Shameless by Lex Martin - Review

Blurb:

Brady…
What the hell do I know about raising a baby? Nothing. Not a goddamn thing.

Yet here I am, the sole guardian of my niece. I’d be lost if it weren’t for Katherine, the beautiful girl who seems to have all the answers. Katherine, who’s slowly finding her way into my cynical heart.

I keep reminding myself that I can’t fall for someone when we don’t have a future. But telling myself this lie and believing it are two different things.


Katherine…

When Brady shows up on a Harley, looking like an avenging angel—six feet, three inches of chiseled muscle, eyes the color of wild sage, and sun-kissed skin emblazoned with tattoos—I’m not sure if I should fall at his feet or run like hell. Because if I tell him what happened the night his family died, he might hate me.

What I don’t count on are the nights we spend together trying to forget the heartache that brought us here. I promise him it won’t mean anything, that I won’t fall in love.

I shouldn’t make promises I can’t keep.

Shameless is an adult contemporary romance/spinoff featuring a character from The Dearest Series, but it can be read as a complete standalone.

 

 

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29282745-shameless

 Purchase Links:

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1UaR0Fq

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/23SE2CC

Universal Amazon link: http://myBook.to/Shameless

B&N: http://bit.ly/1VnRtFy

Kobo: http://bit.ly/248KdiD

iBooks: http://apple.co/1S3GPBl

 

Also Available: 

The Dearest Series Boxed Set is FREE on KU for a limited time. Get all three Dearest Series books, including Dearest Clementine, Finding Dandelion and Kissing Madeline, as well as Dearest Series bonus scenes and the first chapter of Shameless.

US: http://amzn.to/1U0pB97

UK: http://amzn.to/1YBClSN

Universal Amazon link: http://myBook.to/DearestSeries

http://amzn.to/1VM8ZUo

Kristine's Review:
Reviewed: April 2016.

Brady isn't the kind of man who chases women, he's never really needed to, there was a time when he lusted after his close friend Dani, despite knowing she would never feel the same way, when she found happiness with someone that wasn't him, he nursed his bruised male pride and moved on, he had bigger things to worry about than women, like his dad's ailing health and crumbling family business, his brother had  left town to study in order to be an asset to their fathers business,  but instead had met a woman and eloped and was now a young father himself, with no intention of returning home Brady faced a future of sacrificing his passion in order to support his father and mother by taking over the family business. Brady is tired, he's worn out, he's frustrated and angry, once again he's stepping up to support everyone else's choices with little regard given to what he truly wants.

A phone call in the middle of the night changes everything for Brady, suddenly he's second guessing himself, he's rethinking every cross word, every heated thought, his baby brother Cal is gone and his last thoughts of him were filled with anger and frustration, there's a heady sense of loss, one the reader feels acutely. With the mounting pressure of a sick father, a family business haemorrhaging money, a dead brother and an estate to deal with Brady heads to Cal and Melissa's farm to try and say goodbye the only way he can.

"Death does that. Sticks everything under a magnifying glass and makes each scratch or cut feel like a gaping wound."

Brady isn't the only person who lost someone that dark night when Cal and Melissa died, Melissa was more than just Katherine's best friend, she was her confidante, her support system, Cal, Melissa and their daughter Isabella were her family, her sense of peace, her safe haven when her world was rocked once before. Katherine found a home with them, she loves Isabella like her own, standing in to care for her after her parents sudden death was never an issue, her bond with the little girl unquestionable, grieving for the loss they both feel so acutely, they are tethered to one another.

"Her chubby little cheek drops to my shoulder, and it's all I can do to keep from breaking down myself."

There's a familiarity between Kat and Brady, one borne out of experiencing the same grief, living through the same nightmare, wishing they would wake up and Cal and Melissa were still alive, that Brady was only visiting, that Isabella still had two parents. Grief and loss weigh heavily on both of them, struggling to keep the farm running, caring for a baby girl, processing and dealing with their own sense of grief, Brady and Kat circle each other, doing what's needs to get, focusing on just making it through, the connection between them growing deeper each day, their chemistry is undeniable, in another time and another place, they would be perfect for one another. Regrettably they are not the care free young adults they should be, Brady is facing the brunt of familial financial expectation, as well as guardianship of his baby niece Izzy,  and Kat has secrets that weight heavily on her mind. Finding solace and support in each other is inevitable, an intimate connection borne out of need that would end when Brady and Katherine returned to their own homes.

"Because in another lifetime, in a parallel world - one where he doesn't live on the other side of the country - I think he's the kind of man I could love."

From the title, I expected Shameless to be quick, sexy ride...boyyyy was I wrong, the author demonstrates her range here, making the reader every second of that bleak, shrouded sense of pain and loss, from the very first moments we feel something building, and when that phone rings, it's the feeling of dread, of anguish, of powerlessness, the loss so acute, the pain so real, that you can feel it wash over you, leaving you feel like you're treading water, just trying to stay afloat right along with Brady and Kat. Ms Martin weaves moments of hilarity through the tapestry she created, the connection they share going beyond purely physical attraction, it's a recognition of each other on a soul deep level, the ability to provide comfort and understanding to one another when they both feel so utterly alone. There's a rawness there that makes it impossible to look away, and utterly mesmerising to watch. Set against the backdrop of farm life, complete with animals to care for, Shameless tells the story of love and loss, of hope and most importantly reminds the reader that even after the darkest storms, there's a rainbow.

About Lex Martin:

Lex writes adult novels, the sexy kind with lotsa angst, a whole lotta kissing, and the hot happily ever afters. When she's not writing, she lives a parallel life as an English teacher. She loves printing black and white photos, listening to music on vinyl, and getting lost in a great book. Bitten by wanderlust, she's lived all over the country but currently resides in the City of Angels with her husband and twin daughters.


Newsletter: http://bit.ly/1CgVvUO
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1xbYIVv
Facebook group: http://on.fb.me/1oJN3mZ
Blog: http://lexmartinwrites.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexlaughs
Instagram: https://instagram.com/lexlaughs/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lexmartin790/

Giveaway: $25 GC

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hooker (LA Liaisons #2) by Brooke Blaine - ARC Review

Blurb:

Whoever said singles were missing out by not finding true love and getting married before the age of thirty had never experienced the sheer pleasure of nightly romantic comedy viewings in their underwear while eating one of Licked’s famous Crazy Cat Lady sundaes. Because life just doesn’t get better than that.

At least, it doesn’t for Shayne Callahan. It didn’t take more than a handful of broken hearts after college to solidify that she was better at pairing up those around her than herself. As a matchmaker at the elite HLS—Hook, Line, & Sinker Matchmaking Company—in the City of Angels, she has a knack for finding the other halves of even the most eccentric clients:

Sugar daddy with a foot fetish? Gross, but no problem.
A severe case of nudophobia? Match made before lunch.

But even the most happily independent of women can find their best-laid plans screeching to a halt when they meet that guy. For Shayne, that guy comes in the form of boyishly handsome, suspender-lovin’, dimple-poppin’ Nate Ryan on a pantsless (we’ll get to that later) Metro ride.

Of course, relationships can never be easy. Before the destined lovers can ride off into the sunset, they must overcome a power-hungry and sexual-punning boss, a celebrity scandal and cover-up, and let’s not forget Shayne’s dreadful foot-in-mouth disease—with which there can never be a happily ever after.

Will fate throw Shayne a freakin’ bone? Or will she be destined to live out her life as sexy(ish), single(ish), and L.A.’s finest Hooker (upper)?

 

 

Find on Goodreads

 

 

Purchase Links:

 

 

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1W7WdvT



Amazon PB: http://amzn.to/1pfowyv
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1QKUpp4
Amazon CA: http://amzn.to/1Yv5Whu
Amazon AU: bit.ly/1UdlAxe

 

 

Kristine's Review:



Reviewed: March 2016.

I was looking forward to Hooker for so many reasons, Shayne Callahan was so damn intriguing in Licked that I couldn't wait to know more about her, the Aussie Ex-Pat who now calls LA home, she's smart, dedicated and funny as hell, the glimpses into her adventures with HLS definitely had me excited for more of her, I couldn't wait to dive in. Instantly I was hooked...line and sinker (see what I did there...) Shayne is the perfect combination of out there and socially awkward, she's both reserved and confident, everything about her drew me in and made me love her, despite traversing public transport sans pants her internal rhetoric had me giggling non stop. When she locks eyes with Nate Ryan I was instantly smitten like she was, between his dimpled grin and suspender loving attire it was hard not to want to know more. Their banter only served to draw me in more, the way they bounced off each other, a battle of the wills that had me cheering for both simultaneously.

From their first meeting, throughout those that followed their connection was undeniable, with one foot interested and one stealthily out the door Shayne straddled the line between wanting to give in to her baser desires and wanting to run far far away, you know that saying once bitten twice shy....well Shayne has her own past of misguided and downright hurtful attempts at love, and wants no part of it, but there's something about Nate that makes her want to try again, it almost seems easy, but Shayne isn't just a good friend, she's honest and respectful and refuses to leave someone when they need her help, despite the damage it could do to herself. As much as a budding relationship with Nate seems easy, Shayne is busy hiding secrets that could ultimately spell the end for her new found happiness.

I was thoroughly enjoying Hooker, Shayne and Nate were careening right towards a gold lipstick, between their scorchingly hot sexual chemistry, their snarky one liners and retorts, they had as Carrie Bradshaw once so eloquently put it...the zazazu, their connection utterly electrifying, beautiful to watch, making Hooker impossible to put down, add to that Shayne's power posse, their dynamic one that only true friends can create, had me simultaneously in stitches and swooning my heart out, when I'm this excited I often fear something happening that makes me pause for a moment, and unfortunately it did here, I'm going to be deliberately evasive and say that there was a part of the plot that started to niggle at me, the more it was deflected the more I felt myself thinking about it, when said plot point came into play more fully I had to pause, because it stripped away some of the believability for me, some of the realism, and before you say it....I know....I know....it's a work of fiction, but this thing just made me falter and rethink things, did I remember the story wrong, did I make this up, it made second guess myself...is it even that big of a deal?? Unfortunately for me, it was, it was enough that it pulled me from my revelry and made me stop, which affected my overall feel for pacing and flow, but here's the thing, Hooker is still a solid 4 lipstick read for me, it's truly funny and sexy and light while still having this really heartfelt message about believing in yourself and having a little faith, for lovers of the Licked series, you are not going to be disappointed here, returning to this crazy bunch of firm friends was everything I expected, and Nate just might be one of newest members of my book boyfriend harem.

 

 

 

Purchase Hooked (LA Liaisons #1): http://amzn.to/1W8itG6

Read GPI's Review of Hooked: bit.ly/1muvleb

 

 







About Brooke Blaine:

 

 

You could say Brooke Blaine was a book-a-holic from the time she knew how to read; she used to tell her mother that curling up with one at 4 a.m. before elementary school was her ‘quiet time.’ Not much has changed except for the espresso I.V. pump she now carries around and the size of her onesie pajamas.

She is the author of Flash Point, a romantic suspense standalone, as well as the co-author of the erotic series, A Desperate Man, with Ella Frank. The latter has scarred her conservative southern family for life, bless their hearts. Licked, a romantic comedy, will be released November 11th, 2015 and is the first in the L.A. Liaisons series.

If you’d like to get in touch with her, she’s easy to find - just keep an ear out for the Rick Astley ringtone that’s dominated her cell phone for ten years.

 

Connect with Brooke Blaine on Facebook