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Brighton #1

Cherry Bomb

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My heart doesn’t beat, it ticks. It’s been that way since I was sixteen years old and I caught my sister in bed with my boyfriend. I gave my heart to a boy who didn’t deserve it, then spent the next few years indulging in hard drugs and even harder sex. Life is easier when you don’t get attached. Casual. No commitments. That’s the rule. At least it was before he came along. Cash Davidson is the tattooed prince who walked into the restaurant where I work and turned my life upside down. He is everything I never knew I needed. There’s just one problem Tick. Tick. Tick. He’s my best friend’s dad.Boom.

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 28, 2019

220 people are currently reading
1752 people want to read

About the author

Carmel Rhodes

14 books998 followers
Writer of words. Mother of Joy. Wife of Compassion. I like to write stories about real people who go through real struggles, and come out the other side stronger. I also like to write smut. Welcome to my brain. It’s a little screwed up, but always well intended.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 243 reviews
Profile Image for Isabella. R.
1,007 reviews2,194 followers
January 4, 2020
5 Cherry Girl Stars ⭐️
 
Cherry Bomb is the forbidden story of 19-year-old Cherry Valentine and her best friend’s dad Cash Davidson.  To her defense the last tidbit only came to light after they’d already gotten down and dirty.....

Cherry, a young girl with many issues is trying to get by without completely messing up.  With beauty that she’s oblivious to, and sass that is downright amusing, she is bright with a promising future. Ideally she needs to kick her coke habit and self destructive behavior if she wants to get her shit together.

Cash Davidson is used to living the bachelor life. With a failed relationship under his belt, and a daughter that he’s recently discovered, his intentions of making amends are sincere until he lays eyes on Cherry Girl.  What should have been a one-night stand, soon turns into so much more. Apart from the scorching sex, he recognizes a part of himself in this girl and is at odds at just letting her go.

"You’re kind of a badass. You know that, right? Gorgeous as fuck, a little self-deprecating, and although you’d never admit it, a little sad."

"You know all that from one drunken night of sex?"

"I feel like I’ve known you my whole life,” I say honestly."


Cherry’s no idiot, she realizes that this relationship has an expiry date.  It was never going to end well, so why can neither bear to part ways with each other?

"Be—cause," she stutters. "You like doing bad things to my body, but you love taking care of me. I need this. You need to give it to me."

This is my first read by this author and it was impressive. Not only was this story deliciously taboo and explicit, both Cash and Cherry were independently awesome characters. Cash was swoony and totally screwable, and Cherry was the kind of bombshell you couldn’t help but admire and smirk at. The best part was their banter and sarcasm that was on point.
Profile Image for  Sonya ♕Chatterbooks book blog♕.
1,019 reviews1,184 followers
August 21, 2019
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Everyone knows by now that forbidden romance is my thing. I have a special type of weakness when it comes to these stories and whether it’s the knowledge of knowing that these characters are entering uncharted waters, wanting something they can’t have, or just the dangerous seduction that keeps you coming back for more. Whatever it is, there is always a craving for forbidden romance and it will never go away.

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For the past few years Cherry Valentine’s focus has been on forgetting her old life in high school. Now attending a top College and having her best friend by her side, life at the moment is pretty damn good aside from her being self destructive. When she meets a hot older British man at the restaurant where she works, Cherry knows that this is not going to be a regular one night stand and that this man is going to change the course of her life.

Cash has always known that when it comes to good looks, he’s got it. After spending a copious amount of time between working his way up on Wall Street in New York and the women, he’s ready for something different and having the opportunity to connect with his long lost daughter puts everything in perspective. Having a one stand night with the sexy waitress was not in the cards and wanting to do it over and over again was quickly becoming an addiction. But finding out that the woman whom you’ve had horizontally is not only your daughter’s roommate but her best friend, is far from complicated.

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This is my first time reading anything from this author and I’m glad that I took a chance on this one because I really like her writing style. She gave us sexiness, humor, drama, and lovable but flawed characters. Cash the perfect hero and not only did I love his protectiveness, I liked that he didn’t play any games and he knew exactly what wanted.

The only thing that I was not a fan of was the heroine’s need to be self destructive and towards the end felt rushed to me. I wanted to see how certain relationships were going to be handled as time progressed but I have a feeling I’ll be seeing more of these characters so I’ll wait and see. If you’re like me and you’re a huge fan of forbidden romance, then I recommend you read this one.


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Profile Image for Rachel (LoverofTBR).
97 reviews129 followers
July 3, 2020
Rating
3.5 ‘heartbeat’ 🌟

Song Recommendation
Dil Kya Kare
Here is the English translation of the lyrics for anyone interested!

Review
Carmel Rhodes has been on my radar ever since I read her book, Truly, last month and fell in love with her writing. So I was quite excited to pick up this book because it had many things going for it, specifically the very forbidden and taboo age-gap romance between Cherry and Cash, but the execution of the said things was a bit lacking and left me wanting more – more build-up, more depth, and more maturity from Cherry.

He is magic and I am madness. Combined, we will undoubtedly combust.

Cherry Bomb starts off with Cherry Valentine, a 19 year old STEM student at college working as a waitress at a steakhouse, meeting Cash Davidson, a 38 year old businessman, at the said steakhouse. As soon as they lay eyes on each other, they both know they are attracted to each other. Theirs is a major case of insta-lust that wasn’t even amusing to me because I dislike poorly executed insta-lust or insta-love.

Cash though, he’s different. I like being around him. I feel an odd familiarity with him, and I’ve known him less than twenty-four hours.

Cherry and Cash’s mutual lust results in a steamy and sexy affair between the two, but things get complicated real fast when they both find out how Arden is connected both of them. Cash turns out to be Arden’s biological father who moved to their town to connect with the daughter he only recently found out about and Cherry is Arden’s roommate and best friend. Their passion and loyalties are tested by this revelation, but it’s obvious how bad they want each other.

We are the same, Cash and I, both suffering from unrequited love…It’s the hurt of loving someone who is supposed to love you. For me, it’s my mom, for Cash, it’s his daughter. Maybe that’s why we connect. We’re both searching for family who don’t care about our existence. Maybe we’ve found what we are looking for in each other.

Cherry is very contradicting. On one hand she is an unique heroine in that she is very reckless and troublesome and that she owns up to it. On the contrary, she is also mature in how she handles her education, studious because of her STEM major, and responsible in how she holds the job to fund her education. Somehow, these two sides of Cherry made me think of her as two different people and her personalities didn’t blend. I had difficulty connecting the two sides of Cherry. Cash on the other hand was deliciously mature and I loved how he handled certain situations in the book.

Another reason for the not so perfect rating is because of the pacing of the book. I felt disconnected with the characters sometimes because of how rushed the book seemed at times. I needed the book to be longer so some issues and how they were resolved could have been more fleshed out.

With Cash, all the chaos that normally surrounds me quiets…Cash doesn’t care about the badass, abrasive, zero-fucks-given Cherry Valentine. He cares about the slightly imperfect, completely obsessive girl who wields her heart like a dagger, for protection or destruction, depending on her mood.

Overall, this was a good, entertaining read that was a little disappointing to me because I wanted more depth to the characters, depth that I have gotten used to from Carmel Rhodes’s writing. If you enjoy forbidden and taboo relationship between a girl and her best friend’s dad and don’t mind the insta-lust, I recommend this book! Now, I’m conflicted if I should read other Carmel Rhodes books or not! Time will tell, I guess.
Profile Image for Christy.
4,561 reviews35.9k followers
August 13, 2022
4 stars
He is magic and I am madness. Combined, we will undoubtedly combust.

If you’re looking for a fantastic age gap new adult romance, Cherry Bomb is the book for you! Cherry and Cash meet and really hit it off. Then things get complicated. Even though things are more forbidden than they first thought, they can’t seem to stay away from one another.

I read a book this year with a similar premise/troupe and it didn’t work for me, but I’m so glad this one did! Sometimes it’s how it’s written and how much you connect with the characters that make you love the book! And even though Cherry and Cash weren’t necessarily relatable to me, I could truly feel how much they cared about each other and the love between them.

Cherry Bomb was a quick listen with a lot of steam, angst, and a lot of heart. Carmel Rhodes writing was fantastic and I can’t wait to continue on with this series! I’m pretty sure the next book is a nanny book and I’m so here for that!
Audio book source:
Story Rating: 4 stars
Narrators: Connor Crais & Lacy Laurel
Narration Rating: 4.5 stars
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Length: 6h 30m


Profile Image for Birjis.
457 reviews304 followers
June 16, 2020
Cherry Valentine is a time ticking bomb who is a bad ass with plentiful of flaws. Having left behind a bad past and now focusing on college with her bestfriend/roommate, Arden, Cherry was happy with the normal routine when a hot older tattooed British man walks into the restaurant she is waitressing.

Cash Davidson is famous for his looks. He is in town to connect with his daughter who he didn't know existed. Having women fall for him was norm but having one night stand with a young sexy waitress wasn't in his list but that soon became an addiction, now what turned fatal was fucking his daughters best friend.

First I'll mention Cash is a perfect hero. Sexy to the core Cash's protectiveness and love for Cherry and his daughter has me moved considering both are teenagers and their relationship complication. Cherry's self-destructiveness is so hasty and she feels so real. Cherry and Arden's friendship was the best. Those family issues, cheating, complications weave a perfect pattern for this story.

Forbidden romance is one of my favourite genre add to it a huge age-gap complication and I'm hoorah! If these are your tropes, dig in. There are some characters in this book who get their own story. I'm excited and looking forward to read it.
Profile Image for Melanie (mells_view).
1,937 reviews395 followers
February 12, 2021
“You’re a bad girl, aren’t you, Cherry?”

So essentially this is an age gap romance, but add another layer of taboo because the guy is her best friend’s long time absent father. That also tells you the age gap is pretty wide. 19 years. It didn’t bother me and age gap isn’t my thing usually. I just liked that this was steamy and had the right amount of angst. Cherry was struggle bussing because of things that happened in her past, and Cash was trying to start a relationship with his daughter, so that was the main theme other than these two boning. I did feel like there could have been more build between them relationship wise, but I do feel this was more about the taboo aspect and each individually. All in all this was a good read, and I’m maybe going to pick up the next in the series. I really hope Arden gets a book. I think it’s sort of hinted at, and already know that pairing would be something.
Profile Image for Carla .
1,673 reviews542 followers
November 28, 2019
I don’t know... I didn’t like much this book, I expected more...
Unfortunately!
Profile Image for NMmomof4.
1,796 reviews5,058 followers
September 6, 2022
3 Stars

Opinion Breakdown
The Good: I liked the premise, I liked the taboo relationship, and I liked the characters (for the most part).

The Not-So-Good: The h’s self destructive behavior. I get that she was damaged and that is part of why the H was drawn to her and had the feeling that he wanted to protect her…but it got a little old for me. It felt immature tbh. She knew what she was doing and she knew that she needed to stop, but she didn’t. I guess I just wanted her to be a little stronger — like her personality is portrayed at other times.

The Bad: The ending. There was no time between the conflict resolution and the end. I hate that! I also felt like I was left with way too many unanswered questions to feel good about the ending.

Overall: I knew going in that this wasn’t as long as I typically like (I usually want at least 300 pages) — so I can’t complain too much about the incomplete feeling I ended with. But! I feel like if only some more things were wrapped up and there was some time in between the conflict resolution, it could’ve been so much better! I enjoyed it for what it was, but it’s probably not going to be all that memorable in the long run…so I’m going with a middle of the road 3 star rating.

Brief Summary of the Storyline: This is Cherry and Cash’s story. They meet at Cherry’s job and have a hot night together even though Cash is much older than her. They are shocked to find out that Cash is Cherry’s best friend and roommate’s father that has just moved there to make a connection with after not being told of her existence for most of her life. They cannot deny the connection they made and end up starting a secret affair. There is some family drama, some cute moments, and some sexy times…and they get a HFN ending.

Point Of View (POV): This alternated between Cherry and Cash’s POV.

Overall Pace of Story: Good until the end. I never skimmed.

Instalove: No. Instalust? Yes.

H (Hero) rating: 3.5 stars. Cash. I liked him, but I wanted him to be the adult a little more when it came to his daughter.

h (heroine) rating: 3.5 stars. Cherry. I liked her sassy, comfortable in her own skin ways. I just got over her self destructive behavior pretty quickly.

Sadness level: Low/moderate. I shed a few tears but never needed any tissues.

Push/Pull: Yes

Heat level: Good. They have some good tension, chemistry, and scenes -- but not so much it takes away from the story.

Descriptive sex: Yes

OW (Other Woman)/OM (Other Man) drama: No

Sex scene with OW or OM: No

Cheating: No

Separation: Yes

Possible Triggers: Yes

Closure: This ends way too abruptly for me. It has their conflict resolved (kind of) and what I would call a HFN ending .

Safety: This one is probably Safe with exception for most safety gang readers depending on personal preferences
Profile Image for Bella -.
124 reviews145 followers
November 23, 2020


4,30 Stars

''I am madly in lust with you.''

Cash: 38, blonde, blue eyes; charismatic, charmer, fun, tattoed, good looking businessman



Cherry: 19, grey eyes, dark hair, slim figure; confident, heartbreaker type, a total hot mess and a bit drama queen (I generally like her type and I loved Cherry)



PROS:

*The age gap,
*My type of sassy girl, loveable heroine,
*A loveable hero
*Great chemistry between the couple,
*Cherry had 2 f-buddies till Cash
*Great sex scenes
*Small boobs heroine
*Their first pool/snooker scene

CONS:

*The age gap is maybe a bit too much? 19 to 38 (I guess she is just too young If she was older that would've been just fine.)

*They fell for each other real quick (I am actually questioning the older one in here) BUT I will say okay to that because I loved them as a couple and after all this is a BFF's father romance and It's just a FANTASY.

*Immediate ''you belong to me now'' kind of talk. AND they started as nothing serious. Yeah right... (I might relieve/fool myself that she didn't give in so easily at least in the talks)



*I hate the sister dramas (That bound is sacred for me)

FOOTNOTES:

*So about this BFF's father thing, I was kinda anxious to see if It felt super awkward or would I actually enjoy it. And I have to say I loved the plot; how the couple met, how the story evolved, what happened to the mother (where she stands in the story now), how the relationship between the father and the BFF is, etc.

*Instalove or Instalust or maybe both? I DON'T CARE. I ship this couple.



OVERALL:

*I truly love this book. I loved the main characters, individually and as a couple. It was fun and easy to read in general BUT It also includes so much drama and real heartache. The story is okay very enjoyable and sexy. I also liked the side characters and I definitely will read their stories too. (More of Cash and Cherry YAAY)

*If I were younger that book would've been a total favorite. I would've probably craved for their happy ending. Now, even though normally I prefer my characters to be older to find this ONE AND ONLY(!), I can't deny the fact that I love them as a couple. So Cheers to their happy future!


Profile Image for Jacqie Wheeler.
599 reviews1,521 followers
March 3, 2022
YES YES YES. Another taboo/age gap romance that was done exceptionally well. I received this book in a surprise box from Hello Lovely and I'm SO GLAD. I would have never heard about this book otherwise. I absolutely loved Cherry as a character, but especially the older love interest, Cash. If you are fan of Jordan and Pike from Birthday Girl, but you want a bit more emotion like a Colleen Hoover book, then YOU HAVE TO READ this book. I loved everything about it, and appreciated the hard hitting topics, and not just constant sex scenes (although it does get pretty kinky).
Profile Image for Q.B. Tyler.
Author 25 books6,797 followers
August 27, 2019
My favorite Carmel Rhodes book to date and honestly this is a bold statement because she's written so many books that I LOVE. But there's something about this book. (Cough cough best friend's dad). Holy age gap and taboo dreams!! Not to mention, Cherry isn't a naive virgin but a badass. Kind of a mess. A college girl with a complicated relationship with pretty much everyone in her life and particularly the men. Enter: Cash Davidson. Tattooed. British. Her roommate's father. This is a recipe for a sexy disaster and I was freaking HERE. FOR. IT. She pushes away, he pulls her in. Maybe it's why I love age gaps so much: the maturity of the man involved. He has his life together whereas Cherry's seems to be on the precipice of falling apart with each turn. Their relationship is complicated and difficult and forbidden and HOT.

One of my favorite things about a Carmel Rhodes book is you're always given an all-star cast. Even the supporting characters are well-developed and relatable and lovable and you can see how much they love the main characters. True ride or dies. All of them.

And of course, because I can't write a review without mentioning it: the love scenes were off the charts hot. But when you read a Carmel Rhodes book, you can expect nothing less.

Five stars!!
Profile Image for Just A Girl With Spirit.
1,404 reviews13.3k followers
August 12, 2022
Here comes the BOOM!

“I notice the small red tattoo behind her ear. A cherry, but instead of a stem, there’s a fuse. My little Cherry bomb. Sexy, sweet, chaos.”

Carmel Rhodes is quickly reaching new heights on my fave authors list. I love her writing style, and her special style of kink. This story was crazy good!

“Tabooish” age gaps are always my jam. Throw in a David Beckham type with a dirty mouth and we have solid gold. The only problem is that Cash and Cherry hook before she finds out that it’s her best friend’s dad.

Cherry Bomb was an adrenaline rush and so H-O-T. I absolutely loved this story so much and the heartbreak between Cherry, Arden and Cash.

“I love that moment just before you come. That moment just before your world fractures in two. Even with you writhing and broken, you’re still attuned to me. Like I am your sun and you are the moon. I love being that for you. Your center.”

I’m reading every single book Carmel has written. Her books are written the way I crave taboo stories to be written. 💯
Profile Image for Jess *lovetolovebooks*.
687 reviews149 followers
July 11, 2020
"My dick gets hard knowing I am that for you. Knowing that even if the world disappoints you, I won't. I'm the steady. I'm the good, and depending on your mood, the bad. I am the alpha and the omega."

Well it's official! I'm obsessed with Carmel Rhodes and her sexy as hell writing style. Cherry Bomb is my second read of hers (the first was Truly) and y'all....if you love erotic age gap taboo romances pick this book up NOW! Don't put it on your tbr for later, pick it up now! It is available on Kindle Unlimited, and you can message me later with your thanks :)

Cherry is a college student with very unhealthy coping skills. Her dad is a recovering addict and she herself has picked up some bad habits along the way ever since her mom up and left when she was a child. Her relationship with her dad is all she has. There is something that happens with her dad Randy that made me just break down. I was already connecting with Cherry on a very personal level and that hit so freaking close to home that I had a moment. It was like looking at a mirror almost and it brought forth a lot of pain that I have been pushing away. It was in the end very cathartic and for that I will always love this book and Carmel.

But that's Cash. He always knows what I need, even when I don't know it myself. I surrender to his love. I used to think that surrendering was for the weak. That is was a byproduct of failure. But it's not. Surrendering is strength.

Cash is such a Daddy. Whew! That man knows what he's doing. He's not quite a silver fox but he is much older than Cherry. And he is also Cherry's best friend's biological father....which ramps the taboo factor way up and makes things so so hot but also very bad. He has such a need to take care of Cherry and I loved seeing him make sure she takes care of herself too (like making her eat more, not drinking as much, etc). He was pretty easy going. He was a little dominating but not to an extreme level. I'd say he was more chill and less alpha asshole. I swear I melted every single time he called her "Cherry girl". He's just sigh worthy.

This was a rather short read which was exactly what I was craving. Short and sexy. The fact that you got me to cry Carmel with such a short book...props to you girl! You are now on my auto buy author list. I cannot wait to read Emma and Logan's book. I think I'm going to love Logan so much. We all know I love a good alpha asshole :)

Read this if you enjoy:
-age gaps
-taboo/forbidden (best friend's dad)

CW- this book does show some drug use

Overall rating 5 stars
Steaminess 4 stars
Profile Image for Diana.
691 reviews166 followers
June 19, 2020
goodreads2

*Hello, Daddy!* A Read That Took Unexpected Turns
*read on KU on Amazon. No need of sugar daddies called promo teams*

What’s this book about? (I'm trying to give as little spoilers as possible)
Cherry had her heart broken and it sort of broke her, too. She lives her life not getting attached until… You know how it goes.

Well, you think you know! I thought I knew exactly what I was getting when I picked this up, BUT I ENDED READING THIS IN TEARS!!!!!!!! This was my first Carmel Rhodes read. I chose to read it from a teaser she posted. And WOW, am I glad that I did! Her writing style is lively, energetic and fun. This book was STEAMY in capital letters and EMOTIONAL/ANGSTY as hell. I felt invested in the characters from the get-go. The banter was hilarious. I found myself smirking so often. I haven’t had this much fun with a book in a while!! Cherry was a solid ACE as a heroine. I empathized with her and I rooted for her. Cash was lovely, cute and so sexy that sexy doesn’t even begin to cover it.
I completely understood Arden. She showed her true colors in the end.
Outside of all the steam that this book presented to us as dinner AND dessert, we had a heartfelt side-storyline that LITERALLY had me in tears. I was truly touched.
I’ve made it my mission to read more of this author’s work. She deserves more recognition!
I recommend this to anyone with daddy issues (you might cry, too), lovers of chemistry-filled age gap romances and lessons of friendship and trust.

ORIGINAL COMMENT: U know a book is certified awesome when I am moved to tears.

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Profile Image for ✨ Denise’s Dreamy Reads ✨.
318 reviews71 followers
August 28, 2019
✨ DREAMY’S REVIEW ✨

“Sometimes things don’t go according to plan. Sometimes life is messy and love manifests in unlikely places.”

Cherry Bomb by Carmel Rhodes is a forbidden romance lovers dream! Totally taboo with an age-gap romance that is sexy, emotional, raw, gritty, and a bad-ass heroine with a hot AF hero with a filthy mouth!

Cherry Valentine is everything I love in a heroine! A bad ass bitch who is going through some real life shit! She’s so real in all of her flaws and self destructive-ness. Trying to forget things of the past, Cherry is now living attending college with her BFF.

What she doesn’t expect is when she meets a HOT AF, tattooed British man while working one night...

Enter Cash Davidson!! Daddy Cash, the HOT AF, tattooed British man who has a one night stand with the sexy-ass waitress. A man who experienced a copious amount of women, and is ready for something new and different!

What he didn’t expect was how addicted he’d get to Cherry. And what he definitely didn’t expect was finding out that Cherry is his long lost daughters’ BFF.

The ultimate recipe for a complicated ‘relationship’ full of forbidden moments with raw and real emotions and facing the fact of what role they play in each others’ lives and those it will affect.

Now... isn’t that a pretty little forbidden mess?

THIS is one of my favorite Carmel Rhodes’ books TO FUCKING DATE. Everyone who knows me knows that I love forbidden romance and the fact that this is best friend’s dad too?! FUCK YES.

The writing is always phenomenal! Rhodes’ is absolutely brilliant! She is amazing at weaving a sinful tale full of forbidden goodness, sexiness, humor, drama, and real life issues! I can never get enough!!

Trust me when I tell you, PICK UP THIS BOOK! It will not disappoint! You will fall in love with the realness of Cherry and Cash, the growth and development of the main characters, the secondary characters, and the plot and everything in between!!

Five forbidden and dreamy stars: 💫💫💫💫💫

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Profile Image for Harlow Layne.
Author 55 books2,676 followers
August 10, 2019
I just finished Cherry Bomb and I'm in awe of Carmel Rhodes writing. I think this might be her best book yet. Not only is this book her usual brand of sexiness that I love, but Cherry is so real and flawed that you can't help but love her. Then there's Daddy Cash. Hot damn. He's an alpha with a heart of gold that I instantly fell for.

I can't recommend this book enough especially if you love age-gap romances.
Profile Image for Life on Readpeat.
1,479 reviews105 followers
December 2, 2019
* Read more of my reviews at Whoo Gives A Hoot *

description

Tick...Tick...Tick...💥

Cherry Bomb by Carmel Rhodes is an explosive love story that set my heart on fire, burning bright as I inhaled every captivating word these characters had to offer. Cherry Valentine and Cash Davidson's forbidden romance is a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode at any moment as their secret love continues to blossom.

The chemistry between these two left an intense ache deep in my chest and it's one that slowly obliterated my heart. The angst level was so perfectly intertwined throughout the pages that it had me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading. My attention was entirely captured by their story that I ended up reading it in just one sitting...yep that's right, I didn't put it down once until I reached the very end.

It's hard to believe that this was the first book I have read from this author, but I am so freaking glad that I came across this phenomenal story and gave it a chance. Forbidden romances are my jam and this talented lady ended up writing one of my new favorite reads! I cannot freaking wait to see what this author comes up with next and I can only hope to see more of these characters in future interconnected books!
Profile Image for Melissa {I’m All Booked Up Reviews}.
149 reviews13 followers
August 29, 2019
Tick. Tick. Tick. 💥.

Carmel’s Cherry Bomb is her best work yet, and that’s saying a lot because I’m a die hard Lithium Springs fan!

You want taboo? You got it!
🍒 age gap
💣 best friends dad

🍒 sassy heroine
💣 British talking alpha

Carmel takes her characters to the next level with this one. Cherry Valentine is a walking, talking self destructive bomb just waiting to go off. And when she does, she doesn’t disappoint.

Cash is the book boyfriend, hmmm, book husband you want on your side. He’s older, mature, sexy as hell, possessive, and knows exactly what he wants.

Cherry needs Cash. Cash will do anything to have what he wants. However, it wouldn’t be a romance novel without their fair share of setbacks and when they occur (no spoilers here) you will root for the couple to come out on top.

This is Carmel Rhodes best work to date. Cherry Bomb is the ultimate page turner. You won’t get anything done as soon as you start reading.

It’s addictive, mind blowing, and completely screams Carmel Rhodes!

🍒 💣 THIS IS AN HONEST REVIEW IN EXCHANGE OF AN ARC PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR 🍒 💣
Profile Image for Kat.
931 reviews97 followers
April 23, 2021
2.5 stars

Nothing wrong with this, just not character-types I like. In an age-gap romance I'm looking for a couple of thing: I want to know why the characters like each other enough to try to overcome the age gap and I prefer a more mature personality in the younger partner. In this book, Cherry was incredibly immature. She is 19 and I also prefer that characters aren't still teenagers. It's probably more realistic to have the 19-year-old be immature but it's not what I like to read in my fiction. I also just didn't understand why Cash and Cherry really wanted to be together. There's a lot that is keeping them apart and it wasn't established well enough what made them fall in love for me to believe that they would be so into each other that they would try to fight past all these conflicts. I like age-gap romances, I think they can be fun but this one just had too many things I didn't love. I liked the writing a would definitely read more by this author.
3,249 reviews27 followers
August 28, 2019
This was outstanding the writing is perfect and gives you very real emotion from these characters. Cherry is one flawed real girl with very deep feelings and issues and I truly loved everything about her, this gives us laughter, sadness and the big forbidden with Cash who I thought was beautiful and these two together are smoking hot let's say soul mates. I could not put this down its that consuming.
Profile Image for Rose Croft.
Author 13 books577 followers
August 17, 2019
This book is smoking hot!!!! I love every book I've read by this author, and this one I devoured in a day. The writing is excellent and the story is a page turner. TBR this beauty!
Profile Image for Serialbookstarter:Marla.
1,221 reviews88 followers
March 28, 2024
Cherry meets Cash at the restaurant she work at. They hook up after her shift and have a smutty good time. The next day they both find out that Cash is her bffs long lost Father. They both feel such a connection that they continue the relationship and hide it from the bff. I
This wasn’t as angsty as I thought it would be. It read like a small town romance and there were alot of side characters taking up page time. I did like the H and h but they needed more relationship time. They were a sweet couple. I wanted more development of them as a couple.I felt like the h’s relationship with her bff, sister and Dad got too many pages. I skimmed through those. It was missing that ooomph… I really read this because I want to read the next book….
Profile Image for Jen  C.
430 reviews15 followers
August 20, 2019
Woah, Carmel Rhodes knows how to bring the heat, this book is a complete page-turner and I couldn't put it down.

⛔ SOME SPOILERS ⛔

🍒💣 Cherry Valentine is is exactly what the book is titled a Cherry bomb ready to detonate, she's her own biggest enemy. She masks her true self with drink, drugs and meaningless fucks. She has her heart on lockdown, until he enters the restaurant and her panties. He's British, hot as sin, tatted, fucks like a porn star, lusts her deeply.... and just happens to be her best friend's dad.
What are the chances of her friendship or her one good thing in her life lasting?

🇬🇧🍆 Cash uprooted his life to be with the daughter he never knew he had, their relationship is strained, but he wants to give it his all. A one-night stand with the young hot mess, sexy waitress he shagged turns out to be his daughter's best friend and roommate...but he can't do the responsible thing and keep his dick in his pants when it comes to Cherry. She's different and he knows it in his heart, but when push comes to the shove will he put his Cherry Girl first or his daughter?

Can there be a HEA for them all?

Bring on Logan & Emma's story, I can't wait
Profile Image for Jos.
1,834 reviews141 followers
September 11, 2019
4.5 Stars

OK, so this could have been a 5 Star rating because Cash....OMG...this man was perfection at it's finest but Cherry....hmmmmm I really truly loved her but.....yeah she did some shit that just didn't sit well with me.

Overall, this was a taboo read, it was hot as f&*(% and again, Cash, holy wowza did I FLOVE this man!

Now, I cannot wait for Logan's story and yes, I can't for "Father" Jax's story too because I DO think there is a serious taboo story there as well.....at least I think and hope so lol!

Great sexy read:)

Merged review:

4.5 Stars

OK, so this could have been a 5 Star rating because Cash....OMG...this man was perfection at it's finest but Cherry....hmmmmm I really truly loved her but.....yeah she did some shit that just didn't sit well with me.

Overall, this was a taboo read, it was hot as f&*(% and again, Cash, holy wowza did I FLOVE this man!

Now, I cannot wait for Logan's story and yes, I can't for "Father" Jax's story too because I DO think there is a serious taboo story there as well.....at least I think and hope so lol!

Great sexy read:)
Profile Image for Lager Lefse Book Blog.
564 reviews4 followers
September 5, 2019
By now, I hope all know that forbidden romance is my jam. Mix that with age gap, Daddy’s best friend/brother’s best friend, with small pinch of heroine issues and you have the perfect concoction for a great book. Luckily, Carmel Rhodes took all these tropes and wrote an incredible book that I just couldn’t put down.

Cherry is realistically flawed but enter Cash and it’s like two pieces of a puzzle have found each other and are now complete. Cash, wow, do I need to say more? Cash has a heart of gold, yet, he is fully an alpha male. Cash😍😍😍! I would do anything to have Cash as my ‘daddy’🔥🔥!! That man is fine!

Cherry bomb is full of humor, drama, feisty and flawed characters, and sarcasm. As this was my first read of this author, I am excited to read more from her. Carmel, I’m kind of hoping that I’ll get to see these Cherry and Cash again!? If age gap, forbidden romance is your thing, you should check this book out!!
Profile Image for Erica Marselas.
Author 15 books508 followers
August 8, 2019
Cherry Bomb is.... the bomb!
Carmel Rhodes has done it again.... this story will not only melt the socks off your feet with the hottness level....(you'll need more than a fan to cool down... maybe a fire hose to put the fire out!)
But this book will pack you down with all the real life feels!

Cherry is the type of girl you can easily relate too....

Then enter Cash... "hey daddy" .... I loved him.
He was a man that knew what he wanted...even if it was wrong and still took it and fought.

This is a must read. Especially of you love age gap.

5🍒🍒🍒🍒🍒
And 5 💣💣💣💣💣

Profile Image for Brianna Hale.
Author 26 books1,570 followers
September 10, 2019
Amazing fun and sexy age-gap romance! One of my fave reads this year.
Profile Image for A Rush Of Emotions.
1,417 reviews4 followers
August 17, 2022
Forbidden goodness

This book was the perfect lust-filled mix of forbidden, age-gap, emotional love. Cherry and Cash fell together so seemlessly and their chemistry was so well done.

What do you do when you fall into lust with an older man who happens to be your best friends dad? Well, Cherry dives head first into it. For a 19 year old, she handles the situation with as much grace and humility as I would expect her character to. We get to see her ups and downs, indecision and inner turmoil.

This book was a delicious treat and I can't wait to read the other books in this series.

The audio was a duet narration and that might just be my new favorite yet!
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