Caden

Loving the Sykes #1

by Elizabeth Stevens

Caden
I spent six years away, part of an elite unit, fighting for my life every day and trying to take my mind off the girl I’d always loved.
But, when an accident sends me home, I realise it might be time to shed some secrets and tell her I love her, I’ve always loved her.
I just have to hope I haven’t waited too long. And that her three big brothers, the only family I have left, aren’t the thing that finally manage to kill me.
I need to make her my girl.

Lucy
I spent five years with my boyfriend, trying to get over him, telling myself he was just a teenage crush, I wasn’t in love with him.
But, the boy who left comes back a man. There’s no denying that teenage crush has grown with me and I have to admit I’ve always loved him.
I don’t know if he’ll ever see me as anything more than a little sister. Not with another in his heart. But, I’m willing to do whatever it takes.
I’ve always been his girl.

A STANDALONE big brother's best friend, second chance romance with a HEA.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Second Chance, Adult

302 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 3, 2020

About the author

Writer. Reader. Perpetual student. Nerd.

I started out writing fantasy. But, I like to write anything, honestly. These days, I mainly stick to YA and there's always at least a sprinkling of romance, if not a 'whoops, I dropped the whole packet in'. Almost all my books are set in my home state of South Australia, either in real or fictional places - gotta write what you know - with Netherfield being the only current exception.

Like most writers, I love to read. Although, time for reading at the moment is hard to come by. When I'm not too busy writing, I'm usually reading a number of authors. Some of my favourites are Rick Riordan, Jane Austen, Kate Forsyth, Cecilia Dart-Thornton, Kasie West, John Flanagan, Terry Pratchett, Isobelle Carmody, Christina Benjamin, Emily Rodda, and many more.

I'm an avid fan of Marvel, DC, Doctor Who, Supernatural, Red Dwarf, IT Crowd, and pretty much anything similar. I've recently discovered Richard Ayoade's Travel Man and it's brilliant. I love watching soccer (go Gunners) and thoroughly look forward to seeing Eurovision every year. Celebrity crushes include Anna Kendrick and Chris Evans, because they are wonderful.

I live in Adelaide with my husband and a menagerie of animals – a cat reliving her (sixth) youth, a cowardly Beagle-Cavalier who thinks he’s smaller than he is, one meeping guinea pig who thinks any plastic bag has his greens in, two chickens who are terrified of free-ranging, and a turtle with a penchant for sticking her head up her filter pipe.

I have a Master of Arts (Writing) from Swinburne University of Technology. I also have a Master of Arts (Editing and Publishing) at University of Southern Queensland and, am now working towards my PhD. I also hope to one day undertake a PhD in Creative Writing - perpetual student, am I.

I also organise the Sleeping Dragon Emerging Fantasy Writers’ Collective writing group. The group self-published their anthology Tales from the Sleeping Dragon in 2012.

You can also find me on:
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NB: I'm usually happy to discuss review copies of my books. A track record of reviewing is preferable, but not completely necessary.

Reviews

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (8/29/2020)! 🎁

[Mimia The Reader]

I liked the story of this book. Elizabeth Stevens can really put some twists and personality to her characters that make the storyline feel like something new. Even if it’s in an overly-used troupe. I kinda want to know what happens to Lucy’s brothers now. Especially Oscar.

So. I feel a little weird reviewing this book. I don’t do “sex books” and that’s why. I did skip over the sex, though, and still liked the story. Beware you’d have do quite some skipping.

I received an ARC from the author

[☆☆Hannah☆☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read. Caden gets injured while on duty and has to come back home. He has been in love with Lucy forever. When home they begin to sleep together. The problem is that both are in love with each other and have been for a long time. Neither knows about the other and that makes things complicated. Of course things blow up in the end. Thankfully it all works out for them.

[PennyWise 24 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this book for an honest review. With that being said, I can’t pass up a good soldier away on duty pining away for a girl that doesn’t know he loves her story. This one was a little different. Lulu grew up with her brothers, 3 biological and 1 not biological that they welcomed into the family at a young age when his mom passed away.

This book has quite the slow burn aspect to it, which is why I gave it a 4 stars instead of 5.

We start off with her dating Tommy - who let me just telling you is Captain Douche. I’m glad he doesn’t stick around for long. There is quite a bit of internal dialogue that does come during the character chapters that enhanced it. It added to the feelings; made the pining so much more...just so much more.

The end was a bit abrupt. It felt a tad rushed. I would have liked more story line after the peak when her brothers and her reconciled. What happens next???

All in all - LOVE. It was steamy and the characters were great. Keep up the great work. Oh and #TeamOscar.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

If Elizabeth Stevens writes it, I'm reading it. This was one of her first forays into adult romance and I wasn't disappointed. I would say my biggest gripe is that I wish there had been a bit more. Parts felt rushed and slightly underdeveloped. But as always I loved her characters. I can not wait for Oscar's book!!

[Kelly DeMarco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Internal (infernal!) drama, great characters all around
Caden (Loving The Sykes Book 1) by Elizabeth Stevens is a good romance read with plenty of internal strife, emotional drama and a seeming inability to communicate.
Lucy and Cade and like two ships passing in the night. They interact, connect and create something really special, but ultimately fail to communicate. When they do communicate, it's in circles, vague and could mean many different things! The plot of this book is a clear demonstration of what happens when people fail to communicate, let fear rule, as well as be ignore the honesty within themselves and the most important person. Lucy and Cade seem to be purposely oblivious to each other and what they are truly saying to one another.
Overall, a frustratingly and yet totally sweet and sexy romance read with a great HEA for these awesome characters.
I read an ARC of this book from Hidden Gems and voluntarily share my review.

[Jenifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Will they or won't they...tell each other the truth.
Caden is Lucy's older brother's best friend. He feels like everyone would think he was a creeper having a crush on her ever since she was a teenager. She thought he saw her only as a little sister that followed them around like a puppy dog. Neither would speak of their feelings.
Caden is back from being away for five years in the military. They both think this is now the time to tell the other but they are both chickens. They can't get it out. Instead they just begin a friends with benefits situation, both acting like they're totally casual.
The back and forth in each chapter went on a little too long. It was basically the same emotions for each. Almost cut and paste. It became too repetitive and sometimes immature.

Overall, I thought the story was cute. I liked both Caden and Lucy even though I wanted to shake some sense into them. It was fun and had just the right amount of steam.

(I received a complimentary copy of this book from Hidden Gems.)

[Kristen Lewendon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has all the drama and angst of a forbidden love affair and then some. I loved Lucy and Caden but I’m with Oscar, they’re the most frustratingly oblivious people on the face of the planet. I quickly lost count of the number of times I wanted to take one or the other (or both) of them and shake some sense into them. They’ve loved one another for as long as they’ve known one another, but neither of them can see how the other feels. There’s an almost slapstick kind of humor about how these two keep missing each others’ signals. It’s as funny as it is frustrating, and you can’t help but pray desperately for them to finally get it right. I’m intrigued by the whole Sykes family and I look forward to reading more about them.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Hidden Gems Books.

[Margery Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clueless!
Caden and Lucy are delightful characters that in spite of everything are completely clueless when it comes to realizing what the other has felt for years. When you top this off with three overprotective brothers things are complicated even further. At times it made me wonder how these two ever had a chance to develop any kind of feelings for each other other than fraternal. After he was injured in battle, he has returned to his hometown to recover only to discover that his feelings for Lucy have only grown stronger. Have her feelings for him also deepened? What will her brothers do? What will she do about her current “boyfriend”? How can these two “dense” and relatively innocent characters ever get together? You’ll truly enjoy reading how they finally just “follow their hearts”.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

[Amii · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m surprised by the first low ratings, I loved this book. It was a great romance with some suspense thrown in and a whole lot of steamy scenes! I enjoyed the storyline and this is the first I’ve read by this author and will definitely be checking out more because if they’re like this I’ll definitely be binge reading them! If you like a light steamy romance with a HEA then you’ll love this! It’s a great short read and you’ll be hooked within the first chapter and read it all the way through without breaks like me, they’re the best kinds of books for me as the time just flies away whilst you’re captivated in your book! I read this book as an ARC.

[Peggy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Desperately needs editing, proofing etc - in sloppy shape. I don’t understand how a book with this many issues get a 5 star rating? Did they read this book? I don’t know,if this was a mistake or padding, but there were far too many repetitive paragraphs- chapters?? It completely took from the read - I was so fed up I did t want to finish. This had to be a first,draft? Maybe the author grabbed the wrong chapter as some parts were missing and unfinished. Too often there were wrong word choices, words left out, bad Grammer, spelling issues and even wrong names!? Desperately needs to be read and properly edited. I voluntarily received an arc copy of this book from HiddenGems

[Anna Holmlund · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love so much about this book, but two things is not really my thing.
1, brothers who cares to much about who Lucy has sex or a relationship with. I mean, that kind of controlling behavior is not my cup of tea.
2, Lucy is so much less experienced than him. It would be nice to read about a girl with a long line of lovers for a change some time instead of the guy.

That aside, the book is so funny! The characters are complex and oh my, I love Oscar!

I received this book as an arc file from the author so I could read and review the book.

[Delacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked this book, liked the variety of characters and the main characters. However, there was just too much lack of communication. Though I did get some amusement at how many ways they misunderstood each other, it did feel like that dragged on just a little too long. While I did have an ARC copy, this book had more editing issues than I'm used to in advance copies. Hopefully, this is resolved in the published version. Overall, a cute story. *I received an ARC of this book from Hidden Gems and this is my voluntary and honest review.

[Kimberly Hutchins · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Cade, Lucy and her 3 brothers grew up together. They were all there for each other, but then Cade went away to war to try to outrun his love for Lucy.
Lucy also tried to get over Cade by trying to love her boyfriend of 5 years but even he knew he wasn't it for her.
6 years later a and Cade returns home to recover from a bad injury.
They both skate around their love for one another.
Loved it, but it just felt like it ended too quickly.
A brilliantly written story with excellent characters and a happy ending guaranteed.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fall in love with Lulu and her entire family

Oh this book. I so wish I could give more than 5 stars. I absolutely love the entire Sykes family. I wish they weren’t fiction so I could become best friends with them. This book grabs you from the start. It’s so good that you forget you are reading fiction. Lulu has been in love with her brother’s best friend since forever. Any girl can relate to this story. So many times our hearts belong to someone we think we can’t have. I love the HEA that this book comes with. I can’t wait to read #2

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brother's best friend romance. Liked that they had both always been in love with each other but found it frustrating in the extreme that neither had the guts to say anything even after they started sleeping together. Given how close they were i just didn't buy it.

I love Oscar and despite Brit's vocal interest in Carter I think there is something there with him and Brit especially as he is not as oblivious as everyone thinks. I was interested to read this is set in Australia as I read the whole book and has no idea - setting & characters completely generic could have been anywhere.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

They have known each other their whole lives, but will they have the guts to speak up?

This was the first book by this author I have read and I have to say, I was no disappointed at all. I loved how these two had a solid friendship before lust and romance even came into play. I didn't blame either for being scared and thinking that it could damage their friendship, but loved how in the end Caden made the leap before it was too late. Good read and cannot wait for Carter's book!

[M H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just say you love each other already

I became a fan of this author with other books I've reviewed of hers. This one was ok and the flow was good. But after a while the whole misunderstanding or untruthful thing got too annoying. I know she was 21 but both characters acting like teenagers was well childish. This author is new to adult romance and I can only see her getting better and better.
I received a free copy of this book and I voluntarily reviewed it.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed Caden's story. He's a super agent for his country. Cadence known and loved the Sykes his entire life. Now his feelings have changed about one Sykes, Lucy. There was some drama, danger, sense of family, and romance. I received a complimentary copy of this book and chose to write a review.

[Deeana L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, fun story

I always love books with protective brothers and sibling teasing. Good story and likeable characters. My only complaint is you hear a little about the main characters having sex with other people. But overall it was well written, funny and dialogue flowed well.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first time reading Elizabeth Stevens and I really enjoyed this story. It had suspense, sexy times and who doesn't love protective brothers. Caden just so happens to be Lucy's brothers best friend. I loved the slow burn and am looking forward to more in this series.

[Rose Nicolaides · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by Elizabeth Stevens and I was blown away with writing skills. She pulls you into the story and makes you fall in love with the characters, rooting for a happy ever after for Lucy and Caden. I will be recommending this book and author to my friends and family.

[Majstor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't like the ending. I liked their big fight but the make up scene was missing something in my opinion and ending felt rushed. If there was one chapter where they had a talk about the future it would have been a 5 stars read.

[Kaity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!

I loved Lucy and Caden's story. I loved all the side characters and how Luther is basically their grumpy dad. Caden is just drool worthy and the fact he is insecure at all is adorable.

[evieo17 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an ok read. I didn’t care for Lucy. Caden deserved better than her. If he had ended up with someone else, I would have enjoyed the book more.

[Rachel Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a cute story!! “Brother” to lover with all the ooie gooie. Loved the storyline and characters!!
*ARC courtesy of Hidden Gems in exchange for an unbiased review.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed Cade & Lucy's book. Lots of chemistry. It was an intriguing read with some twists. I received a free copy of the book. And am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.

[Vicious but Romantic · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have never read about more stupid main characters than these two. If not her brother, they would never work it out. Idiots.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story love the way it written. Elizabeth did a great job at keeping it interesting. Caden and Lucy's love was long in coming. A must read😕😯😊

[Loyalhistorian · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading her other first adult book that was released simultaneously with this one, I was kind of worried. The other book, Chaos & the Geek, was quite a disappointment. This one though was good. Caden is worth the read. It felt more like her older YA books (which I love about Stevens), only with the adult twist. It had the banter, the unexpected twists/reactions, the character development, that something special that Stevens has when she writes. Whereas Chaos & the Geek used all the NA cliches without making them her own, this one thankfully didn't do that. Just as usual, she takes something that has a troupe and turns it into something you don't really expect. The story and the characters felt fleshed-out, you could sense their background with each other. And, for the most part, the book was story-driven, not written for the sake of having smolder and steam or driven by sex scenes. It all seemed to flow well and make sense. I really liked all of the characters. I liked the military aspect of Caden; I liked the independent and fiery personality Lucy had without her coming across as a witch, and the fact that she wasn't so stubbornly independent that she didn't let others help her or lean on people; I also really liked the family dynamics of the Sykes, how they have sibling spats but still very protective and loving...it came off like a real family. Anyway, lots of good things in this one. SO much better than her other Adult/New Adult book Chaos & the Geek. I highly suggest just reading this one, ignore the other...it's not even like a Stevens book.

My complaints. First and main complaint, Chapter 10 was missing. On my digital copy, chapter 9 was just repeated as chapter 10, so I lost a little of the story. And, I think an important part of the story, because in chapter 11, our two heroes get together...so something happened in missing chapter 10 that was important. Granted, it was easy to piece together what happened, but I still would have liked to have read it. Second, is my own personal hang up. I know stuff like that happens in real life and is quite common, but the two characters just jumping into bed together and still wondering if they mean anything important to each other? Sadly, that is true of a lot of today's hook-up culture. So, sure, it happens, and I know that's the sort of thing that goes on, but I guess it bothered me a little bit still. These two have grown up together and love each other in many ways, but fall into bed together and wonder if they really mean something to the other person? That was really the only plot part that irritated me, but that's my own deal.