A. R. Hadley

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4.5 Stars

Cal and Annie share a connection, one that will stay with them a lifetime despite its expectation to only last the summer. They're each running from something and fall into one another first as a recognition of the lust they share and secondly for the perfect escape they can give to each other. The only problem? The feelings that spark between them are growing larger than the summer and their friends can't seem to get past the age show more difference...and neither can Cal.

"She smelled like home. Fields of citrus, seasons, a reason."

I really enjoyed Landslide, the first novel in The South Beach Connection Trilogy, but I liked Wanderlust even more. A.R. Hadley explores grief, lust, love, sadness, and trust with such depth and really makes you feel the emotions alongside the characters. I initially had reservations about Cal, but he grew on me with all that is revealed in this novel. We get a bit more of a glimpse into his past and the family, and many partners, that turned him into a man seeking only short term companionship. Annie, of course, is still reeling from the loss of her brother and trying to find her way in a world where the only thing that keeps her looking forward is art. The two have many discussions regarding the future, particularly around the twenty years between them and the large influence their family matters, though yet revealed, play in their lives. With both characters we are still left with many questions, but we do finally have answers regarding their relationship and the direction it will take. I can't tell you that, you'll have to read it, but know it makes for an incredible contemporary romance storyline. We also finally get the secondary character's perspectives on the whole affair and see the lives both Cal and Annie lead when not in South Beach escaping it all.

"I float on love we refute."

I have to say I love how lyrically A.R. Hadley writes, it really is beautiful, but it might be just a bit too much for a contemporary romance title. I felt like some of the description, though very detailed, gave the chapters length that took me away from the overall story. It does successfully add more weight to the story though and it is a beautiful example of how skilly A.R. Hadley is at telling a gripping, emotional story. I guess what I mean to say is, I think a more mature reader (and not in age) will get out of this novel the story A.R. Hadley is trying to tell. It isn't easy-going contemporary, but I prefer my novels to tear my heart out a bit rather than be as sweet as candy.

"She risked. He devoured.
She needed him. He needed her.
Time was precious. Time was now."

Wanderlust is the perfect middle novel, in my opinion, and I am beyond excited for the third novel in The South Beach Connection Trilogy. I love a novel with depth and a storyline that is realistic, classically contemporary, and still full of just the right amount of surprises and risks to keep me engaged. It's not the sort of romance you can predict, which means you'll be hanging on to every word just like I am.

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3.5 Stars

It has been a long time since I read an erotic BDSM novel, but I really enjoy A.R. Hadley's lyrical prose and just had to read Bodhi. Bodhi explores the relationship a woman has with her children, her public life, and the relationship she shares with her Dominant, her private life. She struggles to accept that she can be both a loving mother and a masochist, that she can love without strings, and that her beliefs of religious and society's expectations shouldn't keep her from her show more desire for pain. Audrey, a recent divorcee, has always wanted more in the bedroom, but struggled to express those desires to her now ex-husband. Bodhi, a dungeon in Tampa, and a new friend, Kate, present her the opportunity to learn more about herself and the world of BDSM.

Bodhi is a story of self discovery, with Audrey learning to accept her desires and to obey her new Master, Gavin. Gavin, however, has some self discovery to do as well and as their emotions begin to grow during their play he must choose to share or walk away. He does not know how to live away from the sexual world and Audrey, with one foot in the dungeon and one foot outside, soon falls for him and wants for normalcy, even hand holding, between them. While Bodhi is incredibly erotic, with nearly all of Gavin and Audrey's interactions taking place in the dungeon, it is also a story about religion, wrong and right, love and loss. Gavin has very strong beliefs and oftentimes he recites scripture during their vicious lovemaking. The scriptures have meaning for Gavin and Audrey struggles to connect the sadist with the God-fearing believer. As things heat up between them it is apparent that it will be impossible for both to keep their private lives separate from their arrangement and as they reveal the most private parts of themselves it is a difficult lesson in trust and love and life for both of them.

I did not expect Bodhi at all, it completely blew me away. I actually really enjoyed Audrey and Gavin, their romance, their struggles, it all felt very real. They do come together very quickly and break many of the BDSM and dungeon rules along the way, but hey, fiction allows for that and it makes the book better. However, as A.R. Hadley did predict she might find of some reviewers, the religious nature of the novel is difficult for me to connect to the BDSM world. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm completely accepting of both, but Bodhi is the first read for me with both playing equal parts. I found myself having to think quite a bit with this read and, like I love of all her work, it was incredibly heavy. I think if I were to read this novel at another time, more with more time to stew on it, it might rate even higher for me.

Society has us believing that things they deem "not normal" are wrong and somehow immoral, Bodhi takes several of those beliefs and turns them upside down. Audrey and Gavin love openly, however they also love differently, with bruises and burns and marks that Audrey must hide when she leaves the dungeon's walls. I really enjoyed A.R. Hadley's views on the BDSM world, she writes characters with such skill and the introspective thoughts they have are presented in such a detailed way that you begin to feel as though you are having a philosophical discussion with the novel. I swooned for Gavin just as Audrey did, I hurt for her when she hurt, and I felt every emotion alongside them as they stumbled through a new journey together. Bodhi is incredibly unique, in my opinion, in the erotica genre and I do recommend it to fellow open minded readers.

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That's right, my friends, the girl who hates novellas is giving 5 stars to this one.

Holly feels her world tilt on its axis the moment her eyes meet Kelley Nicolo's, his azure colored eyes stealing her breath and her attention. He's her professor though, and more than that he's married, has a young child, and has differing opinions about love and commitment. The lust and passion they share drives them together and Holly knows that love is brewing. Both are seeking something more, something show more for their soul, and they soon discover it's a someone that will fill the hole, if only they would let it.

Oh my word, I don't like novellas, I don't like my erotica with a lot of emotion, I don't like crying over two characters and not being able to see a happy ending, but I loved The Flyaways. It's a quick read filled with passionate words, descriptive love scenes, and two characters that seem so broken and yet whole when they come together. Holly is not your classic lost girl case, her upbringing has only strengthened her and, while naive, she faces things without abandon. Her life could have marked her, but she doesn't allow it to and despite her fear of Kelley's hold over her, she embraces him even knowing the hurt will come. Kelley is an enigma, a handsome professor with a love of poetry that would make any student, any women, fall for him. It's a stunning release from A.R. Hadley that had me wrapped up in the pages, unable to look up in fear of missing anything.

It's true what A.R. Hadley says about her male characters, they can be cold, but for me Kelley was not that way. He had some deep hurt, he had some thoughts about life that maybe I didn't agree with, sure, but he wasn't cold. He was closed off from an emotion that had let him down and in turn he let down the girl feeling that same emotion. It didn't take away from this story though, it displayed a very real, ugly side of love and allowed for growth in the characters. More than love, A.R. Hadley explores the nature of manipulation, of raw emotions, and of passion; it made for an incredibly captivating story.

The Flyways is a 30,000 word novella, but it reads like a full length novel. The characters are fleshed out, the setting includes an entire town and college, there are secondary characters, and there is a plot that is as thick as molasses to wade through. While it does feature a subject readers don't typically reach for, an open marriage affair to be specific, it is the type of book I love. I think it allows the story to feel realistic with heightened emotions and a threat of no HEA. I loved the way A.R. Hadley made me feel reading this, even when I had tears in my eyes or thought Kelley was being a right jerk, because it meant she had pulled me into the story with her and that is a successful read in my opinion.

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A.R. Hadley weaves an impassioned story about that first big emotional connection and the struggles that come with an affair that can't be left behind in the rumpled sheets. Annie is the girl with her head in the clouds amongst the castles in the sky, while significantly older Cal is held steady by numbers and work, only giving bits of himself away during his trysts with Annie. Both feel a draw between them, as though one another is intrinsic to their individual summers. Annie and Cal's show more interactions, at least those that are within the pages of Landslide, are filled with lust and intent. Readers are treated to glimpses of dialogue and simple interactions, with A.R. Hadley choosing to give this book a headier, more tempestuous driven plot. Annie and Cal communicate in looks during their dalliances, the serious Cal leaving Annie guessing at his thoughts beyond the look his mask does not cover. Annie, however, highlights her naivety in her looks, her emotions always teetering on the edge of calm and out of control. There is a very obvious magnetic field pushing these two together, but the connection they feel beyond lust is not apparent to anyone looking in from the outside. I enjoyed the push and pull between the two and Cal's natural dominant role over Annie, with or without their ages in mind. The book is definitely sexy and written in such a melodic way that I found myself floating in the currents of the ocean as I escaped real life for the coast of South Beach.

"There was no safe distance from her."

I am not a huge fan of omniscient third person narrative when switching in a single chapter and with the use of it in Landslide I found myself struggling to connect with the characters. It created, for me, a surface level relationship and took away from either character really owning the position of "main" character or narrator. I think I would've had more luck had each chapter been in a third person limited format, focusing on each character and their thoughts and emotions, rather than changing the focus within the chapter several times. It took away from the relationship between Annie and Cal, the chemistry lacking, because I never really felt like I was present in their exchanges. That said, it lent itself beautifully to the setting. Landslide may seem wordy, but A.R. Hadley uses every opportunity to describe the town, the homes, the small details that play into interactions between the characters. It works very well with Annie's career as a photographer.

"The commands. The surrender. The net she fell into under the tightrope.
"He would catch her."

I will finish this review by highlight what several other reviews have noted, there is indeed an abrupt cliffhanger that closes out this novel. I was unprepared for it and left feeling unsatisfied, but I was also left wanting more, so much more. There is obviously so much left to this story than we have been told and this first novel promises a trilogy that will entice and entertain. There's history to be uncovered, a relationship just waiting to be discovered, and definitely some climatic answers to be revealed. A.R. Hadley's first non-World release is one worth taking a chance on, romance lovers everywhere will enjoy her poetic, more literary style and fans of the drama will delight in the secrets that have yet to be uncovered.

"And it was too late to stop now, anyway. It had been too late the night he'd met her. It couldn't be stopped."
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