Shatter Me (The Jaded 1) by Alex Grayson

Pain.

That’s a word Bailey Winsor knows well, having endured it since she was a child from the people who were supposed to protect her. Just when her life appears normal, something Bailey has never experienced, she meets a man and falls in love.

Love can be deceiving.

Bailey jumps from the frying pan that was her childhood into the burning bowels of hell, which is her sick and twisted husband. It’s hopeless. Suffering more years of abuse, Bailey eventually realizes she has no choice but to run.

Forced to stop in a small town in Ohio, Bailey encounters a town full of people that welcome her with open arms, especially Jaxon Walker, the tattooed and pierced local bar owner. Bailey has secrets she’s unwilling to reveal. Jaxon senses her fear and refuses to give up trying to discover them.

Will Bailey be brave enough and learn to trust Jaxon with her deepest secrets? Will Jaxon be strong enough to protect Bailey when her past comes knocking at her door?

Book: Shatter Me (The Jaded 1) by Alex Grayson 
Published: January 12, 2015
Pages: 241
Genres: Romance, Abuse, Tattoos/Piercings, Freebie on Amazon
Format: Kindle
Date Read: January 20-21, 2021
Rating: 4 Potatoes! 🥔🥔🥔🥔

I'm still crying big, fat, ugly tears as I write this. This book had me feeling allllll the feels- anger, sympathy, laughter, joy, heartbreak, and the list goes on. This book pulled me in, chewed me up in every way and spit me back out again.

I love the characters in the small town of Jaded Hallow! I love how everyone just banded together and was there for one another.

One of my wishes for this book was that there was a little more time for Jaxon and Bailey to build up the trust between them before they got into a relationship. I know time passed and they grew closer but I would have liked to see more of those moments instead of them being glossed over.

Jaxon, Jaxon, Jaxon... he is definitely ranking up there on my book boyfriend list! I love how truly kind he was and how he thought nothing of helping a stranger in need. It made him all the more sexy.

Bailey was a strong heroine, even though she didn't believe she was. It takes an enormous amount of strength to leave an abusive relationship. There are so many that never get enough courage to do so!

The ending of this book destroyed me in more ways than one. I don't want to spoil anything but the death of a character I loved gutted me. And I really didn't like the way the characters death was handled in the book by the other characters at all. It might just be my opinion but the aftermath of the characters death didn't seem realistic.

The epilogue, Jax and Bailey's happily ever after, had my tears turning to happy ones. Those two more than deserved it!

I would recommend reading this book but beware- the abuse scenes in this book are not for the faint of the heart and are pretty graphic.

Dirty Like Me (Dirty 1) by Jaine Diamond

A gorgeous rock star.
An indecent proposal.
How can a girl resist?

Struggling barista Katie Bloom doesn’t even know who Jesse Mayes is until she inadvertently wins the coveted role of sex kitten in his hot new music video. But by the time she’s in bed with him, she knows his reputation.

Love maker. Heartbreaker.

Making out with a stranger in front of a camera crew isn’t how Katie imagined herself getting over a broken heart, but when Jesse touches her, sparks fly. The sex is fake but the chemistry is real, and soon the steamy video is blazing up the charts.

Then Jesse makes Katie an irresistible offer: act as his girlfriend for six weeks while he promotes his new album. The only catch? Their sizzling make-out sessions will be for the cameras only.

Which is fine with Katie, since she's not about to trust her heart to rock's most legendary lover. Her body? Maybe…

Book: Dirty Like Me (Dirty 1) by Jaine Diamond
Published: November 2, 2016
Pages: 404
Genres: Romance, Musician, Famous Hero, Tattoos/Piercings, Erotica
Format: Kindle
Date Read: January 17-19, 2021
Rating: 4 Potatoes 🥔🥔🥔🥔

I really enjoyed this book and the characters in it. One thing I wished for, and its the main reason this is not rated 5 Potatoes, is because the characters weren't as fleshed out as I would have liked. We barely got to know Jesse and Katie and we know next to nothing about the secondary characters. I wanted to know more about everyone!

The character of Jesse was very hot. I love that, as famous as he was, he wasn't a jerk about it and didn't make Katie feel inferior for not being famous. He was strong when he had to be but also sensitive and kind too.

Katie's characters was also fun for me to read. I like that she was always aware of how she really felt and what she was doing. She wasn't in denial or pretending to be something she wasn't. She was true to herself and I loved her for it. I also loved that, in the end, she fought for Jesse and I enjoyed reading the way she went about trying to prove her love.

I did not care for how the book ended. The epilogue did not wrap up the story, it was the beginning of the next book about Jessa to get you interested in it. While I did enjoy reading a bit about the her in the eplilogue since she wasn't in the book much, I would have preferred the eplilogue to be about Jesse and Katie. I needed more, I wanted more and I felt like the ending wasn't as wrapped up as I would have liked without it being about Jesse and Katie.

This book was still a great read! I might check out some of the other books in the series.

The Duke and I (Bridgertons, #1) by Julia Quinn

In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a prince—while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable…but not too amiable.

Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen.

Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society—just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar.

The plan works like a charm—at first. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty: love ignores every rule...

Book: The Duke and I (Bridgertons, #1) by Julia Quinn
Published: June 27th, 2006
Pages: 384
Genres: Historical, Romance, Rom-Com
Format: Kindle
Date Read: April 4, 2011
Rating: Five Potatoes! 🥔🥔🥔🥔🥔

"There were rules among friends, commandments, really, and the most important one was Thou Shalt Not Lust After Thy Friend's Sister."

I read quite a few books in this series many years ago but with the show airing I find myself wanting to re-read them and enjoy these amazing characters again and again.

I love Julia's writing style and the chemistry between her hero and heroine. I loved this book, plain and simple. Such a great, fun read!

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack

Hi all! I'm so sorry for the long absence! I am now a mom of two (my youngest is going to be a year soon) so I'm hopeful that I will now be able to begin reviewing again!

I am currently going through the website as a whole and trying to make it better so bare with me. Fun changes are coming!

Vivian's List by Haleigh Lovell

Her brother's best friend. A list. A love story.

After ending a horrible, scarring relationship, Vivian embraces her freedom by making a sexual bucket list. When her brother's best friend, Liam, finds it, sparks fly and hearts open.

Can Vivian heal one steamy encounter at a time?

Book: Vivian's List by Haleigh Lovell
Published: September 13th, 2013
Pages: 290
Genres: Romance, Freebie on Amazon, New Adult, Erotica
Format: Kindle
Date Read: November 16-22nd, 2018
Rating: 3.5 Potatoes 🥔🥔🥔

I really enjoyed this book - it was very ewll written and wasn't boring by any means. The reason for me giving this book a 3.5 was that is just ended. Things were finally looking up, they were finally on the same page and boom - book over. I know that this is just to get you to read the next one, I know, but I can't stand cliffhangers.

Other than that I had no complaints about this book. Good read!

Lost and Found (Love in New York #1) by Elle Casey

Sometimes engagement rings can get lost and then found. Sometimes people can too. All it takes is a heavy-duty dose of karma and the magic of Manhattan to make it all come together.

Leah is a financially destitute new age hippy. James is a wealthy surgeon with a trust fund. She's awkward, he's poised. She's completely crazy, he's way too sane. People might say they have nothing in common, but they'd be wrong. They both live in Manhattan, they both have no idea how to change a baby diaper, and they're both lost … until they find one another.

Book: Lost and Found (Love in New York #1) by Elle Casey
Published: December 25th, 2014
Pages: 401
Genres: Romance, Freebie on Amazon
Format: Kindle
Date Read: November 12th-13th, 2018
Rating: 4 Potatoes 🥔🥔🥔🥔

First of all, I just want to say I love how some books just come together so perfectly that everything is wrapped up in a nice little bow at the end. This book was definitely one of those!

I loved both James and Leah - so different and imperfect but fate kept intervening and bringing them together. I loved reading every page of this book, truly.

I have nothing but good things to say about this book - the characters were perfectly flawed, I loved the secondary characters as well! I just loved everything about this book from cover to cover.