Zane & Madeline: Inked

Bad Boy Next Door #1

by Lauren Landish, Willow Winters

From USA Today bestselling authors, Willow Winters and Lauren Landish, comes a smoking hot standalone romance that’ll have you wishing you had your own bad boy next door.

Little Miss Goody-Two-Shoes just moved in next door.
She’s a good girl, the kind I want to ruin.

The problem is, she knows I’m bad news. I’ve always been trouble.

That’s why she keeps pushing me away, even with her curvy body pressed against mine and those soft moans spilling from her lips.

Now that she’s my neighbor, it’s only a matter of time before I'll have her in my arms and clinging to me the way I need her to.

I may not deserve her, but I want her more than I’ve ever wanted anything.
She’s not getting away from the bad boy next door.

Genres: Romance, Audiobook, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Dark Romance, Erotica, Smut

300 pages, Paperback

First published September 30, 2016

About the author

Lauren Landish is a WALL STREET JOURNAL & USA TODAY bestselling author and her books have garnered a legion of praise from her readers.

When she’s not plotting about how she will introduce you to your next sexy as hell book boyfriend, you can find her deep, deep in her writing cave, furiously tapping away on her keyboard, writing scenes that would make even a hardened sailor blush.

Lauren, who lives in NC with her boyfriend and fur baby, warmly invites you to her worlds of rock hard abs, chiseled smiles, and men with deep, fat pockets…but beware! These stories are guaranteed to have you addicted and needing your next fix!

Visit Lauren's Website at: http://www.laurenlandish.com/
Join the Mailing list at: http://www.subscribepage.com/w1h8x6
Connect with me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/lauren.landish
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Reviews

[➦Paulette & Her Sexy Alphas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inked:
A Bad Boy Next Door Romance
By Lauren Landish & Willow Winters

I’ll be honest I’ve never read any of Blandishes books before , oh but I’ve read plenty of Willow Winters, so any author that hooks up with Willow has to be great..

Madeline is a college student who moves to a new town in the Midwest with her best friend Katie. Katie decides to drag her on a night club for Lil fun, but Madeline /Maddy has sworn off men due to her ex's cheating on her with her nemesis. She meets this hot bad boy at the club only to brush him off when things get too hot & heavy
Zane owns his own tattoo parlor that the mob runs drugs & money through the back of his shop. When Madeline /Maddy leave him hanging in the club Zane thought he never see his “Good Girl” again , until he see that she now his new neighbor

If you like dominant Alpha male with a touch of soft spot- & very Hot Sex Scenes this is the book for you- Also got Lil bite of Mob Action

Can’t wait to be Tempted by
Willow Winters & Lauren Landish
**ARC generously provided by author in exchange for an honest review.**

[D.G.]

DNFed at 54%

Maddie

This is the most immature heroine I've come across in a long time. Instead of acting like a mature adult, she was either rude or running away from the guy because she feared she would fall in bed with him. Grow the fuck up!

Zane

He's not a bad boy, he's a criminal. There's a difference.

Love scenes

After all the build up - Maddie's nether regions had been constantly throbbing since she met Zane - the sex is over so fast!

Maddie and her best friend

Constant bickering...so annoying!

Male Narrator: J.F. Harding

The best thing of the audiobook. He has such a deep sexy timbre (goosebumps!) and such an easy way with dialogue. Words flowed so naturally - maybe the guy just has great diction but everything sounded just as if it was the kind of thing he would say. He needs to work on his female voices though - some were good but the BBF's was particularly atrocious.

[Steffi De Ceuster ♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm so glad this wasn't actually a long story, but it looked like that with the other 2 included.
It was just so fast and so unrealistic, like nobody moves that fast.
To get through this one I've read so fast! There was a bit drama but it was quickly solved and just so predictable.

I'm sorry for all the ones who loved it, it's just not my thing!
For all the ones who haven't read it, don't let my review stop you!


So this one includes 2 other stories : Relentless and Dirty Dom.
I'm gonna read Relentless.

[Kay's Blushing Book Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

Inked by Lauren Landish & Willow Winters- A Bad Boy Next Door Romance

GENRE: Contemporary Romance
NARRATION: Dual POV
BOOK DETAILS: Bad Boy Next Door, Book 1
AUDIO AVAILABLE? Yes

THE STORY:
Good girl Maddie has been hurt in the past and is not looking for a one night stand let alone a relationship. When Maddie rejected Zane, the hot tattooed god of a man at a club, the last thing she expected was to see him living next door to the apartment she just moved into.

Zane is in pursuit, challenged by her rejection he will do whatever it takes to change her mind. Maddie want to give in to her desires but struggles to let the walls down she’d built to protect herself.
Sexy, flirty and dirty bad boy wants his good girl neighbour to come and play.



MY THOUGHTS:
It is basically a story about two horny neighbours getting in on, then their not, then they are again.

A Smutty read with little profoundness or substance The humour was over the top and the characters dull. I truly struggled to finish it, it’s just not my kind of read.

Heroine was pathetic, whiney and irritating. Although she had a good reason to not want to peruse anything with Zane her delivery was unconvincing. Her hot and cold attitude was too much of a cliché’ and the heroine was a cocky bad boy wannabe.

This was a disappointing for me. There was nothing intriguing or original enough to keep me engaged.

MY RATINGS: (All ratings are out of 5)
HERO RATING: 3
HEROINE RATING: 2
BLUSH RATING: 4
ROMANCE RATING: 2
PLOT RATING: 3
OVERALL: 2

DO I RECCOMEND ,
If you want an easy smutty read then yes but if its depth or development your after then give it a miss.



Narrated by: J.F. Harding, Holly Chandler
Length: 5 hrs and 23 mins

Holly is very expressive with her narration, her portrayal of Katie was annoying at best and way over the top but she did a good job for Maddie.

J.F Harding has a low deep tone in his voice that matched Zane’s character well, the audio version of the book was more enticing then the read version as it added more dimension to it.

AUDIO RATING: 4/5

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[Tammy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lead female was a bitch

Can we please stop making the lead female a bitch. Here is a list
Judgmental
Whinny
Angry
Indecisive
I am so over it. Zane was a great guy who she totally judged by her ex. Zane deserved a better girl than this one.

[April Symes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zane and Maddie make this book rock- they are complete opposites but that saying fits them- opposites attract. Maddie has moved to a new town to start college with her bestie Katie after catching her ex boyfriend cheating on her with a rival. Her heart is broken and she doesn’t want to get involved with any new men. She just wants to concentrate on college. Maddy and Katie go to a bar when this handsome man named Zane strolls into Maddie’s life and shakes it up. Maddie is the ultimate good girl while Zane is sort of a bad boy and he wants to take a bite of this “good girl” yet she quickly left the bar. Not sure if things were meant to be between them and if he wants her…things change when Maddie moves in next door to him. Oh that is when sparks fly and the chase fully begins. But Zane has secrets and a whole other life that he has to hide and for Maddie, she doesn’t like liars or secrets being hidden. Zane is such a handsome devil and Maddie is pretty as an angel— Zane does all he can to protect her from his mob connections but when you play with the mob, even as little as Zane does, things will roll on to you. Can Zane protect Maddie and share with her his life or will Maddie figure out what he is hiding and if/when she does, will she stay or will she leave her love behind?
I loved this sexy and thrilling romance story. The connection, the romance and the sparks between the MC is fantastic along with the mystery and suspense that is there about the Mob is awesome. I cannot wait to see what these authors have next for me to read. This was one fantastic story.

My rating: 4.5 stars ****
"I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

[Bex (Beckie Bookworm) · Rating 3 out of 5]

ideally enjoyed Inked it was fast paced, full of action and kept my interest. Zane was a real bad boy hottie ( fanning my self here ) and Maddie while naive, the perfect good girl counterfoil to Zane's badassness. Katie the best friend, really like her sassyness. this was a very enjoyable read the chemistry between our two lovers set the pages alight and made you want to keep reading loved it.

[Anna's Herding Cats · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5-3 stars, 3 heat

I've been loving Lauren Landish this past month and even though I don't love dual author books I decided to give Inked a try. Eh. It was okay. Far from special, though.

The Gist:

Alright, so, Madeline and Zane. They were okay, though, honestly, I had to look up their names not even an hour after reading it. Zane was the bad boy tattoo artist. A bit pushy and involved with the mob but good guy under it. Madeline is the broken hearted college student. She's rather bitchy and rude for no good reason. One guy breaks her heart so treat all of them like scum? Oooookay. Other than that she wasn't horrendous. Just bland, I guess.

The romance was basically her hating on him and him promising not to give up. A few sex scenes sprinkled in eventually. There really wasn't any development on the romance side.

Now, there was a lot of ridiculous. Him being connected to the mob and them using his store as a front. He's all I need to protect Maddy from that life...so let's constantly hang out at my parlor until she accidentally sees them unloading drugs into the shop? (which in itself was stupid since the shop was used to launder money and they had a warehouse where they packaged/dealt with the drugs but okay). Because that's brilliant? lol And the mob apparently lives in fear of him even though he can't shoot for shit and trips over his own feet when danger arrives? Again...ooookay.

I don't know. It was lackluster and ridiculous. It wasn't the worst thing I've read...I did manage to finish it. But will I read more? Nope. I like Landish so can only assume it was the co-writing. Which doesn't make me want to check out the other author either.

Everyone else loved it, though, apparently. I felt it was less than mediocre. Also cum vs come about drove me insane.

[shannonbookishlife · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one this was a fun read that you can just read while having a bubble bath and a glass of wine and I read this in one sitting this was a fast paced read. I enjoyed the connection between the characters

[Rickie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Action and suspense and enough heat to scorch the battery in my Kindle. Talk about the characters jumping off the page and seeing it all happen behind the closed lids of my eyes. Oh man....I have to give Landish and Winters two thumbs up and a 5 Star rating for making this plot come life. A solid foundation that didn't go to porn.

[Sherill · Rating 5 out of 5]

SIZZLING -DANGEROUS-PASSION

A titillating tale that tells how bad boy Zane’s haunted past landed him in the Koranav mob and finding pleasure with one woman changes his life. His heart-stirring looks and charismatic persona have women chasing him for more than one night of bliss or more. Madeline and her childhood best friend Katie have moved to Grim Lake to attend the University. Madeline’s past has her distrusting all men. Her goal is not date, get a degree, land a fab job and then maybe find the love of her life. The exhilarating plot, witty banter, tear-jerking moments, life-threatening moments, and fiery sensual romance capture and hold your attention until the end. A few hurdles to conquer before the happy ever after making this a most pleasurable read.

Katie literally drags Madeline to Club Dusk for a night of drinking, dancing and the chance to meet some hot guys. Madeline finds the club distasteful and truly wants to leave. Zane is at the club and when his eyes fall upon the blonde curvy beauty thoughts of other women cease to exist. Zane finally has his chance to speak with Madeline at the bar, but his flirty innuendos have her bolting out the club door leaving him speechless and wanting. Fate has Madeline and Katie moving into a condo directly across from Zane’s. Madeline keeps pushing him away, her sassy attitude making him want her more. Strategically planning his next move to have her, he fails to remember that being with him puts her in horrific danger.

The story is fast paced, well written and the authors immediately hook you with credible engaging characters, humor and breathtaking vivid scene descriptions. The romance between the two explodes with sizzling passion. I so enjoyed the banter between Madeline and Zane, and the crazy friendship between Katie and Madeline. Zane felt he was not worthy to be with Madeline but is quick-thinking and protective nature make him a most valiant hero. The authors do show that trust is imperative in a lasting loving relationship. A most entertaining read and I loved it. If you enjoy fantasy bad boys this is a fabulous book for your library. {I was gifted this book and this is my honest review}. In the world of fantasy romance, the magic begins with the first thought to paper. Without reservations, I recommend this book.

[madeline… · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the worst book I will ever read because I choose not to finish a future book with as horrid characterization, plot, writing, and pacing as this one. Like this book makes Ana Huang’s writing worthy of a Pulitzer prize (sorry to Ana for the random diss).

You may look through my goodreads and think why does she continue to read erotic romances when she has rated EVERY SINGLE ONE below two stars. Well, I decided it would be a cutesy ✨ idea to read an erotica where the female main character has the same name as me 🥹
And all I can say for reading my name in this manor…I kind of just disassociated because this Madeline is not ME Madeline, because the Madeline in this book is a fucking dumbass.

—Spoilers below—

The overall plot is good girl-Madeline x bad boy-Zane (who happens to be a tattoo artist and in the mob??). They meet at a bar, he makes his advances towards her (which was technically assault) they go their separate ways with just a kiss being shared. And then, surprise surprise they are next door neighbors 😧 blah blah blah they start fucking then they start dating. One night when taking her to his tattoo parlor (mind you the parlor is a front for the mob) they come in when the mob business is packing up some cocaine. They break up because he didn’t tell her he was in the mob, blah blah blah, she gets kidnapped by the mob. He saves her, kills two guys and brings her to the hospital. After she recovers they live happily ever after (btw he left the mob after the whole kidnapping fiasco).

Okay so we are clear on the plot. Great! Now let me go through the biggest issues I had with this book (mind you this is not everything, but just the highlights):


—Technical Issues—

The words déjà vu and touché just randomly being in a different font color from the rest of the text. It just made me think that the author didn’t know who to spell the words or didn’t have accents so she had to copy and paste the words into her document. It’s just weird that the color difference wasn’t changed in the editing process because it is a VERY obvious color difference. But considering how bad the book is there may have not been an editing process. Also, the indenting and double spacing would not be consistent on the same page which was…distracting.


—Characterization—

Genuinely the characterization was non-existent for Maddy. Like I just finished the book and all I could tell you about her is that she is a college student, she wished she had a car, she pissed herself at age 4, and she isn’t good at her economics class. Like that is it. She doesn’t have a personality other than being wishy washy and I guess a blonde bombshell for Zane. Now Zane has some more backstory, it’s boring and cliche, but it is a backstory. But they are both just a troupe, there is nothing special about their personalities or anything. Simply they are bad boy x good girl (which I don’t exactly know what makes Madeline a ‘good girl’ but I also don’t really care).
The only thing that Zane and Madeline seem to have in common is that just care about wanting to have sex with each other. I mean literally on page 17, Zane’s first thought of Madeline is,
“She’s fucking cute. And she’s got a pouty mouth and heart-shaped face that add to the innocent look. I’d love to see those lips wrapped around my cock.”
Like can we acknowledge a woman for her brains, her independence, her wit, at least something before this bullshit? But it’s not like Madeline is much better. She refers to Zane’s body (after seeing him jerk off through a window, because their bedrooms are parallel from each other in their condos) as, “…naked, hard, chiseled body and big, fat, fucking cock..”
this is just…🤦‍♀️ THEY DON’T HAVE ANY CHEMISTRY WITH EACH OTHER! And I this is just ONE of the many examples I could have written btw.


—Just cringe behavior—

- Madeline states she has to go (because she doesn’t want to have sex with Zane, but she also wants to get dicked down by him…it’s all very stupid but essentially she is scared that Zane is just going to use her body for sex and dump her after she gives it up) Zane then pins her against the wall. Instead of disgusting her the action turns her on and we get this incredible line, “‘Y-y-you’re not my daddy’,” genuinely wanted to kms after reading that.
- Zane states, “I almost had her in her kitchen. I’m surprised she let it get that far. She’s definitely losing her will to fight this.” Can we just not talk about sex in that manner? Like tf…
- Zane pushes Maddy up against her front door after she has brushed off his advances. Like again, this is technically assault.
- The day after having sex Madeline opens up to Zane about her fears and mentions guy’s cheating…and it’s just like, they just met. They both just had sex together for the first time. They are not exclusive, nor are they dating. So WHY DO WE GIVE A FLYING FUCK ABOUT CHEATING!
- Madeline gets mad at Katie for pushing her to get with Zane after learning he was a part of the mob. She says that her friend should have protected her from him. Like how was she supposed to know that dumbass????


—The rampant misogyny—

Are we surprised to see a romance book with a “bad boy” that is described as blunt when he is actually just misogynistic. No! Here is the collection of moments:
- Zane refers to cosmos as “pussy drinks” and in turn Madeline gets turned on because Zane says the word pussy, ooooh shiver my timbers
- A dumbass character named Needles says literally after learning about her, “Madeline is the name of a bitch with a stick up her ass…” which I take personal offense towards, but also don’t talk about women in this manner (mind you this was written by two women).
- Madeline finally agrees to a date with Zane in which they are doing a movie night and watching Deadpool. And I kid you not Zane states, “I did my homework. I’ve got a funny movie she’s going to love, Deadpool. I heard the guy gets pegged though, not sure how I feel about that.” Like what lol?? What does that have to do with anything?


—Bad writing, and or the miscellaneous category—

- The ex-boyfriend’s name is Zach (that apparently did Maddy really dirty) and that is just way too close to Zane. Like get creative…
- Zane asks where Madeline and Katie (her roommate) live in town (since they are newcomers) and she literally gives him an address, it is a fake one. But am I the only one that thinks if a strange man asks you where you live in town you just say a general area not give him your fucking address??
- While moving into their condo Madeline makes the comment that she is glad she isn’t moving all of the boxes in the sweltering heat, “…doing all this hard work for less than minimum wage I bet.” Is she an idiot? That would be illegal if they are employed by a moving company. Why would they be working for less than minimum wage??
- When thinking back to Zane jerking off through the window, during a conversation with her roommate, Madeline reaches her hand towards her to touch her (and I kid you not this was the word that was used) muff. What is this asinine behavior? In which her roommate catches her about to do it and then Madeline gets weirded out when her BFF talks about having a yeast infection. Girl, bffr touching your muff is worse than talking about medical issues.
- In reference to Madeline’s actual father, the author uses the term daddy SEVEN times on one singular page. She uses it another FOUR times on a half page, and there were only 12 FUCKING LINES on that damn half page.
- The like mob boss second in command refers to Zane as the f-slur, like why was that needed??
- Just this quote, “Bang! Maddy shrieks. Bang! Bang! I keep shooting until the gun’s out of bullets. Garret falls to the ground lifeless, but the fight’s not over. I turn to my left and see Nik and Vlad both grappling on the ground, both with their hands at each other’s throat. I aim my gun and fire, but it’s empty.” Like are we serious…this is what the writing is like for 234 fucking pages!
- The literal last page says that they had a baby named Gabe which is a bitch ass name and I hate ‘We had a baby’ troupe.

Literally contemplating just throwing the book away since I did annotate it. But idk, highly don’t recommend this book because it fucking sucks👍

[Yesenia Gonzalez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inked was a bad boy next Door Romance.
Madeline (Maddy) just moved with her best friend to a small town, she will be attending the university there. She just had a bad breakup the boy she was supposed to have all her first was cheating on her with the girl she hates. She is trying to stay away from those bad boys she thinks she needs a good guy who will not break her heart. When she goes to the club with her best friend she doesn't want to go but she goes, their she meets Zane and he tries to get her under him only she isn't having it so she leaves. They don't think they will see each other but turns out she is the new tenant right next door to him. Zane is nowhere near a good boy, he has bad boy written all over him with all his tattoos and very toned body. He owns a tattoo parlor with his friend only that's the only good thing from it, in the back is where the Mob handles their dealings. Zane might not be part of it but he is forced to let them work there if he wants to live. When these two meet they both know they should stay away from each other but their connection is strong and well they live next door to each other. But some think Zane is keeping from her and things don't end up well.
I thought Zane was cute how he tried to bring down her walls wouldn't let her say no, she, on the other hand, was trying to stay away from him at all chance she kept saying he was bad news and fought him at all his chances.

[Sara MacRae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy smoking tamales. Zane is my new favorite book boyfriend.

Inked will draw you in from its scintillating and steamy teasers, but it will keep you entrenched because the writing is tight and clean, the sex is hot (Lord, it’s good!), the passion and affection seem real, the characters are compelling and engaging, the plot is solid, and the story is steady and seamless.

Maddie is likeable, and I found it easy to relate to and identify with her and her initial questions about Zane’s authenticity. And for a so-called bad boy, the respectfulness he’s willing to extend to Maddie’s father is laudable and screams out “class act guy.”

My absolute favorite Zane scene had to be when he comforts Maddie after he worries that he has physically hurt her after a wild romp in the sack, but a close second is when they profess their love for one another. I simply loved that scene.

The secondary characters contribute plausibly to the plot, and Needles and Maddie’s best friend Katie may be worth imagining in their own independent story. Nikolai is also an intriguing character and his behind the scenes contributions to Zane’s life and upbringing lends a different slant from most mob-related stories. He was a true father figure willing to do right by Zane, from remembering the significance surrounding how they initially met to the day they parted.

No question, Winters and Landish make a dynamite author duo.

[Angie ~aka Reading Machine~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Madeline "Maddy" Murphy, just moved to the area with her best friend Katie, to continue her college education away from her father. Maddy is nursing a broken heart after catching her ex boyfriend cheating on her with her rival. Maddy is determined to not get involved with anyone especially a bad boy like Zane Stone. Zane Stone is a tattoo artist that loves his craft. Yet all Zane has to do is flash his cocky smile and panties drop to the floor. When Zane spies Maddy he's smitten and wants her in his bed no matter what. Will Maddy let Zane in? Can Zane convince Maddy he's for real? Your answers await you in Inked.

I loved this story! The characters and story were raw, complex, unique, honest, gritty, flawed, real, and down to earth. I look forward to more from these authors in the future.

[Lynn Thinking out loud · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG!!! I just knew with these two authors collaborating I would love it. Let me tell you I was not disappointed at all. Maddy Oh gosh I wanted to slap her a couple of times and say what's the heck wrong with you woman.
I truly loved Zane from the very beginning. I cant wait to see what they come up with next. Highly recommend this book. Steam factor 7 stars. I received a free copy for an honest review.

[Sara Reads Romance · Rating 5 out of 5]

This read was great! I loved every second of Zane and Maddy. They have such great chemistry and an undeniable passion for one of another. Their story was addicting to read, a page turner and it didn’t let me put it down until I was all finished. If you’re looking for a super quick read, with great characters and an overall great story I highly recommend picking us this book to read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received an eARC of this book in the Simply Irresistible Collection.

[Erica]

Dnf at 20%. Wtf is even going on in this book? Prologue genuinely made 0 sense as to what was happening and where. Didn’t become any clearer pages later. I’ve never written a review for a dnf but I felt morally compelled.

[Shelly]

DNF 40%. Was not connecting with this one.

[hopelesslyinlovewith_books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story! Lauren Landish and Willow Winters are a great team. This book had action and lots of sexy times and the story was really well written! I loved it!!

[Jackie Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nickname: peaches
Madeline and Zane
College student and tattoo artist
It starts with with Maddy fingering herself in front of Zane through their windows and she knows he’s on his way to her but she knows it won’t last but for now he’s hers. Then we go to a month prior where her friend Katie is dragging her out to a club. She hasn’t slept with anyone since she walked in on her boyfriend getting a blowjob from a cheerleader. She realizes she may have trust issues and she hasn’t seen a reason to have sex without feelings. And then she sees this beautiful tattooed man on the other end of the bar who appears to be staring at her. And then his handsome friend gets up and he shoves his best friend back down like he’s in time out. And walks her way. She wants to escape but Katie holds her there and won’t let her run. We know that the second Zane saw her he called dibs and decided she’d be the perfect distraction for him. We know Zane is a tattoo artist and owns his own shop and had a really good day at work but something else is bothering him. We know his handsome friends is jackson who is a player. We also know that Zane is a mobster, part of Koranav. He went and talked to Maddy and Katie left them alone. He thought things were going good until she touched his arm and he asked if she’d want a tattoo and she took off and he followed her and had her pinned and he could tell she was turned on but then she pushed him away and ran. Katie wouldn’t give him her number but said she’d try to bring her back here. We find out when Zane leaves, his underboss Nikolai calls him and asks how he’s doing and from his thoughts we find out this is the date of him having to kill his own father. When Zane was 14 years old Vlad and Nikolai came to collect from his dad who was a gambler and saw him beating Zane who was trying to fight back. They gave him the option to kill his dad and become one of them or die with him, it was an easy choice. At times he wishes he could be out from their grasp but he likes his shop and what he does and they helped him get there. Katie and Maddy are unloading from the moving truck when she hears Zane’s voice and discovers he’s her neighbor. He helps them unpack and follows her into the kitchen where he kisses her and she wants him so badly and doesn’t know where she found the strength to ask him to leave. At his tattoo shop he tells his friends there how he’s hung up on her but one of the guys from the gang, Garrett overhears it, so I hope he doesn’t give her any problems. He sees her walking home and helps her with her bag and asks her on a date but she refuses. He pins her against the door and she’s about to cave and then he leaves her this time, hot and wanting. When he gets out of the shower he decides to put a show on for her and she likes what she sees and then begins to finger herself. She won’t move her blanket but she’ll pinch her nipples in front of him. And they cum together. He asks her to a movie date in front of Katie and she agrees but then begs Katie to be there in hopes it will stop her from being dumb. But during the movie he starts rubbing on her and Katie gets the hint and leaves the room. She cums and tries to kick him out but he doesn’t let her so she takes him upstairs where they have sex for the first time and then she kicks him out. She wakes up the next morning to him in her bed and they have sex again and she kicks him out and is close to crying and he holds her and she confesses she’s scared he’s going to hurt her. And he tells her if she’s all in with him he’s all in with her. No cheating just each other. He takes her to the tattoo shop and she brings katee along and needles seems intrigued in her. And then the boss of the mob shows up and tells him to get the girls gone. When Maddy gets home her dad is inside her house and starts scolding her about leaving the door unlocked (she swears they locked it). She confesses about zade to him and then zade shows up and her dad is rude to him and tells Maddy how she’s wasting her time and he’s no good. Zade leaves and then Maddy goes and he tells her they’re good and eats her out and she realizes she’s in love with him. Things are good for them, she’s been visiting the shop after school. And then he doesn’t think about the day and time and walks her to her car through the back and she sees Garrett moving drugs. He takes her home and she tries to leave but he tells her she can’t tell anyone and she tells him she didn’t see anything but this is it and she goes inside and cries to Katie. Katie tells her she has to quit seeing him she can’t be with someone who is a part of the mob and is around that. She tries to go to his house but he doesn’t answer, she’s miserable and misses him. He called Nikolai freaking out because he knows witnesses have to die but Nikolai reassures him she’ll be safe and it’s all good. She has a breakdown in the parking lot at school and after composing herself she gets out and hears footsteps running at her and then hands around her and a rag around her face. Marky calls and tells Zane that they have Maddy. He freaks out and calls Nikolai but he had no idea they were going to take her. He tells him he needs to calm down and they’ll get her. Maddy woke up to Garrett in the room and he tells her Vlad is coming so they can take turns with her and show Zane while they kill him. Zane comes in and sees Vlad and Garrett with a knife to her leg and he ends up shooting and killing Garrett and helps Nikolai kill Vlad. And then he tells Nikolai he wants out. He needs to get Maddy away from this and he tells him he’ll pay him what the shops worth and that he’s proud of him. Her dad kicks him out of the room but he waits downstairs all night waiting for her to wake up. When she wakes up the only person she wants is Zane but her dad says he kicked him out and she begs for Zane saying he saved her. Her dad tells him she needs to stay away from him but she tells him she loves him and he can’t make her do anything. Her dad leaves the room and Katie tells her he’s out of the mob and him and needles are cleaning out the shop. When she gets released Katie takes her to the shop and he pulls her into his arms and confirms he’s done with the mob and she tells him she loves him and he tells her he loves her too. He asks her when she’s going to let him tat her and she tells him when he puts a ring on it so he pulls one out of the nightstand and asks her to marry him. I forgot to say by this point they’re living together. She says yes and in the epilogue they’re on date nigjt and he’s giving her a tattoo. She told him she wants peaches, her nickname. And he’s goin to add sunflowers since she loves when he gives her those. And they have a baby together, Gabe, whose at home with the sitter. I LOVED THIS. 🔥🔥they were hot. And he’s hot. I love that he saved her and was able to get out of the mob that’s usually for life. And they have a baby and married and she got a tattoo. The inked fits well since he’s an artist and in the end she lets him give her a tattoo of her nickname. I really hope tempted is Katie and needles or I’ll be salty!!!

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yikes. This was not good. First of all, I am the first to say I am 100 percent okay with "insta love" but this entire book flew by in the span of what seemed like, I dunno days? The main FMC Maddy and her friend Katie are so immature it is painful to read. Not only do they talk trash to one another, Katie is really just background noise in the story of the couple, Maddy and Zane. My issue with MFC Maddy is she is hot and cold when it comes to Zane, but then again he also comes on WAYYYY too strong and asks himself, "what did I do wrong?" Well you literally pinned her against the wall at a club with a boner, soooo...maybe that is a bit much for just meeting someone at a bar?!

While this is a "college" setting book, it reads like high school freshmen at best in terms of character development. There is a mob twist in there that at least had some thrill to it but I definitely would not recommend. Which is a shame, because I have perused a few a Willow's books on Kindle Vella and hear good things about Lauren Landish but together, this was like two high schoolers got together and wrote up a frenemies girl book with a hot bad boy thrown in the mix.

[Kyra Boo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Honestly I was so excited to read this, and it definitely let me down. I understand that it is a short story, so things wouldn’t move super slow. But this moved INSANELY too fast for me. I was expecting a forbidden romance, with at least some type of yearning. The thoughts of smut started within the first 17 pages. The connection between Zane and Maddy was so unrealistic and forced. There was very little romance, and mostly all about smut. I found myself rolling my eyes in many parts of the book.

Another thing that bothered me, is how immature the characters were. It was like I was reading about teenagers, which in theory, they are in college. But even high schoolers don’t act like that LOL

The plot was choppy at parts, and there were some typos. I found myself asking “how did we get here?” Or “how is this person relevant”

Lastly, the ending scene did have me pretty intrigued. I just think it could have had so much potential leading up to it.

I am in no way trying to bash the authors! I’m sure someone who is mostly into smut and more modern wording and convos would love this. I am just reviewing on my enjoyment and thoughts. :)

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

I haven't given a book a 5 star review in quite some time, but this book deserved it! I also haven't felt myself blush over the Hero in a long time but Zane was just so yummy and alpha and dirty...all great characteristics.

I found the story moved at a good pace and even though there were several sexually charged scenes I didn't feel it overwhelmed the book and made it seem like filler. Not to mention those particular scenes had me breaking out in a sweat...or maybe it's hot flashes...I'm old!

Nikolai intrigues me and I'd love to read a book with more of him in it especially now that Vlad is...well you'll find out. And Needles and Katie? Could there be a future book there?

If I had to find anything wrong with this book it would be the final "fight" scene...***Spoiler*** all throughout the book we read about Zane being a badass but when he finally faces Garrett there isn't much fighting and it almost read like Garrett had the upper hand. I would have like a little more of Zane kicking his disgusting butt!

[The Bookish Soaper · Rating 2 out of 5]

What the hell did I just read?!



This started out so good! A bad boy tattoo artist and a sweet girl next door.. literally.

I was all cheesy smiles, and "Shit eating grin" as my Daddy would lovingly refer to it



and then this story takes a 180 on me about half way through by adding this crazy MOB storyline that was just plain ridiculous




This book quickly went downhill, and so therefore I need to say....

[Sassafrass · Rating 2 out of 5]

So the heroine was extremely immature, didn't know how to handle her emotions in slightest and seriously reminded me of a toddler. This story could have been so much better if not for how stupid and immature this heroine was.

I would have seriously DNF'ed this if it weren't for the fact that I was reading it for a challenge. Thank goodness it was short!

Then the whole mob stuff, it was ridiculous and such a stupid part of the story. And in the end they just let him out? Whatever.

Anyway, this won't be a series I continue that's for sure!

[Becky · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you like a fast relationship, fast story, with a slightly annoying female lead than this story is for you. Maddy and her father were both horrible judgemental characters. And don't even get me started on the mob aspect of this book because it was basically non -existent except for just mentioning periodically about them. The drama in this book was just like a passing thought. The sex scenes mediocre and the overall feeling I had of this book was boring and dull. Not a fan but it was a freebie!

[Selena · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my first Willow Winters, and I will say she can write chemistry and smut. I loved Zane and Maddy. Everything else I was not a fan of...the plot was dumb (I didn't think this would be one of her mob ones.). And I found Maddy's father and Katie so unlikable and they were large parts. I get I'm asking a lot from my spicy books but it's only because I know it can be done. I will totally be giving the author another more chances.

[Carolyn Greenwald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is an excellent read.Zane starts out as a player but meets his match with Maddy's reluctance.He takes her resistance as a challenge.You can watch their feelings build and change as the story progresses.Her friend Katie is hilarious.His friend Needles is about as bad.(they would make an interesting couple for another book)There is conflict,action and a good outcome.I always need a HEA!Read this book.Very enjoyable.

[mnknmnkn · Rating 1 out of 5]

The heroine Maddie and her BFF Katie are ridiculous and cliche.