Debt

by Rachel Dunning

The Debt Collector

I pay my debts, and I expect others to.

I was raised in the slums of London, I knew nothing of privilege. My father was murdered when I was seventeen. Morty figured my father's passing meant I would automatically take on dad's debts. I refused.

And I paid for that refusal.

So did my sister.

So now I fight. All I know how to do is fight. The best cash is in the states, so that's where I am now. A big fish called Vito came along offering me a "favor" when I arrived.

Another debt.

I paid for that one too.

I knew Kyla Hensley would be trouble when I met her. But I wanted her. I could see through the falsehood of her wannabe-slutty clothes and her sexy legs. So I chased her.

Besides, trouble is my middle name.

Kyla Hensley

I was brought up in privilege, but I lacked everything else. My father is a business tycoon who buys and sells and doesn't care who gets rolled over in the process.

I never knew my mother, and all I have of her is a photo with a note scrawled on the back in French saying "I'm sorry." The only Female Figure I had growing up is my dad's wife who is a bleach blond with seven boob jobs. We never bonded.

I drink. I party. I meet guys.

But I wasn't always like that.

I've had a string of lovers in the last few years, the worst and most recent of which was Vince Somerset. My best friend Vera was dating a guy called Rory Cansoom who is the opposite of Vince in so many ways, and yet so the same.

She and I hit the road for the summer, getting away from the two college psychos and just trying to have some fun.

But there's a funny thing about trouble, the more you run from it, the more it finds you.

Which is when I met the Debt Collector.

It was only supposed to be sex. He made that clear. I made that clear.

That's all it was supposed to be.

I never expected to fall in love. I never expected to fall so deeply, madly, uncomfortably in love with a man who is wrong, so wrong for me.

And yet...so unbelievably right.

Standalone Novel.
No Cliffhanger.

ebook

Published March 30, 2016

About the author

They told me men can't write romance. So I wrote over 30 of them.

Reviews

[LunalandBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of Debt by Rachel Dunning in exchange for an honest review.
Rachel Dunning is absolutely fantastic! I adored Debt and the beautiful romance it centred around.

Kyla was such a tragic heroine but i love how she grew throughout this book and how amazing her journey was. And our Hero the Debt Collector himself was a bad boy with a heart of gold. I fell in love with him the second he entered the bar. He is magnetic and an Alpha to his core. The obstacles this couple overcome are astonishing and I was completely enthralled with their story from begging to end.

Rachel Dunning's Writing style is so easy to read that I found myself devouring this book and I had finished this wonderful story far to quickly.
Debt is now on my recommendation list, especially to those of you who love a good New Adult romance.

[Melissa Mendoza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Title:Debt
Author: Rachel Dunning
Series:
Publisher:
Release Date: March 30, 2016
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance
Page Count: 350
Heat Level: 5 flames out of 5
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Blurb:

The Debt Collector

I pay my debts, and I expect others to.

I was raised in the slums of London, I knew nothing of privilege. My father was murdered when I was seventeen. Morty figured my father's passing meant I would automatically take on dad's debts. I refused.

And I paid for that refusal.

So did my sister.

So now I fight. All I know how to do is fight. The best cash is in the states, so that's where I am now. A big fish called Vito came along offering me a "favor" when I arrived.

Another debt.

I paid for that one too.

I knew Kyla Hensley would be trouble when I met her. But I wanted her. I could see through the falsehood of her wannabe-slutty clothes and her sexy legs. So I chased her.

Besides, trouble is my middle name.

Kyla Hensley

I was brought up in privilege, but I lacked everything else. My father is a business tycoon who buys and sells and doesn't care who gets rolled over in the process.

I never knew my mother, and all I have of her is a photo with a note scrawled on the back in French saying "I'm sorry." The only Female Figure I had growing up is my dad's wife who is a bleach blond with seven boob jobs. We never bonded.

I drink. I party. I meet guys.

But I wasn't always like that.

I've had a string of lovers in the last few years, the worst and most recent of which was Vince Somerset. My best friend Vera was dating a guy called Rory Cansoom who is the opposite of Vince in so many ways, and yet so the same.

She and I hit the road for the summer, getting away from the two college psychos and just trying to have some fun.

But there's a funny thing about trouble, the more you run from it, the more it finds you.

Which is when I met the Debt Collector.

It was only supposed to be sex. He made that clear. I made that clear.

That's all it was supposed to be.

I never expected to fall in love. I never expected to fall so deeply, madly, uncomfortably in love with a man who is wrong, so wrong for me.

And yet...so unbelievably right

“I care for her. I do. I always have, and I always will. But she’s the easy out for her as well. She needs to realize this.”

5 sexy stars!!

I was sucked into this book from page one! Kyla was a great character and I loved how much she grew as I read. She had a tragic past and she was able to overcome the crap and move forward. The Debt Collector is sexy as sin and the ultimate Alpha male!! I mean how can you not love him, he just oozes out of the pages of your kindle!! This book is definitely worth the read!!!





ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review. Reviewed by Melissa from Alpha Book Club

[Book Nook Kitten · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing is terrible, an example of the poor grammar, "he awakened a craving inside me, a craving I haven't yet been able to word". Think the word the author was looking for was "name", or understand, or even "give voice to". Any of those are more grammatically correct than, "a craving she hasn't yet been able to word".

As well as wrong words and typos, letters missing from words making tenses incorrect, and missing words, the writing was also just basic and made the story and characters basic. Reading the character's thoughts wasn't pleasant, it was a juvenile, immature, rambling mess.

The heroine is really irritating, all that asking questions in her own head then answering her own questions, "sure, sure, sure, of course, of course," example, "Is the guy in the bar that's interested in me handsome? Sure", and "Am I looking for personality? Sure". Also, things like, "Sure, sure the sex was good" etc. Well, reading this was not good.

And I have to say I've never come across these next two problems in a book ever, but they really wasn't good. The first is the author repeats things she has the characters thinking by firstly writing them normally then writing them immediately after this in a broken string of weirdness that the author clearly thinks is representation to show the person's accent. Here's an example copied and pasted directly from the book -

“Well, Missy, why don’t me and you go on outside for a little talk in my car.” East Texas, I’ll guess. Me-un-yooo goan ahhside fuh-a-lil talk i’mah co-ahr? And
“Why I believe I wasn’t talkin to you, miss?” Wha-ah b’leeve I wan’n talkin-a yoo, miss.

It's awful, not just the pointless and time wasting repeating, but it's also awful because there is no inferring or 'hearing' a texan accent that the author is apparently trying to create with this gobbledegook rubbish she has written.

Then there's the weird tv script style of writing when the author highlights who is speaking or an actiin a character is going to make by actually writing it with a colon punctuation mark : after a person's name, action or time. Two examples copied and pasted from the book are below -

I try yank my arm away. Cowboy Man: “—and flaunt yer ----" Vera grabs her beer bottle then

Mid-sentence: “—some goddamn whor—”, and this is when sge hits him over the head with it.

Like I said, it's written how a TV script would write scenes to be acted out. I have never ever seen this in a professionally published book, as an avid reader of probably thousands of books I've read over the years.

That sentence also shows an example of missing words, should be "I try 'to' yank my arm away". This was a really badly and weirdly written book, unprofessional, immature, it was also boring and basic, lacking detail, repetitive and just not enjoyable. The author is not for me.

[Liz Ellyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I gotta say – I lOVE THIS COVER!! Why? Finally, the cover model actually represents how the character is depicted in the book … his build, his tattoos, his eyes (both color and attitude), and even his approximate weight.

Logan is the perfect underdog that makes a reader want great things to happen in his favor. He grew up in the worst of areas and works hard to help pay for his sister’s school. Despite his physically tough exterior, Logan actually is sensitive on the inside. Logan’s personality is what makes this book uniquely enjoyable and not just another run of the mill, grunge fighter romance.

Kyla is also fantastic. She’s a walking contradiction by dressing one way but behaving in an opposite manner. Unlike Logan, she may have come from money. But she also had a lot of messed of family drama. The best part of Kyla is her insightfulness

One of my favorite lines:

“You know you’re hot, you know you have it all. You probably f*** like something out of True Blood … But you’re lost. You hate it. You screw and you feel empty inside. The only pleasure you get is the one coming from your c*ck, and that’s short-lived. You’re looking for a longer org*sm, but that isn’t it. You’re sick of women, you’re sick of the sex, you need something deeper, more meaningful, but you’re sh*t-scared to commit to it for reasons I haven’t quite figured out yet.”

[Liz Ranne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book! It's Kyla & Logan's story. They grew up on opposite sides of the "track" & happen to meet. There's a mystery to be solved on her part & Logan is doing what he can to help his sister. She's a new to me author & I can't wait to read more from her. The spice was great & I'm so happy they got their HEA! Recommend this book & author.

[Donna Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!!

I loved this story. It started off a little slow - not much - but boy, if it did not get hot fast. The tension between Logan and Kyla was so strong at times that I would find myself so anxious to find out what happened. It is a solid 5*****.

[Les Chroniques Aléatoires · Rating 5 out of 5]

’ai lu ce livre par curiosité, avec un type se nommant « le collecteur de dettes » je m’attendais à pas mal de castagne, du sang, des doigts coupés, etc…. pour des retards de paiement.
Eh bien non. Le collecteur de dettes se nomme Logan et s’il a choisi ce nom pour les combats, c’est pour se rappeler sans cesse pourquoi il se bat et vers qui sa haine se tourne. Et ça lui réussit… un peu trop même.
Quand Vito lui ordonne de se coucher face à Kaiser, le combattant nazi, Logan se voit obligé d’accepter. Mais le combat tourne un peu trop à son avantage et Logan finit par gagner le combat. Et Vito le met sur sa liste noire. Finis pour lui les grands combats avec beaucoup d’argent à la clé, il va devoir faire des combats plus petits avec peu d’argent mais au moins, il aura de quoi vivre.

Mais pour autant ce livre n’est pas qu’une question de combat underground. Il y en a très peu en réalité. Ce livre est une romance entre deux êtres brisés qui se retrouvent étrangement attiré l’un par l’autre. Entre les deux, le coup de foudre est immédiat et ils refusent de se laisser du temps, dès que Logan ouvre les yeux et découvre Kyla à ses côtés, il sait qu’il ne la laissera jamais partir, même si c’est égoïste de sa part.

Je ne m’attendais pas à tomber sur une histoire d’amour centrée uniquement sur ça. Il y a bien d’autres petites choses à côté, comme les problèmes d’argent de Logan ou le besoin de Kyla de connaitre la vérité sur sa mère. Mais ce n’est que secondaire.
Leur histoire démarre très lentement, ils se rencontrent dans un bar, mais ne se parlent pas, il n’y a qu’un regard et les deux comprennent qu’ils sont foutus, mais ils combattent cette envie de se rouler un gros patin alors qu’ils n’ont pas échangé deux mots.
Logan s’en va, et pour Kyla les ennuis commencent. Le cowboy qui lui avait offert une bière et qui considérait donc qu’il allait pouvoir se la faire tranquillement dans un coin, n’a pas apprécié le petit jeu de séduction qu’elle venait de faire à cet inconnu (Logan quoi), s’ensuit une dispute entre le cowboy, Kyla et Vera. Mais cowboy est prêt à jouer du poing et de l’arme à feu, sauf qu’en grand et beau sauveur qu’il est, Logan apparaît et l’expédie illico presto à l’hôpital avant de s’enfuir à son tour.
Puis la vie reprend son court, même si Kyla ne pense qu’à lui, elle continue sa petite virée avec Vera. Et quelques chapitres après, ils se retrouvent enfin et là, c’est la grande passion explosive.

L’auteur s’est amusée à rajouter une petite particularité dans son roman. Comme Kyla vagabonde dans une bonne partie des États-Unis, elle s’est amusée à montrer les différents accents et heureusement qu’elle mettait la phrase d’origine, car honnêtement, j’ai pas toujours tout compris. L’auteur a un style fluide, ses chapitres sont courts mais incroyablement nombreux.

Le livre n’est pas très facile à lire (en anglais) pour les novices, mais avec un petit dictionnaire, la lecture devient plutôt rapide. Et pour autant, l’histoire est tellement prenante que le roman est agréable à lire.
L’auteur allie très bien la douceur de la passion amoureuse et la violence des combats.
Debt est une très belle romance qui aurait peut-être dû être mis en deux tomes plutôt qu’en un seul.

[Jennifer Hines · Rating 3 out of 5]

**2.5 Fiery Hearts!**

*I received an ARC of this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review*

Logan had a rough start in life. He lost his father, then his mother, and then made it so his little sister was taken in by their aunt, leaving him to survive alone. The one thing he knew was that he didn’t want to survive how his father had, he had to do it on his own…no debts. He was doing it too, but then in walks Kyla and he can’t get her out of his head. He’d change, he’d do anything for her, and he barely knew her.

Kyla may have come from money, but she didn’t come from love. She never saw hearts and rainbows when looking at men, she just saw what was different about them, but she never got much further than looking. She wanted more, but without knowing what exactly that more entailed she’d been on the fence about men in general, especially after a few bad decisions in the dating department.

Their relationship is instant, sweet, and passionate. They each know what they want even if they’re afraid to ask for it, but they’ll each get it nonetheless.

Now for the downside. The writing style seemed unorganized. There were times when it was formatted like a novel and other times it seemed more like a screenplay with colons dictating speech and parentheses showing thought, action, and/or pronunciation. It is written in alternating first person and every time it switched the chapter headings would restart at 1.

I don’t see this too often in first person, but it felt like someone was telling me a story versus being pulled in and part of the story. It goes back and forth between present and past, almost every time a new character is introduced it goes back to how they knew that person and what happened that made them the person they are today. It was as if I knew everything about every character and at the same time felt no depth to any of them. The continuous detailed back stories did not add to the the characters, if anything it hurt the storyline and detached the characters from me.

My Favorite Quote:

“The thing I know is this:

I love this man. I love him irrevocably. I love him more than I’ve ever loved anyone.

And I know I will lose him.

I know it. More intuition.

But I love his very soul.”

[Amber at WickedGoodReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Logan is known to most as the Debt Collector. He is a hard-core fighter - who makes money with his fists, all so his sister can live a better life than he has and can have an education. He grew up in the slums of London, with both of his parents killed before he turned 18 and his little sister being shipped off to a distant relative - he did the only thing he could to survive. Fight.
Kyla grew up in her own version of hell. What she wasnt lacking in money, she lacked in parental love and support. Her mother abandoned her as a baby, leaving nothing behind but one photograph with the words "im sorry" scribbled in French on the back. Her father raised her (if you can call it that), living in the same enormous house with his plastic wife and household staff. Kyla filled in the lack of parental love with a lot of shopping, partying and sex. During a break in college she and her crazy friend Vera go road tripping and wind up in a bar in Texas. This is where the story starts and she encounters Logan for the first time.
I was hooked on this book from the first few pages! Sometimes with a book it takes a few chapters to really get going and decide whether or not you are going to like the story and the characters. I had none of those feelings with Debt. Straight out of the gate, it was non-stop... I couldn't put it down. I was reading at work, my daughter's dance class, while the kids were in the tub.. you name it. It was great! The main characters Kyla and Logan were very well developed and had a depth to them that you certainly dont get in every book that you read. The story line was really complex and it flowed along at a nice pace. The editing was great, I didnt notice any errors - even for an ARC. I really have nothing but praise for Debt. It was an amazing read and I think anyone who likes sports stories, especially MMA or fighting books in particular, will LOVE it!
I give Debt by Rachel Dunning 5***** WickedGoodstars and will definitely be recommending it to my fellow readers!

[Anniek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Logan grew up in a rough neighborhood where violence and drugs were very common. When his father dies the people he owed money to come to collect. Logan refuses to pay for the mess his father left behind. He and his sister suffer for that decision big time, learning early on that all debts must be paid off.

All Logan lives for now is paying his sister's college fees. He wants to give her the best possible education so she can have a good job and therefore a good life. To get the money he needs he does what he knows best, he fights. He is very good at what he does, but his refusal to make a deal with the mafia results in getting little fights only. When he goes knockout during a fight with a long time rival Kyla is the one who makes sure he gets to a hospital and she stays with him.

Kyla had a life without worries about money. This doesn't mean she had it easy though. Her mother walked out on her and her father. Her father is too busy with his work and his trophy wife to really pay attention to Kayla. Her first boyfriend betrayed her and ever since Kayla has kept men out of her heart. She goes out with her best friend Vera and does what she wants with men. Ever since she has laid her eyes on Logan she can't get him out of her mind though. She is scared to death that he will hurt her or break her heart, but she can't ignore her feelings for him.

Debt touched my heart straight away. Logan is a real Alpha man, but he is also the kindest and most caring man Kayla has ever met. I don't think that there is a single woman out here who wouldn't fall in love with Logan instantly. He is gorgeous and when he finally opens his heart he gives everything. I loved Rachel Dunning's characters, they are perfect the way they are. She's made them come to life very well and I believed every single word she wrote. I couldn't read this story fast enough, because it made me so curious to find out more.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Panty Scorching- 4
Storyline-3
Angst- 2
Tissues-0
Value-3
Overall Rating- 3
Received an ARC for review

This story has so much potential but I just couldn’t get into it.

There are a lot of things that were great about it. I mean it is about a bad boy cage fighter by the name of Logan. He goes into the cage for a fight and he sees Kyla, a girl he had helped in a bar, and he thought she was attractive.
It was just too crazy how they are in a bar in Texas and lock eyes and then the next thing you know they are in Nashville and he is looking for her in bars before his big fight, and all she can think about is him. She happens to go to this fight, and helps him to the hospital when he gets hurt…because he sees her in the audience and loses concentration during the fight.

The other thing that really bugged me about this story was the language. No, not bad language, but how the author “translates” how the character would sound like. There is a Texan, so it is written out how you would read it, and then the author writes it the way it would sound. This happens often throughout the story, and it was just a little irritating.

The sexy side of the story was good and the friendship between Kyla and her good friend Vera is great, but I just didn’t get into the story much, because of all the little pet peeves throughout the story.

I wouldn’t write this story off, there is a lot going on in it. It just didn’t do anything for me.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally published at Love Literature Art and Reason Book Review Blog

Debt was a stand alone new adult novel involving a college girl and an underground fighter, which may sound familiar, but it was definitely unique. It was full of romance, and while it was steamy, it wasn’t just a short novel filled with various scenes. I felt like the story did a full arc and explored the characters pretty well.

The book explored both Kyla and Logan’s past and actually contained some closure with their childhood issues, which was definitely awesome. While Logan and Kyla had a very instant connection, their relationship didn’t feel rushed or anything. I’m so used to New Adult books being so rushed and fast and hot, so I was definitely impressed with how well the author did with creating multifaceted characters with backgrounds and issues, while also delivering great romance in the process.

I definitely enjoyed Debt and I will read more from the author in the future. It would be nice if the book became part of a series and explored some of the secondary characters like Tyler and Vera, but I’m glad that I got to see a little bit of Kyla’s friends and even Logan’s acquaintances.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Logan has lost it all his father, mother and now his sister he is left to go it alone. He finally is getting his life in order when Kyla comes into his life. She takes over his mind there isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her.

Kyla doesn’t have much luck with men which started back with the man in her family. She isn’t sure just what she is looking for but there must be something more that what she has found.
These two come together in a powerful sweet, caring relationship that throws them for a loop. I thought this was a good plot but the writing style is all over the place. I never was sure what I was supposed to feel. I didn’t care for the way the author went from today to the past with each new character that came along. I did not feel it gave to the story line but took away from it. At times I was confused with the authors writing style.

Others have loved this story but for me the author just didn’t pull me in but lost me. I do hope you will give this book a try since so many others love it I must have missed something along the way.
Book Obsessed Chicks Review

[Ellen Christian]

I really enjoyed Debt by Rachel Dunning. It’s a fun read with very likable characters. While there are definitely some very steamy parts to the story, there is also an actual plot that kept me flipping from page to page. If you’re looking for a story where the guy is both alpha and moral, you’ll love Debt!

[Lissette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review coming soon.

[Sarah Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome

What an absolute awesome read. Loved Kayla and Logan. The story line was great and all the characters had spunk.