He's addicted to her. The mere thought of her brings Mason to his knees. There is no other woman in the world that he wants. Max can’t believe that she met a passion-filled man that makes her body yearn for things she’s only dreamed about. He’s ruined her, making him the only man that she wants. Mason West, an ex-Navy Seal turned Amateur MMA fighter, is battling the darkness of the life he left behind. Finding the will to fight back in a woman that completes him was not something that he expected, but it seemed fate had other plans. All Maxine Shaw wanted to do was graduate, become a nurse for the best sports rehabilitation center in the country, and finally achieve the goals she set for herself. Once she catches a glimpse of Mason West, an Alpha male to the core, he awakens a fire inside of her that she never thought existed. The sparks between these two ignite bottomless passion and enduring love that shifts their goals in a way neither suspected. Before Mason and Max can embark on a journey of happily ever after, the strength of their love gets tested. Will this passionate pair be able to survive what fate has in store? (WARNING: Includes hot alpha male sex ... A LOT OF IT!)
So I decided to give this book a chance since the synposis sounded good and the author said lots of hot "alpha" sex.. Yea right ..OMG why to authors show and not tell. I read this book and these love scenes are more telling than showing. Is that what your classifies as hot??
I know my review is critical but I just cannot understand how a book can go from hot to not. I must admit the first half was engaging the built up was there. The relationship was slowly building you feel the chemistry you enjoyed the love scenes are lack thereof everything even the details about his navy seal past the fighting scenes the references well detailed. But!!!!
Then bam they fell in love and became inseparable. She had up walls he broke them Down he had up,pillars she broke them down. Ok so then why did the author just did a 360. She proposed yes folks in modern age she proposed marriage yet when he asked her to move in with her she declined adamantly.. You can't make this stuff up!!
Ok so let's see two ppl in love nothing in their way to get between their happiness no secrets no drama no lies nothing.. But wait for it folks.. The hero left the heroine out of the blue, for no apparent reason. Fast forward to four weeks no phone calls nothing but a cowardly letter.. Then fast forward two years no contact with each other nothing... N O T H I N G!!!
So when these two meet again the coward is acting out, he is being a total jack Ass he is engaged to someone else he never contacted the heroine all this time Hower the heroine have unresolved feelings Still!! Even thou someone else is showing great interest in her but she needs closure.Why Lawd ???
I don't know I really don't know. I tried to like this storyline but it just went downhill fast. This book left me with so much to be desired. It just lost the steam it came with. The ending was predictable and it sizzled like the hot sex scenes it perpetuates... NONEXISTENT!!! Then I think The author forget that she said two years later but in the ending Maxine is telling mason he had her waiting for 4 years.. You can't make this stuff up!!!
This is my first book by S K Lessly who appears to be a first time author.
This is Mason and Maxine’s story. Although I enjoyed the story and it kept me engrossed and turning the pages, there was an element of the story that I really did not enjoy. Mason whilst very protective of Maxine, he would kill anyone who tried to hurt her, he committed the biggest betrayal, in my eyes and therefore I have an issue with Mason.
I am so tired of reading about women who lay themselves down at the altar of love, whilst the man they love is doing no such thing. He is making sure his needs get met. Sorry but that does not do it for me at all. If he was so destroyed and not good for Maxine to the point where he could not even face her because of the darkness inside him, what happened to the darkness where Diane was concerned??? He was doing her and living his life whilst Maxine was dying inside. Sorry there is no justifying that for me.
Maxine is a strong woman and had to endure a lot of things in her life. She is not a weak female but I believe what is good for the geese is good for the gander too.
Great read but it just made me mad. I would recommend it even though I am not loving that part of the storyline! Just one person’s view.
I decided to read this book on a whim, and I am so glad I did! As a creature of habit, I usually stick with the same authors and almost every time I try a new author, I just miss my favorites more, this is not one of those times. Let’s get into Mason and Max. Mason “The Reaper” West is a man with a bit of darkness that at times consumes him. After leaving the Navy Seals, he finds himself in need of some place to take out his aggression. He heads to a Philadelphia gym owned by Alex, his close friend from the military, where our dark hero takes up MMA fighting. One day, in the middle of training, he sees her and it’s at that moment she becomes his obsession. Maxine or Max is in school to become a nurse and dreams of working for a sports rehabilitation center. As an intern at the gym, she is accustomed to being a round fighting and fighters, but no one has affected her way Mason West does. She tries to fight the attraction, but there is just something about “Reap “the calls to her. Mason has never felt a pull to someone the way he does to Max, and he knows he must have her. When he finally breaks her resolve and the two get together it is explosive! Mason is obsessed with his Angel and will do anything for her however, the darkness is still in him. The passion they find in each other consumes them and they fall in love quickly. Soon, tragedy strikes. Mason goes dark and Max is left to pick up the pieces of her life, however fate is not done with these two. Will his angel be in forgiving mood and pull him out of his dark state or will our dark hero fall further down the dark path? Maxine & Mason are wonderful complex characters, and their story was a little different than what I read is most other romances. You know how they go, they meet court, have great sex a little minor drama then bam! They get back together, and all is good. While some of that is true in this book, this was no minor drama and it took years for them to find their way back to each other. I was so taken with both Max and Mason that I could not put this book down. The love, anguish, pain, betrayal, you could feel it just jump off the pages not to mention the OMG! Panty wetting sex, Whew! You need a bucket of ice near while reading this one. The emotions were so real and their love story was written so beautifully. Max and Masons relationship was not rushed like some books or take forever like others, it was just perfect. I just about melted when called her Allura, it was hot! The secondary characters when just right. You got to know just enough of them and their relationship to Max and Mason and I felt they didn't take over or outshine the main couple. I didn't even realize the book was 485 pages. I will be on the lookout for more from this author. Great read!
Wow... just wow. This book definitely felt like a rollercoaster ride. Mason and his Allura are very intense. A lot of heartache and pain.
Mason is a former military man/boxer/multimillionaire businessman. He's a tortured soul. He meets Max (First name: Allura, middle name: Maxine) at the gym one day as he's training and is instantly attracted to her. She's called Max by everyone, except Mason who also calls her by her first name. Max has her own very traumatic history, but she is surprisingly well-adjust considering. These two sort of dance around their attraction to each other because Max has a volatile boyfriend who Mason thinks is mistreating her. Mason, Max, and two others are having dinner at Mason's before the onset of a severe storm. Mason and Max end up trapped together in his luxurious apartment during the storm and their attraction can no longer be denied. (Max had broken up with her boyfriend weeks prior to this.) They go through some believable relationship angst and Mason very tenderly helps Max through a very tough time. So sweet.
Soon So, Mason decides to dump Max.
Mason and Max meet again (Either two or four years later. The book mentions both as the length of time they were apart.) I found Mason and interactions to be fairly amusing. She wasn't taking his moody/broody shit and he always acted like she was getting on his last nerve.
Mason finds out more about Max's past and also discovers she's in some pretty serious danger in the present. Let me tell you, Mason goes all alpha male protector and it's sexy as hell.
This book could have been a 5 star read if Mason hadn't been such an ass by dumping Max in such a callous way. THEN Then when they do meet again at he's a jerk. Really, Mason?! YOU dumped HER! Where do you get off being angry at her?! He lost a lot of points with me because of that. However, when Mason was doing something right he was platinum. Before and after these he's sooooo on point. When he calls her 'Allura' I get chills up and down MY spine. Mason is HOT. Overall, this is a great read.
*Note* I edited my pick for Max on 12/3/15
Charlie Hunnam as Mason and Kylie Bunbury as Max/Maxine/Allura ["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>
Disappointed.... I was looking forward to reading this book after enjoying "Desired/Desired Too". This book had too much going on and I had no connection with the characters nor the story. This book read like a fairytale, the ending was a bit too much with 2 sets of twins!
It has suspense, drama, tragedy, pain, lost love, betrayal, revenge, love, passion, and beauty all rolled into it. Nothing prefect but somewhat believable.
I couldn't get through this story. The writing wasn't good. It felt like the author was not writing a story but describing it. She also fell into the trap that my inexperienced authors often do which is wanting to make the characters possess certain qualities and failing miserably. The H keeps describing himself as strong and unbeatable but we don't really see it. It is more convincing when the reader sees the characters demonstrate the qualities they possess instead of reading that they have them. The author wanted the H to be a tough bad@$$ and he really wasn't. The dialogue was bad too.
I enjoyed this book so much! The characters are wonderfully defined and very believable. The plot is developed extremely well and plays out at just the right pace. The twists and turns in the book kept me focused and engaged. Talk about tough situations that touch on many of life's true emotions this book is one I would recommend to anyone who needs a mental respite to relax and enjoy a really good story.
ummm well. this had some great moments but there was something that was off about this story. not necessarily the storyline as the way the story was revealed. it felt lime two stories in one. but the moments were good.
This story or if you will the journey of Maxine and Mason its filled with passion love heart ache determination ultimately redemption. Two wounded souls wondering through life looking for each other and finally finding each other. When They do find each other it is smoking hot and smoldering and sensual even romantic. . Mason is a SOB of the highest order. And he is unapologetic. You see he was a U.S. Navy seal for several years so he saw and dealt with a lot of crap and did a lot of crap. Maxine has her scars as well that she's carried around for many years. They are each other's Kryptonite. I am throughly recommending this book definitely five stars I can't wait for more stories by S.K Lessly. I know I won't be disappointed.
Let me just start by saying I truly loved this book. I loved how it was a true novel and kept me guessing and not putting my kindle down. So many emotions, I can't begin to tell you that this book is worth the read. Thank you again and I definitely be looking out for more books by you
This was a wonderful read! I loved the chemistry between the two lead characters. There was drama anger love passion lust just a gambit of emotions to run through. I highly recommend this book because after you read it you will be ruined too.
I enjoyed reading this book. Love is relatable to us all, no matter the skin tone. Now Maxine & Mason are married with twin boys and three months after their wedding expecting twin girls. Ha! Keep up the great writing S. K. Lessly.
Not bad for SK Lessly's first book. Great story, very romantic, emotional, and spicy. There are a few grammatical errors. I don't want to give any spoilers but Mason pissed me off...lol. Looking forward to reading more from this author.
I absolutely loved this book, I didn't thin it too long I thought the author developed her character's as the book progressed. I loved the story line, I liked the way they were together, it was realistic and I could not put the book down!! Looking forward to reading more from this author.
4.5 you have ruined me for any other stars..Loved it! Great story that keeps moving and has you at the edge of your seat...you will not want to put it down. Great alpha hero Mason is hot as hell!
This book had the potential to be great. It piqued my interest with the cover, a black woman that looked black (but of course: "her light brown eyes were a sexy contrast to her chocolate skin"). Like i said, it had great potential, black woman pursuing an education, retired navy seal, started well, they didn't jump each other's bones right away...good chemistry and initial flirtation.... BUT then the issues made the reading furstrating. 1. The lack of proofreading. Seriously it shouldn't be that hard to find someone else to re-read the story before it's published or to see that "his" is used instead of the subject "he", or that "he" or "his" were used instead of "she" or "hers" when referring to the female protagonist and vice versa. 2. The story flow was at times confusing due to the fact that: a) the author couldn't maintain a constant tense but jumped between verb tenses in an inconsistent manner, and b) the story would jump from one moment to days before or later all of a sudden. I was lost a couple times due to the inconsistent time lines. 3. The story line itself started well, but then the author got lazy and things didn't make sense anymore in terms of how the main characters interacted with one of other, and nonesense issues. Even the sentences became poorly phrased. Example: "I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about me. I don’t just think about Max in a sexual manner. We just don’t do anything except have sex all the time— all hours of the day or night." I am one of those readers that needs logic, and for the events in a story to be believable to a certain extent. It is hard to elaborate and really explain what I mean without revealing some of the story, hopefully you understand what I am trying to say.
I believe it was the author's first book, taking that into consideration, she did pretty well in comparaison to some of the other more seasoned IR authors I have read. I hope that she will improve on some of the issues I highlighted here. If not for those it would have been 4 stars.
He's a man's man, all alpha all the way. PTSD, even though it was not mentioned in this story, was definitely the cause of Mason's darkness that he could not get out of his head. Only Allura Maxine Shaw could bring him out of that darkness. I love how S.K, wrote their love story. They had immediate attraction for one another but waited until the time was right for them as Max was in a relationship with a man that was crazy, probably due to steroid use even though that was not mentioned in the book either. It's the only explanation to why he went bonkers. I loved the way Max would sing and would just drive Mason crazy. I could really feel the electricity of attraction between them when she did. When Mason loves, he loves true and hard, not just the woman in his life but all of the people he truly cares about. His thinking of staying away from Max after his revenge mission because of the darkness he was feeling, in order to protect Max, was the wrong thing for him to do. He totally smashed her heart by being gone for years and turning around and getting engaged to another woman. I don't understand how he could have done that even though he vowed that Max was the love of his life. I don't care if it was a business arrangement. I was mad as hell at him for that. My heart broke for Max when she realized that he was engaged to Dianne and when her friend died. S.K. really wrote the hell out of the scene where Mason was trying to get Max back after his 4 month South American trip. I was so happy they were able to get their HEA This is one of my favorite love stories and I could re-read it over and over again. I just love a man who would go to the ends of the earth for the woman he loves and Mason actually did.
This was a very good read. The main characters had lots of chemistry and I think the HEA was handled well. My only problem was the amount of pain and heartache the heroine went though was almost unbelievable...I mean she . Then to These things really bothered me. I started to stop the book after a while after he . but I will say he groveled quite effectively. Even though I hate trilogies and cliffhangers, I hope the author plans or writing a story about the Hero's best friend AB, because I would love to see him have a HEA.
4.25 stars. This author did a good job with character development and with creating a believable love and chemistry between Mason "Reaper" West, a boxer and ex-Navy Seal, and Allura Manine "Max", a singer, athletic medical student and physical therapist assistant, become instantly attracted to each other. Their love story is intense with the physical chemistry between the two of them and with the loving and supportive and caring relationship that the author develops; causing the reader to become invested in their relationship. There are many twists and turns and a betrayal in the storyline before the happy ending.
OMG! This book will for sure be in my top#10 of 2015. It's only January you say... that's how good this book was. It's a re-read, suggested book club read and discussion piece for sure. The storyline though it was long was well worth the wait. The characters well thought out and place perfectly as the book progressed. It had just enough going on. Reap and Max I absolutely loved. I can't wait to read the next from this author.
This has to be one of the best I have read to date! I loved the characters Max & Mace are couple with an extremely strong, almost palpable connection, spirituality, physically & emotionally. It was so strong you could almost feel it. The hardships experienced by both in their past were truly devastating and life altering. Yet they both persevered though you had to wonder at times, how! Very well done
I actually stayed up all night to read this book!! I absolutely loved it! The characters were believable and real with their on drama! The main character, Mason was definitely a true to life hero that a woman could actually fantasize about. And of course the handsome face that graces the cover ropes you right in. He is adorable!!
Bravo to this author! What a great story. I was hooked from the beginning. I only had issues at around the 75% mark. I felt the H/h just did alot of silly stuff to each other that just did not make a lot of sense to me and I just found it irritating to say the least. Overall, I found this to be quite an enjoyable read. I will definitely be reading more of this author's work in the future.