They call me arrogant, cold, and cruel. The CEO with no heart. And they’re right… until she walks back into my life, and everything changes.
Ten years ago, I broke the heart of the girl I loved, and she ran from me, never giving me a chance to explain, leaving me devastated and crushed with guilt.
Now Lottie is back and working in my club. Which gives me the chance to put things right. I know she’s hiding a secret from me, but I can’t walk away from her. When she enters an auction to sell her body, I refuse to let another man touch what is mine.
I offer her a way out, a marriage of convenience that will benefit us both. The contract says we’ll stay married for a year.
But the truth is, she was mine then, she’s mine now, and I’m never letting her go again.
When I was young, Lincoln Coldwell was the hero in my story. The boy who promised me forever. Until the day I found out it was all a lie and realized a girl like me could never be enough for the billionaire tycoon.
Now, ten years later, he’s the villain who holds my future in his hands.
Drowning in a sea of debt and determined to protect the one person that means the world to me, I reach for a lifeline and agree to auction off the one thing I have left to sell: my virginity.
With no place to hide, I face the man who still makes my pulse quicken. But I have demands of my own. I’ll give him my body for a year, but he’ll never have my heart again. And he can never find out the truth of what happened ten years ago.
Lia Knight is a romance author of billionaire romance with lots of angst, and heat. Her heroes are super rich, demanding and know exactly what they want, so when they set their sights on the heroines in these books you know the chemistry will explode your kindle. Having written over forty books under a different pen name she wanted to give those rich, bossy heroes fighting for a story a chance have their say and find their HEA. When she isn't writing she is bingeing Yellowstone, The Big Bang Theory and Bridgerton from her home in Hereford in the UK.
Represented by Nikki Groom at SBR Media.
For all publishing rights please contact nikki@sbrmedia.com
I am sorry, but what year are we in again?? oh yeah, 2023! where most books are starting to be the same that you start mixing them up in your mind and eventhough it's 2023 that this book was published in, it sound like it came from 1980s!
and why do I keep doing this to myslef??? because of course I have something in me that is so attracted uncontrolably to the word "grovel" so yeah, someone mentioned "grovel" and I immediately downloaded this book i read it in like 3 hours, bec this is how it takes to read a shallow, unauthentic, ridiculous plot
so Linc and Lottie (yeah talk about bad naming) knew each other when they were kids bec he is the rich kid who is smart and handsome, and she is the daughter of the maid who cannot read bec she is dyslexic (role eye! because by now every author has to write a character with disability but having no purpose what so ever because it's the "RIGHT THING TO DO") They fall in love enters the evil father they are seperated 10 years later (it's always 5 years or 10 years! why?) he is a playboy club owner, she is , get this , a 25-year-old virgin who decided to sell her virginity for her younger brother the very minute they meet he corners her and puts his hands on her to .......(fill the space) and I am reminded of the tiktok trend "what happened to hello, how are you, how have you been?"
he makes her sign a contract to marry him they are together until he thinks she betrayed him bec he saw her "hugging his frenemie" in a public sapce!!!!!
up until now, I was tolerating the book bec i was waiting for the grovel but the son of bitch decided to bring OW to THEIR APARTMENT where his wife is there and to add salt to the injury he started calling her "a whore" and I was fuming
I was angry because of the double standards He has a sex club relaying on women of which without his business would fail but has the gall to call them "whores"
Then he brings OW to their apartment and start calling his wife names??????
But it's OK I was soothing myself bec I was waiting for the epic grovel
then GET THIS, his female cousin (I am stressing on the word female) tells Lottie to find it in her heart to forgive him bec "he's a stupid male and let pride and fear control him" so basically she is saying "boys will be boys" just get over it and forgive him and the stupid bitch does! bec GET THIS OTHER THING, he wrote her a LETTER! WTF!!!!!
The things in this book would never pass in 2023 Lin's father tried to rape Lottie when she was 15! her mother stopped him so he decided to rape the mother then and there while Lottie was hiding in the closet!!! bitch go call the police! record his sorry ass!!!!
and I wish I would tell you the groveling was worth it! it wasn't there to begin with! the book was 283 pages, the writer could have spared 50 more pages to make his sorry ass on the ground! Lottie should have divorced him he should have begged and begged and worked for her forgivness but you know in 2023, spice scenes are more important than the story.
It's only been a few days and I'm trying to remember the story, not a good sign.
There's emotional blackmail, he's mean, they have sex, he's mean, he betrays her, he's mean, his dad is evil and that's all I've got.
The H does and says some pretty inexcusable things that get excused, of course. Hey, it's only 2024 and women are still expected to suck it up. Despite his high level of stinker, I did buy that he loved her.
DNF @ 8% - the H is a tool who owns a sex club - I really hated his POV - it bugged me that he was already into the idea of “fresh p*ssy” before he ever finds out that the h will be in the virginity auction. This is not working for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
H owns a club with his friends where the third floor has sex sctuff. Theyre going to sell virgins at the highest bidder aka auction because fresh meat be....uh, fresh?
Then he sees h working at his club and gets angry. that's basically as far as I got. The writing is cringy af and my dnf-o-meter is blaring on the red okur?
I had to dnf this shiet when he was trolling around for "fresh, juicy Innocent pussy". check my notes for reciepts
H cheats and no grovel🤮yes kissing OW is cheating with intent on sleeping with OW if h wasn’t home….😡he brought the OW to their home😡🤮 I have mixed thoughts on this book mainly because of our hero! Not sure he fully redeemed himself, but that may be just me. The heroine was such a strong and beautifully written character who went through way too much in her life. What she had to go through at a young age, then again as a grown up, so unfair:( The hero still had friendships and “fun” during their time apart. What he did at about 80% not sure I’d forgive… Overall the story and writing were great! Enjoyed all the secondary characters and look forward to the next in the series. Just hope the next guy treats the girl better!! (I received an early copy for an honest review) Updated review because 2022 me was a different reader, this crap is not ok!
Lottie grew up on Lincoln’s families estate. She was 6 he was 9. They dated when she was 15 until he broke her heart by standing he up at the prom. It’s weird how the whys and wherefore’s aren’t cleared up until the end…and only briefly mentioned. 10 years later Lottie needs money to take care of her young brother. She bartends at Linc sex club and later auctions her virginity. Li c buys her and marries her. They get alot of sexual healing. Linc is an asshole for quite a bit but then they have a few months of happiness. Then Linc’s unfounded jealousy and drunkenness leads him to pick up a blonde Barbie and bring her home in order to punish Lottie. He has pink lipstick all over him but the ow leaves before they do the deed. Lottie leaves him. He finds out he was wrong and misjudged Lottie. He grovels. The family secret is revealed. Lottie forgives him too quick and they live hea.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
L. Knight is a new to me author. I obtained an ARC through another author’s Facebook group. The Auction is a a second chances, grumpy millionaire hero, virgin heroine, marriage of convenience, angsty romance. Our heroine Lottie (Violet) is guardian to her younger brother after their mom passed away. In addition, her brother also has type 1 diabetes. She is trying to make ends meet but after her brother is hospitalized for low blood sugar, she looks for another job to cover the medical bills. Lottie hasn’t seen her first love Linc in over 10 years after he breaks her heart and she with her mom (who was the family housekeeper at the time) runs away. Lottie is hired to Club Ruin, a club that she doesn’t realize that Linc and his friend owns. The first two levels are your typical bar but the third floor is a sex club. Linc spots Lottie tending bar on the first level and tries to fire her. Since that moment these two have chemistry and banter that you can feel off the pages. I got pulled in to their story and will admit started getting weepy around the 80% mark. There is a mystery surrounding the night that Lottie and her mom leave. If this is the first book in the series, I can’t wait to read the rest!
❀ „Aukcja” L. Knight to zdecydowanie moja ulubiona książka. Jestem pewna tego iż seria od autorki „Kinga of Ruin” będzie moją ulubioną serią. Nie mogę się doczekać aż przeczytam książkę dotyczącą Harrisona.
Wątki, które tutaj znajdziesz: * arranged marriage * Milionerzy * Second chance * Pierwsza miłość * Hate-Love * Trudna przeszłość
❀ To jak bohaterowie zostali wykreowani to po prostu kawał dobrej roboty. Autorka nie tylko pokazała ich dobre strony, ale też te gorsze które każdy z nas ma. Dzięki temu wydają się oni bardziej realni. Sama historia przepełniona jest pierwszą miłości i bólem z nią związanym, w tym trudną sytuacją życiową Violet i chorobą młodszego brata - mianowicie cukrzyca I stopnia. Oboje, Violet i Lincoln skrywają wewnątrz siebie prawdę o wydarzeniach z przeszłości rzutujące na teraźniejszość.
Violet i Linc to przypadek ukazujący jak pierwsza miłość wpływa na nich oraz że taka miłość się nie kończy tylko trzeba ją odnaleźć po raz drugi. Ale to już sami musicie się przekonać o tym jak ta dwójka poradziła sobie ze szambem, które szybko się wylało w ich życiu. KSIĄŻKA 18+
Now this book started with average "I love you but I cant tell you that otherwise you'll thing I'm weak and use me" spiel from the MMC. Ok. Fair. I can deal with that.
The rest of the book goes along those lines its average. I needed a quick one and done book. This was supposed to be it. Writing could use a look over. Some scenes were cringe. But we move.
Now comes the plot twist. MMC father tried to grape FMC when she was 15, but instead grapes her mother. This is where the miscommunication from them hating each other gets cleared up.
MMC asks FMC to his senior prom. Then days before the event (assumption) asks someone else to take with him. All bc daddy dearest threatened to send lil bro to military school. MMC could have explained the dilemma at some point. Any point. Between the dad's threat and driving by FMC house (which was on MMC family estate) with date in car, rubbing ut in her face whilst shes standing there dressed and ready to go. But for some reason he never explained. Why? Who knows.
Now, prom night is the night when the grape happens, so FMC and mother run. And MMC never sees FMC again, and spends the rest of his life hating her. Why? I don't know. It made no sense.
Mother then has ERIC a product of the grape. Do you see where I'm going with this? MMC and FMC share a half sibling.
Btw MMC is Lincoln/Linc and FMC is Violet/Lottie. Why Lottie and not Lettie?
Do you want to know how MMC reacts to this news. "Lottie had been raising MY brother,... my baby brother"(ad lib) as if it isn't HER brother too. As if she's sacrificed her everything for a boy who isn't already her brother, as if she did this to protect Linc from knowing his father had an affair baby. He then completely refuses to acknowledge Eric as THEIR brother. He also goes on to say, as does his cousin, poor Lottie, Poor heather (Linc's mum). What about poor MARY MILLER WHO WAS GRAPED? WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK.
There is more of this from the moment he finds out to the end of the book, where he basically refuses to acknowledge Lottie's mum as a grape victim of his father. He confronts father as grapist, to get "justice" for Lottie. But what about her mum. The only person to acknowledge that Eric is the product of her Mum's grape is Lottie. Heather(Lincs mum), audrey(lincs cousin) and linc dont acknowledge Mary miller or Eric as their shared half sibling.
It was weird. He annoyed me after that. And I couldn't stand him. There's more he did to be a red flag but I can't right now.
EDIT:
He cheated bc he saw her hug another man, brought woman to their shared home to cheat with. The grovelling was 2 paragraphs and pathetic.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
It had so much potential. But it also had so many cliches. I only remember her name because everyone called her Lottie. When she had a beautiful name, Violet. And they called him Linc instead of Lincoln. Why?!?!? She had such a pretty name!! And abbreviating his name like that was weird. Honestly the whole story was weird.
Edit: I feel like this review didn’t express my anger enough. It was the miscommunication and “cheating” to hurt her. It felt like Lincoln kept hurting Lottie again and again. After the third, fourth, many times later, I started to wonder why she staid. And I really started to hate her for staying. Which sucks since she was the victim and I really didn’t like that. I equally hated both.
Worst book i’ve read in a while. Linc was so sweet at the start then he starts acting like a 12 year old boy. The only thought in his head is about sleeping with her no matter if she’s crying or angry. That’s literally all he thinks about. Throughout the whole book whenever he kisses her or fucks her he decides he’s getting too close and says something cruel. Lottie doesn’t deserve any of it she’s so sweet. AND THERES NO GROVELING. He probably says sorry about once after using her for his own pleasure. The deal breaker was his cheating. He sees his wife hug her lawyer and decides she’s cheated so he goes and brings another woman into their home where his wife sees. Hate him and this book is disgusting.
I received an ARC for an honest review of this book.
This is a new to me author and I loved this book right from the first chapter BUT I did get a little bored halfway through and the way it was wrote in first person but spoke in past tense aggravated me a little. It did get better from the 80% mark for me and I just needed to know what was next!
Lottie was an amazing character and such a strong woman taking on the roles that she did. I actually really liked Linc as well, I do love a broody alpahole!
These two had a past friendship/relationship but something happened for them to walk away from each other. Fast forward 10 years and they meet again when Lottie starts working at his club and enters into an auction to sell herself for one night to get the financial help she needs. Linc then scuppers this chance and offers her something else instead.
The first 85% of this book was great. A little over the top, but it's fiction. I love the drama, but sometimes the stupidity is too much for me.
The MC was a huge man-child. Honestly, I want to ask how these successful men act like this but I realized men are like this in real life even if they find success lol. He did not handle ANYTHING well. His responses and reactions were so extreme.
Minor spoilers ahead! . . . . .
Couple was in love when they were teens, he gets threatened by his dad so he takes another girl to prom, breaking Lottie's heart. He never gets to make it up to her because she disappears.
10 years she's working at his club and he hates it. He realizes she's participating in the auction so he pays her to marry him instead, he knows she's strapped for cash.
. . . .
Major spoilers, TW: r*pe, child from assault, cheating . . . .
Turns out she needs the money to take care of her half brother who is also Linc's half brother that he doesn't know about. Linc's dad tried to r*pe Lottie and her mother intervened so he r*aped her instead. The two ran away and the mother got pregnant as a result. The mother passes away and Lottie is the sole caretaker for her brother which is why she needs the money so badly. Linc discovers this is why she disappeared, his new sibling and handles it, as poorly as one could which is admittedly on brand for Linc, making it all about him.
Now for the ranting portion:
I knew something was coming because there was still 80% of the book left but wow.
WT ACTUAL F He sees her hugging another man (her lawyer) in the street and goes absolutely feral.
Picking up another woman at a bar, making out with her, bringing her home with the intention of having sex with her and taking her clothes off is cheating. Stopping ONLY because your wife walks in on you does not make it okay. This is CHEATING. I understand this is fiction, but to anyone saying otherwise, I worry for you and what you find acceptable in a relationship.
He absolutely cheated on her, and to add salt to injury he does it in the home that they share, oh and if you thought it couldn't get any worse - he said "hold my beer" - he taunts her when she walks in, asks her to watch as he calls her a whore (even though he's the only man she's ever been with).
In his POV, NOT ONCE does he say he was never going to go through with it, just that he f-d up.
So with 15% of the book left I'm like how will he grovel? OH he doesn't grovel, silly me, so naive.
He goes to therapy, writes her a letter and waits for her to come to him. Therapy, while great, does not absolve you from your wrong doings. If you are trying to heal, you need to make amends to those you've hurt as well especially your f-ing wife.
She had no backbone either so its no wonder her walked all over her.
Do you know why we love the jealous alpha males in books? Because they burn the world down for us, they kill when they're jealous or we're mistreated, but it's NEVER, never, the FMC's fault.
Do you know why we hate jealous and abusive people in real life? Because they tend to blame it all on us. it's ALWAYS our fault and sometimes they lash out and hurt us. They're called ABUSERS.
This is book about an abuser. About someone who likes to kick people (the FMC) when she's down and then apologize and do it again. And narcissistic too.. all the abuse, everything he does wrong is her fault and SHE must forgive because HE can't take it for her not too.
Since the very first page until the last this was present. He treated her like a whore, she sucked him off. He called her out for it and she opened her legs. I'm not talking about when she needed to because of the contract.
Lastly, he blackmailed her into giving him her virginity. (🤮🤮🤮). And she suffered from body betrayal syndrome.
Disgusting. And the next sex scenes werent that better. I ended up skipping those (😳🤯).
I'm just sad, because the author doesn't seem to know what love is.
I almost dnfed at various points. Then skimmed to the dialogues.
Violet e Lincoln sono stati il primo amore l’uno dell’altro ma un evento scandaloso, ha fatto sì che le loro strade si dividessero, un evento che Violet si porta dietro come segreto e di cui Lincoln non conosce nulla ed è per questo che verso quella ragazzina che ha amato con tutto se stesso prova rancore ma ancora attrazione.
Dieci anni dopo quegli eventi Violet e Lincoln vivono due vite completamente diverse, lui è è un milionario che fa soldi a palate col suo night club diviso in piani: il primo è una semplice discoteca, il secondo un locale di élite e il terzo è decisamente una zona a luci rosse protetta dove la Manhattan lussuosa e perversa e’ socia. Violet di giorno lavora in una caffetteria e di notte diventa una bar lady proprio nel locale di quel ragazzo che le ha spezzato il cuore. La sua condizione economica e’ davvero sofferente, vive in povertà assoluta tutto perché le spese mediche di Eric, il fratellino che sua madre le ha donato quando aveva solo 15 anni la prosciuga e quando il suo diabete peggiora per poter curarlo Lottie decide di mettere all’asta la sua verginità.. lei che per 25 anni ha protetto la sua integrità (la stessa Che hanno protetto in adolescenza sia sua madre sia Lincoln) deve metterla alla mercé di chiunque pur di poter sopravvivere e di poter dare una vita dignitosa a quel piccolo gioiellino di nove anni che ha promesso di proteggere per sempre.
Lincoln però non può permettere tutto cio’, anche perché dal primo istante che le loro strade si intrecciano di nuovo in lui torna la consapevolezza che Lottie continua ad essere il suo tutto anche a 10 anni di distanza. Così le propone un accordo un matrimonio finto e di convenienza per entrambi: rimarranno sposati per un anno così lei avrà i soldi che le occorrono e lui potrà succedere come CEO dell’azienda e spodestare quel padre che odia tanto e che rimane un essere viscido che si fa potere dei suoi soldi e del suo essere facoltoso. Lottie è disperata così accetta, non sapendo però che Lincoln non avrà intenzione di divorziare ma vorrà riconquistarla e tenerla per sempre con sé.
Era la prima volta che leggevo questa autrice americana e ringrazio la Heartbeat per avermi dato l’opportunità e avermi fornito la copia ARC. il modo che ha di scrivere è molto scorrevole, si legge velocemente e ho trovato la parte del social gap ben sviluppata così come mi è piaciuto come Lottie sia davvero disposta a fare di tutto per suo fratello eric, colui che reputa la sua vera casa, però mi è mancato il second chance, e quella costruzione che permette di far comprendere al lettore come la coppia recupera un rapporto, lo ricostruisce, il tutto forse perché fra i due c’è poco dialogo e tanto spicy, ho trovato davvero che le parti erotiche hanno offuscato il fulcro centrale della storia: quando si parla di second mi aspetto di comprendere a fondo il rapporto che c’era un tempo per vedere come viene di nuovo ricostruito e invece qui sembra che si dia più importante alla lussuria e all’attrazione fisica che ad altro. Altre parti invece le ho semplicemente trovate frettolose, come se mi mancasse qualcosa per mettere insieme i pezzi fondamentali. Lottie si sminuisce da sola, si sente inferiore, lo ha sempre fatto, lui dice di volerla risaltare come merita ma poi ogni 3x2 cambia idea e nonostante dica di amarla vorrebbe anche distruggerla (spoiler non ci riesce mai perché a parole dice una cosa e con le azioni dimostra altro), ma è quando il castello di carte crolla e la bomba esplode che il lettore pensa che ora arrivi il bello e invece la questione si chiude in una manciata di capitoli, in modo troppo frettoloso. E’ stato davvero un peccato perché le potenzialità per una storia più interessante le aveva tutte, se solo avesse avuto una dinamica più sensibile sarebbe stata una lettura molto più interessante. Nonostante ciò se apprezzate tanto spicy, momenti bollenti e battutine irriverenti, “L’Asta” è il romance che fa per voi: vi ricordo che potete trovarlo anche in Kindle Unlimited. Ma ora sono curiosa: per voi lo spicy è necessario in un romanzo e potete farne anche a meno? Ditemelo nei commenti.
I’m sorry, but this book was dumb. Perhaps I am being harsh because I had such high expectations after reading the synopsis, but I was so disappointed. Literally all of the characters issues with each other could be easily resolved with one simple conversation, which of course never happens until the very end of an almost 300 page book. I cannot stand the miscommunication trope and it made me loathe this book so much I actually had to DNF with 50 pages left. I only made it that far because I hate not finishing books, but I just could not do it.
It starts off okay, my only complaint at the beginning was that was an “enemies to lovers” romance the MC sure didn’t say no to the MMC touching her immediately, there wasn’t much build up there. Then it continued to gradually get worse and worse.
The MMC claims that he loves the MC so much and wants to spend the rest of his life with her and convince her to love him again, and yet treats her like absolute shit for the first bit of the book. All while going on and on about how much he cares for her in her inner monologues. Meanwhile she still hates him for not going to prom with her years ago and he just decides not to tell her that his dad made him go with someone else. Because of course why would he communicate with her and resolve that?
And on the other end of that, she also isn’t honest with him about what really happened that night and why her and her mother fled, because once again why would we be honest with each other?
I could go on but to summarize, I personally thought it was a very weak plot and just honestly a silly book. The writing wasn’t terrible, but man this book was disappointing. Boo.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
What a great story full of uncertainties and certainties. An intense story, emotional and with a strong female lead. But also with a tormented man with too much money, access to all the women he wants until Lottie (Violet) steps back into his life.
This author's writing style is so sensitive and compassionate that you step into the story and don't stop reading until the book is finished. Everything that happens comes across as lifelike and you feel for Lottie and everything she has been through. The struggle she fights every day to be able to take care of her little brother after the death of her mother. The strength she has despite all the adversity is encouraging to any woman who has everything against in life. Her path to happiness is complicated by Linc (Lincon) who was her childhood sweetheart until he betrayed her at the age of 15, making her feel like she was never enough.
Linc feels betrayed by Lottie, she never gave him a chance to tell his motives and has disappeared from his life. Until he meets her after 10 years in his club as a waitress. When she participates in the auction to sell her virginity, he prevents this by removing her from the stage. Enough is enough! He wants her with every fiber in his body and he will get her even if he has to sacrifice his freedom. A marriage without mutual respect is hard to put down, especially when Linc realizes that he has never forgotten Lottie, still loves her. He goes to great lengths to win Lottie over without telling her he loves her until he throws away his own happiness.
Truly a story in which you will love Lottie and Linc separately, but certainly as a couple. So sad the book is out but happy to hear that other friends in this series are also getting their stories.
I received an ARC from the author. This is my unvarnished opinion of the book
This is my first book by L. Knight— and now I want to read everything she writes. I’ve been in such a book rut lately and I saw an intriguing TikTok promo about this (even though I never trust those😉) and I thought I’d try it.
Let me tell you- I was sucked in immediately. The writing was fantastic. It was perfectly paced and suspenseful. I really couldn’t put this book down. I loved Lottie but I absolutely hated Lincoln—yet I was still consumed by their story. The chemistry and tension between them was so well done. The emotions were so well written. So many times I cried for Lottie during this book—because Lincoln was A W F U L to her for quite a while. Even after they get married, he still can’t stop himself from hurting her because he wants to protect himself. The sex scenes are emotional and intense between them. You could feel how deeply he’s always loved her, even though he treats her so coldly afterwards. He does eventually treat her like he loves her and wants to be with her forever—but of course he messes that up BIG TIME.
(Possible spoilers ahead)
I know there’s a big backlash against “third act breakups” lately, but actually like them if they’re done well, keep me on the edge of my seat and the grovel is epic. We get all of that here. The agony that Lincoln is in (after he destroys his marriage over a misunderstanding) was utterly delightful!! Because holy heck did he deserve it. I wanted him so suffer so bad and he did. But by the end of this he was literally on his knees crying and begging and it was AWESOME!!!!
I’m the first to say this isn’t my usual read, but. OH. MY. GOD it is now!!! This story reminded me of the Mills and Boon stories I used to read but with steroids!! It was completely addictive from the very beginning and didn’t let up until my heart embraced the HEA. Linc…what a guy!! I mean he’s seriously hot!! A total alpha male, and then some. Dominant, ruthless yet soft and gentle and protective of those he loves. He’s larger than life and the epitome of what we imagine our ideal man would be. I love the depth of his character. His thought process as he weaves his way down the path to having the one thing that makes him whole, however much he fights it along the way. I love that Linc isn’t perfect. He’s quick to jump to conclusions - unfortunately for him, the wrong ones - and acts in a way that causes pain in those around him and himself. But I think it makes him more relatable and life-like because let’s face it, life is not a fairytale. Lottie is a beautiful character. She’s strong and a fighter for those she loves. Protecting and supporting her brother is so heartwarming. The lengths she will go to to provide for him what he needs is awe inspiring. To have loved and lost and fought to pick up the pieces of her life shows her grit and determination. Never having forgot her love yet knowing she had to move forward with her life. It’s beautiful that they find each other again. Utterly addictive to watch them warily circle each other. The steam throughout this story is amazing and totally engrossing. You’re enveloped in the passion and chemistry, and let me tell you IT WAS HOT!!! I’m actually surprised the heat didn’t burn my kindle. I love the dark side of romance and L Knight used it to perfection in this story. The right amount of heat and steam, dominance and softness, love and pain, hurt and happiness. This story truly has everything. It pulls you in from the first moment, helps to strap you in and takes you on the most unique, special and hot ride of your life. I loved the added dynamic of Linc’s partners and friends and feverently hope that this is the first of many books of this kind. It is truly beautiful And I am so glad to have found it. As you can probably tell I can’t recommend this book highly enough. Easily a 50 million star review. This is definitely a book I will be buying in ebook format and paperback. Thankyou L Knight, your talent is limitless.
I’ll wait for you.” A deep recessed part of me wishes he meant those words, that he wanted me so badly he’d wait forever but I know he doesn’t. Linc doesn’t love me, he never did. While I was whispering my heart’s desire and giving him all my dreams, he was giving me nothing but lies."
The Auction - L. Knight was not bad. It wasn't wow, but it wasn't disappointing. However, I feel the plotline didn't feel like it gives the vibe of the Title. The plotline didn't give me the focus of the title that I was expecting.
It's a second-chance childhood romance. It had lots of angst and banter, and I love the humour. The romance can get quite frustrating however, it comes with so much unanswered past. There wasn't closure in the past, and now they're opening the cans of worms that they have to face.
Linc could get too much; his possessive, alpha and dominant self. It was hot and frustrating throughout the read but that was what made that Linc. Lottie is such a beautiful soul. She worked so hard for everything she has lost.
Through their angst, we see their chemistry, passion and the broken-hearted past that they went through.
“Linc. To you, I’m Linc.” “You stopped being Linc the night you threw me away like trash.”
Długo się zastanawiałam, czy na temat tej historii się wypowiadać. Dlaczego? Bo zazwyczaj łatwiej mi się pisze o rzeczach, które wzbudziły we mnie pozytywne emocje, a „Aukcja” zdecydowanie tego nie zrobiła. Opis mnie zaciekawił i zachęcił do kupna. Po świetnych książkach Sary Cate z serii Salacious Players Club o seksklubie i całej jego otoczce nastawiona byłam na to, że zostanę zabrana w rejony ekskluzywności i luksusu. Lincoln Coldwell jest współwłaścicielem klubu Ruin i właśnie tam, po dziesięciu latach spotyka swoją byłą ukochaną. Dziesięć lat, które dla Lincolna było dobrobytem, dla Violet było walką o przetrwanie. Dziewczyna straciła matkę i została sama z chorym bratem. Violet gotowa jest zrobić wszystko, by uzyskać pieniądze na leczenie Erica — tym sposobem zgłasza się na tytułową aukcję, gdzie licytowane będzie jej dziewictwo. Spotkanie po latach otworzyło stare rany, a Lincoln, który przecież wcale już nic nie czuje do Violet, jest zaborczy i zazdrosny, bo ma taki kaprys. Połączenie Lincolna i Violet to jak dla mnie pomyłka. Poziom ich rozmów i teksty, jakie sobie serwowali, były żenujące — a już nie skomentuję tego, że Lincoln sam zaproponował małżeństwo za pieniądze, a kilkukrotnie wyskakiwał do Violet z określeniami sugerującymi prostytucję. Skoro ona jest prostytutką, bo zgodziła się w tym układzie na pieniądze, to kim był Lincoln? Postacie były jak dla mnie nijakie i jakbym miała po przeczytaniu opisać ich w trzech słowach, to nawet nie wiedziałabym, co powiedzieć. Mamy rozdziały zarówno z perspektywy Violet, jak i Lincolna i te od niego były momentami prawdziwym labiryntem, bo on sam nie wiedział, czego chce, a jak już wiedział, to twierdził, że nie może tego chcieć, a jak jednak zmienił zdanie, to coś palnął — no łatwiej by było kręcić kołem fortuny albo butelką, przysięgam — efekt byłby taki sam. „Aukcja” miała potencjał, ale w moim odczuciu kompletnie poszło coś nie tak. Zamiast ekskluzywnego seksklubu dostaliśmy klub z bonusem, którego właściciele w sumie chyba nie bardzo wiedzieli, co chcą robić.
Billionaire workplace romance, childhood sweethearts to strangers to enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience, secrets and jealousy, v!rg!n, s€x club… there’s a lot going on in this book!!!!
There is also the mention of r@pe so please be aware of that.
This book is cooked. So much happens in such a small amount of pages. You’ve got an orphan, a struggling guardian willing to sell her body for money to pay for her ill brother’s medical needs, a grumpy billionaire with more money than he could ever need, some ridiculous moments and some sweet lines.
I cannot get passed some things in this book though.
- hypo is when blood sugar is low. The way it’s used in the story is like it’s meant to be a hyper (high). Such a minute detail but frustrating that it’s wrong - the writing switching from present to past tense in a sentence. I was getting so confused!! - Linc is an a$$. He doesn’t deserve Lottie and I cannot believe she so easily took him back. Where was the grovelling? Or even just them working through it?!
This book is spicy spicy spicy. The spice is fairly vanilla (a touch of voyeurism) but there is a lot of it and a lot of dirty talk.
This was such an easy read and I was captivated by the story. If you’re after a book that doesn’t require you to fully concentrate while reading it then this is for you.
Okay, so I have mixed feelings about this book. I was excited about it when I was signing up for an ARC, I mean an auction to sell your V-card, fake marriage, forced proximity, what else do you need in a book? But then we all know how I "LOVE" misunderstanding trope, and there's too much of that here, and I was getting pissed off.
Yes, there is a plot, and quite a good one, but while in the beginning, it was dragging (at least for me), the ending was cut short, and I didn't like that. Though considering that all misunderstandings were solved it was high time for the book to end.
Now spice wise there is some quality spice, let's be honest our characters hate each other while they actually love each other so sparks fly! But considering all the different innuendos Linc was making, and not delivering by the end of the book I was a bit disappointed.
Overall, it's a nice story that I enjoyed but can't say that I loved it immensely! It's one of those stories to read when you want something different.
I received an ARC for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This book has it all! It is heartwarming and heartbreaking so be prepared for all the feels! Lincoln and Lottie grew up as childhood friends as is expected since they were always together but Lincoln had a special place in his heart for Lottie and vice versa. Their friendship develops into love, but something happens and Lottie and her mum run away from the family but at the same time Linc broke Lottie’s heart. 10 years later Lottie crosses paths with Lincoln as she gets a job at a club, which she discovers Lincoln part owns. Lottie only has herself to take care of her little brother so learning to depend on someone else isn’t in her blood but can Linc and Lottie put the past aside and find a way back to each other after all the damage had been done? L Knight, I hope we see more of these characters as this is one of the best books I have read in a long time! I can’t wait to see what you have in store for Harrison and Norrie!