Monday, June 13, 2016

Nero (Made Men 1)-- Sarah Brianne


Let me preface this by saying that I really love this series and this book was the perfect start to it.

Nero is the king of Legacy Prep, living a life of power.
Elle is the school’s punching bag, living a life of fear.
The only good girls Nero knows jump in his bed when he tells them to.
The closest Elle has come to a bad boy like him is in the cafeteria line.
The mob boss gave him orders to find out what she knows.
Her mouth is sealed.

I just want to be a fu**ing made man.
I’m just a fu**ing waitress

After witnessing a murder, Elle is determined to live life like it never happened. However, the boss has a different idea. He sent his ladies-man of a son to find out what she knows. One little problem... he has been a part of her problem for the last three years. Just a week before these event he made fun of Elle's best friend. Which we all come to find out is a sure way to get on her shit-list.

But Nero makes it his mission to right the wrongs he didn't stop and to win her trust. She becomes more important to him than finding out what she knows. But the family needs to know. She was lucky to be alive, and it was only because she is 17. Dante Caruso doesn't kill kids.

Nero is pretty much exactly what Elle needs. She has spent the last three years of her life lying to everyone but Chloe. Nero has one main rule, "Don't lie to me." That rule is definitely a test for Elle. One because she doesn't fully trust him and two because it is so deeply ingrained in her. Nero also has that little extra something, you could call it dominance, alpha-male extreme, hot sexiness--what ever you call it, he has it in spades. So for Elle's first dip into the dating pool it would be overwhelming. In a great way.

Nero and Elle have their ups and downs. I mean it's basically the worlds worst emotional roller coaster. I know you are thinking but isn't that unhealthy? Why yes, yes it is. But they are both kinda screwed up, Nero holds onto an amazing amount of guilt and Elle is broken from abuse. This is where I get frustrated.

Elle has spent three years at Legacy Prep High School on a scholarship. She has spent those three years being bullied, verbally and physically. Like bloody heap beatings. No-one did anything. They stood by and watched. Her family didn't notice (granted they addressed that a little). One of the teachers knows that her time there hasn't been the best and yet he does nothing. This school has terrified this girl and her reasoning is that they would be glad to have her gone so they would save money. THIS IS NOT OKAY. EVER. Now, the school may feel like Nero did and think that it was only verbal insults being said by girls. Still not okay. However when Nero found out that it was more than just the girls, he went nuclear. He also beat the crap out of a lot of people.

Now that being said, if you have seen, I hated (with a fiery passion) Fear Me by B.B. Reid. You might question why I like this book, well Nero was never really abusive towards Elle. Especially when they were in their relationship, he cherished and protected her. There were no threats, blackmailing or issues of consent. He stopped when she said stop. Yes, he pushed her boundaries but she had the final say. This book is more on the line of Bully by Penelope Douglas, than the monstrosity Fear Me.



Monday, June 6, 2016

The Anatomy of Jane-- Amelia LeFay

This steamy novel is not for the closed-minded or the younger crowd. Definitely earns an NC-17 or even an X rating. Whoooeeeee! The moments in this books were up there in scorch level. Wes, Max and Jane have such a great chemistry together and apart you can literally feel it through the book--like into yourself not through the story-line but you see it that way too.

There is more than just sex, which is huge. I feel quite a few books nowadays try and go "50 Shades" but get lost on plot. "The Anatomy of Jane" weaves a tangled web of love, lies and hope. They love each other, they lie to/for each other and they hope for the best for each other. Each character goes through a journey, trying to find out who they are and what's important to them. Of course, they do that while having a tantalizing ménage à trois.

I will fully admit that there is the cliche of extremely rich, attractive men save a poor, young attractive girl. But in this cliches the two men are totally gay for each other. It's fantastic. I fully admit to enjoy an occasional gay-smut. This book was different from those in the sense that we were the interlopers in their relationship. As the reader (and Jane), we are awkwardly getting turned on as we stumble across their steamy love fest. Ms. LeFay does a their relationship justice. They aren't something new. They have been together for four years. They know the ins and outs of each other and then adding someone new to the mix unbalances somethings. She made it seem so realistic as to how this might actually occur in life.

Please read it, so you too can share in my despair of having to wait for book two. The last three pages, boy did they destroy me or what?! I seriously hate books that end this way, but it's so good. I will just have to re-read it.