Book Review — Thirty Nights (American Beauty #1) by Ani Keating

(Note: this book has been removed with no information about it or a sequel. I’m not sure why 🙁 )

“Once I love, I love forever.”

• Buy THIRTY NIGHTS (Kindle)
• Buy THIRTY NIGHTS (Paperback)

SQUEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Thirty Nights was everything I could want in a romance: well-written, intelligent, sexy, and addictive. It made my heart race and my palms tingle, it made me swoon and feel and totally fall in LOVE with this couple!! There’s chemistry, mystery, and seduction. It’s beautifully erotic, sensual and smouldering, but tasteful. I loved every single word and can’t wait for the next book. This is a new TOP FAVORITE!!

This story captured that same “spark” (as I like to call it) that Twilight, Fifty Shades, and Crossfire have (to me at least). There’s this intense attraction between hero and heroine, coupled with circumstances which could  easily keep them apart, but that ultimately serve to bring them closer. It’s pure book crack!

The hero is now a CEO but is also a former Marine (who saw combat) with PTSD. He has eidetic memory which means he remembers every single thing he went through in perfect detail, which naturally is intensely traumatic. The heroine is a brilliant scientist fresh out of college. This series is their love story.

First thing, check out the blurb. It was what made me want to read the book!

Thirty nights. Two hearts. One fate.

After her parents’ tragic deaths, Elisa Snow wanted nothing more than to escape her past. Eighteen and alone, she fled her quaint English village and moved to the United States. A starving science student by day and an artist’s muse by night, Elisa has slowly built a new life. She never dreamed she would lose everything again.

She’s one week from graduation when her visa is unexpectedly denied. Given thirty days to leave the country, she must face the one thing she cannot survive again—saying goodbye and leaving her home. Yet within minutes of her world shattering, she meets a man with the power to piece it back together.

After finishing his tour of duty in Iraq, Aiden Hale traded battlefields for boardrooms, becoming one of the most successful venture capitalists in the nation. But all his wealth can’t buy him reprieve from the horrific memories of war. The only thing that gives him peace is a painting of Elisa.

Drawn together by their invisible wounds, they begin a passionate affair as they race against the clock to defy their pasts—and fight for their future.

C’mon!! Doesn’t that intrigue you?! It sure intrigued me!

First thing I want to note openly is that, like so many before it, this book originally used to be fanfiction (of Fifty Shades) so there are some similarities to books we’ve previously read. I was cautious at first because I wanted to be sure it wasn’t too similar, and it’s NOT. It definitely stands on it’s own. The reason the blurb doesn’t really sound familiar is because the story is different. Fanfiction just means “inspired by” so this is definitely it’s own unique story even though you will naturally notice subtle similarities here and there (just like the ones between Fifty & Twilight). There will always be similarities between similar types of stories (Twilight, Fifty Shades, Crossfire, Blackstone, Driven, In Flight, etc) but the bottom line is that Thirty Nights, this one, stands on it’s own within that category. I absolutely loved it and I’m so incredibly excited to have a new and amazing series within this “type” of romance to fall in love with.

The first thing that impressed me when I started reading this book was the writing. This author’s writing style is beautiful and flows effortlessly. I was easily swept away in the story and lost track of how quickly I was flipping the pages. Here’s a quick example…

“A tall man, dressed in a tailored charcoal suit, white shirt and cobalt-blue tie, is standing a few feet from her desk, scrutinizing a painting. His dark brown hair is swept back in casual waves. His eyes burn an intense sapphire blue. On the corner of his right eye is an inch-long scar, bleached by time. Beautiful in its savagery. Like something sharp could not resist his beauty but ricocheted at the last minute, desperate to mark him as it’s own, yet unable to define him.”

I can’t even tell you how much I loved this “feeling” of this story. I loved the way Elisa and Aiden slowly got to know each other — they were both keeping so many secrets, and guarding painful pieces of themselves from each other but as their trust and love for each other grew, little bits of their walls began to come down. It made my heart race and kept me wildly addicted to the story.

Because Elisa had only thirty days left in the US, there was a sense of urgency knowing that they were falling in love on borrowed time. The countdown was on and I was desperate to find out how they’d get through it.

It was incredibly wonderful to read about such a strong heroine. Even though Aiden was a badass former Marine and now a powerfully successful businessman, Elisa was strong and absolutely brilliant in her own right working as a scientist who’d made a significant breakthrough invention. I loved that she held her own against him. It balanced the scales in a way that I really appreciated.

“Well, if you want to buy it for a million dollars net of taxes, I would sell it to you today,” I offer because I already know the answer.

He chuckles. “A million dollars for an unfinished invention? That’s a steep price, considering that I do nothing with science. No offence to your accomplishments, of course.”

“None taken, Mr. Hale. How much would you sell your dreams for?”

If you’ve been following my reviews for a while, you’ll know that I have a weakness for tormented heroes. Don’t ask why but guys with secret pain are literally the key to my heart. And Aiden was about as tortured as they come. But I especially loved the explanation for why. Being a former soldier eidetic memory meant that he vividly and accurately remembered everything he ever read, saw, heard, tasted, experienced, and felt. Naturally given some of the more horrific memories in his past on the battlefield, this led to an extremely painful form of PTSD. And yes, while some of his behaviour could certainly be labelled extreme under normal circumstances, once you understood the reason, it made perfect sense, explained the way he was and why he held certain view points. It brought a complexity to his character that intrigued me to no end and tugged all my heart-strings.

“Can you ever forget?”

He smiles without his dimple and brushes his finger against my cheek…

“No, Elisa. I cannot.”

Another of my most favorite types of romance are ones that have military heroes in them. The sacrifice, the bravery, the strength and honor, all of the elements that makes up these courageous yet badass men really draws me in every time. So with Aiden being both a former Marine and deeply tormented made him literally exactly the kind of book hero I fall for most strongly.

I scroll through the texts he sent me during the party: ‘be safe’, ‘don’t stand under the heavy picture frames’ and my favorite, ‘here is a floor plan of the safety exits’. 

I read his military orders, part laughing, part choking. His fear for my safety is palpable — so intense and unrelenting, as though his own life depends on it.

OMG. And there was this part of the story towards the end that was so heartwarming!!!!! I remember I literally squee’d out loud! Gah. I really loved this book you guys. I really really did.

For those of you looking for a steamy romance, this one will certainly deliver in that regard. It’s incredible sexy — the pull between Elisa and Aiden is almost tangible and this heat factor is certainly high (although, no BDSM). It is however both descriptive and very tasteful. Beautifully erotic and sensual.

“Let the time stand still, Elisa.”

This is the first book in a series. Yes, there’s a cliffhanger. Wait, don’t run away! Despite that, I still loved it and do not regret reading it even though I literally hate cliffhangers and 99% of the time will flatly refuse to read a book that has one. This just happens to fall into that rare 1% of books that I loved enough to be happy I read it now. You’re left with a big ‘reveal’ moment that’ll make you gasp, but there’s also the distinct feeling that you know they’ll be okay. At least, that was my impression. The author is working on the sequel now and plans to have it out around Springtime or possibly before. The second book will be a direct continuation of this one. And the third book will be a standalone spin-off about another couple.

Bottom line is that I absolutely loved this book. It’s sexy, addictive, emotional, absorbing, well-written, and the kind of story that I didn’t want to stop reading. If you’re a fan of Fifty Shades and Crossfire, then I highly recommend this as a great series with a similar feeling, but a new story to fall in love with.

“From the moment you fell asleep in my arms on our first night, I’ve been trying to deserve you… I knew you were in trouble and I knew no matter what it was, I’d try to save you. From anything, especially myself.”

Rating: 4.5+ stars. Contemporary Adult romance.

• Buy THIRTY NIGHTS (Kindle)
• Buy THIRTY NIGHTS (Paperback)