Buttons & Lies

Beyond Buttons #10

by Penelope Sky

I’m risking everything for Vanessa.

One last time.

I can’t turn the other way and let her family be murdered by the Skull Kings.

I have to do something.

Maybe I can earn her father’s trust.

And finally get my woman back.

**also contains Carter’s story**

Genres: Dark Romance, Romance, Dark, Contemporary Romance, Crime, Contemporary, Enemies To Lovers

Unknown Binding

First published August 16, 2018

About the author

A New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, Penelope Sky is known for her dark romance that makes you fall for her characters….no matter how dark they seem. Her books are being translated into several languages around the world, and she’s sold more than a million books worldwide. She lives in a small town in California with her husband, where she spends most of her time writing on the back porch.

Reviews

[Lory · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I started reading this series I wasn't expecting it to be so good. Seriously, I'm not exaggerating it's that good. I have invested so much time and energy I shouldn't be so attached to this family but I'm. I don't want to give out any spoilers but I will say that Foxy in Lingerie was so bittersweet and intense is it wrong of me to say at the moment I really didn't care about Carter part of the story I just wanted it to be more about Vanessa and Bones. They suffered the most and it really should be all about them. Overall enjoyable and entertaining read looking forward to reading the next book in the series. I voluntarily read and review this ARC no monetary compensation was received the opinions I have expressed are my own.

[Dai G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ay esta serie, me esta costando llegar a su final.

Voy a extrañar a estos personajes.

Bones definitivamente es mi nuevo crush. Me encanta porque cada libro, hace que cada personaje tenga su personalidad, su historia. Creo que entiendo porque penelope escribe tantos libros. Aunque no son largos, son de 15o pags, y al tener tanto dialogo, pasan rapido. Pero si no fuera por la cantidad de libros que tiene. Capaz que la conexión con los personajes no sería tan profunda.

Me encanta que haya tantos puntos de vista.

Me encanta como se introducen, crow, pearl y cane.

Bones es el mejor personaje desarrollado.

Y carter, me sorprendió, no lo tenia tan dark. Vamos a ver como sigue ese cliffhanger del final..

[Lobke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so much better than the last one! I'm so glad Crow finally softened a bit and is trying his best to get to know Griffin. I love the bond between Griffin and Vanessa. The story is probably going further with Mia and Carter, but I don't really care for them yet. I do am curious about why Egor paid so much money for Mia and what their history is.

[Natalia · Rating 3 out of 5]

RTC

[Diana Ostoich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Foxy In Lingerie has had to be one of the best book's I've read. It is so intense and will have you turning the page's so quick. I highly recommend Penelope Sky book's, I promise you won't regret it.

[Debra James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

It was great to see all of the characters again. I enjoy how Ms Sky creates a broad story and continues to include characters we’ve previously met.

[Brandi Stilwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Griffin and Vanessa are still my favorite! Finally reunited for good! The relationship with Griffin and Crow came to a head again but they reached a new found respect for one another. The bar scene was so good, I adored their talk. Here we go again with Carter, Mia is his prisoner and sure to end the same as all the other Barsetti men. I’m thinking another war is on the horizon! Kinda wishing it was a different story line this time but it makes sense…like father like son.

[Dora Koutsoukou · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 ❤️❤️❤️❤️💥💥⚡️⚡️🌪🌪🌪🌟🌟🌟🌟‼️‼️‼️

“You are my personal property. You are a gift given to me from my enemy. That means I’ll never let you go. You have no voice or choice in the matter. If you ever want to leave me, you can’t. If you ever fall in love with someone else, I’ll kill him.” Bones

“I want you to own me...forever.” Vanessa

[AJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I expected but the unexpected wasn't good either.
I'm disappointed in this Series. Very disappointed.

[Ilana · Rating 4 out of 5]

My heart is hurting a bit less now that i see where this story has gone. Honestly, heart palpitations at the greatest scale when there was a chance one of my favorite couples was really kaput. Thankfully, things changed, Bones proved that he really has the right intentions and always have when it comes to Vanessa, and because of him, the family is still alive.

Bones is the kind of man that you really want in your life. While he’s got a dark side, a side that lives in the world of crime, he’s also the most loyal person, protective and caring and realizes that while his heart may break, he wants others to be happy regardless. That was the decision he made when he walked away from Vanessa after seeing her with Antonio, but that didn’t make ME happy. Thank goodness the Skull Kings put a hit on Conway and Bones learned about it in time to save the Barsettis….because it brought us to our happy place once again.

We still don’t have clarity on what prompted the hit to be ordered, but it’s safe to assume at this point that it has to do with Carter going to the Underground, posing as Coway and making a purchase. No one else in the family knows what happened, and there’s clearly more to the story of the woman that Carter was paid to buy, but we don’t know all that yet. Instead, we get to see two parallel stories here in the bigger introduction to Carter and Mia.

As the two stories go on, we see Vanessa and Bones find their way back to each other because Bones saved her family, and we see the dynamic between Bones and Crow change. Where it was Bones seeking acceptance before, now its’ reversed because Bones hit his limit. To read this and see how it plays out is very entertaining.

The other story line is that of Mia and Carter. We don’t honestly know much about Carter, he’s really been a secondary character up until now, but we get to see more of his personality shine in this 10th installment. He’s Mia’s captor but he’s really not a bad guy. He’s actually never wanted to have power over the ‘slaves’ that he’s bought and this case isn’t really any different. While he wants Mia to behave and respect, we all know that he’d never lay a hand on her and treat her wrongly.

With Mia though, her story is a complete mystery. We don’t know why she was with Egor, the man who had her before and who paid Carter to get her. We also get these hints throughout the story with there being some bigger reason for Mia’s need to fight and we don’t know what that is. My mommy radar goes off here and i’m assuming she’s got a kid somewhere but who knows.

There’s the endless power struggle and realization that there’s heat and chemistry between them, but neither will act on it yet. Mia still wants to either hurt Carter or run away, and Carter just wants the whole deal to be over and done with. So i guess we’ll have to see how the next installment plays out to see what this dynamic turns out to be. We know that the story will be dicey since there’s the Egor back story and so much uncertainty. Can’t wait to see how our author writes their piece since we all can expect it to be even more unique to the other couples

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously, this series should not be this good. I should not be this attached to a family. Without giving a spoiler, i will just say thank God for humility. I will always be team #Bonessa (Bones & Vanessa). I just hope that Antonio don't test the waters in the books to come, for his sake!!! This book took me through emotional distress, and I loved every minute of it. I couldn't put the book down. I don't care what Bones does for a living or why, he will always be a hero to me. And Carter my Carter.... its amazing how history repeats itself....ask your Father!!! Amazing Penelope. Simply amazing.

[bookreader123 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay soooo happy we got Vanessa and bones back together (with minor conflict even after they got together but it’s okay Bones has the right to be a jealous).

Crow somehow had a heart??? He came to his senses but also makes so much sense bones won’t forgive him right away because he tried so much at the beginning only to be treated like trash.

I have no idea what’s going on with Conway I don’t remember him being this creepy when it came to girls and giving Carter advice to get Mia into trouble just to not feel guilty to get with her but okay…

But overall loved that Vanessa and bones got their happy ending (not yet but so far so good) and I’m curious to see how Carter and Mia go!!

[Madeleine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing read by Penelope. Every page is better than the last one. Intense, page turning goodness.

[Fantasy High ✌ · Rating 5 out of 5]

At last, Crow the hypocrite is now cool with Griffin Bones! Now we can have a rest. Of all the Barsettis' love story, I prefer Bones & Vanessa 😊❤️❤️

[whatsfordina · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for having bonesvanessa back but reading carter’s pov makes me feel sick

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tout était parfait, du début jusqu’à la fin.

[Joanne Eglon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐

[Clau... · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!! And I loved 10 times more Vanessa and bones story!!!
I want more of them!! I want then married and with kids!!!!! I love their relationship!!!
5 stars !!!!! And more!!!!

[Blonde&Blue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Foxy in Lingerie is the 10th book in the Lingerie Series by Penelope Sky. I was excited to see what would happen in this book seeing as this was to be the finale of B&V’s story however although I was happy that they got their ending, I didn’t love this book as much as I thought I might as this wasn’t mainly focused on them. Instead it had chapter scenes from Conway and quite a few from our next couple: Carter & Mia. I did hope to be able to read more about Bones & Vanessa and to see how the relationship hopefully blossomed between Bones and Crow after he was finally accepted but I guess it wasn’t added as it’s not something that would happen straight away but something that would take time.. There was a few more things I was hoping would get added but didn’t, however I can understand that it would just lengthen their story when it’s to be the end book even though we might get to see chapter here and there of them in the following books to come. I’m definitely interested in Mia’s backstory and what will happen after those two weeks are up. I definitely will miss Bones & Vanessa and recommend those looking for a hate to love, enemies to lovers romance to have a look at these two.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so I have almost read 300 books and I can say out loud and scream from the rooftops, Penelope Sky is my favourite author. I loved and loved this book so much, wow I just love Vanessa and Griffin so much, they are my favourite couple out of the whole series, book number 10 out of 12 books in the lingerie series. WOW WOW WOW, hot sizzling, emotional read this one was. Although Carter and Mia was also brought into the story, I wasn't very much excited to read about them, I just wanted to read about Vanessa and Griffin's story. I loved how Penelope sucks you in from the first page, this was a very hard book to put down. Griffin, (aka Bones) always had to prove himself to his Father's enemy, he was always considered trash and was never good enough for Crow (Vanessa's Father). Crow broke up his relationship with Griffin and Bones and both of them mourned their loss of their relationship. Griffin found out there was a hit from Skull Kings on Crow's son, Conway and his Wife Sapphire and their unborn child. Griffin didn't have to call Crow to warn him, but he did for Vanessa, as he loved her so much, he didn't want to her to mourn the death of her Father, Brother and Sister in-law. When Griffin called, Crow answered with hostility and anger and said "I thought I told you if you call here again, I will kill you"... Griffin was straight to the point and Crow was like a robot taking it all in. The exchange of phone call conversation needed with Crow getting his Brother Cane and their crew of 12 men to go and save Conway. In the battlement, Griffin's men got to Sapphire's house and retrieved her safely to a safe house. It was too late for the Barsetti family as they saw their son come out fashion show Conway presented. He was battered with swollen eyes and was shoved into a car. Crow saw this he panicked, he was shooting to the car, but he knew once the car got away, he will never see his son again. So he stood right in front of the driver in plead of desperation. The Skull King driver, got his shot gun and pointed directly to Crow's face, as he pulled the trigger, Griffin jumped in front and got the gunshot wound right into his shoulder blade, more shots were carried out, Griffin worked hard snapping guys necks and killing all the guys who threaten to take Conway away. At the end, the Barsetti family in debt to Griffin for saving Crow, his son Conway and Daughter in-law Sapphire and their unborn Barsetti child. Once Griffin was in hospital Crow apologised to him and accepted his as part of the family. Vanessa and Griffin were reunited in a emotional reunion. It was so beautiful, I can't wait to read more about how Griffin proposes to Vanessa and they have children. Loved this story so much. I also loved how Penelope show the guts and courage that Griffin had to stand up to Crow. At the end, Crow reached out and wanted to have a relationship with Griffin and admired him like a son, he wanted Griffin to be part of the family and was so happy knowing when Crow passed on, he knew his Daughter Vanessa will be taken care of, from a very strong and loving Husband. The best story ever. I can't wait to read the next book Number 11.

[Gemma Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally… it’s all about… family.

I feel like I’ve run an emotional marathon after these last 6 books.

I’ve fallen in love with a hardened criminal with a penchant for killing bad guys and had my feelings for previous dreamy book boyfriends turned on its head. My heart has never flip-flopped so much whilst reading a book series.

But finally… FINALLY… Our antihero becomes the hero of the hour and proves his doubters wrong once and for all. Griffin/Bones is back… and he’s back for good!! Yesssss!! Ever since that first book in which Vanessa and Bones first met, I’ve prayed for this outcome. Yet with every instalment, their love has hit that solid brick wall… namely Crow Barsetti!

As with many epiphanies, it takes the possibility of losing everything to make Crow realise that he’s been grossly unfair and massively hypocritical when it comes to Griffin. And even though it might make him choke, he’s taken his dose of humble pie. Sure, we are talking super-stubborn men here, so I’m sure it will still be a bumpy road… but hearts and arms are opening more freely for Griffin. Let’s just hope the standoff continues.

As for Carter… yet another case of like father like son it appears. We still aren’t sure what the actual link is between the hit on Conway and Carter’s new slave, Mia is. But there’s one thing that is certain… it’s going to bring a whole heap of trouble. Suddenly, I think the Barsetti’s will be relieved to have a trained assassin at their beckon call.

Fantastic series… can’t stop reading.

[Mrs Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved that Vanessa & Griffin got their happy ending.
Wishful thinking after such a rocky start, and suppose somewhat realistic version of events that’s possible.
Wished Crow & Bones truly buried the past, I’m sure it will happen in time, but I would have liked to read that.
Although, I’m sure we’ll see snippets with the rest of the series.

I’m so glad he gave Crow a piece of his mind. I think I would have lost respect for him, if he did absolutely nothing, after enduring all he did.
Although I didn’t like what Crow did, because us as the readers could see the good in Bones.
My Dad would have done the same exact thing, comes from a place of love.

I don’t mind the integration of Carter’s story beginnings, but I think it takes away from his story, in the end not even sure whose the main focus.

I think I’ll struggle to read Carmen’s story, I know nothing about her. She wasn’t even mentioned in first two books in the series. Carter was already introduced with Conway, and already know a bit of him.

I also want to say that Conway is a real piece of s***, coercing Carter into thinking that was a good idea in the end of the book. I damn well hope he has a daughter.

Side note. I swear that Sapphire is 10 months+ along.
Before Bones & Vanessa split, it was mentioned she was 7 months pregnant and then, 3 months went by. And apparently she was 8 months pregnant.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

POR FIN VANESSA Y BONES ESTÁN JUNTOS AAAHHHH os juro que estoy muy emocionada. Los amo a ambos y estoy súper feliz por ellos. Me ha dolido mucho que hiciera falta que secuestraran a Conway para que Crow se diera cuenta de que Griffin no era tan malo como él creía. Me ha dado muchísima pena esa pelea entre Griffin y Vanessa por el cuadro de Antonio…yo lo entiendo. Él lo dijo desde el principio, no le daban celos los niños o los hombres con los que se hubiera acostado, pero una conexión así lo puso mal porque sabía que si Crow no los hubiera separado jamás habría pasado eso. Y la verdad que me gustó que Griffin le dijera sus verdades en la cara a Crow porque se lo merecía por ser tan hipócrita. Aunque admito que esa charla final entre Crow y Griffin me ha gustado. Siento que se van a empezar a llevar bien. Es lo que dijo Pearl, Griffin necesita sentir que tiene una familia y no que lo desprecian…ya ha sufrido demasiado.


La historia de Mía y Carter me está gustando. No me esperaba a Carter tan oscuro. Debajo de esa personalidad tan carismática hay un hombre muy oscuro. Me da mucha pena todo lo que ha tenido que vivir Mía y me encantaría saber más de su historia. Saber los motivos que la llevaron a ser esclava de Egor y cuál es ese motivo por el que está luchando tan desesperadamente por escapar.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t get enough of these Barsetti’s! This is book 10 in the next generation and this book continues the story of Vanessa and separately also Carter’s story. I’m have to say it’s been a week since I finished this as I am struggling with how to review it without spoiling it. It was so intense. I think it was even more so since we hopped between the three major story lines of Vanessa, Carter and Conway. Each of their stories is complex in their own way and this was such a great part of the series. Part of me doesn’t enjoy the hopping between the Vanessa and Carter story lines as each time it jerks me out of the flow of their individual stories, but overall I am enjoying each of them. I am anxious for books 11 and 12 which should be released in the next month.

I am on the edge of my seat to see what happens next in Fine in Lingerie.

Hero 5 | Heroine 5 | Plot 5 | Writing Style 5 | Steam 5 | Romance 4 | Angst-Suspense 4 | Darkness 2 | Humor 1 | Secondary Characters 5 | Drama-Conflict 5 | Mystery 4 | Twists 4 | Action 4 | Pacing Slow/Steady | Dual POV | MF | Billionaire | Twists and Turns | Cliffhanger | Overall 5 Stars
#MSBB

[PATRICIA GARZA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tenía muchísimo pero muchísimo que no me enganchaba una serie así. Tengo los ojos ya casi rojos por no poder parar de leer jajaja pero LOS AME!...siento que ya soy parte de la familia Barsetti y casi lloro por haberlos terminado...

Estos libros son continuación de la serie de BOTONES pero 30 años después ya que tratan de los hijos... En los 15 libros es la misma historia lineal pero se van agregando los personajes y van contando sus historias..la historia es buenísima, llena de acción, sexo, hombres poderosos, protectores y mujeres fuertes e independientes... definitivamente mis personajes favoritos fueron las parejas de Vanessa-Bones y de Carmen-Bosco (se llevan casi toda la serie)... los amé...la historia de Conway (con él empieza el libro #1) estuvo buena y la de Carter no fue mi favorita, como que su historia estuvo solo en un libro y no me creí de todo la historia de amor de ellos, sobre todo de parte de ella pero bueno, dura tan poquito que las demás te absorben por completo.

le doy un 100 a esta serie y espero que todas tengan oportunidad de leerla porque es de lo mejor que he leído en mucho tiempo.

[Samm Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been waiting for this since Conway's accidental brush with Bones at The Underground. No Spoilers Given - this is a phenomenal addition to the Griffin and Vanessa story. It picks up exactly where the cliff hanger in Divine in Lingerie ended. I cannot say that is a total page turner, as the story jumps back and forth from Griffin/Vanessa to Carter/Mia and I felt Carter/Mia slowed down the story telling, as I am addicted to Griffin's story. The complicated Barsetti/Bones dynamic has more twists and turns to reveal. More heartbreaking interactions between the characters caused me to cry again. Even though I thought Carter's story slowed this segment down, I am really looking forward to seeing what the author is going to throw at him and Mia and who exactly is Egor, besides the monster trying to get Mia back. Waiting impatiently for the next segment...

Penelope Sky graced me with a copy of this magnificent book and I am adding my review in the hope that others will find her fantastic books.

[Wall to Wall Bookshelves · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! I think this is my favourite part of the series...so far and we still have two more parts to go.
Foxy in Lingerie has an action packed start, picking up from where Divine left off.


Griffin going to war for a family that refuse to accept him for the man he is. Not knowing what it will mean for his future.

Vanessa struggling to accept that she may have feelings for someone else when she knows she'll never love anyone as much as she loves Griffin.

Pearl helping Crow see that they need to put the past where it belongs.

Will Conway and Sapphire be safe and start planning for the arrival of their baby.


This is also continues on with Carter's story. We learn more about him and Mia, the girl he bought from the Underground.

Mia doesn't know why she is there but she does know that he won't let her go.

Carter can't tell her why she's really there so has to out her to work.


Bring on the next part. I can't wait to see if Carter is going to stick to being the good man that he is or if he's going to let a dark side show.

[Braveheart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picks up right after the last book . Antonio is willing to be Vanessa’s friend until she is ready for a relationship and Bones is miserable and decides to meet Max in a Bar , Max tells him there was a hit he wasn’t going to tell him about but since he had managed to go outa and appear to shake off Vanessa , he would let him know he had turned a hit down because it was a “Hit” on Conway and Sapphire to torture and kill them by the the Skull Kings . Bones goes ballistics, calls Crow to inform him and arms himself for battle . Bones saves Crows life and Conway’s and annihilates most of the Skull 💀Kings . No one knows why the Hit was issued but Bones tells Crow , Conway will know . In the hospital Crow apologizes to Bones for judging him so harshly and not seeing the true worth of who Bones really is . He gives him has blessing for Bones to marry Vanessa .❤️ each chapter after that is a different persons perspective, Vanessa , Conway, Crow and Carter so far , interesting and while I read others did not like the addition of Carter Barsetti and Mia , I actually did . It seemed to enrich the story to me and the men in this family seem to have underground roots .

[La_Pire (TheWorstReader) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Overall, I did enjoy the Lingerie series, probably because I'm a sucker for alpha males (in books, let's be clear :p). However, these books had too many mistakes, too many repetitions, sometimes a paragraph was placed twice in the same book, a whole paragraph! How does that even happen??? I felt like the author thought I was stupid or had a very bad memory because she kept repeading why the characters were attracted to each other, why they couldn't be together, why it was wrong to love each other, etc. Writing four books for the same couple is just absurd and unncessary here, one book for one story would have been enough!
Also the characters had the same way of talking, the same personnalities, the author literally toke the same characters but changed their physics and their background story a little bit and bam she had a new book.

However, I feel like this series could have some potential if she made it shorter, worked on her characters and had an editor (because I guess she doesn't have one?).

[Donna Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Foxy in Lingerie by Penelope Sky

This was such an exciting and eagerly waited for by many and it delivered to the max. The tissues were out, and the cheers were many. Penelope Sky lived up to the names of tempested, cliffhanger Queen and most of all an excellent writer.

This roller coaster ride concludes the lover’s past, present and future. Blood ties are present and ever so strong, but also is the love of Griffin for Venessa. He does something no one expects after being so mistreated by Crow and the rest of the Barsotti’s. He didn’t do it to impress them, he did it for the woman he loved and no longer had. This was her family, a very important part of her.

It’s hard to talk about the book without giving away the highlight so with that said I just tell you read if you enjoy a true love store. Read it you like some action. Read if you love Penelope Sky. It worth the reading.

It is an honor to participate in this ARC team.