ARC Review: Just One Tease (The Dirty Dares #5)

Just One Tease (The Dirty Dares #5)

Carly Phillips

Blurb:

He’s the last single Dare sibling standing.

She’s his lost love who disappeared.

Now she’s back, bringing secrets and danger.

Hadley Stevens is on the run with her younger sister—again—but this time, she’s in control. Zach Dare might hate her, but she knows he’d never turn away someone in need. He’s the only man she trusts. The man she’s never gotten over. Even if she left him without a word.

Zach never expected the girl he once loved to walk into his bar. The last time he saw her, he’d dropped her off after school and promised to pick her up for prom. Except she disappeared.

Now, she’s back with a new name, but the same doe eyes and pouty lips, and she’s asking for the help he would have gladly given her all those years ago.

Zach agrees to protect them, but he refuses to fall for Hadley again. But late nights working side by side give them a tempting glimpse at the life they could have had…and all the reasons he loved her come flooding back.

He’ll have to keep her safe.

Before he can convince her to stay.

Themes:  Contemporary, Series Finale

Rating: 4.25 stars

Heat Rating:  

Review:

The final Dirty Dare sibling has finally found their love and mate in this finale by Carly Phillips, but don’t worry we have more coming in this amazing family and a fun spinoff as Zach’s sexy partner Remy and his family get their own series.  Carly’s Dare family has intrigued readers for many years now, but we are looking forward to the Sterling family for sure while the last set of Dare siblings has a chance to grow up.  This story is one that we have really looked forward to, getting hints from Zach as he watched his siblings find and fall in love and learned bits and pieces of his story, but we never realized just how heart-wrenching it was going to be for him and his girl.  I enjoyed this story, the emotional turmoil, the family connections, the drama, and the second chance at love for two people who so badly deserved to find one another again.  If you are looking for a romantic and stormy tale of two people who have been hurt and lost in their lives but finally find each other again, Carly’s Just One Tease, will fulfill every need and give you the HEA you need on a cold November night.

Hadley Stevens is once again running for her life, this time with her teenage sister in tow, and she finds herself heading into the arms of the one man she never imagined she would ever see again, but who can offer her the safety and security they both need so badly.  Zach Dare once loved Hadley—who he knew as Mia—with all his heart, but when she disappeared from his life suddenly, leaving him with a hole in his heart, he built a wall around himself and having her back asking for help only makes him want to reinforce those walls. While his friends and family seem more than willing to embrace both Hadley and her sister, Zach is more resistant to letting her back into his life, despite knowing she is in danger and needing to protect her, but he could never turn away a damsel in distress, much less one that once meant the world to him.  The more time they spend together, the more they both remember the love and passion that once made them everything to one another, and the deeper their hearts become connected again.  They both know that even if Hadley and her sister find a way out of the danger surrounding them, Hadley has to return to her life, but Zach is determined that he will fight for her and them, even if it means losing everything again. 

Hadley was a wonderful character, one that tugged at your heart from the very beginning and you could see being your best friend.  She was witty and smart, always having a backup plan and knowing that she had to be prepared to protect her sister in case her idiot father messed up again.  She has worked hard to make something of herself and make sure that her sister has a chance at a normal life, even though it cost her the love of hers, and she is determined to do whatever it takes for her sister to continue to have that normal.   She gives her all in everything she does, be it in her profession, caring for her sister, or giving her heart and body to the man she loves again, showing him that she never really stopped wanting or loving him.  Hadley’s life has been tragic, but she won’t let it stop her from grabbing any happiness she can when she has the chance to have it and embracing any chance with Zach that he will let her have.  Zach was a little bit of an ass, spoiling for a fight, at the beginning of their story, but once he finally released the chip on his shoulder and allowed Hadley to tell her side of their story, his true loving and caring nature had a chance to come out.  He is such a good guy, sweet, and loving while still being strong and alpha, that you just want to grab him and never let him go.  He is obviously smart as all get out, compassionate, thoughtful, and tender with his family (especially the women) as well.  I especially loved seeing him interacting with his sisters-in-law and nieces, but his whole family obviously means the world to him and he will be a great father and I can’t wait to see him in future novels as he and Hadley grow their own family. Once he opened his heart again, he truly was the perfect man and he gave Hadley exactly the love and forgiveness she needed to remind her why they are the perfect couple. 

Just One Tease might be the ending to the Dirty Dares, but it is just the beginning for Hadley and Zach, offering them the forgiveness and second chance at love that they always deserved and the chance for a life they should have had from the beginning.  Zach is the Dare sibling who has been the most mysterious and canny, but we finally learn all of his past and get to see that he has more layers than we ever imagined.  He is sexy, smart, caring, tender, and passionate and truly the perfect match for Hadley once he learns to let go of the pain of their shared past.  Hadley has had so many heartbreaks but has stood strong against the pain and heartbreak and finally takes a chance on the man she loved and lost when she needs help for her sister and herself.  Her pain is nothing compared to the need she feels for Zach and the need to protect her sister, but she never imagined he would truly give her the forgiveness she wanted or the chance to have him in her heart again.  I loved the passion and fire between these two and it truly was spectacular to see these two fall into one another and find their way back to love.  I am dying for the next series Carly plans to release, revolving around Remy Sterling—Zach’s partner—and his large and crazy family, and I imagine that series will be just as awesome as all the Dare series.  Carly, as always, finds a way to end a series with a bang and shows us that two people truly can be made for one another, even if they are separated by year, miles, and circumstances, because nothing can truly keep love apart if it is meant to be.  Well played Carly, well played.

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.

ARC Mini Review: Naughty and Nice (Italian Stallions #5.5)

Naughty and Nice  (Italian Stallions #5.5)

Mari Carr

Blurb:

If there’s one thing Liza excels at it’s making bad decisions. Which is why she knew it was stupid to invite the guy she’d just started dating to the gala she was hosting. When he gets overly familiar, she asks him to leave. He refuses…

Until sinfully sexy billionaire, Matt Russo, intervenes, leading to Liza’s worst decision ever. Because a holiday hook-up with Matt, her family’s enemy, would definitely land her on the naughty list for life.

If Matt’s past has taught him anything, it’s that true love doesn’t exist. Then he spies Liza—the only threat to his simple existence—across the hotel ballroom. A slow dance leads to a heated embrace that ends in his hotel room. And for the first time ever, he imagines a very different future for himself.

Unfortunately, it’s one he can never have.

Themes:  Erotica, Holiday

Rating: 4 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

 I love a good erotic holiday romance, and what makes it even better is when the heat has been building between the characters for several novels and we know that the fire is about to explode.  Mari Carr has been giving us glimpses of the fireworks to come between Matt Russo and Liza Moretti for a long time now, and we get just a little glimpse into this sexy holiday romance.  Naughty and Nice is the story of Matt and Liza finally giving into the tension and need they’ve been fighting in a big way with one night of passion.  Neither of these two think it is a good idea to give in, but neither of them can resist the other any longer and finding the connection to one another is more than they can fight anymore.  Losing themselves in one another for one heated, sexy, and fantastic night is just what the doctor ordered to allow them to get over the pull they’ve been fighting, but when they unleash their hidden desires, they quickly understand they’ve made a big mistake and they are in way over their heads.  Matt has never allowed his lust and dark needs free reign with another woman the way he does with Liza and she gives him everything he needs, meeting him and his needs every step of the way.  Liza never saw herself as a submissive woman, but Matt’s stormy eyes and sexy voice show her that she can let herself go and give over her needs and he will give her everything she needs.  But in the light of day, can they accept the ties they have forged and give the bond between them a chance even with everything that stands between them? Or will they have to find a way to resist one another again and walk away forever? I am dying to find out in their full-length novel coming soon (Tempted and Taken) and I know that Mari will make every moment of that way worth every moment of the angst.  A true sexy and sensual romantic liaison between two people who are going to blow your minds and leave you breathless for their love story and the HEA we can only hope they find soon. Mari, you truly are evil in only the best of ways!

*eARC provided by author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.

ARC Review: Reign (Kindred: The Fated #3)

Reign (Kindred: The Fated #3)

Donna Grant

Blurb:

Magic holds both beauty and danger…

As Lady of the Varroki, Malene was powerful and revered. But after a battle, she awakens in Norway as Dagny, a witch with no memories of her past. Her identity fragmented, Dagny finds herself entangled in a life far removed from the path she once trod and seduced by the lure of power. Until that need shifts to passion for the one who has imprisoned her, hoping to make her remember.

As a warrior and the Lady’s right hand, Armir will not stop searching for Malene. When he does, she’s not the woman he remembers. Driven by an undying love that transcends the boundaries of time and space, Armir risks everything for her. But enemies lurk in the shadows, waiting to strike. Will he and Malene overcome their pasts to find a future together?

Themes:  Magick, Paranormal

Rating: 4.5 stars

Heat Rating: 

Review:

The grand finale has finally arrived in our hot little hands, and boy was it worth the long wait.  For those of us who have shared this long journey with the magical Donna Grant and her witches, the ending of the battles for the Kindred and their allies seemed like it would be bittersweet, but we needed to experience it.  When Malene and Armir first began to fall in love, we feared that their future would be a dark one, knowing they had obstacles in their way that might just be insurmountable, however, we never gave up hope for them.  Donna’s imagination and heart continue to surprise me and keep me on my toes as she led us through this last bit of darkness and back into the light of love and happiness for the last couple to find their hearts together. We have been given our long happily ever after for these Kindred and know that the war has finally come to an end, but I continue to hope that Donna might give us a spinoff in the future and let us back into her world for more greatness.

Armir finally has the love of his life back in his arms, after being told she was dead, despite not believing it himself, but she is not the same and doesn’t have any memory of who she was before.  She is living as a conquering witch by the name of Dagny, determined to conquer and take over, but when Armir kidnaps her from her latest battle she finds herself facing her greatest challenge ever. Now Armir and Dagny are trapped together, without their magic, until she regains her memories, because if she is set free as the witch Dagny, unable to tap into the conscience of Malene in her heart, the world could just fall into darkness. However, the more time they spend together the more Dagny feels for the sexy Varroki warrior and the deeper their emotions run.  When an enemy from the past comes to take Armir, Dagny has to dig deep to defeat not only their enemy but the blocks in her own mind to protect the man she has quickly fallen for, or they could both die.

Armir and Dagny/Malene were both interesting characters because we saw sides of these characters that we haven’t been able to see in previous novels. Armir has always been so calm, collected, and buttoned-up in previous novels because he had to project this demeanor as a leader.  But now we see him as the broken man who has lost—and now found—the love of his life and he is dealing with all the emotional upheaval of seeing the changes in Malene as she lives as Dagny.  He is still strong, determined, brave, and a singular fighter, but his love and devotion to her make you want to cry as he falls apart. Once he finally accepts that Malene might be forever gone, leaving behind only Dagny, and he allows himself to embrace her for what he needs, we see a new side of the selfless warrior and instead just see him take something for himself for once. Malene/Dagny was such a well-written character because she was truly two different characters as she was lost and then found.  Malene was once such a sweet, loving, and self-conscious character, but living as Dagny she never doubted herself and her decisions, even if we cringed as some of them.  She lived her life to the fullest, doing what she thought was best and forging ahead no matter what others thought.  She was strong, smart, fearless, and bold as she moved forward with her plans for world domination, but when she does finally understand that perhaps that might be a happy medium she carries those traits with her.  Once she regains her true self, Malene can incorporate Dagny’s strengths into her true personality to be the full Lady of the Varroki she was always meant to be, proving that he time as Dagny was not truly wasted. 

Donna Grant teaches us a valuable lesson that sometimes the parts of our personality that others find the least desirable, can in the long run be the most important for us to learn from.  When we all believed that Malene was gone, that she had given her life for the cause to keep the Coven from killing innocents for their cause, despite Armir’s conviction she lived, we were heartbroken. Learning she had turned to the dark side and was herself now trying to conquer others and force them to her will was even harder to deal with, but having to watch Armir come to accept the loss of his love a second time was almost too much.  Armir is such a stalwart and loving warrior, one who never seems to give up on those he loves or the causes he believes in, that seeing him defeated was demoralizing.  When he finally moved on and learned to live in the moment, we accepted along with him that maybe his future was on a different but no less noble and loving path with a new partner.  Malene’s path, even her time as Dagny, was complicated and led through some interesting changes for the powerful Lady of the Varroki, but in the end she found her strength and her power.  Her ability to become the leader and lover needed to effect change for her people and the man she loved, while finding herself in the end showed her inner core of goodness and strength could be buried but never was lost.  I loved the passion between these two from the very beginning of their love story in previous novels, through their time trapped together and into the future as they live their HEA.  I truly do hope that Grant gives us another series in the world of the Kindred, but if she doesn’t I can honestly say that Reign is the perfect ending to a series that began with skepticism for a world of witches and wonder and became one of my favorite of her series.  Grant’s magic with the keyboard never fails and I am forever spellbound.

*eARC provided by the author for the purpose of an honest and unbiased review.  No compensation was provided.