"Insanely hot, ridiculously taboo, and totally addicting." - Love Books Daily
She’s out of my league. She should be out of my reach. But she isn’t. Too young, too innocent, too wrapped up in the nasty world I reside in. I want to touch her, taste her, make her mine. Leave marks on her perfect skin. But she’s his little sister.
3.5 stars. I liked the story, but there were a few problems with it that made me knock off a bit in rating.
Gray is 18 and has led a pretty sheltered and privileged life, thanks to her criminal brother. Valentine is 38 works for the brother as a sort of right hand man, but his most important job is protecting Gray. When Gray is caught up in a shoot out at her brother's garage, V takes off with her to keep her safe. They have each had feelings for the other for a while, so of course things heat up pretty quickly. At first, V tries to do the noble thing and remind himself she's too innocent and too young for the likes of him, but it doesn't take long for her to break through his resistance.
This is where some of the problems come in. The inner thoughts of the H and h are repetitive and overly done. Over and over again we get to read the same things in slightly different wording. It gets old.
Another problem is that we learn very little about Gray. We get a couple of key details and that she was raised by her brother, but that's it. There is almost no history to her character. By the end of the book, the reader can describe her body in great detail thanks to V's repetitive thoughts, but really can't say much else about who she is except young and innocent.
And lastly, the time period between the last chapter and the epilogue seems unbelievable. I don't want to give any spoilers, so I'll just say that it doesn't make sense given some of the information we learn about Valentine earlier in the book. It felt like a convenience for the author, a way to neatly wrap up the end so that certain things could happen for the h without putting much thought into it.
Overall, this was not a bad read. I wanted a little more from it, but it was quick and worth the time.
Blurb: She’s out of my league. She should be out of my reach. But she isn’t. Too young, too innocent, too wrapped up in the nasty world I reside in. I want to touch her, taste her, make her mine. Leave marks on her perfect skin. But she’s his little sister.
This just wasn’t it for me… and I disliked it so much. The writing sucked for me, the characters were so flat and underdeveloped. I hoped it would get better but it didn’t the story had the potential to be so much more than the boring mess it was… too bad it wasn’t.
V has always been fond Gray. He's been her protector for years and has watched her grow from an adorable girl to a beautiful young woman. He notices his feelings for her changing, but he can't act on them. She's too young and innocent, plus she's his friend/boss's little sister. As much as it pains him, he wants her to go off to college and get as far away from the dark underworld he and her brother reside in.
Gray has had a crush on V for a year or two. To her, he's her guardian angel. He protects her even when she doesn't know she needs it. She's wants to tell him how she feels, but she's scared he doesn't see her as a woman. Plus, she knows nothing about dating and men.
Someone has put a target on Gray's back in order to get to her brother. V vows he will die before he lets anyone to hurt his Little One. Being on the run and dodging danger, forces the two to confront their feelings for each other. V is hesitant though, he can't afford to get distracted. He doesn't want to risk Gray, also, her brother wouldn't approve.
The book immediately begins with V and Grey on the run. They've just escaped a shootout and saw someone murdered. I love how the story begins with action and flows throughout. Their relationship is taboo and V is a hard man with a dark past, but when he's with Gray *swoon*. He turns into a totally romantic, a gentleman. It's a side he reserves her only and it's beautiful to see. This may be a turn off to some readers, so I feel I should mention that Gray is at least eighteen and V is 38. He didn't notice her until she was eighteen, so there was nothing perverted happening.
This is my first time reading the author and this maybe her first book. If so, this was a great debut, and I look forward to more of her work.
This is an older man/younger woman romance. Valentine or "V" as he is known to the men he works with, has always watched over Gray, he has ever since he started working for her older brother, Danny. Gray has had feelings for V for quite some time, she just doesn't think he could ever feel the same way about her. Little does she know V has been fighting his feelings for Gray ever since she became a very grown up beautiful woman. He refers to her as "Little One" and thinks she is way too good for him. But what happens when he is forced to hide her away from her brother's enemies and they only have each other? Will V continue to fight his feelings for Gray or can Gray convince him he is the best man for her? Grab this wonderfully written, beautiful story today to find out. Excellent read and I highly recommend it!!!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I didn’t think it was that bad to deserve all the bad reviews, ok, the story could’ve been a bit more in-depth and explained more, and the ending definitely could’ve been better, again brushing over instead of giving more information and that was what let it down the most, too many unanswered questions, but the actual love story was quite sweet, I know Gray was young and the age difference was big but that happens in real life at times! I know I have very good friends with a 20+ year age difference and she is the older one and they have been happily married for almost 20 years so the age difference didn’t bother me, I would’ve liked to know how Gray’s brother took the news though? Such a bit part of the story and yet again, no information/answer! And if I’m completely honest I was expecting a baby after all the talk about about her getting pregnant! Still I quite enjoyed it 😊
He has been her bodyguard for years. Now that she has grown, can he protect her from himself?
The story starts with our hero and heroine going into hiding after a gun battle. The danger forces emotions to the surface while the isolation and forced proximity make them face feelings they have tried to keep hidden for years. The result is a hot and steamy read with some intrigue but lots of sex.
The story is well written and actually develops at a good pace. You do get the typical bad boy mantra (repeatedly) about "not being good enough for her" but our heroine eventually gets him past it and then nothing can stop them. There is some intrigue and action throughout, but rest assured the story focuses on our couple. And everything wraps with a nice HEA.
Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout for review purposes.
I had mixed feelings while reading this book. On one hand, it was super steamy and even sweet and romantic at times. There was a decent plot and the characters were great. My only issues were about how the trope wasn’t really my cup of tea. Turns out I don’t mind age gap, so long as the hero is around my own age. I found Valentine to be hot in that bad boy way I love in fictional characters. And while Gray’s age did seem a little cringey to me, it was the power dynamic that didn’t work for me. Especially when it came to the way they completely avoided discussing protection. And in the end, I was left with lingering questions that the epilogue didn’t answer. Depending on the trope, I would consider reading more from this author.
I'm a fan of mafia romance, but I thought this book was just alright. I like others more (Sparrow LJ Shen). But... this wasn't too bad. I may read another of the author's books.
I just didn't think the relationship was well developed. It's definitely instalove, which though I find ridiculous, doesn't normally bother me if the relation develops throughout the book, but it doesn't.
Gray's a young woman who fell in love with one of her older brother right hand , the story developed on a dangerous situation when someone is trying to kill the siblings from there you will find romance, action and more
Love the storyline, I get bored when ius just sex without a story but yours wow! Love it!!! The Romance and the theme keep me reading , the characters were well written , great work. Looking forward for more books from you.
I absolutely loved this book! It has hot and steamy moments, and the dynamic between V and Grey is exciting. I love that the entire book wasn't just about thier relationship, that there was a good backround story as well. I will definitely read more from Darcy Dawes. Her writing is superb!
He’s known her since she was very young, always protecting her, when his feelings changed. She’s young but knows what she wants. Someone wants to kill her. Let the adventure begin. I liked the characters and how they loved each other! I would recommend this book!!!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
It was not a bad read but I honestly expected more of a 'best friend's little sister' romance kind of book. At some point I got a little bored and I paused reading. Books that deserve 5 stars don't do that to me. They keep me at the edge of my seat and this one didn't do that. So for that reason it only gets 2 stars from me.
I liked this quick read with the older man, younger woman premise. He's set to protect her and she's his best friend's sister unaware of the danger that follows her. Keeping her safe isn't easy so the suspense is plentiful as is the intrigue. I liked their relationship. He set the rules and ensured she followed them. The ending was perfect.
She is his little sister and she should be out of bounds but he wants her so much. He wants to do so much to her and with her. Will he ever get the chance? Could she be the one for him? See what will happen between them
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I loved the story and the characters struggle to not cross certain intimacy lines and failing beautifully. It was frustrating throughout because it was missing bits of words and phrases throughout the whole of the book it needed to have some editing done.
It was gooood. Just lost interest in the characters and the story.
(ok so that sounds like it wasn't good)
I think they got together too early. So everything the author threw at them after that point was kind of annoying. Romance readers ... we are a judgy bunch 😂
I liked this quick read, up until the epilogue. It was too short and didn't do the rest of the story justice. Could have been so much more than a fall.