~Synopsis~
Strong. Arrogant. Hard.
Ryder Cole is the King of Atlanta’s nightlife — and the one man who can erase my past.
I’m running from secrets that could destroy me and there’s no room in my life for someone like him: too damn cocky, and sexy as hell. I should keep my distance, but smart goes out the window the minute he looks my way. And when he puts his hands on me…
A girl could forget her own name. But what happens when the past catches up with me, and all the things I’m hiding from tear our lives apart again? I can’t keep running forever, and Ryder always wins.
~Book Review~
4 Stars
“There are two smells in the world I love more than any others: a woman right before sex and this warehouse right before a fight.”
Ryder Cole, a former fighter himself, runs an “underground” yet
upscale fighting ring as well as a string of bars and nightclubs. His opening line pulled me in right from the
start. And then his “chance” encounter meeting Cassie McEntire was a fun beginning
to their story.
“‛Promise me one thing…That the next time you try to suffocate me, you’ll use your thighs instead of a pillow.’”
These two had great banter and I adored how they interacted
with each other. Cassie’s brother is in
deep bet debt with Ryder and while he offered up his house, it’s what’s in the
house that Ryder comes to want.
Cassie, back home after two years in England, wants Ryder
too. And so it doesn’t take long for their attraction to escalate. The result
is plenty of hot and sexy scenes!
Told via Ryder and Cassie’s alternating first person POV, I
thoroughly enjoyed the first 70% of the book, but things took a disappointing
turn around that mark. I lost a lot of respect for Cassie over the
secret she kept and the way she acted about it. It tainted the romance for me
and left me frustrated with the character. I’m most definitely not a fan of
heroines being presented as naïve and too trusting of someone they clearly
already know isn’t worthy of any leeway. Plus she had no excuse for not putting
some things in motion sooner—for pete’s sake her best friend worked in that
profession! It felt like Cassie’s previously spunky and smart character was
dumbed down for familiar drama in the climax, which frankly wasn’t needed.
Cassie and Ryder had plenty of fun and flirty dynamics and I
believe there was enough potential with Ryder’s profession that the story
didn’t need the contrived, familiar plot that it turned into after Cassie’s
reveal. Sometimes the romance is in the ride and it doesn’t need a crash to
make it dramatic. Stories can be a journey rather than a rush to the finish. This one would have been close to perfect if
it had taken that route.
All in all, Ryder is the swoon-worthy aspect of the book. He’s a total book boyfriend who’s sexy,
strong, and has integrity. While I liked Cassie in the beginning, she crossed
too many lines and asked too much of Ryder to overlook for me to be endeared to
her by the end.
Rating breakdown: 4 Stars— 4.5 for the first 2/3, 3 stars
for the later portion.
~Author Bio~
Eve Jagger is a native of Georgia and is a true southern girl at heart. A stay at home mom to two kids, she's married to a sexy man who doesn’t mind being used as research for those naughty scenes.Eve cut her teeth writing in high school and college, but it wasn’t until recently that she got the itch to write a full length novel. She loves complex, emotionally-charged characters and wild, sexy leading men. Hard: A Sexy Bastard Book releases at the end of April 2015 and she can’t wait for you to meet her characters that occupy her mind 24/7! Eve loves to talk and meet people on social media, so be sure and touch base with her.
~Giveaway~
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