Stealing Our Hearts

I actually had the pleasure of chatting with Harlow about this book right after I finished it. I was a blubbering mess at the beginning, but, through talking everything out with her, I was able to process the masterpiece that I had just read. That’s exactly what this book was. A masterpiece. A gem. Her best book yet. As I continue to get to know Harlow James as a person and an author, I’m drawn to her creative writing style and expert craftsmanship. She creates characters that are not only charming and irresistible, but relatable. I think that’s what makes for a good author. Someone who can write about real life, real people, real events. Cash and Piper are two of her most advantageous and memorable characters to date.  It’s almost impossible to put this book down because you don’t want to let go of these characters, you don’t want to have to step away from their world. When I finished the book, I cried for so many different reasons, but one of them being the fact that I wished the story would have never ended.

Cash Cash Cash. Holy hell, ladies. This guy is it. This is the one we’ve all been waiting for. I know many people have said that Harlow writes the perfect book boyfriend and I agree. Up until now, Kane was my favorite. I loved how beautifully broken he was. But then I met Cash. Kane will always hold a special place in my heart, but Cash has taken the top spot. He’s a player. Hands down, right out of the gate, that’s your first impression of him. He tries everything he can, every move, every one liner, everything to get Piper to cave and give him what he wants, but she won’t budge. It’s only after he lets his guard down and shows her his true colors does he have his chance with her. Witnessing vulnerable Cash is probably the highlight of this entire book. It’s priceless. There’s comedy in it, like during his first date with Piper and there’s also pain in it, like at the very end of the book. (You should read the book because I’m not giving anything away here). Cash’s character arc is ginormous. He goes from sleeping around with any vagina he sees and treating women like objects to falling in love in a matter of weeks and effectively changing his entire life. 

Now let’s move on to Piper. This woman. I can’t even begin to explain to you guys how much I love and admire her. She is resilient, resourceful, kind, and giving. She is everything good in this world. She changes Cash’s life by just being herself.  I love that Piper is so down to earth and grounded in who she is, even though she comes from a very privileged upbringing. She’s strong and smart and determined. Piper is a nurse who just moved to Emerson Falls, but at the beginning of the novel, we don’t know why. It’s a mystery what brought her here and who/what she might be running from. As our book progresses, we catch glimpses here and there and bits and pieces of her past. This story is intense and frightening but also beautiful and wonderful. When it all comes to fruition at the end, I couldn’t control my emotions. I was laying in bed, sobbing. You’ll understand why when you read it. These two lose so much but gain each other in the process, and it’s pure magic. I feel so humbled that Harlow asked me to beta read this one for her. This is her best work yet. Take a chance on this book, friends. You won’t regret it. AND it’ll definitely make you want to read the first two books in this series 🙂 I love you, Harlow! 5 stars!

“Everyone has a part of them they reserve for only a select few to see. Maybe Piper is one of those people that deserves that part of you.”

This novel is hot hot HOT!!! Jace and Freya are EXPLOSIVE.  

So to begin this review, I think it’s important to note that this is definitely a BDSM book. I was not prepared for that. It’s not really advertised as such, so it caught me off guard. When I say this book is hot, I mean it is SMOKIN’, ladies. If you enjoy extreme heat, I think you’ll like this one. There’s a lot of spanking, there are some ropes involved, and at one point there’s a whip. A real one, not a flogger. Because, I mean, Jace IS a cowboy. 

Okay on to the meat of the story. Freya witnesses a murder. She is left at the alter, and in a fit of embarrassment and rage, she steals a car and drive hundreds of miles until she happens upon a bar in a small town. It’s at that bar that she witnesses two men murdering a man. These two men catch her watching and chase her into the woods where she promptly trips and crashes into a tree giving herself a concussion. Jace is hiding in the woods, trying to catch those men in the act so that he can figure out how to kill them. You see, he’s a vigilante, and the murderous men are a part of a larger group who hurt women and kill people. They killed Jace’s fiancé. Jace steals Freya out of the woods and takes her back to his cabin to take care of her until he can get rid of the bad men. Well, things get hot and heavy really quickly between the two of them. Jace has certain tastes and Freya, surprisingly, enjoys the same things. They explore each other and get to know each other on many levels and ultimately end up falling in love. When the time comes, Jace is able to defeat the enemy, with Freya’s help, and our couple gets their beautiful HEA.

The epilogues were where the real heartbeat of the story lied though. You get to witness six months and twelve months into the future from where our story ended. There is so much goodness and happiness. I loved this book! Great job, Jane Henry! 4 stars.

“I wish I had a weapon,” Freya mumbles. “I’m your goddamn weapon.”

“I know we’re fucked up, all right? I’m impulsive and hot-tempered, and you get under my skin like no one else. You act like you hate me one minute, and then you need me the next. I never get anything right, and I don’t deserve you…but I fucking love you, Abby. I love you more than I’ve loved anyone or anything, ever.When you’re around, I don’t need booze or money or the fighting or the one-night stands…all I need is you. You’re all I think about. You’re all I dream about. You’re all I want.”

This book was recommended to me by one of my friends on Bookstagram. She’s been an active follower on my account and suggested I give this book a shot. Shortly after I started reading, I told a couple of my other friends about it and they both said that they were surprised I hadn’t read this one yet. I’m honestly surprised too. Apparently, I missed out big time on this one by not reading it sooner. I’m so glad I took the recommendation and ran with it. This story was a ride.

I’m sure this association has been made before, but I’m going to go ahead and take a swing at it myself. You know the song, Beautiful Disaster by Kelly Clarkson? Yeah, that’s kind of the theme song of this book. Travis is a beautiful disaster. Travis is in love with Abby from the first moment he meets her. I think people tend to forget that Abby is only nineteen during the duration of this novel. They are both incredibly young, so their actions make sense. There’s a lot to be said about this book. For one, you’re either going to love it or you’re going to hate it. There are a lot of negative reviews out there because this story does glorify codependency. The thing is, it’s just a story. It doesn’t have to be perfect. I mean for goodness sakes, the title is Beautiful Disaster. What did you expect going in? Travis is broken until he meets Abby. He uses women and throws them away. He abuses his body in fights. He has no attachments to anyone, he’s a loner. The only person remotely close to him is his cousin, Shepley. Shep is dating America (Mare) who is best friends with Abby. And this is how the two meet. Abby is honestly enthralled with Travis from the start, she sees him on stage fighting and craves a closer look. She gets covered in blood and spit and then Travis sees her. His entire world stops spinning. The thing is, Abby doesn’t want to date Travis. She just wants to be his friend. And oh boy, do they become friends – best friends, instantly. They don’t leave each other’s side. Abby loses a bet with Travis and ends up having to stay at his house for an entire month. They share the same bed, but never get physical…until the last night. That’s when everything starts going downhill and you meet the true Travis. They sleep together and Abby leaves while Travis is still out cold. He wakes up to find her gone and completely loses himself. He destroys the house in a fit of rage, desperate for her. He’s obsessed and cannot live without her. This pattern continues through potential suitors for Abby, and a night in Vegas until eventually Abby can’t take it anymore and leaves him. 

I think what’s most upsetting to me is that Abby never fully gave herself over to Travis, never fully trusted him until the end. There were so many times when they could have confessed their love and taken the right path, but outside circumstances kept getting in the way. Abby’s insecurities around other girls were completely acceptable, in my opinion. Travis slept with basically half the college, so why wouldn’t she be worried about him going off again? Makes perfect sense to me. But therein lies the problem, there was no trust. Travis was completely and utterly devoted to her, he didn’t even look at any other women. Abby just couldn’t handle it. And then the issue with Abby’s past and her father. That brought a whole other level to the tower of impending doom. There’s just a lot going against them until the very end, when they finally learn to communicate with each other. 

This story was more than a rollercoaster. It was more than anything I can describe. It hurt me. It healed me. It deserves more than the 5 stars I can give it. This is a story of two beautifully broken people finding their other half, finding that missing piece in their life. They didn’t need anything but each other in the end. And that’s what made it so beautiful. They were a disaster, a tornado tearing up everything in it’s wake, but boy was it beautiful to witness. 

“I knew the second I met you that there was something about you that I needed. Turns out it wasn’t something about you at all. I was just you.”

“Sometimes memories are all we have, and there’s no amount of money in the world that can get those back.”

Okay, first thing’s first: Persephone is going to be the name of my first born daughter, so I was absolutely ecstatic when I started this book and saw that was our heroine’s name. Secondly, the fact that she’s wicked smart only solidifies how much I truly loved this character. She had absolutely no social skills when she first met Reece, which, by the way was a total accident. She thought he was answering her ad for a sexual partner and he thought that she was a media instructor hired by his coach. Their entire relationship is built on firsts for both of them. Reese has never met someone like Seph, someone so willing to try new things and so unapologetically herself. Seph has never met anyone like Reese, so driven and hardworking, but also so gentle and caring. 

These two people could not be more opposite, yet they fit perfectly together. Even when Seph gets embarrassed or when Reese gets inside his own head, they still find ways to draw themselves back out, into each others arms. It was such a delight watching these two fall for each other; it felt like it was truly meant to be. When I think back on this book, the idea of “first love” really comes to mind. Although Reese was helping Seph experience a lot of firsts (i.e. skinny dipping, getting drunk, having sex), she was his first love. Almost from the moment he met her, he couldn’t get her out of his head. As a reader, I always tend to fall for the men who don’t see it until it’s too late and they’ve already fallen. That was Reese. He agreed to help Seph even though he knew it might not be the best idea since he was already attracted to her. And then he fell, and he realized that nothing else mattered except the love he felt for her. 

This book forced me to think back on a lot of my firsts and how some of them were really great experiences while others…not so much. First loves can be hard and scary and a lot of times, very painful, but they can also be beautiful. Seph and Reese were magnificent. Take some time to read this book, it’s worth it. 5 stars!

“I’ve been dreaming of you every night, and if I’m still dreaming, I don’t want to wake up. I need you.”

“I’m no savior. You can be sure of that. But I’ll gladly stand in the flames if it means keeping you from the fire.”

Talk about ANGST! This was such an incredible, angst-y read. This was my first time reading anything by A.L. Jackson. I read a review of this book from another bookstagrammer and was completely sold. She said it was in her top reads of 2020 and I would have to agree.

At the beginning of our story, our lovers meet in the attic of a house while there’s a party going on downstairs. Mia has just escaped a potential sexual assault and came to the attic/library to hide. Leif is hiding in there because he doesn’t even want to be at the party. I love the way our author describes what they feel for each other when she says, “No. I wasn’t insta-love. It was insta-intrigue. Insta-attraction. And it’d left me insta-crushed.” I mean, it’s no joke that these two are fated for each other from the very beginning. The entire time they know each other, they make outlandish romantic comments about how they “just know” they are meant to be and there’s “no one else” that could ever make them feel this way. It’s insanely passionate from the get-go, and that’s what had me hooked. 

“I should walk away, shouldn’t I?” she whispered. I gave her a tight nod. She touched my chest. Motherfucking flames. “So what is this feeling that’s begging me to stay?” “No doubt, it’s the exact same thing that is going to make me push you away.”

Leif comes from a very messed up past. People died because of him and he carries that weight around, thinking he doesn’t deserve to be happy ever again. Then he meets Mia and he feels like he can finally breathe. He sees a purpose in his life. He finds a reason to live again. Mia witnessed her best friend murdered and has been suffering from PTSD since. She has two children and she fears what might happen to them if the man who killed her best friend comes to kill her. She’s always looking over her shoulder. We find out later that her fears are not unfounded and that she is indeed in danger. Mia travels with her brother and his band from Los Angeles to Savannah, GA to stay for the summer while her brother’s band records their new album. Leif is a drummer that Mia’s brother’s band has recruited to help record the album. Their true love affair begins when they get to Savannah. It’s painful and beautiful and completely worth all the heartbreak. 

Leif is very hesitant at first to be with Mia, but she pushes him. Not too hard though, don’t worry. She’s just open and honest with him about how she feels and in that truth, Leif is set free. 

“The only thing you see when you look at me is your beauty reflected back. You are the true definition of it, Mia. Beauty. You stole my breath the first time I saw you. You are the creator of it. I won’t taint that.”

Eventually Leif gives in, multiple times, and Mia has her way with him. They gift each other their hearts and it’s glorious. But of course, his past comes to bite him in the ass. I’ve gotta admit, the end of this book is scary. I was physically nauseous reading the last twenty percent of the book. The ramp up and then the huge ending was almost too much for me. It really puts you through the ringer. I know I’m going to be healing from this story for the next few days. This was absolutely a 5 star read for me, no questions asked. I’m so impressed by A.L. Jackson, I can’t wait to read another one of her books. 

“Kissing you feels like kissing the stars.”

Top 3 things I loved about this book:

1. Pineapples and green olives 
2. Dicken
3. Bae

“Everyone has a demon or two, Stevie. You just gotta learn how to live with them and find other people who think all your good parts outweigh the bad.”

This was my first Helena Hunting book (I seem to be experiencing a lot of first lately LOL) and, yet again, another author has blown me away. This romance community takes writing to the next level. They know how to rope you in and keep you interested throughout the entirety of the story. I have trouble sitting through two hour movies, but with these books? No issues at all. I sat here all afternoon and read this book. Hunting is an expert craftsmen. She built a stunningly addictive male lead in Bishop and a spunky, sultry heroine in Stevie. These two characters melted together on the pages of this book. It was AMAZING.

I want to talk about the tension, the build-up. You know what I’m talking about. This story had it in spades. The climax of this novel didn’t even happen until 80 percent of the way through! I mean, had I not been insanely invested, I would have wondered if there was going to be a climax at all! That’s what made this story so incredible. This wasn’t another cookie-cutter romance. The climax didn’t happen at 50 percent of the way through. There wasn’t a “make-up” scene at 80 percent and then a proposal at the very end (well…I mean, maybe). The story didn’t follow the normal outline of the romance books we always read, and it was so refreshing. Our leading man called our heroine “bae” throughout the entire novel, which, at the beginning, kind of bothered me, but then it grew on me and became pretty endearing. “Bae” stands for “before all else”, in case you didn’t know that, so it’s pretty sweet when you think about it. Bishop, our leading man, also has basically zero experience with women. He’s grouchy and hard-headed and only really begins to open up to Stevie after weeks and dancing around each other. That’s what makes him so attractive though, he doesn’t let his guard down until he meets her and then he can’t help but open his heart to her. Stevie is one of the most resilient female characters I’ve ever read. She went through significant trauma as a young girl, dealing with her brother’s fame and the aftermath of that. And then again, when she walked in on her boyfriend in the middle of having sex with someone on her birthday. She’s a physical therapist and her profession is what brings Bishop and her together. Bishop is a hockey player, alongside RJ, Stevie’s brother, and he gets hurt in a preseason game. Stevie offers to give him additional PT time to help him recover and he agrees. They grow closer and soon they can’t help the attraction. Coming back around to THAT TENSION. Seriously, sexual tension ON POINT in this novel. So good. 

Truthfully, I can’t wait to read more of Helena Hunting’s books. I’m about to download whatever I can find because I think I may have found a new favorite author! 5 stars!

“I want to be the olive to your pineapple.”

“I am hell bound, and you are heaven sent. You’re the first girl I ever looked at and thought…I want to kiss her. I want to own her. I wanted you to look at me the way you look at your fantasy book – with a mixture of awe, anticipation, and warmth.”

There’s nothing quite like a novel written by LJ Shen.  She will take your breath away with her phenomenal storytelling. Shen is one of the most gifted authors I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading. One of the greats. One of my absolute favorites. If you haven’t read any of her books, if you haven’t read this series, stop what you’re doing right now and go download or buy a copy of this book. It will change your life. Better yet, it will change the way you see the world. And isn’t that what art is truly about?

Vaughn Spencer. So much like his father, beautiful and flawed and so very angry with the world. Though he really has a reason to be. This story is painful. It cuts deep. It hurts you where you didn’t realize you could be hurt. Vaughn is cruel, he’s larger than life, he’s majestic in his own right. Vaughn is helplessly in love with Lenora Astalis. Lenora is a warrior, a fighter. She is brilliant and brave and insanely talented. Something that not a lot of men would be able to handle. She’s smart and cunning and knows what it means to lose. She’s also 100% determined to never fall in love. Of course, all of that shifts when she meets Vaughn. Don’t get me wrong, my friends, this is not a happy story. This is an angry, cold, tough narrative, full of hateful words and brutal exchanges. Vaughn and Lenora are enemies. They hate each other with a burning passion. But of course, passion in hate can turn to passion in love very quickly. 

“Kissing him was like standing on the edge of a cliff. Nice view, but you knew it was deadly.”

The majority of this book takes place in England. It feels strange to be so far away from Todos Santos after reading The Sinners of Saint series and the first two books in the All Saints High series. But nevertheless, here we are. And you know, it doesn’t even matter. You start reading and you’re so swept away in the story that you don’t realize how much you miss Knight and Daria and everyone. Your thoughts obsess over Lenny and Vaughn and what’s going to happen next. That’s pretty much how you feel during the entirety of this novel: obsession. You’re obsessed with what is going to happen next and dying for them to find their own happily ever after. And then…there’s a letter. A letter as in a note. Written by Vaughn to Lenora. There is nothing like this letter in any romance novel you’ll ever read. It’s exquisite. It’s so incredibly special and personal and BEAUTIFUL. I’m crying again just thinking about it. You’ve got to read this book; if not for any other reason but to read the letter. 

This is a ten star read. There’s no explanation needed. Once you read this, you’ll understand. It’s weird and it’s definitely a unique taste, but it’s glorious. Broken Knight was one of my favorite reads of 2019 and I know this is going to be one of my favorite reads of 2020. There’s just something about the way Shen writes that bypasses everything and speaks directly to your soul. It’s a perfect book. The end. 

“There is so much beauty in darkness. It’s just harder to find.”

“You’re the only one for me. My sun rises and sets on your smile. My heart beats because yours does.”

This is the fourth and final installment of Elle Kennedy’s Off-Campus series and holy crap do we go out with a bang! This is a surprise pregnancy story. I’m usually not the biggest fan of those, but this one holds a special place in my heart.

Sabrina James, our heroine, is a wickedly smart, sassy, driven woman. Most would refer to her as a bitch and they wouldn’t be wrong. We met her sporadically throughout the other books in this series, but she is most notably remembered as Dean’s archenemy. Sabrina and Dean HATE each other. They are both tracking for the same degree in undergrad and are both supposed to go to law school after they graduate. Sabrina works hard and from what we learn in this story, comes from nothing. She pays rent to live in her house with her nana and her stepdad. She works two jobs, one of them at a strip club. And she’s at the top of her class. She doesn’t believe in relationships, only hookups, so when she meets John Tucker at a bar one night, she gives in to the lust. 

John Tucker is the fourth roommate that this series revolves around. He’s the strong and silent type. He’s a decent hockey player, but he won’t go pro. He’s interested in investing the money his father left him and starting a business. He’s also in love with Sabrina. Tucker truly believes in love at first sight. He admitted to Sabrina that when he first saw her across the bar the night they hooked up, there was something deeper there. Connection. Sabrina fights herself but eventually gives in and starts sleeping with Tucker on the reg. It’s almost like they’re a couple? But she would never agree to that. Then she finds out she’s pregnant and it throws a bit of a wrench in both their future plans. Sabrina got into Harvard and she doesn’t want to give that up because of a baby. Turns out she doesn’t have to. Sabrina and Tucker are able to make it work, not without some major hiccups along the way, and she’s able to start and continue law school. Tucker even finds the perfect place to invest his money in and our couple gets their HEA. 

I think that this book and The Score (Dean and Allie) compete for most passionate out of this series. Sabrina and Tucker are addicted to each others bodies. They crave each other more than anything else. They are also both incredibly stubborn people, so it just makes it that much more enjoyable to watch them fight in lust. Then there’s the whole issue of falling in love. Tucker falls first, obviously. Sabrina is much more cautious in her falling. She doesn’t want to hold him back, or make him eventually resent her. She’s more realistic in her approach, but she does eventually give in and it’s beautiful.  5 stars again!

“Love is the ultimate goal. It’s not the one I had strived for, but I was lucky enough, so damn lucky, to achieve it.”

“You’re the goddamn love of my life, the person I want to call mine. The girl I want to come home to. My heart. My fucking soul.”

Now THIS is the Meghan Quinn I know and love. What a gorgeous story. There’s nothing like a truly vulnerable male lead to get you going, if you know what I mean. Cory Potter is exactly that. He’s so emotional, not in the same way Jason from The Lineup is, but still emotional in his own way. He is overcome by the love he feels for Natalie, so much so that he doesn’t know how to handle himself. And right there, that character, is what makes for a brilliant story. 

“I…I took one look at you and knew where I wanted to be.”

So, if you’ve read this series, you know that all of these characters are connected in some way. If not, I’ll explain it for you as easily as I can. Our leading lady, Natalie, is the sister of Jason from The Lineup. Our leading man, Cory, is the brother of Milly from The Dugout. Now, you can read all of these as standalones, if you really want to, but I would recommend reading them in order so you get the full growth arc of each of these characters. Anyway, so, Cory Potter is thirty-five and has never had a serious relationship in his life, he’s never wanted one.  Baseball has been his sole focus, his sole reason for breathing, until he goes to a charity event for The Lineup and sees Natalie. His entire world shifts. He knows, from the moment he sees her, that she’s the one for him. But then his sister drops a big bomb on him:

She’s married.

Cory is devastated. So he decides to take one last vacation before baseball season starts, and goes on a trip to La Croix with Milly (his sister) and their group of friends because there was an extra room available. WELLLL turns out Jason invited Natalie (his sister, don’t forget) on this little vacation too and Cory and her end up having to share a room. We find out a little bit later, after Cory breaks down and asks, that Natalie is no longer married, but divorced. And thus begins their whirlwind romance. It’s short-lived though, the end of it fueled by Cory’s innate desire to please his fans and Natalie’s insecurities. But oh man, that reconciliation is AMAZING. It’s not grand like in some of the other books, but it fits perfectly for them. Two people so desperately in love.

This was a 5 star read for me. I was sobbing at around the eighty percent mark, and it didn’t let up until the very end. Cory and Natalie are simply exquisite. A perfect couple and exactly what I needed to finish out this series. Though…I’m not sure if it’s actually done because I would kill for a book on Maddox. He’s one of Cory’s teammates and a total bad boy. Yes, please! Anway, to wrap this up: you should read this series. It’s one of my favorite sports romance series out there. Meghan Quinn is a total boss. 

“You are the best decision I ever made in my life.”

“People shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.” “But they always do. That’s why we have covers.”

I have to admit, most of Mickey Miller’s work usually feels stiff and forced. The stories are usually 4 star review-worthy tales and the characters have a decent level of depth to them; nothing to write home about. But oh…my…god. THIS BOOK. This story completely changed the way I read Mickey’s work. This book was absolutely phenomenal. The characters were deep and raw and had real issues and desires. The plot was twisted and unique and that dialogue? That was exponentially better than any other Miller book I’ve read. This was an excellent work of art. BRAVO!

Okay, so we’ve got Alex and DJ, our two lovers. DJ is an all-American, all-star football player starting his freshman year in college. Alex is a spunky, retro-chic, pierced knockout who is obsessed with psychology also starting her freshman year in college. Completely accidentally, Alex gets placed in the all boys dorm and is assigned to room with DJ. YEAH. I’M TELLING YOU – THIS STORY IS FANTASTIC. It’s pretty much lust at first sight for both of these characters. They fight it as best they can, but end up giving in one night and kiss. That’s when the avalanche begins. A rumor gets spread around campus that Alex and DJ slept together, when they obviously didn’t, and Alex blames DJ. She’s hostile and downright bitchy to him after that. She never bothers to ask him about the alleged claims, just starts being incredibly hateful towards him. Of course, when the rumors are dispelled, they basically go back to the way they were before, but with even more heightened sexual desire. These two begin a tumultuous relationship, that can only truly end one way. They are young, and dumb. What is to be expected? More insecurities and family issues rock their boat until it all bubbles over and their relationship is doomed. Of course, that’s not the end! These two get their glorious HEA and it’s even more special because there’s no finality in it. They are still college freshmen. There’s not a rush to get married or have babies, they just get to enjoy each other’s company for now. DJ, of course, has decided that Alex is the love of his life, but what young man in love wouldn’t say that? I think that’s what I loved so much about this story. It’s so real and true to how life actually is. There is no solid finality in life. Things can always go awry and that’s okay. You have to live for the moment.

I absolutely adored this novel and cannot WAIT to read the next in this series. Mickey Miller, you have won my over. Heart and soul. Bravo!! 5 stars!

“Goddammit Alex, I can’t help it.” My voice quivers. “Can’t help what?” “Can’t help falling in love with you.”