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Eastwood #3
Raiden
Raiden Cruz
Raiden Cruz loved his parents, was loyal to his friends, and was football royalty. His senior year of high school couldn’t have been scripted better. College was on the horizon, and the NFL next. He had no complications in his life, until the day he did. Not sure what to do, because he wasn’t one to really give a damn about anyone but his family and friends, Raiden starts behaving in a way that’s shocking everyone. Especially, himself.
Charlie Harden
Charlie Harden was nobody’s fool. She wasn’t one to be snowed by good looks, money, or popularity. As a soccer player for Eastwood High, she was more independent and fiery than she was delicate and girly. She had great friends, a promising road to college, and great parents who supported her completely. By all accounts, everything was going great, until one day it wasn’t. Confused about what the hell is going on, Charlie’s starts feeling cornered. That is, until she starts fighting fire with fire.
Stuck in a cloud of misunderstanding, Charlie has to decide if it’s worth the fight or if she’s better off waving the white flag and moving on.
Knowing he’s close to crossing lines he can’t come back from, Raiden has to decide, once and for all, what he wants, and if he’s strong enough to do whatever it takes to go after it.
Charlie wasn’t looking for a happily-ever-after, but Raiden wasn’t giving her much of a choice.
Note: While Samson (the first book in the series) can be read as a standalone, Ford, Raiden, Duke, and Alistair cannot. They are continued novellas following Samson.
Raiden Cruz loved his parents, was loyal to his friends, and was football royalty. His senior year of high school couldn’t have been scripted better. College was on the horizon, and the NFL next. He had no complications in his life, until the day he did. Not sure what to do, because he wasn’t one to really give a damn about anyone but his family and friends, Raiden starts behaving in a way that’s shocking everyone. Especially, himself.
Charlie Harden
Charlie Harden was nobody’s fool. She wasn’t one to be snowed by good looks, money, or popularity. As a soccer player for Eastwood High, she was more independent and fiery than she was delicate and girly. She had great friends, a promising road to college, and great parents who supported her completely. By all accounts, everything was going great, until one day it wasn’t. Confused about what the hell is going on, Charlie’s starts feeling cornered. That is, until she starts fighting fire with fire.
Stuck in a cloud of misunderstanding, Charlie has to decide if it’s worth the fight or if she’s better off waving the white flag and moving on.
Knowing he’s close to crossing lines he can’t come back from, Raiden has to decide, once and for all, what he wants, and if he’s strong enough to do whatever it takes to go after it.
Charlie wasn’t looking for a happily-ever-after, but Raiden wasn’t giving her much of a choice.
Note: While Samson (the first book in the series) can be read as a standalone, Ford, Raiden, Duke, and Alistair cannot. They are continued novellas following Samson.
- GenresRomance
56 pages, Paperback
Published August 18, 2020
11 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
M.E. Clayton
162 books641 followersThere's not much to add to my bio, I'm pretty boring...LOL. My favorite thing is to read and, last year, I decided to trade in some of those reading hours and try my hand at writing. The experience has been one of the best things I could have ever embarked upon. It's turned into a hobby that is fun and thoroughly enjoyable. When I'm not reading or writing, I'm spending time with my family or friends.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
characters-who-cheated-ugh
January 17, 2022🙏Thanks for the review Alexandra.
🙂H kissed OW after developing feelings for h.
💪REAL alpha there, eh?😏
🙂H kissed OW after developing feelings for h.
💪REAL alpha there, eh?😏
October 8, 2020
I hate heroes like this. Selfish, scared, childish, arrogant and actually stupid. LONG STORY SHORT... HE ACTUALLY WANT THE HEROINE AFTER HE FIRST TOUCHED HER HAND WITHOUT HER PERMISSION THINKING THE HEROINE WANTS IT JUST LIKE ANY OTHER GIRL WOULD BE AT SCHOOL. She rejected him immediately and pull off from him which he find very interesting because that never happens before and she was the first female to do so to him!
BECAUSE THEY WENT TO THE SAME FRIEND GROUP AT SCHOOL SO THEY ALWAYS STAYED TOGETHER AND SEE EACH OTHER OFTENTIMES... things went crazy with their friends having enemies from the past, both hero and heroine got very closed and finally the hero starts to feel something for her... he knows what he feels is very right and good but he was very scared about his feelings towards her and towards the whole relationship thing... because it was new to him and he never done love thing before.
AFTER HE JUST SAVED HER AND GET CLOSE TO HER, HE GOT THAT WHOLE GUILTY CHILDISH STUPIDITY SCARED THING GOING ON TO HIS HEAD SO HE DECIDED TO STAY AWAY FROM THE HEROINE AND PUSHING HER AWAY TOO MUCH...
SHE WAS VERY SAD... SHE START TO GO TO A PARTY AND GETTING DRUNK ALMOST AT EVERY PARTY BUT THANKFULLY DIDN’T HAVE S*X WITH ANYONE OR EVEN KISSED ANYONE ELSE.
THE HERO HOWEVER KISSED (Only kissing nothing more than that i promise you) FOR FEW SECONDS WITH OW IN FRONT OF THE HEROINE.
AFTER A WHILE LIKE FEW MONTHS HE FELT GUILTY AGAIN SO HE STARTS TO PURSUING HER AGAIN... THE HEROINE PUSH HIM AWAY OF COURSE I WOULD BE TOO IF I WAS HER. how could you???
There was pretty much pushing away from the hero and the heroine because the hero was stupid and the heroine was basically scared and tired of him.... I HATED THIS STORY TO BEGIN WITH 😂😂😂 THE HERO WAS VERY SELFISH OMG POOR CHARACTER!
Even his words to her when he wants her again was very selfish and just not very manly for me.
MANY JEALOUS SCENES FROM THE HERO
THE HERO IS OTT POSSESSIVE ALPHA MALE
THE HEROINE IS A VIRGIN
NO CHEATING
PUSHING AWAY TOO MANY TIMES ARGH annoying!!!
HIGH SCHOOL SAFE ANNOYING LOVE STORY
DRAMA WITH OM not too annoying or too much
Happy ending.
See...
Not so much a good story to read actually. For me.
BECAUSE THEY WENT TO THE SAME FRIEND GROUP AT SCHOOL SO THEY ALWAYS STAYED TOGETHER AND SEE EACH OTHER OFTENTIMES... things went crazy with their friends having enemies from the past, both hero and heroine got very closed and finally the hero starts to feel something for her... he knows what he feels is very right and good but he was very scared about his feelings towards her and towards the whole relationship thing... because it was new to him and he never done love thing before.
AFTER HE JUST SAVED HER AND GET CLOSE TO HER, HE GOT THAT WHOLE GUILTY CHILDISH STUPIDITY SCARED THING GOING ON TO HIS HEAD SO HE DECIDED TO STAY AWAY FROM THE HEROINE AND PUSHING HER AWAY TOO MUCH...
SHE WAS VERY SAD... SHE START TO GO TO A PARTY AND GETTING DRUNK ALMOST AT EVERY PARTY BUT THANKFULLY DIDN’T HAVE S*X WITH ANYONE OR EVEN KISSED ANYONE ELSE.
THE HERO HOWEVER KISSED (Only kissing nothing more than that i promise you) FOR FEW SECONDS WITH OW IN FRONT OF THE HEROINE.
AFTER A WHILE LIKE FEW MONTHS HE FELT GUILTY AGAIN SO HE STARTS TO PURSUING HER AGAIN... THE HEROINE PUSH HIM AWAY OF COURSE I WOULD BE TOO IF I WAS HER. how could you???
There was pretty much pushing away from the hero and the heroine because the hero was stupid and the heroine was basically scared and tired of him.... I HATED THIS STORY TO BEGIN WITH 😂😂😂 THE HERO WAS VERY SELFISH OMG POOR CHARACTER!
Even his words to her when he wants her again was very selfish and just not very manly for me.
MANY JEALOUS SCENES FROM THE HERO
THE HERO IS OTT POSSESSIVE ALPHA MALE
THE HEROINE IS A VIRGIN
NO CHEATING
PUSHING AWAY TOO MANY TIMES ARGH annoying!!!
HIGH SCHOOL SAFE ANNOYING LOVE STORY
DRAMA WITH OM not too annoying or too much
Happy ending.
See...
Not so much a good story to read actually. For me.
October 3, 2020
This is the story I was looking forward too since book one but man I wanted to slap Charlie a few times lol loved it !!
February 17, 2021
Out of the five books in this series, I was most looking forward to this one. Which is why I’m so freaking disappointed.
From the minute we met Charlie (in Samson), I loved her. In that book she seemed like such a badass. I love that she didn’t fall over from Raiden’s attention. I was rooting so hard for the two of them!
And then we’re given the same exact characters as pretty much every book like this.
Say it with me: virginal heroine, manwhore hero.
And, yes, sometimes, as much as it pains me to say this, it works. Here it just didn’t.
Charlie’s points for not being with Raiden are actually spot on.
He’s controlling. Way over the top jealous and a fucking hypocrite.
I can handle a bit of a manwhore. And I’m cool with any character having an active sex life. But Raiden being with so many girls while Charlie had zero experience at all really put me off. There’s even a scene where she’s sitting at a table with her soccer friends and Raiden wants to talk to her. He then also realizes that he’s had sex with both of the girls sitting with Charlie. Like, seriously? Did we need that?
Nearly the entire book was centered around the fact that Raiden had been with a lot of girls. We’re practically beaten over the head with this fact. I think the fact that we are told this so much just put me off. I’m all for sex positivity. My issue was that this seemed to be Raiden’s only personality trait.
I honestly just couldn’t get behind Raiden as a hero because I didn’t much like him.
In addition to Charlie always being reminded of his super active sex life, she also has to deal with his off and odd mood swings. One minute he’s pursuing her relentlessly. Then he backs off. But the second Charlie so much as stands next to another guy, here comes Raiden and his mixed signals.
And I was officially over it when Raiden, who regardless of whether or not he’s with Charlie knows that he wants her, lets a girl he’s been with before paw all over him in front of Charlie.
Dude was a dick. Charlie deserved better.
I absolutely hate that this book wasn’t my thing. I wanted to like it so much.
I think it’s safe to say my relationship with this author has had its ups and downs. I liked her earlier work so much. So many of her previous heroes weren’t the same manwhore (I’ll never like that word. I don’t want to slut shame here, but it’s the word most used in this genre, so until I think of something better, manwhore it is) we see constantly. Hell, in the Buchanan books we had the unicorn amongst romance books: a male virgin. I don’t know if all of their recent books are this way, or if it’s just this series. I do know I’ll be reading the reviews of the newer ones before reading. I’m still planning a re read of the Enemies series. I liked most of that one a lot, and want to see how it holds up for me now.
And, because these are basically novellas, I did finish the rest of the series. While I didn’t like Raiden, I was still hopeful for the next few heroes.
From the minute we met Charlie (in Samson), I loved her. In that book she seemed like such a badass. I love that she didn’t fall over from Raiden’s attention. I was rooting so hard for the two of them!
And then we’re given the same exact characters as pretty much every book like this.
Say it with me: virginal heroine, manwhore hero.
And, yes, sometimes, as much as it pains me to say this, it works. Here it just didn’t.
Charlie’s points for not being with Raiden are actually spot on.
He’s controlling. Way over the top jealous and a fucking hypocrite.
I can handle a bit of a manwhore. And I’m cool with any character having an active sex life. But Raiden being with so many girls while Charlie had zero experience at all really put me off. There’s even a scene where she’s sitting at a table with her soccer friends and Raiden wants to talk to her. He then also realizes that he’s had sex with both of the girls sitting with Charlie. Like, seriously? Did we need that?
Nearly the entire book was centered around the fact that Raiden had been with a lot of girls. We’re practically beaten over the head with this fact. I think the fact that we are told this so much just put me off. I’m all for sex positivity. My issue was that this seemed to be Raiden’s only personality trait.
I honestly just couldn’t get behind Raiden as a hero because I didn’t much like him.
In addition to Charlie always being reminded of his super active sex life, she also has to deal with his off and odd mood swings. One minute he’s pursuing her relentlessly. Then he backs off. But the second Charlie so much as stands next to another guy, here comes Raiden and his mixed signals.
And I was officially over it when Raiden, who regardless of whether or not he’s with Charlie knows that he wants her, lets a girl he’s been with before paw all over him in front of Charlie.
Dude was a dick. Charlie deserved better.
I absolutely hate that this book wasn’t my thing. I wanted to like it so much.
I think it’s safe to say my relationship with this author has had its ups and downs. I liked her earlier work so much. So many of her previous heroes weren’t the same manwhore (I’ll never like that word. I don’t want to slut shame here, but it’s the word most used in this genre, so until I think of something better, manwhore it is) we see constantly. Hell, in the Buchanan books we had the unicorn amongst romance books: a male virgin. I don’t know if all of their recent books are this way, or if it’s just this series. I do know I’ll be reading the reviews of the newer ones before reading. I’m still planning a re read of the Enemies series. I liked most of that one a lot, and want to see how it holds up for me now.
And, because these are basically novellas, I did finish the rest of the series. While I didn’t like Raiden, I was still hopeful for the next few heroes.
September 4, 2021
This addition to the Eastwood series was thankfully better than the last one but fell short of the first. The whole OTT j/p caveman thing does it for me.
So Raiden is also a manwhore. Not exactly re-inventing the wheel with this trope in romance novels. I’ll concede that it’s always a bit tiresome in high school books though. Surely not all high school Aged girls are easy but the heroines. That’s always what it seems like.
I appreciated Charlie’s fire. I agreed with her that Raiden didn’t deserve her virginity after banging every girl that offered herself up. I know it would never happen but I’d have cheered her on giving it up to someone else. Of course, then all the readers who want the heroines pure and chaste would have clutched their precious pearls. Boohoo.
In the end, I thought Raiden had proved himself enough and explained enough to deserve Charlie but if anything it should be a lesson not to duck every girl that offers.
Story 4/5, Heat 2/5, Angst 2.5/5, this one felt a bit angstier because Raiden was so dumb. Slow burn but it’s novella length. One spicy scene that wasn’t terribly spicy but fitting for Charlie’s first time. Virgin h, manwhore H, no condoms. Push away from H prior to this beginning of this book but not once it begins, lots of deserved push away from h. Despite his manwhoring ways not much OW drama but his previous promiscuity hangs heavy between them the whole book. No cheating but H is kissed by another girl in the beginning of book and h sees. H didn’t want the kiss. Heroine threatens to giver her virginity away and sleep around to even the score and see how he felt after she’d done it but nothing happens. I actually loved the OM drama because it got to showcase his J/P behavior and the double standard that exists in romance novels. No separation between couple in this book once together, no back offs once he committed to pursuing her.
No cheating, no cliffhanger and HEA. Setup epilogue for Duke and Willow.
So Raiden is also a manwhore. Not exactly re-inventing the wheel with this trope in romance novels. I’ll concede that it’s always a bit tiresome in high school books though. Surely not all high school Aged girls are easy but the heroines. That’s always what it seems like.
I appreciated Charlie’s fire. I agreed with her that Raiden didn’t deserve her virginity after banging every girl that offered herself up. I know it would never happen but I’d have cheered her on giving it up to someone else. Of course, then all the readers who want the heroines pure and chaste would have clutched their precious pearls. Boohoo.
In the end, I thought Raiden had proved himself enough and explained enough to deserve Charlie but if anything it should be a lesson not to duck every girl that offers.
Story 4/5, Heat 2/5, Angst 2.5/5, this one felt a bit angstier because Raiden was so dumb. Slow burn but it’s novella length. One spicy scene that wasn’t terribly spicy but fitting for Charlie’s first time. Virgin h, manwhore H, no condoms. Push away from H prior to this beginning of this book but not once it begins, lots of deserved push away from h. Despite his manwhoring ways not much OW drama but his previous promiscuity hangs heavy between them the whole book. No cheating but H is kissed by another girl in the beginning of book and h sees. H didn’t want the kiss. Heroine threatens to giver her virginity away and sleep around to even the score and see how he felt after she’d done it but nothing happens. I actually loved the OM drama because it got to showcase his J/P behavior and the double standard that exists in romance novels. No separation between couple in this book once together, no back offs once he committed to pursuing her.
No cheating, no cliffhanger and HEA. Setup epilogue for Duke and Willow.
November 20, 2020
Lol
The teenager drama in this story was OTT stupid!! Yes teenagers are irrational, emotional and stupid but NOT this level of ridiculous unless they are bipolar or something worse like on drugs. Only for the author to give one serious conversation between characters and viola(!) they are magically together. Smh
I genuinely can’t wrap my mind around this story. Honestly, I feel that way about most of this authors stories. I loved her Buchanan’s series and the enemy duet so much but all the others I’ve bought so far fall so far short of making sense that I’m not sure why I still buy this authors books.
Also, had I realized these were short spin off novellas I might not have bought them. That could also be why the characters are crazy. Their stories might be better rationalized if they were full length books. Maybe...
The teenager drama in this story was OTT stupid!! Yes teenagers are irrational, emotional and stupid but NOT this level of ridiculous unless they are bipolar or something worse like on drugs. Only for the author to give one serious conversation between characters and viola(!) they are magically together. Smh
I genuinely can’t wrap my mind around this story. Honestly, I feel that way about most of this authors stories. I loved her Buchanan’s series and the enemy duet so much but all the others I’ve bought so far fall so far short of making sense that I’m not sure why I still buy this authors books.
Also, had I realized these were short spin off novellas I might not have bought them. That could also be why the characters are crazy. Their stories might be better rationalized if they were full length books. Maybe...
October 3, 2020
Emotional interesting and intriguing
Emotional screw ups between Raiden and Charlie that made this an amazing story. The problems that come between them is mostly not admitting feelings and communication. Raiden finally can't take no more and he explained, in an alpha kind of way, he feel in love with Charlie. The lucky part Charlie loved Raiden. How they got together is most interesting. Recommended to a mature audience for teading
Emotional screw ups between Raiden and Charlie that made this an amazing story. The problems that come between them is mostly not admitting feelings and communication. Raiden finally can't take no more and he explained, in an alpha kind of way, he feel in love with Charlie. The lucky part Charlie loved Raiden. How they got together is most interesting. Recommended to a mature audience for teading
September 9, 2022
good
Another short but ok read I kind of like these really quick hour books I mean I think they would go from ok books to great books if they were longer and more smut but love the jp in them
Another short but ok read I kind of like these really quick hour books I mean I think they would go from ok books to great books if they were longer and more smut but love the jp in them
June 21, 2021
Enjoying the series, wish the books were longer.
January 6, 2022
todo livro deveria ter essa quantidade de páginas esse só faltou um pouquinho de sal pra ficar perfeito mas o raiden é possessivo e gostoso ja torna a leitura válida
December 31, 2024
RAIDEN and CHARLIE
Charlie and Raiden have been a keg just waiting to explode in a boom of lust and maybe hate sex... LOL
Raiden has been interested in Charlie from the very beginning, maybe he didn’t realize it as love at first, but ever since the little spitfire gave it back to him with her sass, Raiden has fallen deeper for her, up until the point she was abducted in the first book.
Raiden placed some stupid blame on himself for not being able to protect her, and causing her abduction (which he didn’t), and the solution to lessen his guilt was to ghost her and try to move on. I mean really! Stupid. (Keep reminding myself that these are 18-year old’s)
“Had I not been playing hot and cold with her, and made my intentions known from the beginning, she never would have taken off with Alistair. I had wrestled with the same guilt Samson had, in that, we had promised to protect the girls and had failed miserably.”
A near brush of death , made Charlie break away from her goody-two-shoes and start to party hard. Another brush with an unfortunate incident snaps her back to reality and she decides to go back to her old life, when they were not entangles with the popular boys from school.
Butt when he saw her in the arms on another, potentially moving on, Raiden gets his head out of his ass and finally takes the plunge to claim her as his own, and Charlie is not going to make it easy. AT. ALL.
“And the only girl I’ve ever fallen in love with doesn’t love me back. And what’s worse, she doesn’t believe that I genuinely love her. She thinks it’s a game I’m trying to win.”
Charlie’s issue is that she is surrounded by just women who Raiden has bee involved it. How is it possible to be serious with a man who treats sex as such a causal thing. He is a self-proclaimed player and a man-wh*re. This conversation between them went on for too long honestly. A little annoying to be honest.
But Raiden will prove she is different for him, no matter how many buttons she manages to push and even if he has to wait for her forever.
“Even, if they know what it’s like to be f*cked by me, they have no idea what it feels like to be loved by me. And because I’ve never f*cked a girl who I was in love with, you’d be my first and only. I don’t know what that feels like, Charlie, and no girl in this school knows what it’s like to feel that with me, Charlie. No girl.”
PS : Duke is so sweet. I loved him! Like totally best friend material!
Charlie and Raiden have been a keg just waiting to explode in a boom of lust and maybe hate sex... LOL
Raiden has been interested in Charlie from the very beginning, maybe he didn’t realize it as love at first, but ever since the little spitfire gave it back to him with her sass, Raiden has fallen deeper for her, up until the point she was abducted in the first book.
Raiden placed some stupid blame on himself for not being able to protect her, and causing her abduction (which he didn’t), and the solution to lessen his guilt was to ghost her and try to move on. I mean really! Stupid. (Keep reminding myself that these are 18-year old’s)
“Had I not been playing hot and cold with her, and made my intentions known from the beginning, she never would have taken off with Alistair. I had wrestled with the same guilt Samson had, in that, we had promised to protect the girls and had failed miserably.”
A near brush of death , made Charlie break away from her goody-two-shoes and start to party hard. Another brush with an unfortunate incident snaps her back to reality and she decides to go back to her old life, when they were not entangles with the popular boys from school.
Butt when he saw her in the arms on another, potentially moving on, Raiden gets his head out of his ass and finally takes the plunge to claim her as his own, and Charlie is not going to make it easy. AT. ALL.
“And the only girl I’ve ever fallen in love with doesn’t love me back. And what’s worse, she doesn’t believe that I genuinely love her. She thinks it’s a game I’m trying to win.”
Charlie’s issue is that she is surrounded by just women who Raiden has bee involved it. How is it possible to be serious with a man who treats sex as such a causal thing. He is a self-proclaimed player and a man-wh*re. This conversation between them went on for too long honestly. A little annoying to be honest.
But Raiden will prove she is different for him, no matter how many buttons she manages to push and even if he has to wait for her forever.
“Even, if they know what it’s like to be f*cked by me, they have no idea what it feels like to be loved by me. And because I’ve never f*cked a girl who I was in love with, you’d be my first and only. I don’t know what that feels like, Charlie, and no girl in this school knows what it’s like to feel that with me, Charlie. No girl.”
PS : Duke is so sweet. I loved him! Like totally best friend material!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews