Rebel

by Kim Linwood

I married my stepbrother.

Yeah, no one’s more surprised than me. I can’t fucking stand him.

All I wanted was a quiet summer before starting college. Catch up on my books. Maybe get a summer job. Then he dropped into my life.

His name’s Gavin Caldwell, and he’s stupidly rich. Cocky. Arrogant. Ridiculously, panty-meltingly hot.

And he’s parading around our bridal suite shirtless. Pantless.

He has no freaking shame, and I have to pretend to be in love with him.

I hate him.

So why can’t I stop thinking about him?

Genres: Romance, New Adult, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Erotica, Ebooks, Adult

350 pages, Paperback

First published May 13, 2015

Reviews

[Maida (Medley of Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

RATING: 3 Cute and Funny Sis and Herbie Hearts! :)

[Carol (StarAngel's Reviews) Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book – Rebel: A Stepbrother Romance
Author – Kim Linwood
Publication Date –May 13, 2015
Genre –New Adult/Step Family Romance
Type – Stand Alone
Cliffhanger – No
Rating – 4 out of 5 Stars

Complimentary copy generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

My Thoughts - Story
Well, I finally caved and read a “step” book ---- I have been complaining and complaining about how many of these books are being generated but I will now eat my words! I freaking enjoyed this book so much!



I fucking laughed so hard at all the predicaments that Angie found herself in and the banter between her and Gavin had me cracking up…oh and I can’t forget the ‘old lady’ Joyce and her filterless mouth!

This was adorable in my eyes and a book I couldn’t put down!

The author did a kick ass job at taking a ‘taboo’ subject in my eyes and giving me an enjoying ride! ♥

Re-Cap
Angie decides to lose her V Card and has her sights set on a tattooed god…until he opens his mouth. Just as things get hot and heavy….Angie tucks tail and runs away.

So is this the end of her embarrassing trauma?



Hell no…instead that so-called god is going to be her future step-brother. So a pair of tossed away cruise ship tickets and these two are in for a ride of their lives. Oh, and don’t forget about love and sex advice from darling, Joyce!!

Reason for Reading – Author Request
Story – 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Steam –  4 out of 5 Stars
Angst – 4 out of 5 Stars
Writing – 4 out of 5 Stars
Content Flow – 4 out of 5 Stars
Told In – Dual POV (Gavin and Angie)
HEA (Spoiler) – Yes
Would Read More from Author? Yes
Recommend To – Readers who like to a light, humorous romance with a bit of angst

For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways

[Shurrn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun. Cute. Sexy. Silly.

Asshole, stepbrother, playboy. Not my boyfriend. I don't want to need him like that. He'd chew up my heart and spit it out. Except I can think that all I want, but it doesn't make me any less wet.

You know the big twist in this story before you ever start the book. It's right there in the blurb waiving to you and luring you in with absurdity.

Someone is going to marry their stepbrother.
'How', you ask?
In the most amusing way possible.

Stepbrother romances are all the rage at the moment - it's a convenient launching point for a New Adult, angsty, slightly-taboo romp. I'm not generally interested in indulging in angst-laden NA fiction, but I couldn't resist the blurb for this book.

I was looking for a light, fluffy, and humorous erotic romance, and I got it... Eventually...

Here's the thing - this book didn't get off to a great start for me. In the beginning, I didn't like either of the main characters and I was bracing myself for a total train wreck. That's the truth. You know I'll always tell you the truth, my lovely readers...

Within the first few pages it pinged half a dozen of my red-flag tropes and showed no sign of stopping:
- The overly slutty best friend who pushes bestie into screwing a hot stranger at the club.
- The constantly self-deprecating virgin, straight out of high-school who knows the stranger is an ass, but 'oh well, he's hot!'
- The fact that the virgin already has a boyfriend, but she's seeking someone else to pop her cherry.



Alarm bells were ringing.
I'm thinking 'Jesus... What have I gotten myself into?'

Luckily for everyone involved, it got better.
Way Better!

This book could probably be classified as a New Adult Romantic Comedy, but the first two(ish) chapters read as an overly-angsty hot mess. I worry that many readers will give up on this book before it hits it's stride. That would be unfortunate. Once this book gained momentum, it was so much fun!

Let's recap...

Angie

I just got married to my stepbrother.
In a freaking bikini.

Angie and I didn't hit it off in the beginning, but she grew on me. She starts out in a club looking to lose her virginity to a stranger so that her douche-bag boyfriend won't leave her when he discovers how bad she is in bed.

...and that's why Angie and I won't be palling around anytime soon.

First impressions are everything when it comes to main characters, and I wasn't entirely sure Angie was mature enough to be in an Erotic Romance novel.

She seemed so young I was a little uncomfortable hearing about her vagina. Was I going to wind up on a list somewhere? Was I going to have to knock on doors and introduce myself?



But I digress...
Angie, is eighteen and ready to lose her V-Card before college!

She meets a hot guy, goes back to his place, and bails before said cherry is popped.

Fast forward a few weeks later and Angie is meeting her mom's brand new fiancé for the first time. Mom's boyfriend brings his son to dinner who (SURPRISE!) Is the hot dude who was almost her 'first'.

Angie and Gavin manage to keep it together in front of their parents, but they're on the verge of strangling each other all night.

After dinner Mom's fiancé surprises Mom with tickets to a luxury cruise, but mom gets seasick so he throws them away. Angie snatches the tickets out of the trash and BAM! Shenanigans ensue...

Gavin

Even when she's chewing me out, she's cute as hell. I don't know what it is about her. At first it was my pride. Hunting down the one who ran away. But, fuck, I love the way she challenges me, and she might deny it, but she enjoys it too.

Gavin isn't just your stereotypical alpha douche-bag, she's also a billionaire heir with an enormous chip on his shoulder.

By the way, this book is dual POV, so readers have the benefit of Gavin's macho inner-monologue to balance out Angie's girly musings.

Angie's mother is just another woman in a long line of wives for Gavin's father. He couldn't care less about he pending nuptials, but he's eager to make his new little step-sis as uncomfortable as humanly possible. When he overhears her plans to cash in their parents cruise tickets, he steps in to have a little fun.

Angie and Gavin wind up on the all expense paid luxury cruise and pretending to be their engaged parents so they don't get thrown overboard.

That's when this enemies to lovers romance really hit it's stride.
All the best things in this book happened after the not-so-happy couple got on that boat and couldn't escape each other.

Angie became a feisty little thing and refused to take any crap from Gavin.
Gavin showed there was something soft under his tattooed exterior.
And the UST, people! Oh the UST!

You already know that this pair was doomed to tie the knot, but the cute, funny, and sexy journey to the altar was the real adventure.

Kim Linwood is a new author with a great deal of promise. I fee there were a few growing pains in the beginning of this book, but overall, it was a success.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Don't Call Me Babe Stars!

Angie is getting ready to go off to Med School and she's still a virgin. She has a boyfriend who's all muscles and tats but she hasn't slept with him yet. She's nervous about how bad she will be. Her best friend has convinced her that she needs to go find a one night stand and just get it over with. They are at a bar when Angie spots a man across the room. Her friend throws her in his arms and leaves the bar. Angie and Gavin end up at Gavin's place and when things get so far Angie bolts out of there. Gavin is fuming hot!
Surprise! Three weeks later Angie's mom announces she engaged to Gavin's dad. Gavin's dad buys two cruise tickets but Angie's mom gets sea sick. The tickets get thrown in the trash. Angie snags them and is off on a two week cruise. Only she doesn't know that Gavin is planning on going too. lol
I laughed a few times at their bickering. Loved the two old ladies on the boat. They were funny as hell! Gavin's dad had a surprise set up for Angie's mom on the boat. It was fun watching Angie and Gavin pretend to be in love and pretending to be their parents. Gavin's dads name was Herbert so of course Angie called him Herbie all the time. Lol
I loved Gavin. But for some reason I just wasn't feeling the love between these two. Nice epilogue and I loved that they were on a cruise. It was different. A great 3 Star read:))

[Cristina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehhh. Didn't care much for either of the main characters. This is one was a miss for me.

[Book-Bosomed blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75 Stars

An almost club hook-up acquaints Stanford bound pre-med student Angie Wilson with tattoo clad rich boy Gavin Caldwell. Though she gets an eyeful, she hasn’t seen the last of him.

The first line of the synopsis was my hook for this book. There’s a ton of step-brother romances on the market right now and while the initial premise (girl meets boy; unbeknownst to boy and girl their parents meet; girl and boy find out they are going to be stepsiblings) was typical of many step-sibling stories, where the plot goes from there was what made this story a fun and enjoyable ride…or cruise.

It’s kinda like contemporary step-sibling romance meets Love Boat. Except Captain Stubing is an adventure (tall) telling silver fox; Gopher is young, awkward, and has bad timing; Isaac might spit in your glass; there’s no Julie or Doc. And I kept wondering what guest star might play Mabel and Joyce (I'd vote Betty White). ;-) Either way, the love at sea aspect is all there along with plenty of scenes that would have been way too hot for TV in the ‘80’s.

“Angie’s writhing on my lap like a cat in heat. My hot little pussy. I knew she had it in her, and I want to rip those panties off and f*ck her silly…”

Gavin is the dirty-whispering, arrogant, spoiled bad boy who becomes quite the book boyfriend as the cruise sails along.

“‛I’ll have to settle for dreaming of you on our wedding night. On all fours, with your gown up around your waist.’”

Angie is a cute and likeable heroine. She’s a little naïve at times, but she also knows how to push Gavin’s buttons. As he does hers. They are exactly what each other needs, but it takes them being “secluded” together on their parent’s marriage cruise to discover that. And that’s exactly what I loved about the story. There’s no angst, no clichéd jealous schemers trying to keep them apart. Love is a journey, about getting to know each other, feeding that exciting but confusing spark and turning it into an eternal flame. Rebel follows that course...with a boat-load of fun and flirty scenes that kept me glued to my Kindle from the time I one-clicked till I reached the last page.

I don’t want to spoil the details of the “marriage” but I will say it was one of my favorite parts. This is what light-hearted romance is all about! It’s sweet; it’s sexy; it's sweet-n-sexy little moments; it’s go with the moment fun that makes new adult stories so full of possibilities.

How will Angie and Gavin’s parents react when they find out what they’ve done? Is their own parent’s relationship even based on stable ground? What will it take for Angie to finally lose her v-card to the cocky boy who wets her panties but might soon be her big bro? And how will they handle the new family roles once they dock on shore? Find out what goes on behind cabin doors and how love floats on this boat.

“I know exactly what kind of brotherly love he has for me, and chivalry has nothing to do with it.”

Rebel is a fun, pack your sunscreen and bikini, steamy, shower spraying, spanking, new adult contemporary romance to jump on board with. Plus, no Titanic endings here.

[Judith/books.series.forever · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spanish:
“Rebel” de Kim Linwood es la primera novela que leo de esta autora y espero que no la última. Esta novela se caracteriza por un romance new adult entre hermanastros, y como no, me ha gustado. Sinceramente la historia no es como muchos romances que he leído entre hermanastros y por eso me ha gustado más.

Angie, 18, sale con su mejor amiga a un club para encontrar a alguien que la pueda ayudar a perder su V-Card así ella podría ser perfecta para su novio, y ahí es donde conoce a Gavin, 25. Después de salir por patas en el último momento, Angie piensa que esa experiencia podría quedar en el olvido, pero tres semanas más tarde se reencuentran esta vez en su casa, donde su madre presenta a su prometido, el padre de Gavin.

Angie es tímida y dulce, mantiene una relación con un hombre del que prácticamente desconoce las cosas y cuando aparece Gavin le descoloca todo, pero a su vez le atrae. Gavin es el chico alfa, con tatuajes, arrogante, vaya el chico malo. Él lo ha tenido todo y ahora que Angie aparece en su vida se esfuerza en conseguir algo que le cuesta mucho. Si te digo la verdad, me encantaron ambos personajes, me parecieron perfectos el uno para el otro. Y su viaje fue como una montaña rusa de emociones de ambos. En algún momento si me hubiera gustado pegarle una colleja a Gavin por su comportamiento, pero oye, al menos lo arregla de la mejor manera.
⚜Rate: ★★★★✩
English:
"Rebel" by Kim Linwood is the first novel I've read by this author, and I hope not the last. This novel is a new adult romance between stepbrothers, and of course, I liked it. Honestly, the story is not like many romances I've read between stepbrothers, and that's why I liked it more.

Angie, 18, goes out with her best friend to a club to find someone who can help her lose her V-Card so she could be perfect for her boyfriend, and that's where she meets Gavin, 25. After running away at the last minute, Angie thinks that experience could be forgotten, but three weeks later they meet up again this time at home, where her mother introduces her fiancé, Gavin's father.

Angie is shy and sweet, she has a relationship with a man she practically doesn't know anything about, and when Gavin appears, it makes her upset, but at the same time, it attracts her. Gavin is the alpha guy, with tattoos, the arrogant, the bad guy. He's had it all and now that Angie appears in his life he tries to get something that is hard for him. Honestly, I loved both characters, I thought they were perfect for each other. And their journey was like a roller coaster of their emotions. At some point, if I would have liked to beat up Gavin for his behavior, but hey, at least he fixes it in the best way.
⚜Rate: ★★★★✩

[Intel Chicky Reads Romance (Kara Merideth) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Trope: taboo/steps brother
Angst: 😱😱
Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥

This was my first Kim Linwood book and I enjoyed it quite a bit! Storyline was cute and moved nicely. Hero took a bit to grow on you with all hit over the top alphahole-ness, but you do eventually get there.

⛔️ My bookshelves can sometimes contain spoilers

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book didn’t start off in a great way for me. I didn’t like Gavin and didn’t feel any real connection or attraction between Gavin and Angie. But once things got going in the story, the connection shined through and things got good.

While this is called a “stepbrother” romance, the reality is, they weren’t actually stepsiblings. Yes, their parents were dating, engaged even, but majority of the story took place prior to their parents getting married.

There were a couple things that made this book unique in the stepbrother romance world. One was the setting of the story, the characters being on a cruise, in each other’s company and hot having to sneak around under the noses of their parents. I actually enjoyed this. They were in a confined space, spending time together, getting to know each other and things developed from there. The second unique thing about this book is that while they didn’t tell everyone of their attraction immediately upon feeling it, they also didn’t really hide it. By that I mean, there’s something that happened on the cruise (more on that later) and both Gavin and Angie ended up telling their parents about it within days of that happening and both his dad and her mom were ok with them being together as a couple. That was refreshing. There wasn’t any anger or disgust by the parents.

As for the thing on the cruise…I won’t tell you exactly what it is but I will say that I totally called it. As soon as they were told there was something special planned, I died laughing with an “OMG” moment. I kept expecting either Gavin or Angie to put the pieces together but neither did. And their reactions when they FINALLY figured it out was priceless.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. I would definitely recommend this to people :)

[I.Heart.Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️ 3.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

♦️BOOK: Standalone. Full length.

♦️EDITING: some errors found

♦️POV: dual first person

♦️SETTING: a cruise ship

♦️HERO: Gavin Caldwell, 25--He's a rich, cocky, arrogant, manwhore, rough and crude. He's tall, broad, muscular, chiseled and tattooed with deep haze eyes, wild spiky black hair.

♦️HEROINE: Angie Wilson, 18--Pre med, preparing to go to college in the fall. Virgin. She's smart, shy, sarcastic with brown eyes, dark curly hair.

♦️PLOT: When Angie's boyfriend pushes to have sex, she does what any girl would do...she goes to a club looking for a one night stand to get rid of her pesky virginity. There she meets Gavin and they go to his place, fool around a bit, but Angie chickens out before doing the deed and leaves. Three weeks later, Angie gets introduced to her soon-to-be stepbrother, Gavin. When Gavin's father and Angie's mother decide not to go on a two week cruise, Angie and Gavin take their places. Though Angie can't stand Gavin and he only wants in her pants, they pretend to be the happy newly engaged couple. Things heat up between the two but Gavin fears Angie is a gold-digger trying to trap him. Meanwhile two hilarious elderly ladies give the pair some solid and helpful advice.

♦️HEAT LEVEL: hot, 3.5/5 - a few sexy scenes

♦️ENDING: HEA, Epilogue - 4 years later, NO Cliffhanger

♦️TAGS, WARNINGS & OTHER STUFF: virgin h, manwhore H, enemies to lovers, cheating, H celibate since meeting h, no OW mentioned, unprotected sex, pregnancy scare

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

With pressure to lose her v-card, Angie totally out of her comfort zone picks up Gavin at a club. She can't go through with it and the big jerk leaves her with a few choice words as she walks out the door.

Gavin can't stop thinking about Angie though and when he finds out she is his intended step sister to be, he decides to play on that. Unfortunately for Angie the cruise she is headed on with her boyfriend who never shows, ends up being with her future stepbrother and husband Gavin.

This was fun, Gavin and Angie pretend they are married and while she finds glimmers of liking him she hates him at the same time. Gavin cant get ahold of his feelings for Angie, she is confusing him and it terrifies him. Book had a few problems that made zero sense but overall fun.

[Deserie williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

May Contain spoilers!

3.5 stars! Fun, silly, cute, sexy , light read! love the banter between them. I was laughing throughout this. love Angie and Gavin. omg I love Joyce, that lady was hilarious! Angie's mom was awesome ! enjoyable read.Cute epilogue but of course I could use more:)

safety: h has a bf in beginning but he is a jerk( we never see him in book)she is a virgin.Of course H was a manwhore but it's not really brought up.No OW OM drama.

[Fanny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rebel es mi primera experiencia leyendo un libro de la autora , Kim Linwood y tiene como protagonistas a Gavin y Angie.
Empece esta historia bastante segura de lo que me encontraria, no solo por la sinopsis sino por una que otra reseña que habia leido.
Rebel fue una lectura rapida y simple, reconozco que tiene muchos errores pero si quieres una lectura sencilla y sin grandes dramas puede que disfrutes leyendola, de lo contrario no la recomiendo.

1.5 Estrellas!

[Karoline · Rating 1 out of 5]

Que libro tan decepcionante.
Uno de los NA más ridículamente llenos de drama innecesario que he leído este año. Realmente no lo recomiendo #NotEvenSorry

Reseña por venir... (algún día)

[NMmomof4 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Overall Opinion: This was a pretty easy and enjoyable step-sibling romance. After reading a few of this genre it seems as though I got recommendations galore for more of the same type story. I like variety in my romances, so even though there were plenty step-brother options I haven't read one in a while. It was pretty low in conflict making it a really easy read.

Storyline: This is Angie and Gavin's story. They meet at a bar where Angie's friend has talked her into finding a ONS to lose her virginity because "that is better than the awkwardness happening with her boyfriend" (don't know what the friend is thinking!). She gets as far as following Gavin home and getting naked with him, but then snaps out of it and decides that what she was doing is wrong and leaves him. They meet again 3 weeks later when she is meeting her mom's new fiancé who...you guessed it...is Gavin's dad. Gavin's dad surprises Angie's mom with cruise tickets, but she tells him that she gets severely seasick and can't go...so Angie gets the tickets out of the trash and takes their place. But Angie is surprised when instead of her boyfriend it is Gavin that shows up for the cruise to join her he beat up the boyfriend because he caught him cheating on her (as he had expected he was doing) . They bicker and fight, but decide that they must go along with things in order to stay on the cruise and they are really surprised to find out that Gavin's dad had arranged a marriage ceremony to take place but they end up getting married in their place . Things heat up after a while, and they realize that there is a connection that they cannot deny. After some insecurities coming forward and some mean words thrown around, they work things all out and find their HEA.

POV: This alternated between Angie and Gavin's POV.

Overall Pace of Story: Good. This was a quick, easy read with a little bit of instalove going on (even though he didn't really recognize it) for Gavin.

H rating: 3.5 stars. Gavin. He was a manwhore until he got sight of Angie, and then he couldn't look at anyone else. I appreciate the big gesture at the end thane does for her.

h rating: 3 stars. Angie. She was ok.

Sadness level: Low. No tissues necessary.

Heat level: Moderate. Some steamy times and a good bit of tension before they become physical.

Descriptive sex: Yes.

Sex scene with OW or OM: No

Cheating: No, other than the h being cheated on by her ex (but we don't experience it).

Possible Triggers: No

Closure: I reluctantly put HEA ending because I wanted more. It all was tied up in a pretty bow.

Worth the $?: Yes. It's on kindle unlimited which is a great option!

[Shay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love step-brother books... I dunno what it is... but they are one of my favorites... maybe the taboo of it all... but they tend to follow the same exact path just different names and that can be rough... but Rebel followed it's own path....

This book follows Angie and Gavin whose parents are engaged.... Angie and Gavin meet before finding out that they are about to become "family"... they have chemistry and that instant heat that draws them to each other but Angie who is a virgin and decides to lose her virginity during a one night stand.. which I think it CRAZY can not stand Gavin in their first meeting... although she is drawn to him she does not like him...

Angie is a pre-med student.. she's a smart girl and usually plays by the rules... pretty independent.. comfortable with who she is... stubborn and a lil naive..

Gavin is a womanizer.. he is used to screwing and leavin women... has a touch of arrogance and somewhat guarded... not the type to for fall for a woman and settle down... there is a nice guy in there and you kinda see it in their first encounter...

A twist in fate forces them to be around each other for an extended period of time and slowly grow on each other... and eventually land in bed together...



and the shower...



The library...



they are a HOT couple once... and can't get enough of each other... them together...



I have been in a bit of a book funk and needed a pick me up.. was this the best book I have ever read... NO.. but for a first book I loved it... I liked the supporting characters and the character development... I loved the connection between the main characters...

If you are looking for a light drama free sexy read Rebel is the book for you... there are something's I didn't like.. like the rushed ending... and the instant trust.. But I was able to look past the things I didn't like because I liked the book... it is well written and I look forward to more from this author....

[Alexandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh...

[Vani · Rating 2 out of 5]

No pude conectar ni con la historia, ni con los personajes ni con su relación. Me pareció todo muy forzado y ni hablar de lo muuuuy superficial que fue la relación D:
No pude ni terminarlo >.<

[Ester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmmm... sigo pensandolo!!

pero si, hay algo que me gusto:

"Recuerda: si no te hace sentir un hormigueo, entonces no sirve. Ahora ve a hablar con él. La vida es demasiado corta como para tener maridos inútiles.... Pero si folla bien, dale una oportunidad. El sexo de reconciliación vale unas cuantas lágrimas".

Ame a Joyce y sus consejos y sus 4 maridos jajajajaja XD

[Lady E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea......

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me gustó mucho este libro! Gavin es un bobo que me hizo reír con sus loqueras jaja!
Es ligero y agradable para leer! Recomendado♥♥

[Mariana Garcia · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's the typical alpha male and the nerd girl that hate each other but they can't keep their hands out from each others

[Chantal ❤️ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Self note: not my thing.

[Judy Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

CUTE, HILARIOUS AND SINFULLY SEXY !!!
Title: Rebel
Author: Kim Linwood
Designation: Full-Length Standalone Stepbrother Romance, NO Cliffhanger, HEA
Reading Platform: Kindle Unlimited
My Rating: Four Delightfully Sexy Stars****
Wow! Love it! Kim Linwood has delivered the goods yet again with another delightfully entertaining sexy romp. I've been a Kim Linwood fan for several years and this is one story I somehow missed. Rebel is not a new release but it is new to me but I still loved it. Linwood is an extraordinary writer and skilled wordsmith who possesses the uncanny ability to capture the attention of her readers in the first chapter, usually in the first few pages, and hold them prisoner until the very last line. Without a doubt, Linwood pens some of the most entertaining stepbrother/bad boy books on the market today. When this woman puts pen to paper, the result is nothing short of magical, regardless of the sub-genre. I never tire of her sassy sultry prose and easy-to-follow yet compelling style. And nobody writes romance and bad boys like Linwood! They can be anything from dark mafioso made men, captivating ex-military heroes, seductive biker hunks, dangerous dominant assassins, charming billionaires, possessive infuriating stepbrothers or a combination of any and all the aforementioned, but they all have one thing in common... they're handsome, panty-melting hot, sexy, irresistible, dirty-mouthed, and always the cat's meow. And the hero of this story is no exception. Gavin Caldwell has it all....money, looks, attitude and a mouth so dirty, it could charm the panties off your grandmother! lol... And recent high school graduate and nerdy, book-loving, soon-to-be pre-med student Angela Wilson is the perfect match for him. Unfortunately, there's just one little hiccup. They meet as strangers at a club before they know their parents are engaged and... wait for it... almost have a one night stand. Angela's determined to rid herself of a pesky little problem - her virginity - and Gavin is her solution. Fortunately, she chickens out but that doesn't stop Gavin from thinking about the only girl that got away. He couldn't believe she walked away from him. Heck, she didn't walk; she ran and he doesn't even know her name. Gavin doesn't do relationships and never double dips, so why can't he stop thinking about her. But never fear folks, he gets another chance when he's introduced to his new almost stepsister. No spoilers from me but I will say this... Handsome, hot stepbrother with an attitude-check! Beautiful, smart virginal stepsister(and I do mean that quite literally)-check! A cruise ship with a boatload of hilarious characters-check! A surprise secret wedding- Oh my! Drama, sexy banter, laugh-out-loud humor, and hijinks galore-double check! Sweet romance and steamy dreamy sex-You bet! That and a whole lot more! Let the cruise hijinks begin!

Did I like this book? No, I LOVED it! But if I loved it so much, then why only 4 stars? Because there were quite a few little boo-boos. The narrative was beautifully written in the first person with clearly defined his and her perspectives. The dialogue was smart, witty, well-executed and flowed effortlessly. But there were just too many little mistakes to ignore. Nothing that completely distracted me from the story but enough that I had to stop a few times and say, 'Wait...what... didn't I just read that in the paragraph above?" The errors did occasionally interrupt the flow of the story but they were all relatively minor and could easily be corrected with a little editing love. And none of them stopped me from snickering, snorting and chuckling throughout the entire story. I know this is technically classified by Amazon as a New Adult Stepbrother Romance but it precariously wobbles over the line into outright Romantic Comedy. Would I recommend it? You bet and I am but only for adult readers. It does contain some hilariously naughty one-liners, some downright steamy sex and Gavin's filthy mouth will curl your toes! Will I read this author again? You bet! Linwood did it to me again! In the back, she included the first few chapters of Bossy and I discovered it's another one of her books I somehow missed, so I'm off to Amazon to borrow Bossy using Kindle Unlimited. God, I love Kindle Unlimited and thank you, Kim Linwood, for keeping your books in the program. And finally, was I entertained? Abso-freakin-lutely! Fabulous entertainment and an awesome read! If you're looking for a hilariously sexy romp, then this book is for you!

[Emily Mimi · Rating 2 out of 5]

La historia no fue tan de romance como lo dice la portada. Hubo demasiado drama, muchas peleas y cinismo. Y el final fue un poco soso.

[M.M. Jaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Angie knows that working hard gets you places. She wouldn’t have a pre-med scholarship in her pocket otherwise. She’s been the perfect daughter to her single mom, apart from hooking with a bad boy who now wants to get down and dirty with her. But she has nothing to bring to the, well, bed, so one crazy night she takes her BFF’s advice and hooks up with a bad boy who puts her own to shame. Alcohol is never a good advisor, especially if it tells you you have to have sex with a stranger to get some experience before going all the way with your boyfriend. Snapping out of it the very last moment, Angie leaves hot boy hanging (well, quite the opposite gravity-wise) only to see him walking in her house days later. As her stepbrother-to-be.

Arrogant, impossibly obnoxious and flirty to boot, Gavin Caldwell is exactly what Angie hates. The kind of person who has everything served to him on a golden platter, never having to lift his finger for everything. Wanting nothing more than to put distance between them without offending her finally-happy mother, she claims a spot on a luxury cruise. What do you know! A day later, she finds herself married to Gavin…

What a fun ride! I seriously cannot believe this is Kim Linwood’s first novel. It’s well-written, fast-paced, professionally edited; it doesn’t falter one bit. Serving the currently hot stepbrother romance sub-genre perfectly, the author has come up with a story that follows a well-trodden path but offers enough twists and tons of fun moments to make this a truly fun read. It moves on so fast, I read it in (almost) one sitting, and at times I laughed out loud. Angie tries really hard to stand her ground, but Gavin is impossibly impossible and way too sexy for an eighteen-year-old to resist. Especially when a minister has officiated their wedding. I won’t give more details on that, but it was a nice gimmick to tie the couple in a knot (pun intended).

What I also enjoyed is the addition of Joyce as secondary character, the octogenarian woman who shared some seriously progressive wisdom with Angie during the cruise. That was a nice touch, one rarely sees in New Adult romances. Oh, and the steaminess will turn wherever you're reading this into a sauna.

Five stars to this debut novel by Kim Linwood because she truly knows its audience and caters to its needs in the most effective way.

[Lori Kays · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alright story, buuuuut

Can we talk about for a minute that the whole "3rd act break-up" and the mental gymnastics gold medal you need to have to see the H's PoV even slightly? Let's recap shall we! Boy meets girl, girl teases boy and leaves him with blue balls, boy who can get a million girls and is a billionaire is suddenly obsessed with getting into girls pants, girl plans cruise with boyfriend, boy beats up boyfriend and takes his place, girl refuses to sleep with boy, boy persists in showering innuendo on girl in literally every conversation, girl gets tipsy and decides to have sex FOR THE FIRST TIME with boy, boy with MUCH more experience forgets to wear a condom or ask about BC, girl being responsible remembers the next day and tries to have an adult conversation with boy about it, boy who has literally coerced, manipulated and cajoled girl into having sex with him LOSES HIS MIND and accuses girl, who has been over the top about not taking his money and is a pre-med student at Stanford of trying to trap him and opinions that the whole trip and her having sex with him is an elaborate set up to get his families money....right. and okay, I can maybe *maybe* see this as a quick, spur of the moment emotional response, however the fact that he presisted in believing this completely delusional scenario that has enough holes in it to sink 10 Titanic's for longer than an hour is ludicrous. You can not convince me that anyone who entertained that rational for even a day would ever be capable of logic afterwards.

[Loz · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars - and that's being generous.
There are so many things I disliked in this one. I'll begin with her 'almost' cheating, sure the boyfriend's a lying cheat also, but she didn't know that at the time. And there was no 'almost' about it. Naked and kissing another guy... yeah, that's cheating.
Next, and literally the most annoying fucking thing in this book, is Gavin's constant referral of her as 'Sis'. It happens over and over and over, and then he switches it up to 'babe', literally calling her that nearly 60 times! It was so fucking annoying!
He's immature, but like, a billionaire! She's immature but is smart pre-med! She's also a fucking virgin... of course. *insert eye roll*
I enjoyed the first in this series - Bossy. But this was horrible.
I did manage to finish it so an extra half star.

[Heather andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gavin is quite the charmer, "I could do you over the sink. They’re snuggled up in the living room. They’ll never know.” His breath is hot against my ear, and his bulge presses into the small of my back." He's a.boy that doesn't mind sharing, "going to join me on the bed? Plenty of room, though I do like to spread out. You might have to sleep on top of me. Or under." Gavin is most happy when he's teasing and touching his woman, "nope. For once we aren’t arguing, and I like you right here. Your sexy little body rubbing against me, your sexy round a** grinding against my ***k.” Even as he says it, I feel his bulge swelling under me. “The fact that I can look right down your shirt." I loved this book I loved Gavin.

[Brynn Paulin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gavin mouths two words to me, "Well played."

Yep, it's who I think it is. My step-albatross.

You can't accuse me of using you to get things, and then give me things to fix it.

Funny and emotional. This was a great read. Unlike many other stepbrother stories, it had a strong story with the sex being secondary (but really well done). The step element is skimmed over as kind of taboo, but it doesn't overshadow everything. I loved both of the primary characters, and the supporting characters were fun. I'll definitely read more from this author.