Raised without a family, can Maddy trust the offer of four men she just met? Or are they playing her? Growing up in the system left Maddy with an uneasy outlook on life. When she earns a scholarship to a university in Georgia, half the country away from where she grew up, she’s determined to start new. Unfortunately for Maddy, her carefully laid plans take a nosedive as soon as she arrives. But Maddy is determined to make it on her own, and she’s well versed in rolling with the punches. When she meets a handful of men eager to help her out, Maddy’s suspicion kicks in. But they’re determined to fight past her defenses and become the family she’s never had. Soon, though, Maddy discovers not everything is as it seems with them. They have secrets they can’t share, and their hot kisses followed by cold shoulders leave Maddy reeling. Where does she really stand with this group of men? Can she believe their words when their actions say something different? When Maddy’s past rises to haunt her, will they be there to save her? Or will everything she worked so hard to build come crashing down?
Lost & Found will take you on an emotional rollercoaster filled with intrigue and suspense, gripping plot twists, and intense passion as Maddy and her guys fight to build a family together, despite the outside forces trying to tear them apart.
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This story had a lot of potential. But in the end it really fell flat. It really needed a better read over than what it had as there were a lot of errors and just parts where things did not make sense (stuff must have been cut out? I don't know). Also I had issues with the forced drama. It didn't feel organic. At all. The hot cold of some of the characters gave me whiplash. The main character hypes herself up on not being weak and being able to take care of herself and frequently puts herself in bad situations. She isn't very intelligent. If anything she is strong willed..but that is it. Guys fawn over her. Absolutely fall head over heels for her and fall for all of her annoying tactics. The scene with the gangsters in the fight club made me want to chuck my phone. Seriously so over the top and it just felt so dumb. That whole scene was lame and I wanted to give the book a 1 star rating over that whole chapter. The writing of the guys was pretty lame. They all talked very similarly and had similar expressions. If not for the backstories and slight personality differences they could really be the same character. They all interacted with the main character in the same way. They all had the same expressions and inward thoughts about her from the times we could hear it. When they 'talked' it was unnatural at times too. Very wordy in places where it didn't need to be. All in all...story had potential but in the end it needed to be fleshed out more and had more honest readers looking over it all. I don't think I'll be going for the second book.
I bought the book off the sample and almost immediately regretted it.
The FMC was left at an orphanage with a note from some notorious family saying never to let her get adopted or put into a foster home. 1) we don't have orphanages in the U.S., 2) There is literally no way this could happen as written. A note in a blanket that was torn up and never seen by the powers that be wouldn't have prevented her adoption. An abandoned baby would be put into the system, and, barring health issues, adopted. If you wanted this premise to be at all plausible the baby would have had to have been left at a safe drop (hospitals, police, and fire stations are usually designated drop zones) within x number of days of birth (these only exist in certain states), and then the baby would have immediately been placed in foster care. The closest you could get to what the author wanted was to then have the MC bounced from home to home every six months or less (actually the law in some startes to avoid harming the parental bond) with any adoption attempts falling through until she was finally old enough to be put in the group home. Basic research. If you are going to write on a topic, do your homework. If not, you look unprofessional and you work suffers for it.
FMC is 18, she is being kicked out of her group home and headed to Georgia where she has secured a scholarship. She boards a bus and leaves Ohio, a little weary of her friend Mike who is in love with her. She arrives and discovers someone has changed her apartment from a one bedroom to a two bedroom (100% this someone is going to be Mike. Zero mystery). She is panicked about the extra $100 but some how not at all panicked about having to pay totally furnish the place. Everything she owns fits into one duffle bag. She doesn't even own a spoon. Obviously, setting MC up in a shady apartment was to establish a reason for her to have to move in with the guys, but come on. Let's assume this is one of the very few colleges in the US that doesn't make Freshman live on campus, and that it is one of even fewer schools that doesn't make Freshman scholarship students live on campus instead allowing the scholarship/grant money to go to off campus housing, for someone who is supposed to be as money wise as she is it makes zero sense for her to take on nearly double the expenses to live off grounds so she can have privacy. While we are on her scholarship, let's get to the part where she is taking a whopping four classes and the guys says wow! Are you sure you can handle taking that many classes?!?! You mean can she handle taking less than a normal class load (five classes)? You know, the normal class load she would be required to maintain to keep her scholarship. Again, the author did zero research. So, she know nothing about dependent children and nothing about college. Then there is the instant love and instant relationships. She literally has one conversation with a guy about whether there is a banana pudding available and from that he has decided she is like a sister to him????? And the four main guys the instant they see her and she see them they suddenly believe in the concept of soul mates and want to rip the face off of anyone who would look at them. Such lazy writing. Zero effort is put into trying to develop the characters or the relationships. The writing is lazy throughout. Instead of painting the scene you have an inexperienced writer telling you what happened and using every cliche in the process. This was a decent concept but so poorly excited. Hard pass.
This book has two things I don't typically enjoy - competitive fighting, and it's a series.
That being said, I friggen loved it and need the next book ASAP. Usually with more than 3 guys I get confused but each of the men in her harem has such a distinct personality. I love how they all want to protect her, but also that she can protect herself. Once of the subplots I guessed early on but I need to know WHY. This was a really good mix of an interesting storyline, and steaminess. I like that the secondary characters are also well thought out. Looking forward to more from this author!
Deposited on the doorstep of an orphanage when she was just a couple days old, Maddy has grown up in the system. Now she has earned a full scholarship to college and plans to start a new life. This is her chance. She's always made her own way, so when she meets four great guys that she has an immediate connection with, she has a hard time trusting. This is made worse since they all have secrets. Still, they manage to get inside her defenses leading to the best times of her life. But it can't last and Maddy's insecurities are realized breaking her.
This was an easy book to fall into. Maddy's story is engaging. She is smart (even if she forgets it at times) and feisty. I really want her to get her best life. The guys are all hot and sexy if not always likable. I am partial to Cody and Ryder even if the push-pull is a bit much at first. Skylar and Jace kinda lost me at the party. Their behavior was unacceptable and honestly, Maddy can do better. Skylar caving to peer pressure turned me off of him completely. It made me much less sympathetic to him during his later storyline. I am intrigued by how Maddy's history is going to come into play and look forward to more, especially with her roommate showing up. I had been waiting for that.
A little advice, the author needs to use a critique service, an arc group or beta readers. There were too many errors. Name changes, inconsistent relationships, misused words. You don't want readers distracted from the story over unnecessary errors.
“I’m not like the other girls you’ve dated. I can defend myself.”
Yep, that line appears MULTIPLE times in this book.
Holy hell this book is one of the worst written things I’ve read in a long time. It’s mostly written in third person but will occasionally switch to first. Also, time means nothing to this author it’s one day one sentence and the next we’ve gone back a few days. The number of typos, wrong words, bad grammar in the first chapter alone almost had me closing this thing.
Shall I keep going? There is insta love in this book. Like sickeningly sweet insta love between our fmc and four guys who see her across Walmart and instantly want to have her babies. There is no build up or character development her. Just wham! We love each other.
Other woman drama, we have it by the buckets. Cheating? Yup. Groveling. Not at all.
Smut? Not really. MM? Sorta. Two of the guys are bi and into each other but no detailed scenes on page.
Talks of rape, assault, abandonment, drug use and suicide reside in the badly typed pages of this book so if you do decide to delve in, mind your triggers.
I kinda liked the plot. That is the only reason I didnt dnf. However, this book really should be completely rewritten followed by a pass through with a good editor. It’s seriously as if the author wrote it and published a rough draft without a single reread.
Not the best, not the worst. Consider it an entry level option for the genre. Reverse harem, neglected abused child, lost heritage, Mma fights, mm, gang undercurrent. Our heroine is left at an Ohio orphanage with a cryptic note warning that she must never be adopted. At 12 she's moved into a group home where she is bullied and beaten by the other residents. With the help of an elderly baker, she overcomes the odds and gets a college scholarship in Georgia. Once there she meets a group of men who all fall in instalove, but resist for various reasons. Although she acts tough, she's quite fragile and is justifiably baffled by the men's hot and cold behavior. Come to find out, as the story progresses, people have begun to figure out her birth identity, but no one tells her, yet. It's fiction, kind of immature, and unbelievable. But it's easy reading entertainment. Numerous misused words, some of which are amusing.
I really loved this book. The story was interesting and kept me hooked to the end. I loved all of the characters. The female lead has a good mix of strength and vulnerability. The guys were a little selfish, but came through in the end. I loved lucca and hope to see his relationship with maddy more as the series goes on. There are however some editing issues. In places it randomly switches from third person, to first and this happened quite a lot. Also it switched from past tense to present a lot. While i was able to overlook these issues and enjoy the story, i feel they could affect peoples opinions of what is really a very good read. It would be better if it could be re edited to solve these errors. Overall i loved the book and cant wait for the next one.
I wanna say dark but to me it’s not dark but maybe for others. Maddy the FMC has a past and still her life now is surrounded by triggers, bad people and looking like parts of her past are about to change things up. There is elements of bullying not from her love interests, gangs, mafia, you name it is only around the corner for Maddy. So there is your warning.
I absolutely love the writing and the story so far. My kind of read and I’m not always one for the younger generation story plots,18 year olds acting older but for maddie and some of the others haven’t had a childhood and had to grow up quickly. Making this more for the maturer read in some ways. Highly recommend and one amazing and incredible to the series.
I had a love hate relationship with this one. I love the story but some of the writing inconsistencies would get me hung up. Like a character would talk about a conversation that never happened (mist have been cut in editing) or reference things that goulding have taken place. I started and stopped this three times, finally I was pulled in by the plot and forced my brain to read over any issues I found. Otherwise it's an entertaining read with some mystery. I just wish this one had some beta readers who helped flush it out a bit more. This is just a readers perspective. But I did enjoy it enough to want to read the next one.
This one starts off with an information bomb in the first few chapters. I almost cried because it was so amateurish. I start about twice as many books as I finish because of the poor writing. I almost returned this one back to KU but I was lazy and stuck with it. It actually got better as it went along. The first half of the book reads like a high schooler writing her first book. Then she hit her stride and it became engrossing.
It needs a good edit and proofreading. If typos and bad grammer drive you nuts then take a pass on this one. She writes vivid characters and her plot is good. If you can stick with it, the author tells a good Reverse Harem story. .
A plotline I would have loved to fall into, Lost & Found had good intentions but bad appearances. It is a debut novel, so it's understandable but still disappointing.
Inconsistencies, errors and a whole bunch of telling rather than showing, the whole novel had a brevity that left me wheeling.
I genuinely was excited for this book, and the plotline is genuine with great potential. The execution was just a bit too flat and forced for me.
Hopefully book 2 has more editing and depth to bulk up the story with more consistency.
Great new story with intriguing characters that pull you in. Multiple povs. MM. Some mild steam with more to come. Traumatic past and some intense flash backs. Maddie is fighting for her future after feeling unwanted her whole life. Lots of mixed signals in the beginning, but they eventually figure it out. Creepy Mike needs to go. Love her friendship with Torr and Lucca. Not too surprised by his connection to her, but also somewhat was. Slight cliffy, but nothing major. Definitely interested in how things continue.
Heartbreaking story about a young girl who grew up in group homes and orphanage. She isn't allowed to be adopted. She now turns 18 and moves across states and finds herself a place. She meets a few boys. One is nicknamed Crusher, he calls her sister (he doesn't know how right he is). The others all have issues and have a hot and cold attitude. They however want to protect the leading lady. Will she let others help her? And what about the family?
I don’t often give 5 stars for books but this one compelled me and I didn’t want to put the book down!
If you love a FMC that’s a bit lost and emotionally damaged but is able to keep coming back despite what’s being thrown at her, this is the book for you.
Maddy is sweet and the four guys are super protective. Some of the men seem to need help just as much as Maddy does and I can’t wait to see how book two plays out.
I like this book it has so much potential to be an amazing series. The female mc is spunky which is always nice gives everyone a nice laugh. The men each have there own personality which is amazing. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the next book I hope we dont have to wait to long since it was a cliff hanger. I also hope we get to see the characters develop more.
I found Lost and Found by accident and took a chance. So happy I did! An amazing book! I laughed and cried and was left wanting more l like yesterday! I cannot wait for the next! Truly a great read. Will add this to my kindle library for good. It's a book I'd read again and again. Great job E.B Brooks!
I liked the book, it was entertaining, short, and had good characters. The harem and Maddie had individual personalities and character development throughout the book. I like how everything was realistic in regards to living in a group home and how she had to learn everything when she left. Such as how to buy furniture, budget, scheduling, cooking etc.
Omg this book wow I mean dam I can't begin to explain all the emotions I'm feeling right now, what a cliffhanger, maddy omg I need to hug her right now, this book was hard to put down and now I finally finished it I need the next book like 10 mind ago lol, I'm so glad I found this author and I'm glad I did
Loved it I went through so many emotions and couldn't put it down . I love all the guys and Maddie is so strong and forgiving I hope she stabs a bunch of people they so deserve it . Dying for book 2 . E.b Brookes you killed this story now hurry and give me another please
I couldn't put this book down. The mc grew up in an orphanage and a group home. She has just aged out of the system and is moving away to college. She is struggling to make it on her own and meets some guys. This is slow/medium burn romance. It ends on a big cliffhanger. I can't wait for book two.
Honestly this book had potential but I felt like the guys in the book kept giving mix signals to the girl for most of the book.
Throughout the book the guys would flirt or get touchy and then next thing you know they will say “ I’m no good for you I have to leave” like what?????
New author for me. I enjoyed this book. I find the characters i interesting and relatable. The story had a hint of mystery that was good. It seemed rushed in certain areas and does end in a cliffhanger. But over all a good read.
The premise of this story was interesting, the orphan girl with guys that love and protect her. Also, I liked how the guys joked around with each other. However, there were a lot of grammatical errors through out the whole book. Lastly, I really hate cliffhangers.
The premise of the book was good. Orphan girl finding her own place in the world with the help of her protectors. However, for such a strong independent woman she was quick to dismiss the wrong doings against her by those close to her.
I can't wait for the next book. The characters are so complex and real. They are all learning how to love one another and to trust. I wish the next book was already out.
I can look after !myself..then immediately gets into a situation where she.needs help. I don't need a ride to school..then nearly gets badly dehydrated. I can walk home and then gets beaten up...and so on.
First time reading this author and I really enjoyed it. I was hooked from the first page loved all the characters but especially loved the female lead Maddy she was so strong and very likeable. Looking forward to reading more from this series.
Was looking for a good book to read and found this. Loved all the characters. Was sad we were left on a cliffhanger. Can't wait till the next book to see what happens.
I loved the story. It just irritated the s*it out off me that she forgave and let things pass so quickly, I do kinda get but also don't. And what was with the ending, why just why would you do that to a person, when there is no second book?