My first Anna Zaires read was the Twist Me trilogy, back in 2017. For some reason, I decided not to read this series and moved on. HRating: 4.5 Stars
My first Anna Zaires read was the Twist Me trilogy, back in 2017. For some reason, I decided not to read this series and moved on. However, this book continues to be recommended in my various reading groups, so I thought...OK, let me see what all of the fuss is about.
This was the story of Peter (anti-hero) and Dr. Sara. Sara catches Peter's attention while he is looking for Sara's husband. What Peter did not expect was to be intrigued with Sara and wanted something more with her, by any means necessary. Hence the stalking. The anti-hero was so sweet to the heroine, after everything he put her through. I'm talking dinners, showers, cuddles...he personally took care of Sara completely. For all of the bad stuff, you simply fell in love with Peter. After reading the preview of the next book, it looks like it is full of Sara resisting Peter…so I have to be out. I’m not a fan of unrequited love when it drags. I will not read an entire book where the heroine is still resting the hero.
Why Not 5 Stars? My same criticism of Twist Me...I became tired of Sara referring to Peter as her tormentor and/or stalker. I do recall the heroine doing the same thing in Twist Me, so it was not very original....more
Part 2 pickups up with Emilia enjoying herself in the UK with her friends and family. She is trying to get off the Caleb roller coasteRating: 4 Stars
Part 2 pickups up with Emilia enjoying herself in the UK with her friends and family. She is trying to get off the Caleb roller coaster. Meanwhile, Caleb is trying to cleanse his thoughts about Emilia and accepting that she left him. Very predictable, when Caleb and Emilia's path cross again, Caleb really starts examining these new and raw feelings he has. While Caleb was still dominant, he did soften a bit, which made me want to be on his side. This was a very entertaining and interesting series. As I said in part 1, this is a true bullying book. It is a minefield of triggers. You have been warned!!
I do not see any new books from this author. I hope she continues to write these type of stories. I did enjoy it! ...more
It's been a long time since I read a true bully story, and this one met my expectations. It was not a flawless execution, but it did giRating 4 Stars
It's been a long time since I read a true bully story, and this one met my expectations. It was not a flawless execution, but it did give me some serious bullying. The story of Caleb and Emilia. The storyline was not original. Emilia moves from England to the U.S. and goes to a new school where she meets Caleb. Caleb takes an instant liking to her and wants her under him. Since Em is new, she has instant enemies including an on-again off-again girl in Caleb's inner circle. Caleb has major anger management issues. He is not shy about manhandling Emilia to get what he wants...if she does not give it to him, he has no problem taking it. Or he gets it elsewhere.
This story has lots of triggers for readers, including cheating, drug use, underage drinking, and physical pain.
Why Not 5 Stars?
Writing style - The author seemed to mix up the language of the characters. Sometimes Caleb would use British words, which did not make sense.
Storyline was not original - I've read this same high school storyline so many times. I wish it would have been more original....more
I could not put this down! The story of Javier (Cartel kingpin) and Rosa (Javier's main housekeeper). Rosa is working for Javier and sRating: 5 Stars
I could not put this down! The story of Javier (Cartel kingpin) and Rosa (Javier's main housekeeper). Rosa is working for Javier and she is on a mission. Javier is a crazy cartel kingpin who is not to be messed with. There is a seduction between these two and Rosa is torn between who she was before and what she could be in the future. Javier on the other hand, was who he was. This is their on the edge of your seat story.
Javier was scary and absolutely delicious! Javier was so OTT-Possessive and was a perfect fit for Rosa. There are lies, deception and choices that will need to be made by both. I just love stories that are different and this one ticked all of my boxes. Very well written book and I loved the end where there is a flashback and answered all of my questions. I was also intrigued by Javier's close associates. It would be great to see some books with them as the lead characters. Note: There are some scenes where they did not skimp on the violence. Be warned! Again, this is highly recommended if you like dark content. Well done!!
What happens when you touch Javier Estrada's Girl?...trust me...you do not want to know!!...more
What a surprise this book was! It's been some time since I read a MC book and this did not disappoint! I like a gritty, violent story Rating: 5 Stars
What a surprise this book was! It's been some time since I read a MC book and this did not disappoint! I like a gritty, violent story and I got it and then some! Our 'anti-hero' and he is a 'anti-hero', does not play with you. From the very beginning, you know that he is violent, he craves it. He goes nuts without it. Trigger was all that and then some. Our heroine, Tess, is running from her past. She seeks shelter in her best friends MC, where she meets the president, Trigger. At first, Trigger is very guarded with Tess. He has told her countless times not to bring any drama to his club. She continues to keep her past in the past. But as we all know, her past ends up colliding with her present and the result is just not good. I loved the darkness of Trigger. He was hardcore violent, but yet, there was something easy about him when it came to his club brothers and Tess.
There are many characters in this book. At times, it was a challenge keeping up with all of the players. There is just the right amount of details and knowledge about each brother, where I felt it did not over take the story. This was a well-written story that had me rooting for the MC and also downloading the next installment. Bravo!...more
Indifferent....I had mixed feelings about this book. The story of Slater brother Alec (Escort for hire, lover not a fighter, 2nd oldesRating: 3 Stars
Indifferent....I had mixed feelings about this book. The story of Slater brother Alec (Escort for hire, lover not a fighter, 2nd oldest Slater brother) and Keela (BBF to Aideen, a woman scorned). From the onset of meeting each other, Keela hates Alec and Alec enjoys the attention from Keela. Keela must attend her cousin's wedding and she does not want to attend alone. She asks her nemesis, Alec, to escort her and pretend to be her boyfriend for the wedding. The more time they spend together prior to the wedding, they start becoming attracted to each other. Keela denies it, Alec wants her to accept it.
Initially, during the earlier parts of the book, I found the dialogue between Alec and Keela so funny. They would argue over the smallest things. However, after a while, it became very annoying and boring. Keela had a very feisty personality, in fact, she reminded me so much of Bronagh. She yelled, hit, cussed, etc. She was a real hellcat, so to speak. I thought Alec was very sweet and sexy. When Keela and him finally hooked up, it was hot!!! He was the king of the dirty talking..."I'm going to f*uck you like I hate you"...OMG!!! Scorching hot!!
All of the Slater brothers were included in the book, including Bronagh and Branna. There were some other secondary characters from Dominic, who brought some much needed drama to the wedding and some of Keela's family members.
Overall, I'm mixed about this book. I did not hate it and I did not love it. I'm indifferent.
Why Not 5 Stars?
Boring. Alec and Keela hooked up at the 64% mark. Up until then, it was a bunch of yelling, screaming, punching and sarcasm. I enjoyed it at first, but at some point, it became annoying and boring. I wanted something to happen. In fact, I put this book down several times, because the story dragged.
Bronagh, Branna, Keela and Aideen all have the same personality! All four women: screaming, screeching, punching, cursing, being bitchy to everyone...I'm over it! While I really enjoyed Bronagh and Dominic's interaction in book one, Dominic, I do not want to read the same heroine in each book. Bronagh/Dominic, Branna/Ryder, Keela/Alec, Aideen/Kane. All four of these women are loud, obnoxious and brash. While I'm OK with this type of heroine, they should be different...not Bronagh renamed Keela and Branna and Aideen and Alannah. Boring.
The Wedding - everything that went down was off. 'The thing' that Alec did was uncool and unnecessary. I'm sure this soured a lot of readers on him and this book. And 'the thing', was not hot and sexy either. I love 'the thing' just as much as the next person, but this was just wrong and I felt nothing but disgust and heartache. It just did not fit his personality at all. It was off. After 'the thing', I thought Keela's reaction was off when she was talking to her uncle. The action drama at the end, was off. Showing up to rescue someone with no guns or weapons. Really? All of the jokes and sarcasm during the incident, was off. The scene with getting pulled over by the police, what purpose did that serve? It was off.
Edit, Edit, Edit - While the editing was better than Bronagh, lots of mistakes still stood out in this book. I noticed sometimes when Alec was speaking, he was using 'me' instead of 'my'. Keela was using 'my' instead of 'me'. It makes it very difficult to read.
Plea: I need some variation in the female main characters. Screeching, screaming, stomping, fighting is cute for an 18 year old, but very ugly and immature as they get older. ...more
Slow moving, I'm lucky I was able to finish reading it. The story of Rowdy (Tattoo artist, BBF to Jet) and Salem (Tattoo Shop manager)Rating: 3 Stars
Slow moving, I'm lucky I was able to finish reading it. The story of Rowdy (Tattoo artist, BBF to Jet) and Salem (Tattoo Shop manager). Upon Phil's request, Salem moves from Las Vegas to Denver and takes a job at the new Marked location. She encounters a blast from her past when she finds out Rowdy, a very close childhood friend, works there. Salem wants Rowdy, but Rowdy wants nothing to do with his past, in which Salem was a part of.
I liked both Salem and Rowdy. Salem was a very strong and independent woman, who got along with everyone. She seemed to know what she wanted and went after it. Rowdy was a bit more complex. To the world he was this 'Rowdy' guy who slept with woman after woman. As it turned out he was extremely insecure and had some serious abandonment issues that plagued him for the majority of his life.
All of the previous characters also appeared in the book. It was good to catch up with Rule/Shaw (my absolute favorite couple in this series), Jet/Ayden, Rome/Cora, Nash/Saint and Asa/Royal (their story is up next). Towards the end, the story also contained some much needed action/drama in the form of Salem's sister, Poppy, and Asa.
Since the first book, Rule, my expectations in the series have not been fully met. The strong alpha men seemed to have disappeared in the series. I have not yet decided if I will continue with the series, as it has lost it's edge and excitement for me.
Why Not 5 Stars?
It took me 17 days to finish this book! At the 30% mark, I put this down and read three other books because this did not hold my interest. I had to FORCE myself to finish it and ultimately I started skimming through some of the non-dialogue scenes to get through it. I was bored with being inside of Rowdy's and Salem's head.
Too much reflection on the past - I felt like their childhood was constantly being explained. This continued throughout the book. Rowdy reflecting back to his time with Salem and Poppy. Salem reflecting back to her time with Rowdy and Poppy. It just went on and on. Each and every chapter reflected on the past. I became bored and no longer cared.
Rowdy and Salem - They did not do it for me as a couple. Perhaps it was the whole Poppy angle...I don't know. I was just not invested in them.
What happened to my Alpha-Males in this series? It appears that the men in this series have been weakened beyond belief. They are always discussing their feelings and passing along relationship advice. These guys get in a relationship and turn to mush. Seriously, they act like a bunch of women. Depressing and it just feels wrong. I want my hot, alpha, pierced & tattooed guys back!!!...more
The story of Nash (Tattoo artist at Marked, BFF to Rule, Jet, Cora, Rowdy and Rome) and Saint(Emergency Room nurse, shy, emotional issRating: 4 Stars
The story of Nash (Tattoo artist at Marked, BFF to Rule, Jet, Cora, Rowdy and Rome) and Saint(Emergency Room nurse, shy, emotional issues). For me, this was my second favorite book in the series after Rule. Nash was a sweetheart! His character was NOTHING like Rule, Rome or Jet. He was just Nash. This super sweet guy who came from a mess of a family that had some life altering secrets. Nash and Saint went to high school together, where Saint had an unknown crush on Nash and Nash was being the typical 'just trying to have fun' teenager. In Saint's mind, she would always see Nash as being the same bad boy from high school in which she would never be good enough for him. Hence the foundation for their relationship.
There were so many sweet moments from this couple, like the dates they went on. Very romantic and hot scenes. There was a big tragedy towards the end that was so sad, emotional and very well written. The most emotional scene was (view spoiler)[Phil's funeral. Nash's eulogy blew me away! I almost cried. (hide spoiler)] This series still has my interest and I look forward to reading Rowdy's book next!!
Why Not 5 Stars?
Saint's 'issues' with Nash went on too long. I typically hate a heroine who has such negative thoughts about herself. With Saint, I actually understood it and had empathy for her. (view spoiler)[She finally got her head in a good place too close to the end of the story. (hide spoiler)] This did not allow me enough time to get to enjoy and know them as a couple. ...more
The third book in the series continues with Rome (Brother to Rule and Remy, retired Army soldier, PTSD) and Cora (Pierce artist at MarRating: 3 Stars
The third book in the series continues with Rome (Brother to Rule and Remy, retired Army soldier, PTSD) and Cora (Pierce artist at Marked, close friend to Shaw, Rule, Nash, Rowdy, Jet and Ayden). Rome becomes interested in Cora but both of them have some issues that seem to always get in the way.
Cora's character was fiery and she cared deeply for her friends. She had some serious relationship issues due to an ex which bleed into her relationship with Rome. I did not really care for Cora's big relationship hang up. I thought the reason was weak. Rome's character was hit or miss. I wanted to see him as this alpha-male who was big, strong, etc., but his overall character appeared to be less than flattering. I think he simply had too many mind issues for me to see him as a tough-guy. Perhaps that was the point of his character.
I loved the Bar scene with Brite! This was very emotional and my favorite part of the book.
The epilogue did a great job of setting up Nash's story, which is book 4. I liked this book and will continue reading the series.
Why Not 5 Stars?
I thought the Remy issues were put to rest during Rule. It was just too much of repeating the past about what happened to Remy to keep my interest. The PTSD and Remy did not excite me. I hope this is the last of the Remy acceptance issues in this series. Let's let him rest in peace!
The beginning of the book did not hold my attention. It kind of dragged for me. Both Cora and Rome were off doing their own thing apart. I lost interest.
There was not much action/drama between Rome and Cora. The second half of the book was all about saying or not saying I love you. Not very engaging. ...more
Interesting...I was so NOT a fan of Beautiful Disaster, but I enjoyed this book so much better! I'm thinking it's because I simply wanted out of Abby'Interesting...I was so NOT a fan of Beautiful Disaster, but I enjoyed this book so much better! I'm thinking it's because I simply wanted out of Abby's head. It was just too much Abby. It would have been great if both points of view could have made up one book. However, in this book I related to Travis and felt slightly better about Abby. I'm tired of the same 'I'm leaving you' angst in books without telling the guy why. And we say guys are horrible communicators? Come on writers...let's get more creative and stop the break-up in each book. You can still have the drama and angst but still have the girl be down for her man...which Travis and Abby were at some point.
The Epilogue was soooo much better in this book too! I'm glad Jamie McGuire incorporated reader feedback and really gave us a much better glimpse into the future of Travis and Abby! Much improved in this area. In fact, I'm sure there can be a spin-off story from the epilogue. Would love to see some spin-off books on the bad ass Maddox brothers! Please, please, please!...more
I'm shocked that this was a best seller and the very high ratings it has received. I for one, do not have a problem with Travis's anger management issI'm shocked that this was a best seller and the very high ratings it has received. I for one, do not have a problem with Travis's anger management issues, this was very believable. Guys and Gals do go off sometimes. We just do. This was just an OK read for me. I totally do not understand why this is the number 1 best boyfriend book. I don't get it...what am I missing? I would not look to read it again, unless I was bored and wanted to see if I missed anything the first go round. However, I will read installment number 2, Walking Disaster, just to see if the author incorporated feedback and I have a compulsion to finish reading installments.
Storyline: It had the potential to be a good story. I felt that it was not a well thought out storyline. Some pieces were just thrown in for good measure, but not truly explained at all. For example, Abby's father, where did he come from? What happened to him? How did he find her on a campus or even know where to go? What about Vegas and Benny? Totally unfinished storytelling by the author. What were Abby's family issues? Her mother drinks...why? Where is she? How did Abby get money to pay for school? Just so many questions that were never answered. Based on this fact along, the story is unrealistic. (view spoiler)[There's a fire, people die, so...let's get back together and declare our love for each other and fly to Vegas to get married. Seriously? No, we were witnesses to a major fire and left the scene. Unrealistic!! (hide spoiler)]
Characters: Travis Maddox - I think I came to like Travis as the story progressed. I really liked him after Thanksgiving. Enjoyed the jealous boyfriend, some of the fights and his softer side. I 'felt' how much he cared for Abby, although I'm still not sure why. Bottom line, Travis was a school bully, but I still found him to be sexy and loveable. Just not for the best boyfriend award. I'm still scratching my head on that one.
Abby Abernathy - She has found her way on my worst female character list as number 3 (behind 'Ren' from Maya Banks Sweet Addiction and 'Kate' from Opal Carew's His to Command). I truly can't stand any character who breaks up with the guy without an explanation. I was really sick of being inside of Abby's (aka Abs, Pidge) head. Just the back and forth, making some sense in her own mind, but I took exception that she refused to communicate with Travis. When he (view spoiler)[ got on bended knees and begged her to take him back and she refused, without a reason...I totally hated her. (hide spoiler)] I had no love for this character throughout this book. In fact, I could not picture/imagine what she even looked like. If she was so hot looking, I would have expected many guys to be chasing her before Travis.
Writing Style: OK, seriously, who wrote this book? Everything was extremely rushed and amateur'ish. Scenes bleed right into others without any transition. (view spoiler)[One minute they are in a Vegas hotel room and the next sentence they are on a plane back. (hide spoiler)] There was very little descriptions, so the author failed to get me to picture the setting/anything. I could not describe what the apartment looked like, color of carpet, walls, clean, dirty, the cafeteria, the Red Zone/bar, etc. Very little if any descriptions. Very unsettling writing style and I found myself having to re-read sentences because of lack of transition from one to another. Very poor writing style and hope it improves in Walking Disaster. ...more
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