Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Embers #4

Cruel Embers

Rate this book
Nathan has always been a jokester with a sunny, laid-back disposition. But it’s a facade, a mask to hide him from the ghosts of his past. 

After witnessing his cousins and best friends falling in love, he feels even more of a third wheel watching from the sidelines. 

For the briefest moment, he thinks he’s found love—until it turns out everything he thought he knew was a lie. 

Feeling hurt and betrayed, he finds an unexpected distraction in no other than Violet—the best friend of his cousin’s fiancée and his favourite frenemy.

Violet is done where relationships are concerned. 

So when her best friend becomes pregnant and tasks her with organising the baby shower, she’s ecstatic to have something else to focus on.

Except, there's one major stipulation—she has to team up with the annoying, hot wall of muscle that is Nathan.

Slowly, they go from frenemies to friends and it soon becomes apparent their feelings far exceed that of friendship, their chemistry palpable. 

But are either of them ready to take that leap?

280 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 20, 2022

14 people are currently reading
205 people want to read

About the author

L.S. Pullen

23 books347 followers
L.S. Pullen, aka Leila, is an indie author, born and raised in North London; and now resides in East of England. No longer working the corporate life, she writes full time.
When she’s not writing or reading, you’ll find her walking her adopted pooch Luna whilst squirrel spotting. As well as looking after her bunnies Beatrix & Bucky. And in true English cliche fashion, she loves afternoon tea.

You can find everything you need to know about the author here on her website: https://lspullen.co.uk

Facebook: http://facebook.com/lspullenauthor
Instagram: http://instagram.com/lspauthor




Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
46 (65%)
4 stars
15 (21%)
3 stars
9 (12%)
2 stars
0 (0%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Wills.Reads.
78 reviews4 followers
November 28, 2022
4 🌶
5 🌟

Cruel Embers. Book 4 in this amazing series of interconnected standalones. (Reading the other three is not imperative, however highly recommended)

I just knew following on from the other three that this was going to be amazing. Leila captures the characters in ways you'd never imagine.

With each previous book, you think you've fallen in love with a new alpha and have a new favourite. But then,BAM. You read the next one, and you're stunned. Literally.

Nathan and Vi find themselves planning a baby shower and gender revea for their friends. Each in competition with one another to come up with the best ideas. Until, they realise their ideas as a team are better than ones they create alone.

Vi finds her dreams coming true. But instead of calling Char like she used to, she calls Nathan. AKA, Muscles. Seeking comfort from the most unexpected company.

Nathan finds himself seeking comfort in Tink. His own Sassy, fiery little fairy. Challenging him at every corner. But the thing is, he loves it.

He's a sensualist, what's not to love?

"Oh, fair maiden, how you do like to woo me." Not to mention, their banter is hilarious.

Would I recommend this book? 1000000000%.
Would I recommend Leila as an author?
1000000000%.

I feel so lucky to have Leila talking to me, supporting me in my journey. She's like a cheerleader, always there to help you when you fall down. She is beautiful inside, and out. Her soul is so so pure. Honestly, such an amazing woman.

@lspauthor I can't believe you'd have doubts of me not enjoying your babies.
Profile Image for Aelicia Greene.
271 reviews5 followers
October 6, 2022
Frenemies to Lovers✅
Cinnamon roll male mc✅
Past abuse✅
Grief/Loss✅

Plot 5✨
Spice 5🌶️

Everyone has always seen Nathan as the goofy, funny, joke cracking, always up for a good time, and never serious member of the friend group. What no one sees is that he wants what they all now have, true love and a family. Nathan thought he found the woman and love, turns out she turned him into something he said he never would be a cheat.

Her last relationship was toxic, so Violet has sworn off relationships for the time being. While being alone is not the greatest thing in the world it does mean that Violet has time to work on her singing and performance so she can finally land a role in a West End Musical. She has the greatest support system in her friends if only her parents would support her instead of comparing her to the ghost of her brother.

Both Nathan and Violent need a distraction so when their shared best friends need someone to plan their baby shower, they both volunteer to be the ONE to do it. However, they never expected to be forced to work together on this project.

Are these frenemies ready to face the feelings that have started to surface?
Why does Violet believe she is hard to love?
Can Nathan face the emotions he keeps hidden or will they become too much turning him into the last thing he ever wanted to become?

First of a massive THANK YOU to Ms. Pullen for allowing me to read this early.
What I love about all of L.S. Pullen's books is that they feature topics that are difficult to talk about but that need to be discussed. In Cruel Embers we see Nathan and Violet trying to overcome their tough and very sad pasts. So, if you are an emotional potato like me have your tissues ready. Do not fear it not all emotional throughout this book. It is full of funny, cute, and fluffy moments as well. I adore Nathan, he is the leader of the good ones. Watching him and his tinker bell fall for each other was heartwarming and made my face hurt from smiling so much. Nathan and Violet pushed Ethan and Lottie out of the number one spot for this series and I'm not mad one bit. I can't say enough how much I love and adore this story!!!
Profile Image for Owella.
511 reviews5 followers
October 8, 2022
I'm so excited that we have got Nathan and Violet's story! These two are so good together!

Nathan appears in other books in this series as Henry and Ethan are his cousins, even though they are more like brothers. He's the funny and laid back one who everyone says is the joker of the group but he just wants what they have. They have found their one and are settling down. He wants his other half. He thought he'd found her but she turned him into a cheat and that is one of his hard no's.

Enter Violet aka Tink ❤️. Violet is Charlotte's best friend and is currently working on herself and her career. She has the sass and knows just what she wants. When Charlotte falls pregnant with twins she gives the task of the baby shower to Violet but Nathan also wants to do it..........

Violet and Nathan are frenemies but can they put their differences aside so that they can plan the perfect baby shower for their best friends?

Eeekkkk these two 😍 I loved how their relationship went from frenemies to lovers, it was so natural. As with all Leila's books we have spice, angst, heart and laughter. Leila has a way with words that just makes you want to carry on reading and not put the book down! I'm so glad that we got their story and they both got their HEA.
Profile Image for Toni Kelly.
Author 6 books42 followers
October 13, 2022
Love, Love, Love it!!

I knew I was going to Love Nathan from his appearances in the other Embers books. I love all of the Embers men, but Nathan, than man takes the top spot!

Violet is incredible, I love how sassy she is.
Her and Nathan together are perfect. I love the chemistry between them, and how the rub each other wrong way and the right way.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is my favourite I the series!!!

You smashed it!!
Profile Image for Katja.
477 reviews
October 20, 2022
I loved this book and these characters. They were so good for each other. Even they didn't like each other first but they had to work together. I liked how Nathan was there for her and cheering her when she needed it. They both had things they had to work out but they never gave out hope to have better future. It was also great to see some familiar faces and to see how they were now.




An ARC was provided in exhange for an honest review.
Profile Image for Jo Venison.
195 reviews
October 21, 2022
The sparks between Nathan and Violet have been visible in all of the previous books, and it only heats up in their own HEA.
When Nathan and Violet meet, they are instant frenemies, but over time and being forced to work together, Violet's fortified walls slowly stat to crumble and the heat only intensifies.

I could not put this book down once I started and I really enjoyed it. You do not have to have read any of the previous books in this series, but once you've finished this you'll definitely want to read them!

Enjoy!
Profile Image for Jennifer Wilson.
802 reviews9 followers
October 29, 2022
I absolutely loved this book. This is the 4th book in this series, and it was absolutely amazing. I’ve fallen in love with these characters throughout these books, and I’ve loved getting to know their stories. Nathan, he’s always seemed to be the jokester, the playboy. But deep down, he’s hides a lot of pain from his past. And Violet, she still finds herself grieving over the loss of her brother. These two, there was always chemistry between them. Even when they were arguing, and couldn’t get along, that spark was there. Despite fighting it, the chemistry is too much. And when they get together, it’s hot. This book had me hooked from the beginning. I needed to know how their story would end. There were several parts that had me tearing up. Nathan, he’s this great guy that tries to help everyone. And he is super sweet. Doing all these sweet things for Violet even before they began a relationship. And Violet tries to make sure everyone is happy, not even saying anything to her parents about how they treat her. I loved everything about this book, and definitely recommend it.
Profile Image for Cokiereads.
719 reviews40 followers
February 5, 2023
Book 4

Book four of this sweet series of brothers, sisters and cousins.

This last book is about Nathan whos the cousin of the MMCs of Books 2 and 3 and Violet whos the best friend of Book 3s FMC. I really recomend reading the first three. The characters from those series are in this book so much, that I think their backstories are needed.

Violet and Nathan were so cute together. They didnt mesh at first. Might have been personalities, or being territorial with their best friends. Anyways they werent true enemies or horrible to each other (which I liked).

Nathan was holding on to some baggage from an ex who let me tell you. PIECE of WORK.

Violet was having a hard time family wise (which was understandable) and also had an ex who was a PIECE of WORK.

But it was steamy, some romance, good friendships... Go check this series out!
Profile Image for Samantha.
516 reviews
December 18, 2025
Love Nathan and violets romance so much and love that Nathan gets along with Henry little boy Jacob. Not a big fan of Naomi keep calling Nathan about her husband Christopher and Naomi needs professional help. Love that Nathan and violet both worked together to create Ethan and Charlottes gender reveal party. And love that violet close with her brother max before he died of sepsis and with her parents she is competing with a ghost but I do love it when violet and her parents finally talk about it. Violet gets a part in a west end musical and her family and friends watch. Love the spicy scenes between Nathan and violet. Love that Nathan is close with Ethan and Henry. And I really like that Nathan and violet open up to each other about past and family’s. Love that Nathan calls violet tinker bell. And Nathan doesn’t want to turn out like his dad who abusive and had a temper and did think about being a MMA fighter. And love it when Nathan takes care of a drunk violet. And I didn’t want to put this book down and Im sad now that I have finished the series but I just love Leila’s writing so much and easy to get into. And love the ending with violet being charlottes birthing partner and they name their twins max and holly and love it when Nathan proposes to violet at the end and love the found family between the friends. And love that Nathan is the jokester in the friendship group. And love that Olly, Ethan, Charlotte, Henry and Meghan appear in this book and that Nathan and violet are secretly seeing each other without there friends knowing

Spicy
Dual PoV
Grief/ loss
Frenemies to lovers
Cinnamon roll alpha
Found family
UK setting
Under 260 pages
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Nikki.
1,861 reviews20 followers
July 18, 2023
I have absolutely loved this whole series and each and every character that we've met throughout the 4 books but i adore Violet and Nathan!
Both believing that they arent good enough or they arent able to love they both have their own issues and problems to contend with.
This story is full of drama, angst and emotions galore, aswell as a big dose of steamy scenes!
So sad now its all over but cant wait to explore more of LS Pullens work as i have fallen in love with her writing!
*Read as part of KU*
Profile Image for Brandy Hollis-Zeigler.
311 reviews
October 17, 2023
Outstanding

I cried through out this one. The love story between Violet & Nathan is one for the ages. With Nathan's past making him think he will be his cruel father and Vi competing with the ghost of her brother, it's a wonder they have into their love for one another. This was me favorite Book of the series.
2 reviews
July 22, 2025
amazing

Amazing book, loved it, fantastic writing and all round a great finish to the embers series. Overall recommended read 10/10
Profile Image for Sara Luck.
8 reviews
November 29, 2022
The story of Nathan and Violet was unexpected. They are great together and make a great couple. Them not getting along at first and then ending up together. I loved the book
Profile Image for Dorothy Y Nunamacher .
1,014 reviews12 followers
May 18, 2023
Im new to this series and I must say that I'm hooked. Everything about this book is amazing. The chemistry is HAF! These two are perfect for each other. From frenemies to lovers. The smart a** comments to the wise a** comebacks. I was falling in love with both of them from the very beginning. You definitely don't want to miss out on this one.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.