I'm stuck as the Best Man in my best friend's wedding and I'd do anything to get out of it. I know the Maid of Honor is going to be a some cheap skank and I'll be trapped with her all weekend.
F**k, I guess it doesn't matter. It's not like I need to settle down with anyone any time soon. What's more important than my freedom?
Except when I see her, all I can think of is my hard c**k and how I can make it go away. She's got a smart-mouth and is such a man-hater.
I don't need her. What the f**k is happening?
I can't get her body out of my mind, and her spunky temper isn't enough to scare me off.
Susie
I don't need a man in my life. Especially not the stuffy entitled prick I'm bound to meet at this in-your-face, extravagant wedding.
I meet him, and my determination flies out the window - along with my sense of shame. What am I doing, teasing him like that? I've never been easy, but all of a sudden I'm acting like the cheapest date in town.
He thinks he can just show up at my place and I'll fall into his arms. Well, I've got a surprise for him too.
He tries to convince me that he's worth my effort, my sacrifice.
I don't want to believe him. If only I could stop myself.
Emma Fawkes has been reading romance novels since she first got her hands on a tattered copy of Gone with the Wind at the age of twelve. After recently quitting her job as a nurse to raise her children, she decided to try her hand at writing her own romantic thrillers. Her first novel, Unbroken, was published in July of 2015.
Are these women adults? Who has cancer when they are younger and don't keep up with their own medical history? And who is love with someone and won't tell them that they had said cancer? Hey lady this is serious stuff might want to share with your future life partner.. just a thought! And said friend has to convince her to tell him. Wow.. what a way to start a marriage!!! And these peoples are not the main characters.
The blurb makes the guy sound like an alpha male; but he isn't. He all dorkie and afraid to talk to her. And Susie is just mean. Who calls their friend "ninny". She all snarky with her but claims she became a nurse because she knows she will have to take care of her in the future. And when her fiancée tells her to go shopping she all no I don't want to spend your money; but she buys Jimmy Choo's shoes when in the beginning of the book she has a hard time walking in heels because she doesn't care about those things and doesn't wear them. I am so bewildered.
I'm not sure if I will read the next one in the series... but the epilogue does make me curious.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Kindly provided with an ARC by the author in exchange for an honest review.....
5 Wedding Bells and "I do" Stars !!!
This is Bryce & Susie's story, located at the wedding of Cam & Milly (from Unbroken). This story is filled with lots of great humor, wonderful wit and insightful dialogue. Written in the first person will duel POV. I adore a book where I can get into the hero's head and the heroine !!. Bryce, Bryce, Bryce.......three words HOT ALPHA Male !!!. Susie.......three words......Sassy, Witty, Protective !!!!. I LOVED these two characters coming together. I found the story line steadily paced and it was great having flashes of Susie and Milly from their childhood.....hilarious !!!
A HUGE bonus for me was that this book did not end on a cliffhanger....praise be !!! and to appease my inner Disney Princess it had a wonderful HEA with a epilogue several months on. I found this a really enjoyable read and would defiantly recommend this book and book 1 to any reader who enjoys a good, realistic story line with humor and LOTS of steamy romance !!!!
Bryce and Susie are the best man and maid-of-honor at their best friends' wedding. There is an attraction but much miscommunication. I loved these two characters. They were well defined and remained true to themselves. They did what I expected them to do. I laughed as some of the things they did and I cared for them. I enjoyed the two points of view. I wish it were a little more even between the two of them. It was more Susie's story. I wanted them to fall in love and get a HEA.
The secondary storyline of Milly and Cam, the bride and groom, was interesting also. I liked that their story was told through Bryce and Susie's eyes. I also liked how the four of them created a family who had each other's backs. Milly's mother and Cam's father were pieces of work. They deserved each other.
While the story was predictable, the author made me care about Susie and Bryce. I liked their strength, alone and together. I also liked they knew each other well enough to call them on garbage.
This is a quick, easy read. I look forward to more from Ms. Fawkes.
maid of honor and the best man, what a combination. both expecting the worst but they couldn't have been further from the truth. Bryce is convinced Susie is bad news and first wants to avoid her at all costs but his mind has other ideas and he ends up calling cam and milly in the middle of the night, trying to track down Susie. it's the start of a whirlwind romance with susie almost literally being swept of her feet by Bryce's tenacity to show her he's worth her time. i like the story and the characters. i have read Unbroken (cam and milly's story) too and the reason i'm not giving this the five stars it could get is that compared to Unbroken, Milly in this book comes across as a really whiny, insecure child; in Unbroken, she had a back bone and stood up for herself and for cam. I miss that person in this story.
was gifted a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Good premise for a story but it just felt like i was reading something from a completely different author! I'd read Unbroken directly before which I loved, but everything felt different about Hellbent, the writing style, the characters, so I just couldn't get into it.
***A gifted copy was provided by the Author for my honest review***
This is book 2- book one is Unbroken –but is really more of a standalone. You will see some quite a bit of Cam & Milly from book 1. This book is all about Suzie & Bryce and their love story. Suzie is a nurse and is best friends with her friend Milly. She is quite protective of her best friend. She has a fiery attitude, red hair and her attitude hides her vulnerable side. She has a rough childhood and her prickly side hid her vulnerability. Milly is her best friend and due to some health issues Milly had is what drew her into the health field which is why she is a nurse today. When she found out her best friend is getting married, and she was asked to be the maid of honor, she was delighted. She then was asked to stand by the best man who is Cam’s friend from the war. Suzie was at first not happy about it but when she saw how hunky he was, with tats, she was all for it. Bryce is coming back from the war on desk duty after be hurt in the war and he is his friend’s best man. He takes one look at the redhead and he sees the freckles and he wants to do dirty dirty things to her. There are things going on between them all the while they are trying to navigate thru their friends’ wedding and the things going on in their lives. Bryce and Suzie do not know what is going on between them and they fight it but the twists and turns is what make the spice between them hotter and flare even brighter. On a separate note, Milly is having some health issues which could put her life in danger-when that happens , Suzie who is so used to taking care of others, is not able to care for her, so Bryce comes in and takes over and cares for her. The intertwining stories is great and the twists and turns of the stories is fantastic. I highly recommend this story and of both books. Bryce is a awesome alpha male who is a bit broken and hard , and Suzie is someone who needs something/someone to fix –these two are perfect for each other. Their backgrounds are perfect for each other. I hope we get a book 3 from the author because there is just a need for another story. The chemistry between the MC, and even the SC is just so good so you will love this story.
My rating: 4.5 stars *****
Merged review:
***A gifted copy was provided by the Author for my honest review*** This is book 2- book one is Unbroken –but is really more of a standalone. You will see some quite a bit of Cam & Milly from book 1. This book is all about Suzie & Bryce and their love story. Suzie is a nurse and is best friends with her friend Milly. She is quite protective of her best friend. She has a fiery attitude, red hair and her attitude hides her vulnerable side. She has a rough childhood and her prickly side hid her vulnerability. Milly is her best friend and due to some health issues Milly had is what drew her into the health field which is why she is a nurse today. When she found out her best friend is getting married, and she was asked to be the maid of honor, she was delighted. She then was asked to stand by the best man who is Cam’s friend from the war. Suzie was at first not happy about it but when she saw how hunky he was, with tats, she was all for it. Bryce is coming back from the war on desk duty after be hurt in the war and he is his friend’s best man. He takes one look at the redhead and he sees the freckles and he wants to do dirty dirty things to her. There are things going on between them all the while they are trying to navigate thru their friends’ wedding and the things going on in their lives. Bryce and Suzie do not know what is going on between them and they fight it but the twists and turns is what make the spice between them hotter and flare even brighter. On a separate note, Milly is having some health issues which could put her life in danger-when that happens , Suzie who is so used to taking care of others, is not able to care for her, so Bryce comes in and takes over and cares for her. The intertwining stories is great and the twists and turns of the stories is fantastic. I highly recommend this story and of both books. Bryce is a awesome alpha male who is a bit broken and hard , and Suzie is someone who needs something/someone to fix –these two are perfect for each other. Their backgrounds are perfect for each other. I hope we get a book 3 from the author because there is just a need for another story. The chemistry between the MC, and even the SC is just so good so you will love this story.
I remember the book that started the story of Milly and Cameron and I have to say that this book is just as amazing as the book Unbroken. In Unbroken you got a small glimpse of Susie and Bryce. I truly love Emma Fawkes writing. You can not help but fall in love with the characters in her book. Though I have to say I truly hate Milly’s mother and Cameron’s father, both in the book Unbroken and this book.
I love the small glimpse you got into Milly and Susie’s 1st meet as children. They had been friends for a long time and now they were preparing for Milly’s wedding. Susie was afraid that Cameron’s best man would be ugly and of course Bryce was worried that Milly’s maid of honor would be an ugly duckling.
I loved the 1st meet between Bryce and Susie. There was chemistry right off the bat. Here Bryce was looking at this breathe taking sassy woman and Susie was looking at this handsome Alpha man. Yes I used the word Alpha. As you read the story of Bryce and Susie you will see why I call him an Alpha male. Gees he was so freaking sexy.
I loved how obsessed and determined Bryce was when it cam to Susie. After meeting her for the first time he knew he could not wait till the wedding to see her again. The determination that he showed was what ever girl would dream of on the lengths that a guy would go thru to see them again.
You could not help but fall in love with Susie. She loved her best friends Milly and would go thru great lengths to protect her and take care of her. Problem is who will take care of Susie? Susie had a smart mouth and you truly did not know what she was going to say from one moment to the next. Which is funny since this would catch Bryce off guard. I found Susie was kind of broken due to her past. She has trust issues and her heart needs repair.
As I said before Bryce is an Alpha male and he does not ask but more tells you what to do. Loved his loyalty to his friend Cameron and his protection he felt to Susie. Love the compassion he felt to Milly and also loved his take charge attitude. Loved how he was not afraid to say what he thought and would put his heart on the line.
To me this book is a standalone. But trust me when I say that you should read book Unbroken sometime. Both books will not disappoint.
Unbroken was the first book in the series and it introduced the reader to Cam & Milly. Milly is now getting married and this book focuses on her best friend Suzie and her romance with the best man, Bryce. You don't have to read the first book - it is a standalone story. They have an intense romance with a lot of sexual chemistry. It moves very fast. Chapters feature the story from both their points of view which I enjoy.
Suzie had a tough childhood and it has made her feel like she won't find a love of her own. She and Milly have been friends since childhood and she is very protective of her. In fact, that illness is what motivated Suzie to become a nurse so she could help others. She is not looking forward to dressing up and planning the wedding with Milly.
Both Suzie and Bryce have really bad expectations about each other. He expects her to either be really ugly with a great personality or someone who will hit on him constantly. She expects him to be unattractive and hopes to avoid him as much as possible. They are both surprised when they meet. Bryce is so interested that he calls Cam for her contact info. It is a pretty funny conversation. They don't start off on the right foot but Bryce is not giving up. He is still feeling the pain of not being able to be in active duty due to an injury. His pursuit of Suzie is a mission he is determined to win. Suzie is not sure why she is pushing him away but at the same time feels an attraction she has never felt before.
I was surprised by how harsh Milly and Cam were portrayed in this book. They came across as very selfish and childish and way too dependent on their parents. It is not the feeling I got from the first book at all. If you just read this one, you might wonder why they are such good friends with them in the first place.
♦️BOOK: #2 - Can be read as a standalone but includes quite a bit of Cam & Milly from book #1 and continues their story as well. Kindle loc: 2480
♦️WRITING: good - humorous at times
♦️EDITING: good
♦️POV: dual alternating first person
♦️HERO: Bryce Stewart, 30--Marine, on desk duty after loosing his big toe to an IED. Green eyes, darkly tanned skin, covered in tattoos and scars.
♦️HEROINE: Suzanna "Susie" Leigh Thompson, 22--Nurse. Red hair and freckles, huge brown eyes. Sassy, in-your-face attitude, former tomboy, very protective of her best friend Milly.
♦️REVIEW: After reading book 1, UNBROKEN about Cam & Milly, it was really great that they featured heavily in this book, and we get a continuation of their story while meeting each of their best friends. Bryce is Cam's best man and Susie is Milly's maid of honor. The two begin seeing each other but Milly's health and future could be in jeopardy. Susie is used to taking care of others but Bryce swoops in and takes care of her. They make a great couple!
The flashback to when Susie met Milly as kids was really hilarious. "That was the day that Suzanna Leigh Thompson hobbled home in pink and white striped socks, stained with widening spots of crimson blood, hoping desperately that any swash-bucklers were busy elsewhere and would not observe her humiliation."
♦️STEAM LEVEL: mild, 2/5 - a couple quick sex scenes
♦️ENDING: HEA, Epilogue - several months later, No cliffhanger
♦️FUNNY QUOTE: "She, on the other hand, calls me a name and glares at me. This is the woman I love."
* ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review *
I received this book as an ARC for an honest review.
In this book we meet Bryce and Susie. Bryce and Susie are Best Man and Maid of Honor at their friends wedding and have never met before so when their friends talk about them they are both sure they have just been given the person no one else wants to be with at the wedding due to looks or possibly personality. Susie has always looked after her self and over the years that has included her best friend Milly. Both Susie and Milly are nurses but for different reasons. When Milly was younger she was diagnosed with cancer Susie also lost her mother to cancer and so for her she wants to make the world better in this little way by helping cancer patients. Susie doesn't know what to make of Bryce, but she does know she is attracted to him if only she could keep all the dumb stuff from coming out of her mouth.
Bryce doesn't know what to do with Susie at first but he knows that he feels something amazing for this woman. Once Bryce has made up his mind there is no stopping him from getting exactly what he wants and what he wants is Susie. Bryce wants all of Susie though and is not sure at times how to break through her tough outer shell to get to that soft middle that he knows is there. Bryce knows that his time in the corp. taught him to never give up though and this is one thing he will fight to the death for.
This book is good the only dilemma I have with it is how fast everything goes. It seems like they meet, they are in love and then they are together so quickly. I would recommend it just expect everything to happen in supper speed.
Hell Bent: Book2 By Emma Fawkes ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I was gifted this ARC to read and give a honest review
This is the second book in this series but it's the first for me so it is a stand alone and as I had no problem understanding the who the characters were. Ms. Fawkes is a great storyteller. Her characters are fascinating, funny, real and charming. The flow is fast pace but is well written and interesting.
This is Bryce and Susie story. Bryce is the Best and Susie is Maid of Honor at their friends wedding. never met before, Each feels that their friends are saying good thing about the other so that they will be ok with each standing up with each other. Susie has always taken care of her mom and when she met Milly she included her as she was her best friend. Susie and Milly both became nurses. Susie decide to become one because Milly was diagnosed with cancer when she was young. While at college Susie lost her mother to cancer and so for her she wants to take care the world by nursing patients with cancer. Susie can't beleive she is attracted to Bryce after just meeting him. but as she has run away mouth with him she is surprise that he called her in the middle of the night.
Bryce is surprise with himself he is instantly attracted to Susie so he makes up his mind to go and see her. He calls Cam and get her address. Bryce falls in love with Susie but have a hard time breaking down the wall around her heart. But being Bryce in the corp taught him never give up and this is one thing he is willing to fight for Susie's Love.
This a great heartwarming story and I can't wait until the next book in the series!!
This is book 2 in the series. Book 1 Unbroken, which is Milly and Cameron's story is included in this download of Bell Bent. There are a few flaws between book 1 and book 2, but nothing to stop you from reading 2 great stories. All of the characters are well developed and you could connect to them. I read book 1 awhile ago as an arc and loved it, so I bought book 2. I can't wait to read more from this author. Overview. (May have spoilers) Milky and Cameron are getting married. They both pick their best friends (Susie and Bryce). Both are expecting the other to be dogs and get stuck together for the 3-4 events that are planned. But when they meet at the Engagement party, they are both shocked at the chemistry they have. A week after the party, Bryce can't take it anymore and calls Cam wanting Susie's number and address. When he shows up unexpected at her door, she is in complete shock, but what she tells him has him leaving her house 5 minutes later. But Bryce refuses to back down and starts showing up. He connects to Susie's soul and helps her release her stress help her find herself again. Bryce keeps amazing Susie. After the Wedding of their friends, they decided to move in together. But Bryce goes above and beyond and Susie becomes so shocked that she faints. More surprises happen when she finds out she is pregnant. Now they have to tell their friends when they get back from the honeymoon.
Let me start out by saying that I really liked the first book in this series, Unbroken. So much so, that I immediately downloaded the second, Hell Bent. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement. Let me break it down.
Disconnected: The character personalities changed from the first to the second book. In Unbroken, Milly was this fierce woman who didn't take shit from her mother; however, in Hell Bent, she cowered to her mom and seemed like a whiny child.
Second, if you read the first book, you already knew that Milly was pregnant, yet this book spent a great deal of time focusing on her infertility.
I'm also confused about why everyone jumped to conclusions about Milly's illness based on something Susie interpreted Milly's mother meant.
Unrealistic: Susie was supposedly this strong, independent and untrusting woman, yet she immediately threw herself at Bryce and broke down about her past.
Also, Bryce didn't indicate that he had problems with his mom, yet she wasn't invited to the wedding (but he hunted down her dad).
The entire relationship/storyline was rushed. They meet, connect, fall in love, buy a house, get engaged, get married, have a baby. This normally is the target of an HEA but it was far too rushed here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
WoW this is a really really good book. I am not really much on the stepbrother books but this is one That is REALLY GOOD!!! Mainly because the stepbrother part is not the main focus of the book LOL
Cam and Milly are getting married and their best man and maid of honor have yet to meet each other. Milly and Suzie became fast friends in the 6th grade and carried on thru Milly's cancer scare and now they are both nurses.
Cam and Bryce served together over seas and now Bryce is state side due to injures that keep him from active duty. When he learns he has to escort the maid of honor he assumes she is either old or a dog and nick names her "cream puff". Little does he know they will end up with a great deal in common the least is chemistry.
This is one very good read! Once I picked it up I could not put it down. I originally received this book as an ARC for an honest review and then I purchased the book to have in my book collection. 6 star read!
I liked this book, but there were some things that drove me insane. This book had some recurring characters from Unbroken, and that is where it got messed up. The characters from the first book might as well have not been the same. Cam comes off as more self assured than he did in the previous book, and that is not really a bad thing... just that he seems more like he is okay with his past as his father's heir than he used to be. Next, Milly isn't the same self assured, strong woman in this book as in the last. She comes off as clingy, whiny, and her mother's puppet. In the last book, she basically tells her mother to go to hell. In this one, it is all, "my mother said..." all the time.
That being said, the relationship between Bryce and Susie moves really quickly and sometimes things are a bit confusing. However, I really did like the book and if you can get past those things that I mentioned, you will too.
I loved this story. Suzie has become one of my favorite characters. Cream puff is a very accurate nickname. She really is hard on the outside and soft on the inside. She is also a devoted and loyal friend. This is the perfect companion book to Unbroken. I always enjoy reading about characters from a different story line intertwine with the current story I am reading.
Hell bent is a love story, but it is also a story of true friendship. Everyone should have a friendship like Suzie and Milly.
**I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review** I dived into this book with much anticipation, as I really really enjoyed Cam & Milly's story. There was the same steam and humour between Bryce & Susie and the whole story was enjoyable. But ... it was all a bit neat and tidy. Every plot line was completed and every character and sub plot was explained. Too much of the book was used up tying up loose ends. Some of which was unnecessary, in my opinion. (Susie's father for instance) All in all, another good book from the lovely Ms Fawkes and looking forward to the next one
Susie has spent her life looking out for herself. When she meets Bryce can she learn to let go and love? Bryce sees a women who he wants and he does everything to make her life better. I loved this book because it was a fairytale of romance. The romance did move fast but they were so romantic together it did not deter the story. Meet two people who come to terms with their past and move on to their future.
The characters were strong and the romance was fierce. Even the secondary characters added so much to the story.
I received a gift copy in exchange for an honest review.
Good, actually great start, to the book and then to me it started going down hill. Here's my issues - I thought it was Susie's story not Milly again and all her issues? Everything still was revolving around Milly. I wanted to know more about the main characters in this book not continuing into the story of the previous. Another issue? I hated Susie. I felt like in Unbroken she was nicer and such but then in her book she turned to a bitch. Still a good novel, great ending to all involved just didn't like the direction it took.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I love Susie and Bryce together. Their initial interactions are really funny and made me laugh but they are so sweet as they begin to fall in love. Bryce is so tender and protective and Susie opens up and allows herself to find happiness. The sex scenes are full of emotion and you get the feeling they aren't just madly f***ing but instead are making love. This is a really good follow-up to Unbroken.
Susie and Bryce meet when they are attendants at a wedding. Their relationship moves pretty fast but that didn't really bother me. Even though I don't expect, or necessarily want, a romance to be totally realistic there were a few aspects of this story that were a bit over the top. Nonetheless I still enjoyed this story quite a bit.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I liked it although it did seem a little rushed, just a tiny bit, it was good it really was! I like that it started with Bryce and Susie thinking that they were going to stand in the wedding with "ugly" people but........ Anyway I do not like to give spoilers so all I can tell you is my opinion of this book. I like it from start to finish and because I enjoy HEA's this one had an awesome one.
This is Bryce and Susie story nope its really not it's a hint of them and then Milly and her health issues. Health issues that no one knows. I'm not saying that this was a bad read but it was just blah. I wanted to know more of Bryce and Susie not Susie need to coddle Milly just to much whiney or bitchiness in scenes, at least I felt that way. The best thing about this book was the ending it gave a feeling of completeness.
This next part in the story was awesome. First I wasn't expecting any more so this was an added bonus. Bryce and Suzie are the greatest people you could ever have looking at out for you and I would like a pair for myself. Here you found the true meaning of friendship and how it's supposed to be. I loved every moment of this book and was sad to see it end. I would love to see a follow up with this group of friends
Hell Bent (A military Romance) by Emma Fawkes Susie and Milly have been friend since they were kids. Milly is getting married to Cam and Susie is her bride maid. Cam best man is Bryce. Susie is a nurse, she feels like she has to take care of Milly. She has been taking care of people her whole life until she meats the best man,Bryce who wants to take care of her. It is a beautiful love story, and I truly enjoyed the story. I was given this book to review for my honest opinion.