ONE NIGHT SERIES BY JODI ELLEN MALPAS

cr: authorjahyde

A beautiful, steamy adult romance series following the ridiculously handsome yet obsessive mess that is Miller Hart and the innocent, feisty pocket-rocket Olivia Taylor.

I absolutely adored this series, and if you're in need of something a little spunky n sexy but not too full-on, this series is bound to capture your attention.

One Night: Promised (Book 1) – 5 stars

Olivia Taylor is a twenty-four-year-old barista who spends her spare time taking care of her elderly grandmother and very occasionally going out with her best friend Gregory, but never seen dating or out on the town. Until a devilishly handsome man enters the coffee shop and Livy is utterly stunned by his looks, but it’s more than that. There’s something about this man, despite his blunt honesty of how bad the coffee she made him was, she’s drawn by him. And although he can’t offer her much, he can offer her one night.

Review:

Read my full review here

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR BOOKS 2 and 3

Spoilers below for One Night: Denied and One Night: Unveiled!

One Night: Denied (Book 2) - 4 stars

Picking up two weeks after the chaos at the hotel, Livy has officially experienced both sides of Miller Hart; his high-priced, uptight Casanova demeanour and his cold, cruel and threatening dark side. Whilst she tries to mend her heart and doing whatever she can to avoid the man she loves, he is desperate to reach out to her, give her an explanation and make amends for his behaviour.

Review:

Denied took a rather different turn to what was originally shown in Promised, in the sense that we, as readers, and Livy begin to discover more about Miller. As he tries to reach out to Livy and make amends for his behaviour, he also begins to open up to her as a way to bring her back to him. We learn more about his past, his present and the situations involved in his field of work.

It was a welcome change of pace, and good to learn more about Miller and how Livy was slowly trying to accept who he was and why he does what he does. So little was shared about him in Promised, it was clear that his past had traumatised him and even still in the present day, he is haunted by the ghosts of his past.

Following Livy and Miller as they try to work through their individual problems, she comes to the revelation that it’s going to be a lot harder than expected for Miller to simply walk away from his lifestyle. His clients are relentless once finding out about Livy and are desperate to hold him in their tight clutches. It aids in keeping Denied at a face, action-style pace.

One Night: Unveiled (Book 3) – 4 stars

After fleeing the discord in London to a quick getaway to New York, Miller and Livy are continuing to get to know each other, enjoying one another’s company and an escape from life back home. But as they say, all good things are to come to an end and their little vacation ends with a truly heart-wrenching phone call that sends Livy hightailing it to the airport with Miller in tow.

Both Miller and Livy are continuing to struggle with Miller’s past, his career and clients who try everything to keep him. William tries to help Miller who then is sent in a spiral of past clients whilst also trying to make sense of why it is so vital that Miller remains in part with his employer. Little does she know, the truth is darker and more painful than she ever expected.

Review:

Unveiled did exactly what the title suggests and unveiled a whole lot of information. Miller’s past and employer’s motivation became more apparent – and boy, what a gut-wrenching backstory it is -, more of Livy’s mother’s past is revealed as Livy continues to try to run from it. And Nan, poor sweet Nan, now that got me bawling and I was barely halfway through!

Needless to say, Unveiled was the darkest book by far in this series that really threw me one, but it was something needed to close the series and tie all threads into the perfect little bow.

Series Review:

Overall, Jodi has written such a beautiful love story with plenty of drama, laughs and steamy romance all round. The pace of Promised will have you picking up the next book and clutching at your heart as you fall in love with Miller and his rather interesting ways. Livy, despite seeming rather innocent, also has quite a dark past – though not all of it may be hers.

It was such a joy to see these two protagonists develop over these three books, the plot was easy to follow and whilst being similar in some aspects to Fifty Shades, it was that of a far more realistic perspective.

Highly recommend this series to fans of Fifty Shades or those after a good steamy adult romance with a little bit of chaotic drama thrown in!

Think lovely thoughts xo

FAKE FIANCÉE BY ILSA MADDEN MILLS

Rating: 5 stars

Goodreads Book Description:

They say nothing compares to your first kiss,

But our first kiss was orchestrated for an audience.

Our second kiss…that one was REAL.

He cradled my face like he was terrified he’d f*ck it up.

He stared into my eyes until the air buzzed.

Soft and slow, full of sighs and little laughs,

He inhaled me like I was the finest Belgian chocolate,

And he'd never get another piece.

A nip of his teeth, his hand at my waist...

And I was lost.

I forgot he was paying me to be his fake fiancée.

I forgot we weren’t REAL.

Our kiss was pure magic, and before you laugh and say those kinds of kisses don’t exist…

Then you’ve never touched lips with Max Kent, the hottest quarterback in college history.

Get ready for breathtaking kisses and dreamy football players…

My Review:

Thank you to TRSOR Promotions for sending me an ARC of Fake Fiancée for review!

WOW. I mean just…WOW. I read this in 3 days and was left utterly speechless with a giant smile and a few tears of joy.

What a perfectly balanced emotional and steamy whirlwind! I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better cheesy adult romance book to land in my hands at more perfect timing!

I’d be completely lying if I were to say I wasn’t planning on hunting down a quarterback with a troubled past and begging to be his fake girlfriend – oops?

I honestly loved everything about Fake Fiancée, the cheesy romance, the gorgeous characters and bonus emotional rollercoaster. I remember when I started this book, I was in a study lesson, about 4 chapters in and I was like: “I should not be reading this in class…but I’ll do it anyway!”

Yep, definitely worth it.

Max is the star quarterback of Leland University and is one of the top contenders to win the prized Heisman Trophy at the end of his senior year. His presence is known on and off the field; almost everywhere he goes football groupies swarm him with pleas to be the next notch on his goal post.

Sunny is the sassy and vibrant art major attending Leland on an art scholarship; She lives next door to Max and she is not very fond of him being an athlete, who of which is on the same team as her douchebag ex-boyfriend. However, as all romance stories go, something changes in the way Sunny sees Max; she decides to give him a chance and agree to be in a fake relationship, soon turning into a fake engagement – much to Sunny’s surprise.

Sunny and Max’s chemistry broke the scale and the indisputable attraction between them was beautifully told. I loved that Max was not an asshole or manwhore, but instead was a sweet, caring, attractive and somewhat cocky man whom I have certainly fallen for.

Fake Fiancée was such an enthralling, beautiful, angst filled romance of which I found incredibly hard to put down. The storyline was very engaging, Max and Sunny’s fast paced story immediately sucked me in, and Ilsa’s storytelling was simply fabulous!

EXCERPT

Max stalked over to the barrier that divided the stands from the football field and jumped it. The fans went nuts as he brushed past them, some not even realizing it until he was down the aisle. The Jumbotron followed him.

“Good Lordy, what’s he doing?” Mimi asked, clutching at her chest.

“I don’t know,” I said rather weakly, taking the chance to study him the closer he came. He was beautiful, his shoulders impossibly broad. To add to the distraction, his helmet was in his hand and all that dark brown hair was flowing around his chiseled features as if he had a fan in his face. My Viking.

“He’s coming over here,” Mimi commented.

He was. But why?

I stopped breathing . . .right when he came to a halt in front of me and knelt down on one knee.

Eyes the color of a wild ocean gazed at me.

He took my left hand in his right one.

“Max,” I breathed, my heart fluttering.

He gazed up at me. “Sunny Blaine, will you marry me?”

The stadium went wild. In a daze, I looked up at the Jumbotron and felt like I was watching this happen to someone else. Camera phones flashed all around us.

My first clear thought was I’ll kill him.

Aloud, nothing came out but a faint wheeze. Clearly someone had stuffed a giant wad of cotton in my mouth. Clearly I needed something a lot stiffer to drink than this Diet Coke. Clearly my fake boyfriend was a freaking raving lunatic.

He sat his helmet on the ground next to my feet, reached inside it and pulled out a small black box.

No, no, no!

The box opened, and my stomach churned at the sight of the large round solitaire diamond ring that was nestled on the black silk. I blinked repeatedly to clear my vision.

With deft fingers, Max eased it out of the lining and slipped it on my left hand.

I stared down at it. Then back at him.

I was going to murder the hottest quarterback in the country.

Kiss her, Kiss her, the crowd chanted.

We were the focal point of the entire world.

Max stood and tugged me up with him until we were standing. He slid his hand around my neck and pulled his face to mine. The sky was blotted out as he kissed me.

But I hadn’t said yes!

I wouldn’t say yes.

Not to a fake engagement.

The applause of the stadium was deafening. And his kiss—it was deadly. Despite my rage, my body craved him. His lips were hot, so hot, and my tongue met his with a vengeance. We kissed hard, and I nipped at him, my teeth scraping across his lips. But the only one who’d end up bleeding in this scenario was me.

He eased back to take me in, and with a final look at my face he gave a thumbs-up sign to the entire stadium. They went nuts, chanting his name.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered in my ear, letting his hand trail down my arm as he stepped back from me. He walked away backward, eyes on me the entire time. The announcers for the game told everyone who might have missed it that Max Kent had just asked his girlfriend to marry him, and she’d said yes. More cheers came as they replayed him on his knee in front of me with a giant YES written across the top.

I plopped back down in my seat. Frozen.

“. . . did you see her face? Shocked . . .”

“. . . most romantic thing in football . . .”

“. . . luckiest girl in the world . . .”

My face went hot. Even my ears burned. I wanted to crawl under a seat.

God.

What a lie.

The half ended and our offense came out to the field, snapped the ball, and Max threw it straight to Tate who ran it in for another touchdown. My chest constricted and anger churned in my gut.

I didn’t care who won.

I hated football right now.

Most of all, I hated Max Kent, and I was going to make him pay.

BUY FAKE FIANCÉE NOW:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2laEuMc

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Amazon Paperback:  http://amzn.to/2ldp4TS

Think Lovely Thoughts xo

NEW RELEASE: THE F-WORD BY SANDRA MARTON

Rating: 4.5 steamy stars

**WARNING**

THE FOLLOWING BOOK CONTAINS MATURE LANGUAGE AND THEMES

Goodreads Book Description:

So let’s get this straight.

This is a story about romance.

Well, it’s not a story. I mean, it’s not something somebody made up. It’s about me. And yeah, in case you’re wondering, I’m a guy.

Surprised? Sure you are. You figure those words just don’t go together. Romance, with a capital R. Guy, with a capital G. You’re probably sitting there and smirking. What could a dude possibly know about romance? You figure we’re big on sex. But romance?

You’re right.

Romance is not a male thing.

And that’s exactly my problem.

The bottom line is that whatever you think you know about men and romance is pretty much correct. You figure we’re big on the F-word as long as it stands for Fuck and not Forever.

My Review:

I absolutely loved reading this book; it honestly felt like I had a smile plastered to my face the entire time!

“This story is about romance.”

A simple statement that intrigued me so much because there had to be something more to this story about romance. I knew this would be an adult romance book and I originally expected it to be about some millionaire playboy, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

It’s a sweet old-fashioned love story filled with laughter, fun and all together a quick, fabulous read!

Matt overhears a conversation between Bailey and her mother where she has been invited to her not so delightful cousin’s wedding, however Bailey makes an excuse that she’s going away for a romantic weekend with a man. After realising her mistake, she panics…cue her hero, Matt. He volunteers to help her by posing as her date and accompanying to the wedding in order to show up her cousin.

Matt has never seen Bailey as more than his shapeless suit wearing, quick-witted PA, but as every typical romance story goes, there is always a catch. Especially for Matt, who begins to see Bailey as the beautiful and confident woman that’s been hiding beneath those suits all those years.

The F-Word is told from Matt’s POV which I found to be quite amusing and interesting as most adult romances are either told from the female’s POV or in third person. He was very entertaining and realistic, often going off on little tangents about his life, how he views Bailey, etc. It was also wonderful to see Bailey’s transformation by watching her grow in her confidence and come out of her shell as an entirely different.

The friendship between Bailey and Matt was perfectly developed, not too rushed or too slow; unfortunately I can’t say the same for the change in their relationship, it went from 0 to 100 real quick, but I still loved the journey these two incredible characters went on.

The F-Word has only ever meant one thing to Matt, but after a weekend with his long-time PA, could it mean something completely different?

Excerpt from The F-Word:

Matthew O’Malley is one hell of a catch. He’s rich, handsome, charming, smart—and every woman who’s slept with him says he’s fantastic in bed.

This is all true, but he’s also a guy who got where he is today by working hard and by hiring the best people.

Bailey Abram is one of those people. She’s Matthew’s PA. She’s loyal, efficient, brilliant—and she’s never been with a man in her life.

Suddenly, it’s crisis time. Bailey’s cousin is getting married and Bailey’s mother insists she come home for the wedding. Bailey refuses. She and her cousin have a long, unpleasant history. Bailey was the straight A student. Violet was the prom queen and she’s never let Bailey forget it. So Bailey tells a huge lie. She can’t come to the wedding, she says, because she’s going away for the weekend with a rich, gorgeous, sexy guy.

Matthew overhears this. And he sees her burst into tears when she ends the call to her mother. He hates to see Bailey so unhappy. After all, this is his PA. His dedicated paragon of efficiency. Impulsively, he offers to help. Why not go to the wedding with her? Play the part of her rich, gorgeous, sexy boyfriend?

So what if it means spending four intense days getting to know each other outside the office? So what if it means turning Bailey from a woman who dresses like somebody’s maiden aunt into a hot-looking babe? So what if it means teaching her how to touch him and be touched by him, kiss him and be kissed by him? There won’t be any real sex because it’s only a game.

Right?

That’s all it is.

Just a smoking-hot, set-fire-to-the-sheets game.

The F-Word by Sandra Marton releases January 17^th

PRE-ORDER TODAY

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2jRE0cS

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2jcEkSA

iBooks: http://apple.co/2ixNjwM

Nook: http://bit.ly/2isC74R

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2jftY4V

Think Lovely Thoughts xo