T L Swan

I am head over heels in love with this book. I don’t think I can say enough good things about it.

It was definitely a fast paced read and I loved that it’s free to read/listen with kindle unlimited. The narrators were fantastic and I highly recommend listening and reading!

The spice was perfect. It was a SPICY BOOK but I didn’t feel like it was overwhelming. There’s a ton of tension that keeps you wanting more - begging for more. The plot kind of felt like a side story but it kept the show more story moving forward and kept me engaged. It was almost like a mystery/whodunnit/ crime solvers type of plot. (That’s a really poor way to describe it so ignore me and just read the book!)

The banter between these two was everything. I LOVED that Emily wasn’t going to let Jameson boss her around. He may be used to getting what he wants when he wants it but not this time! She takes him on an adventure that’s completely out of his element and it’s laugh out loud funny. Seriously I was cracking up with their back and forth and giddy over their relationship.

Initially Emily definitely had the “looks like a cinnamon roll, could kill you” vibe but nah, she’s straight up cinnamon roll unless her man is stressed and you better HOPE you’re not the cause of that stress.

Jameson has the “looks that could kill you; would kill you” but he’s really a cinnamon roll under that tough boss man exterior! Who knew?!

And when I got to the dreaded climax where shit hits the fan it almost had me in tears. Seriously. I love Jameson and Emily (I’m calling them JamEmily from now on) and when things started to go south (as they always do in these kinds of books) I was not expecting HOW it was going to go down. I felt like I was in just as much shock as them!

There were just a couple of cringe moments… the word “thump” and the phrase “milk me” was used at one point and those are hard passes for me. 🤢 but they were two very minuscule pieces of a much larger amazing story.

Jameson has this bossy af CEO alphahole energy and usually that annoys me. I mean it still did with this book but I LOVED that Emily pushed back and didn’t take his shit. She questioned him, made him work for it, pushed him… as I mentioned the banter was amazing but a lot of the story was tension between the two. Not just tension in a sexual manner but frustrated tension because they both want to be in control.

Overall, if you didn’t know already, I love this book. It’s long but with the audiobook I easily devoured it over 2ish days. The ending had some predictable bits and I felt like things between the two sped up hella fast BUT it didn’t feel like it took away from the book.

5 stars baby! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

To my future self: if you want to crack up reread chapter 19 because omg I was dying and end of chapter 22 will make you wanna cry show less

Despite loving this author, I was a bit worried about this book, since I was in the minority and struggled with the first book. I need not have worried because this book is what I love about romance.

It started a little slow for me in regards to connecting with the characters but once I did, I was all in. I laughed out loud at the antics of the kids and Tristan. In fact, those kids and their budding relationship with Tristan saved this book, especially a certain scene with Harry that left me show more with teary eyes. I struggled with the back and forth with Claire, and occasionally with Tristan, but more so with Claire. She gave mixed signals expecting everything to be over but then expecting Tristan to read her mind and know what she was expecting. Towards the end, I understood her fears but it took a while to get there. Tristan had a few moments where I wanted to strangle him but good lord if this guy wasn't swoon-worthy.

Were there parts of the story that weren't plausible? Absolutely. However, this is romantic fiction. I wanted to get lost in a beautiful story and I did. I rooted for these characters, I was viscerally moved, and I found humor. There was something special in this connection, and I was left with a feeling that maybe the Universe and someone else had a hand in bringing these characters together. I even enjoyed seeing Jamison and Emily in this one. I cannot wait to see what is next. I am so glad that I didn't let my frustation from the first book stop me from continuing this series. show less

Uh??? I’m sorry… WHAT WAS THAT ENDING?! Because why was this book approximately seventeen years long just to leave me hanging like that!

But here’s the thing… the beginning was ADDICTIVE.
The first 20% had me fully unwell. The tension, the mystery, the chemistry? I literally could not stop reading.

We follow Alora, who’s trying to complete her late best friend’s bucket list, which somehow leads her to a kink club in Switzerland where she meets Edward Prescott… and listen.... this show more man is intense, possessive, obsessive & rich rich. The kind of MMC that says get on your knees and suddenly you forget how to act.

Then they reconnect years later at a charity auction and the chemistry is STILL insane.

Now… I will admit the middle dragged for me a little. It started feeling repetitive and I didn’t know if the backstory justified the length.

BUT THE AUDIOBOOK? Shane East absolutely saved lives with this narration. That man PERFORMED this story with emotion, palpable tension, and intensity. I was getting pulled right back in every single time.

And honestly? Edward and Alora together just worked for me. She knows her worth, speaks her mind, and doesn’t just fold under his intensity. Their dynamic was EVERYTHING.

Also the multiple POVs... especially Darkness was SO GOOD.

But the ending?! TL Swan! You didn't have to do us like that!

Thanks to Keeperton/ Arndell Pub for the gifted eARC through Netgalley. All thoughts are mine.

Confession: That ending humbled me. show less

𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭! ⁣
⁣
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡, 𝐬𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐧, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐰𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭!

𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘥 (𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥) 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 show more 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸. 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘫𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥 (𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵) 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘩. ⁣
⁣
𝐒𝐨 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧! ⁣

𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧. 𝐅𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬

This man! Gosh he’s swoon worthy. He’s so much more than a pretty face and the way this man treats Claire and her 3 rowdy boys is incredible. He is FUNNY and the banter would literally make me LOL. Between him and Claire I was constantly cracking up. And the situations this man finds himself in when he meets Claire’s kids for the first time had me ROLLING!

I wish I could say all the things I loved about this book… but then I’d pretty much just be typing up the entire book. Every scene holds so much weight and builds a beautiful depiction of love after loss and the challenges that come with moving forward after living in grief for so long.

This book also, quite literally, sends you on a roller coaster of emotion but I loved the journey.

It’s so much more than a romance. Its so much more than the spice (which there’s a LOT of). Its so much more than a funny book.

It’s a journey of falling in love while also grieving loss. It’s about growing and learning how to rebuild after something tragic and traumatic. Moving forward after heartache. Accepting things that can’t be changed and opening up your heart when you don’t think you’ll ever be able to love again.

𝘐’𝘮 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘺…. 𝘈𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯

It’s never an easy road. It’s paved brick by brick, day by day… it’s not an easy and when kids are involved, it’s even messier but I love that this book takes us on that journey.

Honestly I didn’t know what to expect while reading but I DEFINITELY didn’t expect things to play out the way they did.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝟓 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬.

——𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰——

Some of my fave scenes that I don’t want to forget:

Calling Harry “the wizard” because thinking of Harry Potter was how he could remember his name! The pranks they played on each other were priceless!! The hair removal cream in Tristan’s shampoo bottle, taking all the wheels off the bikes/skateboards, daring Harry to eat the entire “death by chocolate”. But then coming together and bonding over those things…. “𝘛𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘬!”

Recognizing Harry’s struggles with losing his dad and taking him in, caring for him and helping him cope with the loss. The scene at the gravesite was absolutely heart shattering and written so well.

Taking fletcher under his wing as his intern and helping him learn responsibility, morals and work ethic. And then LEAVING Miles Media, his family company, so that he can help get Anderson Media up and running again for his boys - HIS boys. Omg I’m getting emotional over this.

Giving Patrick the father figure he never had. Seeing how quickly Patrick took to him and fell in love with him.

Helping glue a family back together after an incredibly difficult loss.

Tristan was the dad I never knew I wanted to read about. He just jumped right in. No questions asked.

And I loved that the conflict didn’t last forever! It happened in the last 50 pages of the book and tricked me into thinking maybe we won’t have any issues! And then it hits but it didn’t last long at all! Thank the lord!!

I love the ending, Tristan going with the boys to find an engagement ring for Clair but I didn’t love the pregnancy trope being thrown in at the end. Not my fave. I get it, he wants a family and kids of his own and he thought he was giving that up to be with Claire and then it turns out he didn’t actually have to give it up. I get it… but i have mixed feelings on it. Still made me question my 5 star rating but I’m not budging on it…

And is every book in this series going to end with the couple getting engaged? Idk how I feel about that if they do. Don’t get me wrong I love HEAs but idk about getting married/engaged every time. I hope the next one shakes it up a bit.

Oh and I have a prediction that the next book will be Elliot trying to find the mystery Artist that he loves the work of. He thinks it’s an old lady but I’m pretty sure it’s the lady from the auction in this book. We shall see!! show less