buddies who tried (almost successfully) to rape her. Out of no-where, this guy (Lucas) swoops in, beats her attacker up and takes her home all without even giving her his name. Soon after, she realizes they are in the same class together. They are attracted to each other but not overly forward about it. She also is given an email tutor, Landon, for the same class she attends and as they begin to email each other back and forth, she finds herself strangely attracted to him even though they have never met in person…. So she has to figure out how she feels about Lucas, and learn who Landon is, and deal with a creepy campus rapist all the while surviving her first year at college.

The hero and heroine just did not make what I’d call smart relationship decisions. I was really rooting for them and they WERE utterly adorable together, but they just didn’t seem to be very functional for a vast majority of the book.

I felt like they kept making the wrong calls –  not choosing the smart, functional path.  I really just wanted yell at them… No, don’t ignore her. No, don’t play games with him. No, don’t go to your ex’s house. No, don’t lie to her. No, the solution is not that ‘we can’t be together’. No, don’t be passive when you know he’s hiding something, call him on it. And just tell each other how you feel!!!!

They spent so much of the book ignoring each other! Gah! They’d interact, then go days without speaking, then interact again, go back to ignoring, or deciding things wouldn’t work out, then talk again, then ignore more… sigh. It got frustrating. There was a lot of stupidy. A lot of ‘hot-cold’. Kinda made me want to bang my head against a wall and then just lock them both in a room together until they communicated more.

I basically felt it would have been very easy to have avoided most of the problems and angst of this book by simple communication.

This being said, I didn’t dislike the book at all, there were definitely good parts to it and it did keep my attention. I just kind felt ‘meh’ towards it…

I really did love Lucas – what a gorgeous tortured character! I was totally swooning over him! As the best friend said, “Holy fuckburgers.  Who was that hot guy?”  lol. He was so respectful, so protective, and quite the gentleman while still being a total kick ass, tattooed and pierced bad boy college hottie.

Jacqueline though… I was kind of on the fence about her. I didn’t like how she played games with Lucas in the beginning, or would ignore him for days on end (SO frustrating!). But she wasn’t a bad heroine, I just didn’t really connect with her or agree with her decisions always.

And I absolutely loved Lucas and Jacqueline together – when they weren’t ignoring each other, they were a seriously CUTE couple!! They had great dialogue, swoony interactions and some very steamy moments!

And let me tell you, Ms Weber can write one helluva hot kiss! Seriously!

“I pressed against him and he groaned into my mouth and wrenched his mouth from mine, breathing raggedly. “I have to go now, or I’m not going.” 

Honestly though, if it wasn’t for how much I liked the parts where Lucas and Jacqueline were actually together, I might have put the book down. I felt I was reading only to get to those parts.

• Buy EASY (Kindle)
• Buy EASY (Paperback)

• Buy ROCK CHICK RENEGADE (Kindle)

5 stars!

“I want you. I want to taste you. I want to f*ck you. I want to make you come and I want to hear you moan my name when you do so I know that you know it’s me who made you come.”

“If you ever think of takin’ off, if you ever get scared enough at what I do for a living that you decide you can’t hack it, then you best think again because unless what we have turns shit like everything else in my life, I’m not ever letting you go.”

WOW!! This might be my FAV Rock Chick book yet!! Loooved Vance and Jules’ story! Priceless!

This is the first book in this series that made me cry – there several tear-jerker moments, as well as some heart racing parts that gave me shivers, some really steamy scenes, absolutely priceless laugh-out-loud dialogue and a seriously AWESOME ending… WOW!!

I apologize in advance for all the quotes and the length of this review. I had almost a quote saved from every single page! I’m weak lol, I just couldn’t resist!!

Jules is a social worker who works at a shelter helping street kids. She lost her whole family to tragic circumstances and throws herself into helping those who need it. But when one of the kids on her watch OD’s from drugs sold to him on the street, she turns vigilante. She  finds people who teach her how to fight, who will hook her up with what she needs and ends up earning herself the street name Law because her word is law on the streets.

Vance Crowe ( *swoooooon* ) is one of the uber Alpha members of the Nightingale Investigations team. He’s a gorgeous, sexy-as-hell, Native American badass who no wants to mess with. When he and Jules cross paths and it becomes clear what she is doing and that she is doing it alone, he offers her his protection along with the whole of the Nightingale team.

Vance and Jules have instant attraction to each other. But its is well known that Vance is a player – “He saw, he conquered, he left.” – and Jules is wary about letting him into her life. But those Alpha KA men have a way of getting what they want.

“Those boys got a way about ’em, Jules. They don’t fuck around. They see somethin’ they want, they get it. They’re fuckin’ famous for it. A woman don’t stand a chance. He seem interested?” 
“…honestly, there’s nothing to worry about. We went our separate ways. I’ll be smarter, I’ll be more quiet, I’ll be –“
“Laid, good and simple. Crowe got a look at you, you’re his.”

And its hard to say no when she just wakes up one morning to him in her bed with her!!

I was snagged around the midriff and thrown back to the bed, my head hitting the pillows, and Vance Crowe rolled his body over mine. I stilled and looked up into his dark, lushy-lashed eyes.
“Oh my God,” I breathed.
“Mornin’,” he said to me, like we woke up next to each other every day.
“Oh my God,” I breathed again.
His hair was not in a ponytail but falling down around his face and shoulders and, I kid you not, he looked like a Native American Warrior God.
“Do I have your attention?” he asked. 

He’s very persistant, but still while being very respectful of her. I didn’t find he was as pushy as the other boys and he puts a lot of trust in her. Watching them come together was really heart-warming 🙂

“I don’t know what shit you’re working though but I know its there. I know you’d rather not even acknowledge it and definitely don’t want me to be a part of the process. I don’t care. Princess, this is happening between you and me.”
“What, exactly, do you mean by ‘this’? You fucking me?” I snapped…
” Yeah. Me fucking you. In your bed, on your couch, in my bed and anywhere else I can think of. I’m gonna do you on your back, on your knees and you’re gonna ride me. And when I’ve exhausted you and you don’t have those fucking shields up, I’m gonna make you talk to me and tell me what this shit is about and then, maybe, I can help you with it.”

It was so refreshing to see how much Vance trusts Jules’ skills and how he wasn’t quite inclined to want to lock Jules up in a safe house or cuff her to his bed. If fact, Jules was a lot more ‘can-do’ and kick ass than the previous heroines which actually led to a whole different vibe to this book – in a totally good way 🙂

Vance and Jules are so sweet and adorable though as a couple – maybe even my fav yet (tied with Indy/Lee from Book 1). Neither of them had a very happy start to their life and seeing them together and really being able to appreciate how incredible what they had was just melted my heart.

“Any man is defined by the woman who shared her bed with him… and it works the other way too… if someone like you, someone as unbelievably beautiful as you, as crazy and sweet as you, filled with attitude and courage with her heart in the right place… if someone like you shares her bed with me, then that says something about me….This is it. You and me. No matter what.“

The to-die-for band of characters is one of my fav things about this book and this series. KA has brilliantly built up a core group of almost 20 (if not more) characters that you honestly feel like you know personally. Somehow, the names never get confusing, the story never drags or feels scattered and it just ends up being a LOT of personal because how strongly connected you feel to them and how strongly you feel their connections to each other.

They are like one big family made of up every kind of person imaginable from uber badass fighters, to ex-cons, to drug-dealers, cops, book store owners, strippers, waitresses, vigilantes, undercover agents, trackers, street kids… lovers, brothers-in-arms, friends, family… this book has everything. Its just delightful to see them all interact together.

There really was a theme in this book of how family isn’t just the people you were born to. And not only does it say it, but more importantly, it shows it. Beautifully.

And the ending! Gah!! I won’t give it away but just the way it is written is brilliant!!! Normally the whole book is told from the POV of the main girl, but in the ending is told piece by piece from so many different characters depending on whose perspective is most relevant to the moment at hand. Its like, we got to know these characters over the course of the last four books, and now we literally get to see the world through their eyes, in action. It totally read like a movie – I could visualize everything that was happening is perfect detail. LOVED IT!!!!

I’d say the only thing that bugs me about this series is how strongly the women in it fight the affections of the men. For nearly all of them, this gorgeous, larger-than-life, almost god of a badass man enters their lives and wants to be with them and their first reaction is always ‘we need to break up’… sigh. lol. yeaahhhh… but still, they all do come around (some thankfully with less fight than others) and once they have given into the relationship, they have some of the strongest relationships ever so its all worth it in the end.

And I just love KA’s writing style for this series. It really feels like the heroine is telling the story to you, in person. It feels so casual and personal in style.

LOVE this series!!

“No matter what,” he said, his voice fierce and strong and rumbling through me. “You told me I was home to you and I get it. You’re home to me. I’ve never had a home. I like the one I found and I’m not losin’ it. No matter what.” 

 

CASTING:

• Vance –> Click here (Use your imagination a bit and add in long hair 😛 )
• Jules –> Click here

Buy ROCK CHICK RENEGADE (Kindle)

** SERIES READING ORDER **

Book #1 — ROCK CHICK (Lee & Indy)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #2 — ROCK CHICK RESCUE (Eddie & Jet)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #3 — ROCK CHICK REDEMPTION (Hank & Roxie)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #4 — ROCK CHICK RENEGADE (Vance & Jules)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #5 — ROCK CHICK REVENGE (Luke & Ava)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #6 — ROCK CHICK RECKONING (Mace & Stella)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #7 — ROCK CHICK REGRET (Hector & Sadie)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

Book #8 — ROCK CHICK REVOLUTION (Ally & Ren)
Buy for Kindle | Buy in Paperback | Read my Review

 

“I love you,” he whispered. “You’ll have the words every day for the rest of our lives.” 

• Buy WHAT PRICE PARADISE (Kindle)
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After finishing The Sweet Gum Tree, I fell so in love with Ms. Allred’s writing that I just had to try another of her books and LOVED  this one too!

It has refreshingly smart and functional characters (both individually and as a couple), funny witty dialogue, a steamy romance, some misty eyed moments (but no crying), some moments that made me laugh out loud, a writing style that just sucks you right into the story and allows you to vividly picture everything that is happening, as well as a very sweet happy ending 🙂

In a small town, six weeks after having a drunken one night stand with Tate, a guy she has secretly loved for a long time, Abby finds out she is pregnant. Problem is, Tate has a finacee and she is the dirt-poor daughter of the town whore. Tate’s financee is the spoiled, bratty daughter of the richest man in town and is constantly cheating on Tate and breaking up with him- which is what led to the fight right before the night he got drunk. But Tate can’t stop thinking about Abby and the moment she discovers he is pregnant with his child, he refuses to let her go through it alone and, desperately wanting to do the right thing, he takes her home to his ranch and gets her to agree to marrying him. Abby isn’t sure at first and doesn’t trust that he won’t just leave her the moment the child is born – especially since she can’t tell if he is over his fiancee or not. It isn’t easy at first, but despite barely knowing each other, they are both intensely drawn to each other and their attraction to each other can’t be ignored and as they begin to follow their hearts, they also fall begin to fall in love.

“You don’t have to be scared anymore, Abby. We’ll figure something out, I promise. We’re in this together… I told you, thats my baby, my blood. I wasn’t raised to ignore my responsibilities whether they were caused by accident or not…. I’m not going to ignore any baby of mine. So what if my life isn’t turning out exactly the way I’d planned? It’s not ruined, it’ll just be different.”

Finally!!! A guy who doesn’t utterly freaked out over a pregnancy! What a welcome change!

I totally fell in love with Tate. He was just such an all-round, down-to-earth, good guy. He was always trying to see the best in people, always trying to do the responsible, right thing. And of course was totally protective and possessive. I just loved seeing the way he handled the pregnancy. He tried so hard to be as understanding as possible. It wasn’t what he expected, it didn’t at all fit into his life plan, but he never tried to hide it, wasn’t ashamed and didn’t reject her but rather he totally embraced both the situation, Abby, and his unborn child in a very heart warming, swoony way. He never pushed her into anything she wasn’t ready for. But he had to figure out for himself where his heart truly lay – with the fiance he’d convinced him self he loved, or with the woman carrying his child that he found himself undeniably drawn to.

Abby too was a wonderfully refreshing, smart heroine with a lot of inner strength. All her actions were totally understandable and she didn’t make any rash or stupid decisions. I loved how she didn’t just give in to Tate – she made him prove himself to her before she completely gave over her heart. She wanted to make sure that he wasn’t with her out of a sense of obligation but because it was what he genuinely wanted.

“Tate, I can’t promise anything, but I’ll give it a chance. If it looks like it might work, I’ll stay.”

As a couple, Tate and Abby were also delightful to read about – they were just so functional!!!  I loved it!! Sure, they had problems, they made mistakes, but they worked through all of them in a rational, totally believable, non-stupid way.

And seeing them go through all the baby prep together was totally adorable and funny.

“You know that Lamaze thing you signed me up for today? Well… you signed youself up, too… You have to be my coach.”…
“This doesn’t sound too bad… Although I’m not sure how you can teach someone to breathe. Seems it would be a case of either you can or you can’t.”

As with The Sweet Gum Tree, the writing style of this book was just beautiful. The slow build of their romance was heart warming, adorable, steamy and very believable. Nothing felt rushed or out of place – they took things one step at a time…. but like I said, it was much steamier! The pacing was perfect. And it was the kind of story that had me constantly thinking about it when I wasn’t reading it – when I had to stop for the night, I just couldn’t wait to get back to it!

I would highly recommend it for when you are looking for a feel-good book with some depth to it.

My only complaint was that, even though it had a resolved, HEA ending, I still wanted more – A few more chapters before the end and I would have loved it to have an epilogue. Does that make me greedy? lol. Maybe. But still… a little more.

PS. Don’t worry about the book cover – there is no death, dying or cheating despite what the graveyard and the two women hint at… I promise! The graves are his parents’ and the 2 women represent the choice he has between his finacee and Abby…. but the book isn’t all about the love triangle issue. Its clear who will end up together 🙂

Rating: 4.5 stars. Standalone romance.

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Here are the 2 standalones by this author.
I loved them both and highly recommend them.
The stories are not related though.
Click the covers to purchase either book.