Anna Walter-Simmons, a student at a vocational college, and Rafe Luis Brown, a soldier who just made it back from Syria, both have had quite their share of turmoil in life.
Having had her trust broken before and her heart shattered, Anna makes a conscious decision never again to fall for the first man who knocks at her door. Then comes Rafe, a pale shadow of the soldier he once was, broken from his experiences in Syria. The two are immediately drawn to each other’s dark pasts while still trying to find their place in such a cruel world. As the story develops, so does the bond between, but so do the forces that try to break them and drag them to the lowest pits of despair.
Whether they make it together depends on whether they can face their deepest of fears, but will they ever be able to trust anyone after such horrid ordeals?
Inking is a symphony in romance in itself. The art of flowing ink into curves and lines, forming the patterns of words. Words into the beauty of thought. Thoughts into the beauty of a story. Stories I love to write and share inking paper after paper with romantic and fantastical thoughts. I hope I do the ink justice and have it spill out stories that will fascinate and enthral you.
H. M. Irwing, an author of romantic fiction from Down Under, takes great pleasure in penning romance stories that often bring light to the pain and suffering faced in today’s world. Her heroines are remarkable characters. Bold brassy women who face the tough strictures of today’s world and all the failings within it with a positive attitude and forward strides marching ahead against all adversity.
Irwing lives with her beloved husband, two kids and dog in the contemporary arty world of Melbourne where living is pleasure and pleasure is living.
H. M. Irwing blogs at https://www.hmirwing.com/ She writes on Wattpad under @50shadesofblues, @ufartalot and @dionseth and publish under the pen name of H. M. Irwing.
‘Rafe was not oblivious to her bouts of nightmares, just as she was not clueless about his.’
Author H.M. Irwing is a fine writer whose background remains anonymous even from combing the Internet sites under the name. There appears to be a hint on one site – two black and white photos of a very handsome young man that seem to be the author. But as Irwing states, ‘Do I have to be a man? Do I have to be a woman? Must I be a homo or a hetero? I write about the weak. Those of society who are abused everyday by a media who justifies their actions by being right. Right shifts with fad and fashion. The day will come when abusing anyone is never right. I won't live to see that ..’
And that is a fine prelude to reading the Bad Boy Vibes books. Yes, this will be considered by many to be Chick Lit as there is romance and passion and copious scenes of steamy erotica – all written very well indeed. But the difference is the fact that Irwing’s main characters are bruised by their pasts. Rape - individual and gang rape – play a significant role in this book, but that is not the driver: the point is finding solace and overcoming the past by finding a mate who will have a forgiving and understanding heart.
The synopsis outlines the basics - ‘Anna Walter-Simmons, a student at a vocational college, and Rafe Luis Brown, a soldier who just made it back from Syria, both have had quite their share of turmoil in life. Having had her trust broken before and her heart shattered, Anna makes a conscious decision never again to fall for the first man who knocks at her door. Then comes Rafe, a pale shadow of the soldier he once was, broken from his experiences in Syria. The two are immediately drawn to each other’s dark pasts while still trying to find their place in such a cruel world. As the story develops, so does the bond between, but so do the forces that try to break them and drag them to the lowest pits of despair. Whether they make it together depends on whether they can face their deepest of fears, but will they ever be able to trust anyone after such horrid ordeals? Only time and their strength of love will tell…’
The shattering reality is that Rafe come into Anna’s life having been individually raped by his officer Eric in the military. Shadows of the past have come forward in the first two volumes of this outstanding series. Now in Volume 3 Irwing opens with a telling Prologue: ‘Temptation, hidden in the shadows, wields the power of the forbidden. The lure of the dark is as ever irresistible, drawing in its prey with wanton relish. But the dark is not just limited to the night. Nocturnal beings of a certain kind need only the illusion of the dark to manifest themselves within their victim’s thoughts. Anna Simmons was not an unfamiliar victim to this sort of nocturnal being. The virtual kind that haunted the living originated from sore memories of their pasts, haunting their dreams, making living entirely impossible for some when the weapon of choice was the victim’s own sense of guilt. Hell existed on earth. It existed in the minds of those who had sinned. It existed in the minds of those who still had a soul to sin with. But what about the damned? How did they suffer in living? Did they suffer at all? Or would their victim’s only solace be in knowing just where they were headed on death? Anna slumbered on restlessly, her lithe body tossing and turning on the king-size bed. Being haunted by fearsome dreams was nothing unusual for her. But this particular strain of nightmare had her breaking out in sweat. The sun shone brightly down on her through the open windows. Heat gushed in relentlessly. The taciturn Melbourne weather was once again holding true to its nature with cloudless skies interspersing with cloud-filled ones at random intervals. The afternoon siesta Rafe had insisted on was beginning to take on the nightmarish proportions of hell. Perhaps if Rafe had stayed on with her, keeping her company in her sleep, then she would not be haunted by Matt Preston’s unusual play of words. Was she really to be faulted? Was Matt the one who had been the true victim of what happened to her? Did it matter still either way? Memories long buried rose anew in her unconscious mind in a byplay of events passed that may not have unfolded in the exact way as they did now. Perhaps her unconscious mind was wrapped with the past and the premonitions of the future. Anna couldn’t tell the difference. She could only toss and turn, trying in futility to escape her inner demons.’
Volume 3 grows even more strong than the initial two – and hopefully the HEARTBREAKS will continue. Rest assured that there is plenty of sexual play and the erotic scenes are well delivered. It is just that there is much more to these characters than the usual Chick Lit novel offers.
This is a very, very good third installment in an already great series. Don't let the title and cover fool you – this book has much more to offer than just another run of the mill romance novel with some sex scenes sprinkled here and there. Of course there is romance and there is sex in here, don't you worry. But, this is a deeper, more thoughtful romance novel than you can usually find for this price. Two main characters are really that, characters. They have emotions, struggles, feelings, they do things with motivation and you can feel them and believe them. Anna in particular came leaps and bounds from the first book, a quite surprising amount of character development. I like mostly everything about this. Writing is on point, characters are good, romance is believable and plot is moving at the good pace. I like the insight into the psyche of our characters, the author really did a good job on that. I like all those parts of the book, but as a whole, there is something slightly missing for me to give it five stars. Is it because this is the third book, maybe I have greater expectations after two very good books, I don't know. But be sure to check it out.
H. M. Irwing has popped out yet another enjoyable book with “Heartaches 3: Bad Boy Vibes” that I just couldn’t put down. This is a continuation of Anna and Rafe’s growing relationship, where various events in their past always come back to haunt them. I want to take the time to point out that I believe it is crucial to read the prior to novels to truly understand all of the difficulties and challenges that the pair have had to go through in order to understand how much they have grown. I know this may be considered a kitschy, romance novel, but I think there is more merit to the development of an actual relationship of two individuals who have truly been broken, compared to some glorified relationship (i.e. Fifty Shades of Grey). It is well written and truly takes the time to depict a relationship that has to fight in order to survive.
In a surprising twist, this final installment turned out to be better than the second and just as good as the first, although in a much different way. While the first book was about the struggles of two broken souls finding each other, this one became about their struggles to stay together, which means finding a way to put the past behind them, too.
Unlike many romance novels, this one is action-packed not only from the men's side. While the women are still motivated by their love or desire for a man, they show a degree of agency here which I had long ago assumed I wouldn't see in romance novels, and I'm glad to see it coming up more and more in modern romance novels.
Unfortunately, Irwing's heroine still very much based her self-worth and life in a man. I'm just glad that that same man tries repeatedly to get her to see her worth outside of him and is just as frustrated by her self-deprecating ways as I was. Her dependence issues aside, I was happy to see Anna grow so much as a character as well as Rafe and some of the minor characters, which is what I think has been the biggest strength of this series as a whole.
This book wraps up the entire series well, giving happy endings where deserved and dealing out justice where needed. I'm still waffling on the outcome for some characters, but I might just be stubborn and I don't want to say much more for fear of spoilers.
Overall, The series truly came into its own by this book. Although the shortest of the series, it has a large impact, adding action and conspiracy into what tried to become a soap opera romance. It simultaneously contrasts and complements the first Book very well, and I feel that very little could have made me happier with the outcome for our poor tortured characters.
How much does love, lust and passion last? Despite circumstances, love can act in such strange ways that when it happens, you won’t detect it at first. Like many times in movies, books and tv, love is like a driven-plot for two characters to just make love (sex) and the graphical sex presented here is, well very graphic. But that’s how sex works so it’s nice to see it real and raw in this story and not presented as fantasy or a parade of nice words for the kind act of make love, you know what I mean, right? To say the least, this book is enjoyable, the characters are real and their issues are real, the problem is, this cannot be the only reason to write a story, sex might be a big part in a story but I see it as an optional path or element that a book can adapt but never the whole main plot, but if you take that road, at least make me believable, and this was not the case. This is the same problem I have with a lot of books like this and especially the Fifty Shades series, but people who read and watch those kinds of movies aren’t exactly looking for a philosophical reason, analysis or critique of all the characters and plot.
So this is the finale to the Anna and Rafe story. In this we have read about their ups and downs. We have learned about the unfortunate situations that have made them strong in ways but also not as strong in others. I of course still had aspirations that they both would persevere and yes sappy to say that we would get a happy ending. Now will not spoil but just know that I was very satisfied with the ending. You will not be disappointed as you do get the wow that you could hope for in reading this book.
Heartaches 3: Bad Boy Vibes by H.M. Irwing is the finale in the Heartaches series and continues the story of Anna a woman who had suffered heartaches and pain and vowed never to fall in love again, until the handsome Rafe enters the scene and these two are inseparable and definitely working on forever, well that is if they can make it through all of the emotional turmoil these two have as rape survivors.
Heartaches 3: Bad Boy Vibes shows growth not only with the characters but with the author as well. The storylines are emotionally accurately written with perfectly executed plots, and let us not forget the sex scenes that are top notch and combine this and it makes for a fabulous read. Anna is older, wiser and mature and I like her and the direction the author has taken her. This series was an exceptional read, although this story was shorter than the other two, it does not disappoint. Job well done H.M. Irwing!
Reviewed by Kisha Green for Literary Jewels Format: Kindle
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I’m glad I went through all the Heartache series. At first, it may seem as your normal light reading with some steamy scenes but this stories go a lot deeper than that. It’s about trust and finding ways to cope with whatever bad things happened to you in the past without losing yourself in the process and closing yourself to the outside world and the experiences and people it has to offer. It’s a great final book as we can clearly see how the characters have evolved, particularly Anna who has come a long way. She’s now confident and stronger than ever, shining as an independent woman. The story is good and strong and the steamy scenes are hotter than ever. There are so many layers in every character and every storyline and that’s what makes Heartaches such a great series. It’s dark and twisted but there’s also a permanent hope in the character’s redemption and the love they feel.
This is a well written twisted romantic love tryst. I found the story to grab my attention and kept my interested from the first page. The characters are well developed and this final story of the series does justice to the overall storyline and gives you a sense of closer. I would recommend this one to anyone who likes a good love story that will twist you up and pull at your emotions. Very enjoyable read for all.
An action packed romantic story where characters are struggling to stay together, fighting against own-self and with cruel powers of the outside world. It’s an emotional plot where characters develop to face their innermost fears and learn to cope with them and become stronger in the end. This is the final book in the series and brings closure to the plot.
Heartaches 3: Bad Boy Vibes written by H.M. Irwing is the third book in the series. Although shorter than the previous, this book is just as good, if not better! Although I do recommend reading the previous two in succession before moving to this one, Heartaches 3: Bad Boy Vibes would work as a stand-alone. This is my favorite romance/chick lit series. I find the main characters Anna and Rafe to have a background that is unlike any other characters in this novel genre. Both come into each other’s lives having experienced sexual abuse/rape and the author does a wonderful job at portraying their struggles and their joys. This book in the series delves into their turmoil and struggles of staying together. I love how believable that characters and situations are and also really enjoy how tastefully done the erotica scenes are and how it all ties into a beautiful story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a romance novel with a really good story line.
This is my third bad boys vibe book and at this point I just feel like shaking Anna and being like, “Girl, again!?” I kid. It is a book, with great storylines, characters, and we all want some more!
It is a bit crazy, the more and more I read. The more I feel I am starting to learn about the author and what they hold so important to them. Clearly they want to both express love and relationships, but there is some deep pain that comes with that. How oddly poetic, often the ones we fall so madly in love with are the same ones that we open up the darkest moments of our past too.
I appreciate that the author is not afraid to shy away from some more challenging topics like rape and war. At times it feels very eye opening and educational. Like a documentary where you just feel for these people. They are then given even more humanity when you find they still want love just as we all do. It is chic lit, but it is also poetic.
Heartaches 3 is the third novel (probably the last) in the Bad Boy Vibes series where all your questions arising from the previous two books will be answered.
I enjoyed reading this book dealing with complex matters like traumatic experience (in this book is the rape case), LGBT, family drama, and drugs dealership. The way this author wove these complex issues in an orderly way is amazing and I find it to be a pleasant read.
This book is recommended to those who are into the romantic genre, LGBT, and mystery. If you are one of those who doesn't tolerate to read things with the traumatic experiences, and not into LGBT-related read, then this book is not for you.
DISCLAIMER: I received this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is the third and final book in the Heartaches series. It was still rich and deep with emotion and struggle. However, it wasn't not as good to me as the other two. Anna and Rafe still want their revenge on their rapists and make sure that no one else has to endure what they did. The author does a great job expressing their pain through inner dialogue and trying experiences. However, this book seemed to have just as much, if not more, attention on the secondary characters who were on this road to recovery this couple shared. While everyone needs closure, I wanted more with Anna and Rafe. I have felt a sense of hope throughout the book and the ending delivers the same feeling.
This was a wonderful way for the trilogy to wrap up. Everything worked out in the end. My only complaint is that there were still several errors throughout the book. This is why I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars.
When there is all dark in your life and no way out, you even take help from those who has once betrayed you. In this part also, the main characters take help from people who are not friends, but it becomes difficult to decide whether they still are enemies or not.