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L.A. Fire
When Sarah Stevens lands her dream job at an L.A. talent agency,
she is determined to leave her heartbreak behind and focus solely on her career.That is, until she meets Julian McGregor, her boss’s partner. He’s handsome and brilliant, and has the kind of charisma and power that brings women to their knees.
When he sets his sights on Sarah, she can’t deny the desire he kindles in her, but she’s determined to fight his irresistible pull because she’s scared a relationship with him will jeopardize her career. But Julian is used to getting his way, and he won’t give up. Bit by bit, he dismantles all of Sarah’s defenses, and penetrates to her core. But his power and dominance is a double-edged sword; it drives her wild in bed, but brings out her emotional insecurities everywhere else.
Sarah cannot deny their explosive sexual chemistry, and she cannot deny that Julian is the first man who has made her feel truly alive, truly understood. But her emotional baggage is heavy and undeniable. Can Sarah get over her past and learn to trust Julian, or will her old emotional scars drive them apart for good?
she is determined to leave her heartbreak behind and focus solely on her career.That is, until she meets Julian McGregor, her boss’s partner. He’s handsome and brilliant, and has the kind of charisma and power that brings women to their knees.
When he sets his sights on Sarah, she can’t deny the desire he kindles in her, but she’s determined to fight his irresistible pull because she’s scared a relationship with him will jeopardize her career. But Julian is used to getting his way, and he won’t give up. Bit by bit, he dismantles all of Sarah’s defenses, and penetrates to her core. But his power and dominance is a double-edged sword; it drives her wild in bed, but brings out her emotional insecurities everywhere else.
Sarah cannot deny their explosive sexual chemistry, and she cannot deny that Julian is the first man who has made her feel truly alive, truly understood. But her emotional baggage is heavy and undeniable. Can Sarah get over her past and learn to trust Julian, or will her old emotional scars drive them apart for good?
417 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 27, 2013
13 people are currently reading
229 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
November 10, 2013
Half-assed, half-baked and, sadly, LAME
To be fair, the word "sadly" is only in the title so it flows better.
I've given up trying to figure out why I keep reading these freaking books (although I blame "e-book spice" on twitter for showing me tons of 50 Shades rip-offs every frigging day). Perhaps my book ADD is spinning wildly out of control, aided by the ubiquitous iPhone and access 24-7 to so many books I can't keep up.
Anyhoo, on to the latest version of billionaire bdsm boyfriend. This one was memorable only for how badly it was done. If you're going to write one of these, for crissakes, do it properly! Don't give us a Hero who vacillates wildly between being a Dom, being a needy, whiny sappy type, to a controlling, stalking asshole. The guy talks about how dominant he is and how he needs her to submit, but they never do anything bdsm-ish. He handcuffs her ONCE, but seriously? Most of us who have been having sex for more than a couple of years have done that, mostly just to avoid boredom. She makes a big production out of yelling at him, "I might be your submissive in the bedroom, but you stay out of my career, buster!" What?
The heroine is a butthead - endlessly talking about her "career", but unable to see that necking in the office with one of the partners in the Talent Agency she works at could make her look like an unprofessional dipshit. Long lunches, late in the mornings, necking in the office, Jeez. In the real world this type of shit would get you FIRED. Quicklike.
(Incidentally, what the fuck are they teaching in business school/university/any post-secondary these days? The heroines of all these books seem to have taken the same class.)
There's a roommate with a bad boyfriend, a friend from out of town (and that whole bit served absolutely NO purpose whatsoever) and......wait for it.....as soon as heroine sees hero, she SPILLS COFFEE ALL OVER HERSELF. (This is because she's a fashionista and knows how to walk in her Manolos, so she wouldn't be the type to trip?)
And speaking of fashion, she really should have been working at a magazine or for a designer - that girl can call labels from 500 yards. She knew what EVERYONE was wearing, right down to the custom tailoring the hero had done to his Armani. Tiresome. Oh, wait, most of the guys who work in fashion are gay. That must be why it's a talent agency.
Oh, the whole thing was just shoddy. It felt like an Andy Rooney-Judy Garland "let's put on a musical in the barn!" production. If you must jump on this shitty bandwagon, for God's sake do the work.
'Nuff said.
To be fair, the word "sadly" is only in the title so it flows better.
I've given up trying to figure out why I keep reading these freaking books (although I blame "e-book spice" on twitter for showing me tons of 50 Shades rip-offs every frigging day). Perhaps my book ADD is spinning wildly out of control, aided by the ubiquitous iPhone and access 24-7 to so many books I can't keep up.
Anyhoo, on to the latest version of billionaire bdsm boyfriend. This one was memorable only for how badly it was done. If you're going to write one of these, for crissakes, do it properly! Don't give us a Hero who vacillates wildly between being a Dom, being a needy, whiny sappy type, to a controlling, stalking asshole. The guy talks about how dominant he is and how he needs her to submit, but they never do anything bdsm-ish. He handcuffs her ONCE, but seriously? Most of us who have been having sex for more than a couple of years have done that, mostly just to avoid boredom. She makes a big production out of yelling at him, "I might be your submissive in the bedroom, but you stay out of my career, buster!" What?
The heroine is a butthead - endlessly talking about her "career", but unable to see that necking in the office with one of the partners in the Talent Agency she works at could make her look like an unprofessional dipshit. Long lunches, late in the mornings, necking in the office, Jeez. In the real world this type of shit would get you FIRED. Quicklike.
(Incidentally, what the fuck are they teaching in business school/university/any post-secondary these days? The heroines of all these books seem to have taken the same class.)
There's a roommate with a bad boyfriend, a friend from out of town (and that whole bit served absolutely NO purpose whatsoever) and......wait for it.....as soon as heroine sees hero, she SPILLS COFFEE ALL OVER HERSELF. (This is because she's a fashionista and knows how to walk in her Manolos, so she wouldn't be the type to trip?)
And speaking of fashion, she really should have been working at a magazine or for a designer - that girl can call labels from 500 yards. She knew what EVERYONE was wearing, right down to the custom tailoring the hero had done to his Armani. Tiresome. Oh, wait, most of the guys who work in fashion are gay. That must be why it's a talent agency.
Oh, the whole thing was just shoddy. It felt like an Andy Rooney-Judy Garland "let's put on a musical in the barn!" production. If you must jump on this shitty bandwagon, for God's sake do the work.
'Nuff said.
June 19, 2013
I've given this book 3* out of respect for the author and the work put in but honestly I'd give it 2.5*. My view is not to be mean but to be honest. The book was an ok read but didn't do anything for me as there was no depth to the characters and the storyline was typical. One thing that irritated me was the over description of everything especially the clothes which was repeated constantly. Every outfit was described from dress to shows to bag like it was a modelling event Vera Wang dress Prada pumps Gucci bag this was done over n over so much that I skipped the description and went straight to conversation as I found the description did not add but took away from the story.
Also everything from the initial attraction to the expression of feelings all happened too quickly and the drama was predictable. It's bad when you feel nothing when the couple seem like they are going to break up I wasn't the least bothered. Also there were typos which adds to the frustration when there is other stuff but to be fair it's hard to catch everything.
Anyhow I don't want to go on any further...would I recommend...no...but hey I'm only one person don't take my opinion to heart as I was simply trying to give an honest constructive review.
What I liked about the book was it was my type of book, contempoary romance, with a bit of steam a hot male figure and great chemistry with the lead female. I just wanted a stronger bond with the lead characters, more romancing before they jumped into everything and more dialogue and less description.
Also everything from the initial attraction to the expression of feelings all happened too quickly and the drama was predictable. It's bad when you feel nothing when the couple seem like they are going to break up I wasn't the least bothered. Also there were typos which adds to the frustration when there is other stuff but to be fair it's hard to catch everything.
Anyhow I don't want to go on any further...would I recommend...no...but hey I'm only one person don't take my opinion to heart as I was simply trying to give an honest constructive review.
What I liked about the book was it was my type of book, contempoary romance, with a bit of steam a hot male figure and great chemistry with the lead female. I just wanted a stronger bond with the lead characters, more romancing before they jumped into everything and more dialogue and less description.
June 24, 2013
I thought this was a nice story but it wasn’t very original. It reminded me a lot of Fifty and Bare to You. Like the other stories, it’s about a girl who falls in love with a rich-dominant man, who doesn’t know how to let her in. Their past is holding them back in their relationship. Sound familiar? Don’t get me wrong I still liked the story…I loved how protective and how much Julian loved Sarah. I liked how steamy their relationship was. I really like how well he took care of her, but this story definitely has its issues.
I thought the story was lagging at times…especially in the beginning. I felt like some parts of the story were just added on to make the story longer. Like, did we really need the background story of Sarah’s friend, Lisa? I don’t understand why that part was so important…I mean sure it was so Julian would share something in his past but I just felt like it was unneeded. Then, I feel like the author rushed important things like how fast Sarah learned to trust and love Julian after knowing him for so little. I wish the author emphasized more on that then the little side stories.
I also hated that this book was so inconsistent with the character’s names. First the author called Ziggy, Rob and it confused me until I realized that she meant Ziggy and not Rob. Then, Julian’s ex-girlfriend, Megan Woods became Megan Fox…again I got confused because I didn’t understand why the author would use Megan Fox, a famous REAL actress’s name. This is a big pet peeve of mine. It just irritates the hell out of me when authors don’t keep up with their own character’s names. I don’t understand why their editor didn’t correct it. This book also had a lot of grammar mistakes…to which again, I don’t understand why it wasn’t corrected.
Another issue I had was with Sarah’s so-called “intimacy issues.” For someone that has big intimacy issues, she sure let her guard down pretty fast for a man she had just met. It makes me think that Sarah never even really had them in the first place. In reality, a woman with real intimacy issues would not have been so easy to get through, especially only after their first date. She also seemed very quick to forgive him…I mean a girl who has a hard time letting her guard down would have had a hard time trusting him again but Sarah didn’t seem to have that problem.
Sarah also irritated me for a lot of the book. She was so wishy-washy. First she was set on her job being the most important thing. Then, Julian comes along and she decides that he is worth taking a chance on her career. Then, she breaks up with him because he has done too much damage for her career and decides that her career is more important. It was just so frustrating going back and forth on the situation. To me, choosing love holds a much greater value to me than any career. You can always find a new job but you can’t always find true love.
The ending was kind of disappointing. I was upset that we didn’t get an epilogue. I would have loved to know more about their future together. Overall, to me this book was just ok but it was nice. There wasn’t anything that special about it. Although, I did like the connection between Julian and Sarah, it wasn’t anything original. I think fans of the typical find a rich guy and fall in love type of romance will like this one but for me it was just subpar.
I thought the story was lagging at times…especially in the beginning. I felt like some parts of the story were just added on to make the story longer. Like, did we really need the background story of Sarah’s friend, Lisa? I don’t understand why that part was so important…I mean sure it was so Julian would share something in his past but I just felt like it was unneeded. Then, I feel like the author rushed important things like how fast Sarah learned to trust and love Julian after knowing him for so little. I wish the author emphasized more on that then the little side stories.
I also hated that this book was so inconsistent with the character’s names. First the author called Ziggy, Rob and it confused me until I realized that she meant Ziggy and not Rob. Then, Julian’s ex-girlfriend, Megan Woods became Megan Fox…again I got confused because I didn’t understand why the author would use Megan Fox, a famous REAL actress’s name. This is a big pet peeve of mine. It just irritates the hell out of me when authors don’t keep up with their own character’s names. I don’t understand why their editor didn’t correct it. This book also had a lot of grammar mistakes…to which again, I don’t understand why it wasn’t corrected.
Another issue I had was with Sarah’s so-called “intimacy issues.” For someone that has big intimacy issues, she sure let her guard down pretty fast for a man she had just met. It makes me think that Sarah never even really had them in the first place. In reality, a woman with real intimacy issues would not have been so easy to get through, especially only after their first date. She also seemed very quick to forgive him…I mean a girl who has a hard time letting her guard down would have had a hard time trusting him again but Sarah didn’t seem to have that problem.
Sarah also irritated me for a lot of the book. She was so wishy-washy. First she was set on her job being the most important thing. Then, Julian comes along and she decides that he is worth taking a chance on her career. Then, she breaks up with him because he has done too much damage for her career and decides that her career is more important. It was just so frustrating going back and forth on the situation. To me, choosing love holds a much greater value to me than any career. You can always find a new job but you can’t always find true love.
The ending was kind of disappointing. I was upset that we didn’t get an epilogue. I would have loved to know more about their future together. Overall, to me this book was just ok but it was nice. There wasn’t anything that special about it. Although, I did like the connection between Julian and Sarah, it wasn’t anything original. I think fans of the typical find a rich guy and fall in love type of romance will like this one but for me it was just subpar.
September 4, 2013
Very enjoyable.
May 4, 2015
Free download. Well first I'm not sure why this book had such negative reviews about similarities to FSOG, it was nothing like it but it seems that every erotic romance are forever to be compared. I enjoyed this book and thought the story and plot were great. Sarah is trying to start anew after a humiliating breakup. She has a new job with a dream company and intends to work hard to establish herself. She didn't count on falling for her boss's partner. Julian is everything a woman could want, rich, successful, and gorgeous, he is immediately taken by Sarah and intends to make her his but her past is causing issues which are affecting her future. I loved Julian, he's many things but also loving and protective, Sarah is trying to move forward with her career and doesn't want their relationship dictating what people think of her in the business.
The plot and story are good, the angst is there, but it's very romantic, and the sex is great, apart from some grammatical errors which would only cause issue if you are superficial I enjoyed this book and it couldn't be compared to FSOG it's nothing like it, apart from sex. I would recommend if you enjoy hot characters, a nice story and amazing sex.
The plot and story are good, the angst is there, but it's very romantic, and the sex is great, apart from some grammatical errors which would only cause issue if you are superficial I enjoyed this book and it couldn't be compared to FSOG it's nothing like it, apart from sex. I would recommend if you enjoy hot characters, a nice story and amazing sex.
March 30, 2015
This book immediately felt very familiar to the 50 Shades and Bared to You series. I would have liked a little more originality or maybe a little twist, but I felt like I was rereading instead of immersing myself into a new book. There was too much telling and not enough showing and unnecessary descriptions of clothing and surroundings. Julian's dialogue was a little ostentatious as well. Julian was dominant, but I questioned why he wanted Sarah to emotionally surrender to him immediately after meeting her. That threw me off. I can see a physical submission from a stranger, but emotional submission was a little weird for me. Julian was so very similar to Christian Grey that he even used his tag line of "Come" quite frequently. Sarah felt a bit bipolar. She got really angry at things Julian did, then forgave him right away without much of a fight. She seemed to work through her fury at an extremely fast pace before she "came down". Sarah wasn't very likable and I didn't feel like I connected with Julian. This wasn't a bad book, but it was way too familiar. I think with some character work and a few twists, this book could be better.
June 18, 2013
Welcome to L.A. and the world of strong, handsome and rich men. This book was good, very sexually driven. This book leans towards the FSOG and Bared To You genre and Ms. Bailey pulls it off. If you enjoy that type of reading with a dominating male then this book is definitely for you. The only reason this book has received 4 stars instead of 5 stars is because the heroine can be a little wishy washy and their "love" seemed more like dependency and lust than true love. Don't get me wrong...I still liked it but I admit to *rolling eyes* a few times.
Recommend: For FSOG and BTY fans, absolutely
Heat: 4.5/5
Re-read: maybe
Recommend: For FSOG and BTY fans, absolutely
Heat: 4.5/5
Re-read: maybe
October 18, 2015
The preview pulled me in, held me riveted for the first third and for the most portion of the book it was interesting. The beginning had the angst, the swoon worthy alpha male and anticipation of the romance to come. By the end of the first third, the hero although still hot, possessive and dominant started to become a little too sappy. There were some editing issues in mixing up names, but minor enough to overlook. There were some unnecessary fillers with secondary characters that dragged the book especially in the middle, and the ending was disappointing in that it needed more time or an epilogue to tie it up after dragging us through the last third with the anticipation for an ending.
October 14, 2013
The summary of the book is good, good length, funny dialogue, interesting twists with supporting and main characters, adds a bit of a love triangle. But some of the details left me raising my eyebrow, like spilling coffee all over your dress because of an Adonis on your first day of work or miss matching shoes over temporary heartbreak, but in the books defense, it was pretty well written, transitioned smoothly, and some of the scenes were hot. This seemed like a Fifty Shades of Grey follow-up read, so I would recommend it to those who liked that kind of light submissive female lead.
April 6, 2019
Good book
Sarah Stevens is a new hire at a talent agency, she's working directly for one of the partners. Julian is the other partner in the agency. He immediately sets his eyes on claiming her for himself. But Sarah has to be in complete control, especially due to her past.
Julian won't be with Sarah until she gives him complete control of herself. Emotionally and physically. Sarah is much younger than he is and he's a legend in the industry, she's afraid of losing herself to him. And according to his ex, she has a good reason to be.
Sarah Stevens is a new hire at a talent agency, she's working directly for one of the partners. Julian is the other partner in the agency. He immediately sets his eyes on claiming her for himself. But Sarah has to be in complete control, especially due to her past.
Julian won't be with Sarah until she gives him complete control of herself. Emotionally and physically. Sarah is much younger than he is and he's a legend in the industry, she's afraid of losing herself to him. And according to his ex, she has a good reason to be.
December 6, 2014
I loved the story for this book. Great characters with strong details. I really feel like the insecurity thing with Sarah was over board. Julian should have ran away at lightning speed from the crazy girl. lol. I really did enjoy this book though. One thing that bothered me was the amount of times me and my were mixed up in the first half of this book. It drove me crazy! The ending left me feeling a little incomplete. As if this book could go on with more Sarah and Julian drama instead of being a stand-alone novel.
November 18, 2014
The author spends too much time trying to impress the reader with knowledge of fashion designers, art, and architecture. Her constant references to it are annoying.
The main female character whines throughout the book about her ex and the opinions of others towatds her. The reader is expected to believe a hot, rich, and intelligent man would chase after this woman. Other than being continuously reminded how beautiful she is, she had no redeeming qualities.
The main female character whines throughout the book about her ex and the opinions of others towatds her. The reader is expected to believe a hot, rich, and intelligent man would chase after this woman. Other than being continuously reminded how beautiful she is, she had no redeeming qualities.
February 27, 2014
Now that I know the designer of every piece of clothing they are wearing including their shoes, I didn't enjoy the book. Felt like a FSOG wanna be with a change here and there. The fast cars, beach house excessive amount of money and even the lack of money at one point of his life. Luckily it was free.
March 11, 2014
This was just an okay read for me, 2.5 rounded up to 3 stars. I think if it was tightened up a bit, it would be a better read. As it was, it was very repetitive, with Sarah and Julian going back and forth over the same issues ad nauseum. Pretty standard plot - alpha male, entry level female employee, instant attraction, hot sex scenes, conflict, etc...
July 11, 2015
I've had this book for awhile now, not sure why I waited to read it, but I'm glad I did.
I fell in love with Julian. He was patient with Sarah and showed he cared about her. There were times when I wanted to slam my ipad against a wall. Sarah was showing here age and insecurities. Julian was always so willing to wait for her. Loved L.A. Fire and would recommend it to my friends.
I fell in love with Julian. He was patient with Sarah and showed he cared about her. There were times when I wanted to slam my ipad against a wall. Sarah was showing here age and insecurities. Julian was always so willing to wait for her. Loved L.A. Fire and would recommend it to my friends.
August 2, 2013
I fell in love with Julian. He was patient with Sarah and showed he cared about her. Sarah's quest for a career gave me the impression she was strong woman with a good head. Loved L.A. Fire and would recommend it to my friends.
November 14, 2014
The story was good, but there was too much back and forth for me. Sarah wanted Julian but she wanted to be her own woman at the same time, which I got but she just couldn't figure out what she wanted.
January 18, 2015
have to be honest Sarah annoyed he HECK outta me...but I got through the book routing for Julian the whole way through. Not sure if there's a second book if there is can someone let me know? (thanks :) )
October 5, 2013
Nothing to write home about. Seems I've read this story line to often with a bit of a change here and there. Tons of sex. The author's words flow well and it is a fast read.
October 28, 2013
couldn't finish it. writing just wasn't that good.
March 2, 2014
If you liked 50 shades of gray...you will love this as well. Great dialogue and characters were real. Definitely reading from this author again
March 16, 2014
I loved this book! It was so real to me and hit home on a few things. I will be reading more of Sarah Bailey books in the future!
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews