"... sweet, sometimes cute ... with a lot of intense, sexy, fun and exciting thrown in!" - Craves the Angst
SERIES: Forbidden Desires #1
AUTHOR: Kendall Ryan
AGE GROUP: Adult
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
RELEASE DATE: September 14, 2017
PUBLISHER: Kendall Ryan
PAGES: Approx. 300
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InkSlinger PR
COPY PROVIDED BY: Author
MY GOODREADS REVIEW LINK
RATING: 3 Stars!
CLIFFHANGER: Yes!
BOOK BLURB:
The start to a sexy new series from New York Times bestselling author, Kendall Ryan...
She’s much too innocent for me, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting the sweet, young librarian. I’m dominating and possessive, and my control streak runs a mile wide.
The way she looks at me—like I’m one of the heroes in the books she loves, like I’m broken, and she wants to be the one to piece me back together—it only complicates things further. I’m nobody’s hero.
But there’s no denying my tragic past reads like one of her favorite literary classics. It’s raw. Visceral. Captivating. And together, we’re a perfect mess.
How am I expected to resist when the sexual sparks zap between us and set me on fire? The need to control, and claim her force my walls to come tumbling down, but when she learns my dirty little secret, will my world come crashing down with it?
The story continues in Dirty Little Promise, releasing October 30th.
REVIEWER'S NOTE: Dirty Little Secret is book one in the Forbidden Desires series and is an erotic romance written by Kendall Ryan. I was gifted a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review through InkSlinger PR.
3 Stars!
The Review:
Even though I really liked this read, there were parts of it that didn't work for me. I enjoyed the beginning. In fact, I was sure I was going to love it up until about the 45% mark. After that, things seemed to slow down and I didn’t like some of the character choices, but I am intrigued enough by the story, that I’m excited to read the second book!
Story/Characters...
For the past year, Emma Bell has been secretly crushing on the mysterious hot guy that comes into the coffee shop she visits. She purposely shows up minutes before he makes his scheduled appearance, just so she can covertly watch him for as long as it takes him to order his coffee and leave. Then she goes about her day as a quiet librarian whose hidden herself from the world. That is, until the day he peeks over at her, drops his business card into the tip jar and leaves just as quickly as he came.
After looking up his business online, she’s got more questions than answers and decides to visit his office to see if the man is as “forbidden” as he appears to be.
Along with his two brothers, Cooper and Quinn, Gavin Kingsley owns Forbidden Desires, a business that cateres to the needs of the wealthy with a variety of classy women. Each brother has their own personality trait. Cooper is playful and mischievous and Gavin is indifferent and detached. But there’s definitely a spark when Emma walks through their doors, and though Cooper sees that spark between Gavin and Emma, he just can’t pass up the chance to have her to himself as well.
Although Gavin does so against his better judgement, Cooper starts a short but fun challenge between him and his brooding brother, as they both compete for Emma’s attention.
There were a handful of sweet, sometimes cute scenes with a lot of intense, sexy, fun and exciting thrown in! And the bedrooms scenes were definitely HOT! The chemistry between Emma and both brothers was explosive. I could see the choice for which brother she wanted to be with, going either way, and I really liked the seduction they each pulled off in trying to win her over.
But there was also a LOT of back and forth. Gavin was committed to NOT being committed. He absolutely refused to “want” Emma. And it wasn’t until the very end that I began to understand why. He’s obviously troubled and keeping secrets. He’s dark and mysterious and he’s got a serious chip on his shoulder. And I LOVED that part of him. He was the kind of anti-hero that you can’t help but love. But then about 70% into the book, he does a complete one-eighty and suddenly he’s all about being with Emma. It was such an abrupt change of heart, that it felt rushed and didn’t flow with the story or who he was as a character. I actually scrolled back a couple of pages to make sure I hadn’t missed something.
And Emma ... I liked her character, up until she decided being a doormat was just fine with her. After Gavin’s been cruel to her, said hurtful things and pushed her away, the moment he decides he’s ready to try for more, she jumps without any hesitation and to me, it made her look like a woman ready for any scrap of attention she could get. In other words, it made her look weak. There was no “maybe” or moments of hesitation. She just jumped, happy her master was finally paying her some attention. If there had been the slighted bit of hesitation, I would have had more respect for her. And it would have felt more true to the strong character she was portrayed to be in the beginning of the book.
Poor Cooper was left hanging and I really think he cared a great deal for Emma. She could have been the one to change his playboy heart. I loved Cooper and if he doesn’t “get the girl” in the end, I hope he gets his own story because he deserves his shot at happiness.
The Wrap Up:
This book ends on a pretty significant cliffy. I was intrigued enough that I definitely want to see if the author explores and develops the characters more and I want to see how this story unfolds with the surprise we got towards the end.
Dirty Little Secret was well written and it grabbed my attention. All in all, I liked this read. I just didn’t like some of the character choices or the fact it felt like it stalled about halfway through. But I’m still looking forward to book two.
The next release is coming soon!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR...
Visit her at: www.kendallryanbooks.com for the latest book news, and fun extras
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