PLBR Book Reviews 2018 - ELLES BOOK BLOG

ELLES BOOK BLOG

TO BURN IN BRUTAL RAPTURE BY NYLA K.

12/29/2020

To Burn in Brutal Rapture is a highly erotic forbidden romance of the best kind! I devoured this book despite the long page count and was extremely invested in the story! You should read it!

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: October 22, 2020
Genre: Age Gap. Forbidden Romance.
Series: None. Complete standalone.
Pages: 637 pages
Format: eBook. Borrowed from Kindle Unlimited.

The ache of tragedy sunk deep, like the claws of a wicked monster.
To heal was to remember what my godfather told me when I was six…

Pain is a part of life. If you prepare for it, it will hurt less.

He would know, after all. Lazarus Weston is pain personified.

The scowling man with stormy eyes and tattoos covering his excessive muscles is not only my godfather, but also my dad’s business partner and best friend. A permanent fixture in our lives. Well, in Dad’s, not mine.

But when grief mixes with confusing new feelings, I’m forced to see Lazarus differently, in a way that severely complicates my world.
Because he’s too old for me. He’ll never be mine.

I’m not allowed to have him, but obsession burns a fine line between can’t and won’t.

DRIVE BY KATE STEWART

9/19/2020

What everyone was saying about Drive was right. This is one epic romance! I think it may even be one of my favorite romances ever written! I highly recommend it.

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: October 13, 2017
Genre: New Adult Romance. Epic Romance.
Series: None. Complete Standalone.
Pages: 412 pages
Format: eBook. Purchased.

2017 Nominee for Best Contemporary Romance-GOODREADS
Named one of the Top 10 hottest romance reads of 2017 by Huffington Post and New York Daily News!

Music . . . the heart’s greatest librarian.

The average song is three and a half minutes long; those three and a half minutes could lead to a slow blink, a glimpse of the past, or catapult the soul into heart-shattering nostalgia.

At the height of my career, I had the life I wanted, the life I’d always envisioned. I’d found my tempo, my rhythm. Then I received a phone call that left me off key.

You see, my favorite songs had a way of playing simultaneously. I was in love with one man’s beats and another’s lyrics. But when it

MIDNIGHT LILY BY MIA SHERIDAN

8/20/2020

Midnight Lily is one of the most unconventional and unique romance novels that I have ever read. My mind is still reeling from that ending! I highly recommend this one.

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: March 1, 2016
Genre: Contemporary Romance. Mental Illness.
Series: The Sign of Love Series (can stand alone)
Pages: 244 pages
Format: eBook. Purchased.

A standalone romance from the New York Times bestselling author of Archer's Voice.

Holden Scott is the prince of professional football. At least he was before he lost it all . . . or more to the point, before he threw it all away. Now he's out of a job, out of the public's good graces, and perhaps just a little out of his mind. So when a friend offers up his remote lodge in the wilds of Colorado, giving Holden some time away to get his life back on track, he can hardly say no. The last thing he expects is to see a beautiful girl in the woods—one wearing a white, lace dress who appears in the moonlight, and leaves no footprints behind. Is she a dream? A ghost? A product of his muddled imagination? Or something entirely different?

Midnight Lily is the haunting love story of two lost souls reaching for each other in the dark. A tale of healing, acceptance, and the worlds we create to protect our own hearts. It is a story of being lost, of being found, and of being in the place between.

THE IDEA OF YOU BY ROBINNE LEE

8/18/2020

The Idea of You is an exquisite portrait of sex and love between two people leading opposites lives. I was drawn into this book and enamored by it. I highly recommend it.

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: June 13, 2017
Genre: Contemporary (age gap) romance. Musicians.
Series: None.
Pages: 372 pages
Format: Paperback. Purchased.

When Solène Marchand, the thirty-nine-year-old owner of a prestigious art gallery in Los Angeles, takes her daughter, Isabelle, to meet her favorite boy band, she does so reluctantly and at her ex-husband’s request. The last thing she expects is to make a connection with one of the members of the world-famous August Moon. But Hayes Campbell is clever, winning, confident, and posh, and the attraction is immediate. That he is all of twenty years old further complicates things.

What begins as a series of clandestine trysts quickly evolves into a passionate relationship. It is a journey that spans continents as Solène and Hayes navigate each other’s disparate worlds: from stadium tours to international art fairs to secluded hideaways. And for Solène, it is as much a reclaiming of self, as it is a rediscovery of happiness and love. When their romance becomes a viral sensation, and both she and her daughter become the target of rabid fans and an insatiable media, Solène must face how her new

EXODUS BY KATE STEWART

8/6/2020

Exodus is the mind blowing conclusion to the Ravenhood Duet by Kate Stewart. This is a must read, epic romance filled with emotion and twists and turns! I loved it!

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: August 1, 2020
Genre: New Adult Romance. Suspense.
Series: The Ravenhood Duet #2 (not a standalone).
Pages: 423 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

Can you live a lie?

It’s a ghost town, this place that haunts me, the one that made me.

It’s clear to me that I’ll never outgrow Triple Falls or outlive the time I spent here.

I can still feel them all, my boys of summer.

Even when I’d sensed the danger, I gave in.

I didn’t heed a single warning. I let my sickness, my love, both rule and ruin me. I played my part, eyes wide open, tempting fate until it delivered.

There was never going to be an escape.

AGONY BY KAYLEE RYAN

6/18/2020

Agony is the first book in the Entangled Hearts duet and is aptly named! WOW. This book is such a roller coaster ride and I couldn't get enough of it! Highly recommended.

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: June 17, 2020
Genre: New Adult. College. Sports Romance. Duet.
Series: The Entangled Hearts duet #1
Pages: 281 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

Reese
Cooper Reeves was the boy-next-door. Every milestone, every memory of my youth was entangled with his.

We were inseparable... until college.
It wasn’t his friends, girls or even sports that came between us— it was me.

Tired of being in the friend zone, I finally made a move. Turns out it was the wrong one.

Cooper walked away to play his first year of professional football and left me behind with a broken heart.

Cooper
It’s always been her. Even before I really knew what love was,

LONG SHOT BY KENNEDY RYAN

5/16/2020

Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan is one of the most gorgeous and emotional books that I have ever read. I don't want to give anything away but I will say this: you need this book in your life!

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: March 22, 2018
Genre: Sports Romance. Forbidden. Emotional.
Series: The Hoops series #1 (can stand alone)
Pages: 460 pages
Format: eBook. Purchased.

A FORBIDDEN LOVE SET IN THE EXPLOSIVE WORLD OF THE NBA...

Think you know what it's like being a baller's girl?
You don't.
My fairy tale is upside down.
A happily never after.
I kissed the prince and he turned into a fraud.
I was a fool, and his love - fool's gold.
Now there's a new player in the game, August West.
One of the NBA's brightest stars.
Fine. Forbidden.
He wants me. I want him.
But my past, my fraudulent prince, just won't let me go

*Contains domestic abuse not involving the hero. Read reviews for guidance.

SOUTHERN STORMS BY BRITTAINY C. CHERRY

4/8/2020

Southern Storms is another memorizing and unforgettable read by Brittainy C. Cherry. I loved everything about this book and highly recommend it to all romance readers.

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: April 6, 2020
Genre: Small Town. Childhood friends to Lovers.
Series: The Compass series #1 (can stand alone)
Pages: 325 pages
Format: eBook. ARC

Even the town’s black sheep needed a friend sometimes

All I wanted to do was run away, I never expected to crash into his arms…

After leaving the city life behind to escape my loveless marriage, I moved to small town Havenbarrow for a fresh start.

What I didn’t expect was to find myself drawn to the town’s black sheep.

They called him troubled. Cold. A man with a dark past.

What everyone seemed to miss about Jax was the splashes of light in his eyes. The random acts of kindness he performed when no one was watching. The way he made me smile and laugh.

BOURBON LOVE NOTES BY SHARI J. RYAN

3/8/2020

Bourbon Love Notes is the first book in a brand new series by Shari J. Ryan. This is an emotional book, much more emotional than I anticipated and a very slow burn in terms of romance.

Rating: ★★★
Release Date: January 13, 2020
Genre: Emotional Romance
Series: The Barrel House series #1 (can stand alone)
Pages: 305 pages
Format: eBook. Borrowed from KU.

In a split second, life can steal a last breath ... and derail all future plans.

While flying home after a phone call that left me heartbroken, a row to myself would have been ideal. Instead, I was unknowingly sitting shoulder to shoulder with a strikingly attractive single dad and ex-Marine. I could have pretended not to notice the man, but there was something familiar about him.

It didn’t take long before I pieced together where I knew him from or why he was back in my life.

With chaos holding me hostage, I wanted to hide but couldn’t avoid Brett Pearson, our old family friend, and my teenage crush, because he kindly offered to help out with my family’s business—The Barrel House.

Handling my father’s distillery would be a distraction from my

THE SECRETS WE HELD BY E.K. BLAIR

2/26/2020

Once again, E.K. Blair knocks my socks off! This is an amazing start to a brand new duet and I am in absolute need of the second book. I need to see what happens!

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: February 26, 2020
Genre: New Adult Romance
Series: The Secrets and Truths duet #1
Pages: 246 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

Born and raised in West Palm Beach, it’s time for Kate to move to Miami, spread her wings, and have the time of her life.

Wings are easily broken.

Deception masks itself as love while it slowly consumes every inch of her world. Lies spin into a web, trapping her in a nightmare she believes to be a fairy tale.

Fairy tales only live in fables.

Soon, her body will be painted in a truth she can’t deny but is too scared to face, so she runs.

A person can only run so far.

THE LIFE YOU STOLE BY JEWEL E. ANN

2/24/2020

The Life You Stole is the brilliant conclusion to the Life Series duet! What a mind bender! Gosh, I loved this book and series so much and I can't help but recommend it to everyone!

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: February 20, 2020
Genre: Romantic Thriller
Series: The Life series duet #2
Pages: 376 pages
Format: eBook. ARC

Sex. Lies. Revenge.

On the heels of a devastating loss, Evelyn fights to put her life back together.
Only … part of her husband belongs to another woman, and the devil owns her soul.

“If you tell her the lie, I will tell her the truth.”

When her best friend goes to great lengths to protect Evelyn from destruction and devastation, mistakes are made, lines are crossed, and all trust is shattered.

“We weren’t unbreakable.
I just needed to believe we weren’t unrepairable.”

CREDENCE BY PENELOPE DOUGLAS

2/22/2020

Credence is a complicated and sexy read and I love being on this epic journey with the characters! If you enjoy forbidden romances this is the book for you!

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: January 13, 2020
Genre: New Adult. Forbidden Romance.
Series: None. Complete standalone.
Pages: 487 pages
Format: Paperback. Purchased.

Three of them, one of her, and a remote cabin in the woods. Let the hot, winter nights ensue...

Tiernan de Haas doesn't care about anything anymore. The only child of a film producer and his starlet wife, she's grown up with wealth and privilege but not love or guidance. Shipped off to boarding schools from an early age, it was still impossible to escape the loneliness and carve out a life of her own. The shadow of her parents' fame followed her everywhere.

And when they suddenly pass away, she knows she should be devastated. But has anything really changed? She's always been alone, hasn't she?

Jake Van der Berg, her father's stepbrother and her only living relative, assumes guardianship of Tiernan who is still two months shy of eighteen. Sent to live with him and his two sons, Noah and

THE AFFAIR BY J.L. BERG

2/14/2020

The Affair was an unexpected and enlightening read for me. I love how the author weaved this story and made the aspects of a forbidden romance feel so right.

Rating: ★★★★
Release Date: February 13, 2020
Genre: Contemporary Romance.
Series: None. Complete standalone.
Pages: 325 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

There are some paths in your life you’re never meant to take.
Yet, by some twist of fate, you find yourself on the forbidden road all the same.

Those are the words I stumble upon when I unearth a hidden journal that once belonged to my grandmother.

A hidden journal that details a heartbreaking affair with her husband’s brother. It’s a family secret I’m unprepared to deal with, especially when my own life begins to parallel hers.

Sawyer Gallagher was never on my radar. The moment I met his younger brother, I was taken. Done for. Love-drunk.

But, some things aren't meant to last and at the age of thirty-three, I find myself divorced, penniless and living with my parents. When Sawyer stops by our family’s antique store, asking for a job, I figure: Why the heck not? Life can’t get much worse.

THE LIFE THAT MATTERED BY JEWEL E. ANN

2/8/2020

The Life That Mattered by Jewel E. Ann is a brilliant romantic thriller! Wow I loved this book hard and cannot wait for the conclusion! This is the first in the Life series duet.

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: February 6, 2020
Genre: Romantic Thriller.
Series: The Life series duet #1
Pages: 368 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

Are all lives worth saving?

Ronin Alexander’s heart stops beating, but paramedics bring him back to life.

A life as a ski patroller.

An opportunity to pay it forward.

A chance to meet Evelyn Taylor at a cafe in Vancouver.

He falls hard and fast for the bath shop owner. Evelyn brings him into her world—a world where her two best friends are getting married.

A world of wealth and politics.

A world of sex and lies where the lines between friendship blur.

WHERE THE LITTLE BIRDS ARE BY B. CELESTE

1/30/2020

Where the Little Birds Are is the second book in the Little Bird duet. You must read these books in order. If you enjoy angsty, emotional romances then you won't want to miss this series.

Rating: ★★★★★
Release Date: January 29, 2020
Genre: Hollywood Romance. Forbidden.
Series: Little Bird duet #2 (must be read in order)
Pages: 251 pages
Format: eBook. ARC.

A Small Town Romance Turned World Wide Scandal. Read the exclusive here:

When pictures of bestselling author Kinley Thomas and America's Most Desired Man Corbin Callum surface in the media, their entire lives are thrown into the world of spotlight and scandal.

Now facing public criticism over their reported affair, both Kinley and Corbin must embrace the ghosts of their pasts to figure out what their futures hold.

If there's one thing they know for certain, it's that even the hardest loves get happy ever afters.

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