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Rough Love #1-8
Rough Love: The Complete Series
Rough Love: The Complete Series contains:
Learn the Rules
Obey the Rules
Break the Rules
Flying Free
Benjamin Ballard always assumed he was straight – in every way possible. They invented the term ‘vanilla’ to describe him. But if Ben’s so straight, why can’t he get his inscrutable coffee-shop co-worker and wannabe actor Xander Romano out of his head? And how come Xander’s rough-housing on the basketball court gets Ben so flustered?
Xander Romano keeps his private life private, and lives by a strict set of rules. No fooling around with straight guys, and definitely no fooling around with vanilla guys. Been there, done that, got his heart broken. All Xander wants now is to focus on his acting career, and keep his darker desires under wraps. So what is it about Benjamin Ballard that makes Xander want to break all the rules?
When Ben begs for a chance to experiment, Xander can’t resist taking him in hand. It’s just one quick session, after all. But Ben has other ideas…
***
The Rough Love series follows Ben and Xander in their continuing odyssey of self-discovery, experimentation, and steamy fun as they work out the kinks together. They have a wild - and sometimes dark - ride, but never fear: these two will get their HEA. It'll just take them some time to figure out what that happy ending looks like for them...
Note: Rough Love can be rough. Please proceed with caution if you have any triggers.
Learn the Rules
Obey the Rules
Break the Rules
Flying Free
Benjamin Ballard always assumed he was straight – in every way possible. They invented the term ‘vanilla’ to describe him. But if Ben’s so straight, why can’t he get his inscrutable coffee-shop co-worker and wannabe actor Xander Romano out of his head? And how come Xander’s rough-housing on the basketball court gets Ben so flustered?
Xander Romano keeps his private life private, and lives by a strict set of rules. No fooling around with straight guys, and definitely no fooling around with vanilla guys. Been there, done that, got his heart broken. All Xander wants now is to focus on his acting career, and keep his darker desires under wraps. So what is it about Benjamin Ballard that makes Xander want to break all the rules?
When Ben begs for a chance to experiment, Xander can’t resist taking him in hand. It’s just one quick session, after all. But Ben has other ideas…
***
The Rough Love series follows Ben and Xander in their continuing odyssey of self-discovery, experimentation, and steamy fun as they work out the kinks together. They have a wild - and sometimes dark - ride, but never fear: these two will get their HEA. It'll just take them some time to figure out what that happy ending looks like for them...
Note: Rough Love can be rough. Please proceed with caution if you have any triggers.
1026 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 14, 2019
64 people are currently reading
99 people want to read
About the author
Leighton Greene
45 books371 followersLeighton Greene has been writing stories since she was old enough to hold a pencil. Her first book was a choose-your-own-adventure style book about deciding what to eat for breakfast. It didn't shake the New York Times bestseller list, but she still has a copy of it.
After spending some time writing in academia, fanfiction and corporate reporting, Leighton decided she should probably do what she actually wanted to do, which was to write commercial fiction. So she did. She writes gay romance and, when the mood strikes, erotica as L.J. Greene.
Leighton lives with her partner and her cockatiel on the east coast of Australia.
(Source: Amazon.com)
After spending some time writing in academia, fanfiction and corporate reporting, Leighton decided she should probably do what she actually wanted to do, which was to write commercial fiction. So she did. She writes gay romance and, when the mood strikes, erotica as L.J. Greene.
Leighton lives with her partner and her cockatiel on the east coast of Australia.
(Source: Amazon.com)
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 23, 2025
Please make sure _you're_ in a good place before reading. Take a break if you need to. Read something fluffy after. Be kind to yourself.
Read
October 14, 2023contemporary, kink, high angst, same couple series
kinks: impact and blood play, variously other damaging kinks
kinks: impact and blood play, variously other damaging kinks
October 5, 2023
OMG WHAT A RIDE.
Leighton Greene is an amazing author. I spent about 60% of the book wanting to call the police on Xander, shouting at Ben to RUN and FAST, get that fucking psycho under check before he got himself killed.
And I ended up loving Xander SO MUCH. And so dearly!
I didn't trust him, at the beginning. And I think I had good reasons. I was honestly afraid for Ben's life quite often, and when they started their 24/7 trial, I was ready to call it quits.
But the book surprised me. Because it wasn't trying to show me that was ok. The opposite. New Xander is the Xander who's deserving of my love. The vulnerable, scared, brave sadist. How he can be so cruel and at the same time so endearing it's a mystery, but it worked.
There's a few things here that made me lower my rating to 4 instead of 5:
- the ending, with the whole mystery on who was selling the blinds, dragged a lot. Like a lot.
- I wished I knew MORE about Xander's perspective, his past, his trauma. He almost killed a guy, ffs. I want to know about that in more detail than presented.
- The rhythm really slowed down in the last 20%. It was a struggle to get to the end by that point.
But this is a brilliant series. It can get pretty dark. The s/m is quite extreme. But Xander and Ben really love each other, they have great chemistry, and are willing to go through all the hurdles to become better versions of themselves so they can build a healthy, functional relationship together. And I loved that. I loved to read about their ups and downs, their emotional journey, and the psychological effect extreme kink can have in a relationship.
Plus this is honestly incredibly fucking romantic at times and I love that very much thanks
bye now
Leighton Greene is an amazing author. I spent about 60% of the book wanting to call the police on Xander, shouting at Ben to RUN and FAST, get that fucking psycho under check before he got himself killed.
And I ended up loving Xander SO MUCH. And so dearly!
I didn't trust him, at the beginning. And I think I had good reasons. I was honestly afraid for Ben's life quite often, and when they started their 24/7 trial, I was ready to call it quits.
But the book surprised me. Because it wasn't trying to show me that was ok. The opposite. New Xander is the Xander who's deserving of my love. The vulnerable, scared, brave sadist. How he can be so cruel and at the same time so endearing it's a mystery, but it worked.
There's a few things here that made me lower my rating to 4 instead of 5:
- the ending, with the whole mystery on who was selling the blinds, dragged a lot. Like a lot.
- I wished I knew MORE about Xander's perspective, his past, his trauma. He almost killed a guy, ffs. I want to know about that in more detail than presented.
- The rhythm really slowed down in the last 20%. It was a struggle to get to the end by that point.
But this is a brilliant series. It can get pretty dark. The s/m is quite extreme. But Xander and Ben really love each other, they have great chemistry, and are willing to go through all the hurdles to become better versions of themselves so they can build a healthy, functional relationship together. And I loved that. I loved to read about their ups and downs, their emotional journey, and the psychological effect extreme kink can have in a relationship.
Plus this is honestly incredibly fucking romantic at times and I love that very much thanks
bye now
March 26, 2023
I have mixed feelings about this book.
First of all i thought it was quite repetitive and some of the themes just seemed to drag on when they could have been concluded much sooner. I’ll admit I hate a quick fix when characters have problems to resolve that would realistically take time but this possibly goes too far the other way.
Ben’s temper, though it is acknowledged he has anger issues, often seems to flare up for no reason other than to create more angst on the page. Angsty and temperamental characters are fine as long as there is a reason for it but sometimes this felt contrived.
I wonder if all of this can be down to padding of the story to originally suit multiple books whereas reading the collection as a whole it becomes more apparent.
There were some good moments though and I didn’t hate it.
First of all i thought it was quite repetitive and some of the themes just seemed to drag on when they could have been concluded much sooner. I’ll admit I hate a quick fix when characters have problems to resolve that would realistically take time but this possibly goes too far the other way.
Ben’s temper, though it is acknowledged he has anger issues, often seems to flare up for no reason other than to create more angst on the page. Angsty and temperamental characters are fine as long as there is a reason for it but sometimes this felt contrived.
I wonder if all of this can be down to padding of the story to originally suit multiple books whereas reading the collection as a whole it becomes more apparent.
There were some good moments though and I didn’t hate it.
April 2, 2023
Wow ........ Just wow!
Where do I start with this book? I got the full series in one book and what a roller coaster! It was not what I expected but I was hooked from the beginning. It generated so many different emotions in me that I had to put it down at times as I found some parts uncomfortable to read. It was however so well written that I was fascinated. I also learned some new topics which I have not read about before. I didn't like Xander for quite a while and I think the main thing still lacking in the books is that while I felt I knew Ben I don't think there was enough of Xander's background given to make his character likeable. That said by the end I was rooting for them and so glad they got their HEA. I will definitely read more by this author.
Where do I start with this book? I got the full series in one book and what a roller coaster! It was not what I expected but I was hooked from the beginning. It generated so many different emotions in me that I had to put it down at times as I found some parts uncomfortable to read. It was however so well written that I was fascinated. I also learned some new topics which I have not read about before. I didn't like Xander for quite a while and I think the main thing still lacking in the books is that while I felt I knew Ben I don't think there was enough of Xander's background given to make his character likeable. That said by the end I was rooting for them and so glad they got their HEA. I will definitely read more by this author.
September 1, 2023
[This review is for the entire series.]
Tags: Contemporary, BDSM, friends to FWB to lovers. Kink and bi-awakening.
OMG, THIS WAS SO GOOD!!! I bought the box set on promo because kinky fun, hell yeah, why not? Little did I know this would be one of the best things I've read in a while. It certainly starts like that: pure fun. Two friends begin a kinky FWB thing, one is an experienced Dom and hardcore sadist, the other is new to everything (kink and bi-awakening). They are both adorable dorks together, and in the beginning there are so many happy and cute vibes and it's such a seemingly healthy dynamic. As the story unfolds and as they get deeper into sadomaquism and D/s, small cracks in the relationship become bigger, and this really becomes a story about the psychological and emotional aspect of kink and about self-awareness. It gets really angsty and dark, especially in book 3. The character growth is so complex and unbelievably good. The journey is really rough and the HEA is hard won, but so worth it. One of my favorite reads of this year. Check CWs.
Tags: Contemporary, BDSM, friends to FWB to lovers. Kink and bi-awakening.
OMG, THIS WAS SO GOOD!!! I bought the box set on promo because kinky fun, hell yeah, why not? Little did I know this would be one of the best things I've read in a while. It certainly starts like that: pure fun. Two friends begin a kinky FWB thing, one is an experienced Dom and hardcore sadist, the other is new to everything (kink and bi-awakening). They are both adorable dorks together, and in the beginning there are so many happy and cute vibes and it's such a seemingly healthy dynamic. As the story unfolds and as they get deeper into sadomaquism and D/s, small cracks in the relationship become bigger, and this really becomes a story about the psychological and emotional aspect of kink and about self-awareness. It gets really angsty and dark, especially in book 3. The character growth is so complex and unbelievably good. The journey is really rough and the HEA is hard won, but so worth it. One of my favorite reads of this year. Check CWs.
June 11, 2024
That was a very intensely emotional 4 days I just spent. I have no idea how I focussed on anything else. The way these two were with each other consumed my every thought.
Why did it have to end?
The love, above all else is evident, even if it caused every kind of pain.
I don’t know how to think about reading another book right now.
I need some time.
Again, why did it have to end?
Why did it have to end?
The love, above all else is evident, even if it caused every kind of pain.
I don’t know how to think about reading another book right now.
I need some time.
Again, why did it have to end?
March 28, 2023
This collection is worth the price. I'd previously read the entire series, but these memorable characters stayed in my head enough that I jumped at the chance to revisit them.
July 29, 2023
this fumbled the ending a bit for me but still a really good series
October 14, 2025
There are some serious "OW! F THAT" kinks in this series. Aside from that there is some really great chemistry and story lines and I have read it more than once!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews