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Anger Management #1
Devastated
Bestselling author R.L. Mathewson takes on the impossible with the Anger Management series.
For readers who love to see someone who’s been to hell and back finally get their happy ending.
Sometimes you have to go through hell to get what you want…
Everyone has something in their past that they’d like to forget, but for Kylie Davis there’s no escaping her past. It followed her everywhere, determined to destroy her, and to make sure that she paid for the one thing that her family could never forgive her for.
Being born.
The last thing that Hunter O’Mallery needed was an assistant, but thanks to the deal that he never should have made, he has one. As long as she stayed out of way, he’d been more than happy to leave her alone, but now that she’s caught his attention, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. She intrigued him, drove him out of his mind, and he’d do anything to save her.
For readers who love to see someone who’s been to hell and back finally get their happy ending.
Sometimes you have to go through hell to get what you want…
Everyone has something in their past that they’d like to forget, but for Kylie Davis there’s no escaping her past. It followed her everywhere, determined to destroy her, and to make sure that she paid for the one thing that her family could never forgive her for.
Being born.
The last thing that Hunter O’Mallery needed was an assistant, but thanks to the deal that he never should have made, he has one. As long as she stayed out of way, he’d been more than happy to leave her alone, but now that she’s caught his attention, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. She intrigued him, drove him out of his mind, and he’d do anything to save her.
Audio CD
First published October 25, 2019
1165 people are currently reading
2925 people want to read
About the author
R.L. Mathewson
70 books15.5k followersNew York Times Bestselling author, R.L. Mathewson was born in Massachusetts. She’s known for her humor, quick wit and ability to write relatable characters. She currently has several paranormal and contemporary romance series published including the Neighbor from Hell series.
Growing up, R.L. Mathewson was a painfully shy bookworm. After high school she attended college, worked as a bellhop, fast food cook, and a museum worker until she decided to take an EMT course. Working as an EMT helped her get over her shyness as well as left her with some fond memories and some rather disturbing ones that from time to time show up in one of her books.
Today, R.L. Mathewson is the single mother of two children that keep her on her toes. She has a bit of a romance novel addiction as well as a major hot chocolate addiction and on a perfect day, she combines the two.
In 2019/2020, R.L. Mathewson will be publishing Devastated, the first Anger Management novel, Tall, Dark & Furious, the 6th installment to the Pyte/Sentinel series, Irresistible, the long anticipated novel for the Neighbor from Hell Series as well as many more books throughout the year, paranormals, contemporaries, and YAs.
Growing up, R.L. Mathewson was a painfully shy bookworm. After high school she attended college, worked as a bellhop, fast food cook, and a museum worker until she decided to take an EMT course. Working as an EMT helped her get over her shyness as well as left her with some fond memories and some rather disturbing ones that from time to time show up in one of her books.
Today, R.L. Mathewson is the single mother of two children that keep her on her toes. She has a bit of a romance novel addiction as well as a major hot chocolate addiction and on a perfect day, she combines the two.
In 2019/2020, R.L. Mathewson will be publishing Devastated, the first Anger Management novel, Tall, Dark & Furious, the 6th installment to the Pyte/Sentinel series, Irresistible, the long anticipated novel for the Neighbor from Hell Series as well as many more books throughout the year, paranormals, contemporaries, and YAs.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 472 reviews
June 28, 2020
3 Stars
This was by no means bad, but I think I shouldn’t have read it considering I could never really like this author’s writing style.
I was lured in by the synopsis and I thought it would be a perfect grumpy- sunshine type of book. And it was ... somehow, but it lacked something.
I suppose I can’t relate to people who talk like college students exchanging witty one liners like it’s their favourite past time.
I’m a fan of sarcastic and smart bordering on funny dialog but there’s a limit to how much of it you can have in one book. And here, everyone talked the same and related to each other in the same manner. It all felt very artificial and just disturbingly unnatural.
When it comes to the actual story .. well, it wasn’t as interesting as it promised to be. And the characters were underdeveloped. Especially Hunter. Call me crazy, but I liked how he was portrayed in the beginning of the book, when he was selfish and generally unconcerned with anything or anybody but himself. I would have liked to see actual growth not overnight personality change because it just didn’t make sense.
Kylie, I suppose we got to know a lot about her but .. again, I don’t feel like I actually know her.
Let me put it like this: after finishing the book, I feel like I’ve heard the story while sitting in a busy train station and eavesdropping on the person next to me who was relating the events in the book because they’re actually her next door neighbours and she’s a nosy one who likes to know their business. - I guess what I’m saying is that I didn’t care and I also didn’t feel like I knew those people by the end nor did I care to know them.
Shallow and surface level storytelling.
This was by no means bad, but I think I shouldn’t have read it considering I could never really like this author’s writing style.
I was lured in by the synopsis and I thought it would be a perfect grumpy- sunshine type of book. And it was ... somehow, but it lacked something.
I suppose I can’t relate to people who talk like college students exchanging witty one liners like it’s their favourite past time.
I’m a fan of sarcastic and smart bordering on funny dialog but there’s a limit to how much of it you can have in one book. And here, everyone talked the same and related to each other in the same manner. It all felt very artificial and just disturbingly unnatural.
When it comes to the actual story .. well, it wasn’t as interesting as it promised to be. And the characters were underdeveloped. Especially Hunter. Call me crazy, but I liked how he was portrayed in the beginning of the book, when he was selfish and generally unconcerned with anything or anybody but himself. I would have liked to see actual growth not overnight personality change because it just didn’t make sense.
Kylie, I suppose we got to know a lot about her but .. again, I don’t feel like I actually know her.
Let me put it like this: after finishing the book, I feel like I’ve heard the story while sitting in a busy train station and eavesdropping on the person next to me who was relating the events in the book because they’re actually her next door neighbours and she’s a nosy one who likes to know their business. - I guess what I’m saying is that I didn’t care and I also didn’t feel like I knew those people by the end nor did I care to know them.
Shallow and surface level storytelling.
November 23, 2020
An angry guy on house arrest and his perky new assistant forced to lived together for an entire year!
This was a fun book! The Hero, Hunter O’Mallery, a former military man turned security company owner employing thousands, but one day he finds out that his mother died and then some drunk guy starts mouthing off to him and he punches the guy and ends up getting house arrest for the year. He almost got sent to jail for the year, but in order to run his company they gave him house arrest with some conditions.
Hunter has to hire a live in assistant, who will run any errands and do any shopping needed and he can’t fire her and she can’t quit or he will go to Jail. He also has to take weekly anger management therapy sessions.
Hunter’s best friend and Lawyer, Ryan, hires a girl named Kylie Davis and adds a clause to her contract that she owes $10,000 if she quits before the year is up. Kylie desperately needs the job especially because it is a live in position since her crappy apartment just became unlivable when her neighbor by the name of Big Daddy punched a hole through the wall.
Kylie is a happy person and willing to take on anything that Hunter throws at her so he starts out by throwing every challenge he can think of at her in order to rattle her but nothing seems to break her spirit or stop her from trying. Whether it be 5 am morning meetings, or even having the morning meetings on the treadmill.
Kylie becomes a conundrum for Hunter until he has to figure her out. And that is when things start to heat up. I really liked this book and I plan to read more of the series. The end of the book seems to set up another book with Ryan hiring a single mother who may be running from an ex husband. However, after that there is the start of the first chapter of the next book which doesn’t seem to be the same book. It has a nurse named Sloane taking care of a very angry disabled patient and it sounds awesome!
I have read quite a few of R. L. Mathewson’s Neighbor From Hell series and I loved those books because they were such a great combination of steamy romance and hilarious comedy. These anger management books seem more about the feels and the steamy romance than the comedy and romance like Neighbor From Hell. But still very much worth the read!
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This was a fun book! The Hero, Hunter O’Mallery, a former military man turned security company owner employing thousands, but one day he finds out that his mother died and then some drunk guy starts mouthing off to him and he punches the guy and ends up getting house arrest for the year. He almost got sent to jail for the year, but in order to run his company they gave him house arrest with some conditions.
Hunter has to hire a live in assistant, who will run any errands and do any shopping needed and he can’t fire her and she can’t quit or he will go to Jail. He also has to take weekly anger management therapy sessions.
Hunter’s best friend and Lawyer, Ryan, hires a girl named Kylie Davis and adds a clause to her contract that she owes $10,000 if she quits before the year is up. Kylie desperately needs the job especially because it is a live in position since her crappy apartment just became unlivable when her neighbor by the name of Big Daddy punched a hole through the wall.
Kylie is a happy person and willing to take on anything that Hunter throws at her so he starts out by throwing every challenge he can think of at her in order to rattle her but nothing seems to break her spirit or stop her from trying. Whether it be 5 am morning meetings, or even having the morning meetings on the treadmill.
Kylie becomes a conundrum for Hunter until he has to figure her out. And that is when things start to heat up. I really liked this book and I plan to read more of the series. The end of the book seems to set up another book with Ryan hiring a single mother who may be running from an ex husband. However, after that there is the start of the first chapter of the next book which doesn’t seem to be the same book. It has a nurse named Sloane taking care of a very angry disabled patient and it sounds awesome!
I have read quite a few of R. L. Mathewson’s Neighbor From Hell series and I loved those books because they were such a great combination of steamy romance and hilarious comedy. These anger management books seem more about the feels and the steamy romance than the comedy and romance like Neighbor From Hell. But still very much worth the read!
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October 26, 2019
I will never understand why authors think this is romantic to be treated like shit by a man. This was verbal abuse. Hero deserves to go to jail. Honestly I don’t know why his friend and the heroine tried to help him when he didn’t want to do anything to help himself.
He is a misogynistic and sexist pig, he hates women and thinks they’re only good for one thing. He calls them bimbos and bitches. He treats the heroine horrible. Also tried to hook up with one woman and the heroine sees this in the very very beginning. The heroine has to delete many emails from women describing sexual explicit things daily. It wasn’t even women it was him who was sending himself emails because he wanted to get rid of her. He thought this was funny but in reality it was sexual harassment, trying to make your employee to go and buy double pleasure condoms and making them delete your sexual explicit emails warrants a law suit!
He was a horrible person that he never redeemed himself.
Safety: well if reading a book about being treated like shit by a man is your thing then more power to you. Hero has been celibate for 2 years but prior to this he was a whore and in the first chapter he’s was trying to hook up with a bimbo (his words, not mine) Although I dont know who would be stupid enough to sleep with this asshole. Well scratch that we already know who’s stupid enough. Heroine has been celibate since forever. Her husband was her first lover and he was a horrible experienced! She was practically a re-born virgin. She was so damn pathetic!
He is a misogynistic and sexist pig, he hates women and thinks they’re only good for one thing. He calls them bimbos and bitches. He treats the heroine horrible. Also tried to hook up with one woman and the heroine sees this in the very very beginning. The heroine has to delete many emails from women describing sexual explicit things daily. It wasn’t even women it was him who was sending himself emails because he wanted to get rid of her. He thought this was funny but in reality it was sexual harassment, trying to make your employee to go and buy double pleasure condoms and making them delete your sexual explicit emails warrants a law suit!
He was a horrible person that he never redeemed himself.
Safety: well if reading a book about being treated like shit by a man is your thing then more power to you. Hero has been celibate for 2 years but prior to this he was a whore and in the first chapter he’s was trying to hook up with a bimbo (his words, not mine) Although I dont know who would be stupid enough to sleep with this asshole. Well scratch that we already know who’s stupid enough. Heroine has been celibate since forever. Her husband was her first lover and he was a horrible experienced! She was practically a re-born virgin. She was so damn pathetic!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 2, 2024
4.25 stars.
Well then, it was clear from the series title, this hero probably was an asshole and he was!
That’s why I wanted to read this book, 😂
And the heroine?
I think she has a spine of steel.
She survives those years of abused with her intelligent intact, if someone telling her she is a doormat. I dare those people to be in this heroine’s shoes and see how they would react in her situation. She need therapy, that’s for sure but she strong in her own way and she need to be one to have this type of a hero falling in love and worship the ground she walk on.
Psst, I’m old enough to understand you don’t need to shout, loud, or scream to get your point across! She was good and knew how to handle this angry man! 😘
This is a slow burn romance and you will grind your teeth and wanted to hit the hero’s head often, obviously. But I kind of like it he didn’t suddenly changed became a lovely jubbly, sweet lollipop kind of boring guy just because he fancy himself falling in love! 😳😂
I like this book, but somehow I felt somewhat it wasn’t there yet, not sure what, just wanted a bit more punch? Probably, I expected slightly darker than this, but this author wasn’t popular because her dark story, so yeah.
Oh, did you notice what he called her? 🙄😂
If you are this author’s fan, you will love this one too, I think:)
Btw, Ms. Mathewson, I know they won’t fit in this series but any chance to get Grey’s and Ryan’s story too? 😊
❤️
Well then, it was clear from the series title, this hero probably was an asshole and he was!
That’s why I wanted to read this book, 😂
And the heroine?
I think she has a spine of steel.
She survives those years of abused with her intelligent intact, if someone telling her she is a doormat. I dare those people to be in this heroine’s shoes and see how they would react in her situation. She need therapy, that’s for sure but she strong in her own way and she need to be one to have this type of a hero falling in love and worship the ground she walk on.
Psst, I’m old enough to understand you don’t need to shout, loud, or scream to get your point across! She was good and knew how to handle this angry man! 😘
This is a slow burn romance and you will grind your teeth and wanted to hit the hero’s head often, obviously. But I kind of like it he didn’t suddenly changed became a lovely jubbly, sweet lollipop kind of boring guy just because he fancy himself falling in love! 😳😂
I like this book, but somehow I felt somewhat it wasn’t there yet, not sure what, just wanted a bit more punch? Probably, I expected slightly darker than this, but this author wasn’t popular because her dark story, so yeah.
Oh, did you notice what he called her? 🙄😂
If you are this author’s fan, you will love this one too, I think:)
Btw, Ms. Mathewson, I know they won’t fit in this series but any chance to get Grey’s and Ryan’s story too? 😊
❤️
October 28, 2019
He's not angry he's my lover
The anger really didn't make this dark. The same sense of humor resonates in this book as it does in the Neighbors series. I loved the hero and the heroine. She had been thru hell but God gave her Hunter. I loved how he loved her. She uses a lot of the same shtick she uses in neighbors and I like it. The calling her by the wrong name, the throwing her over his shoulder, the intensity of his love for her reminded me of the Bradfords. But that's not a bad thing to me! It still loved it. I thought the resolution for her parents was tied up too quickly. I would have liked to see them pay for what they did but that's the only complaint. I really love this writer's humor and I want to be her heroines. They are the best. And their men totally take care of them and love them. Great story. Wish the second one was available already. It sounds good too.
The anger really didn't make this dark. The same sense of humor resonates in this book as it does in the Neighbors series. I loved the hero and the heroine. She had been thru hell but God gave her Hunter. I loved how he loved her. She uses a lot of the same shtick she uses in neighbors and I like it. The calling her by the wrong name, the throwing her over his shoulder, the intensity of his love for her reminded me of the Bradfords. But that's not a bad thing to me! It still loved it. I thought the resolution for her parents was tied up too quickly. I would have liked to see them pay for what they did but that's the only complaint. I really love this writer's humor and I want to be her heroines. They are the best. And their men totally take care of them and love them. Great story. Wish the second one was available already. It sounds good too.
June 14, 2022
I thought because of the cover that this was going to be more smutty but it was much more about the couple dealing with difficult things and a house arrest and slowly falling in love. The woman's past was sad and infuriating but at the same time couldn't stop reading as I needed to know that justice would be served. Looking forward for the next book in the series and hope it as intriguing
March 19, 2020
Devastated is a different than her NFH series. I do not have a fond memories of Miss Mathewson' book. Her books are hit and miss for me.
I picked up Devastated because of the blurb. I thought it is going tk be fun reads. The first 60% I still can understand the plot and the timeline. Then it gets very cery confusing by jumping around the timeline. Thats where I lost interest.
I decide to give 3 stars because the concept is good and about 60% is promising. Its just the ending is not working for me.
3 stars
I picked up Devastated because of the blurb. I thought it is going tk be fun reads. The first 60% I still can understand the plot and the timeline. Then it gets very cery confusing by jumping around the timeline. Thats where I lost interest.
I decide to give 3 stars because the concept is good and about 60% is promising. Its just the ending is not working for me.
3 stars
November 1, 2019
4.5 Stars
‘He’d never been afraid of anything in his life, but God, she fucking wrecked him. She made him want things that he’d never wanted before, never thought he needed in his life, but now…He craved them.’
Devastated by R.L Mathewson has shot itself right into our top reads by this Author. We absolutely loved it. Having been huge fans since 2011, we found Devastated to have the trademark humour of RL Mathewson which we love so much, but with a brand new mature and emotional twist to her writing. There’s no question that whilst easily recognisable as a Mathewson story, Devastated shows a new side to her. There is something very special about a slow burn romance where the characters start off as enemies, become friends and eventually fall for each other. It was pure emotional angst peppered with humour and raw vulnerability.
“Are you out of your fucking mind? I don’t have a fucking anger management problem.”
R.L Mathewson wrote a hero that had real anger issues with an abrupt and stand-offish manner. However, he was written in such a clever and humorous way that we just fell completely in love with Hunter, despite him being an arsehole. He really didn’t care, which meant he had us laughing at his antics and aloof mannerisms. Despite his attitude towards Kylie, our heroine, he was never crass or hurtfully condescending. There’s a fine line and this Author nailed it perfectly. Hunter stayed true to character and despite eventually being softened by love he never lost who he was, which is so refreshing. His ‘I don’t really give a toss’ attitude was just aimed at one less person is all…
‘If anything, his years in the Marines seemed to have honed his anger into something that he could use to push himself harder and faster so that nothing and no one could fucking touch him. At times, Hunter felt invincible, and other times like now, when he’d fucked up his life once again, he felt like the biggest fucking loser alive.’
They say opposites attract and never is that more the case than for our Kylie. The girl with a heart of gold whose strength, in the face of adversity and the family from hell, still shines like a beacon in the darkness. How this girl persevered and steadfastly remained herself was both heart-breaking and wonderful to read. Her sense of self and her funny ways was both adorable and admirable. When she takes the role of PA to a very, very angry man who is on a year’s forced house arrest enforced by the courts, she has no idea what she’s gotten herself into!
‘She could do it. Hell, she’d been through a lot worse and she’d survived. She’d survived being married to a sociopath for two years, so what was one year working for an asshole?’
There’s beauty in imperfections and what may be considered flaws by some, are really enhancements of a person’s own uniqueness. We love that R.L Mathewson writes ‘real’ people, she always has. There’s no specific mould to her characters other than ‘real’ which makes it so easy to identify traits and form a connection.
“To you, your parents are still powerful and terrifying, but that’s because you still see them through the eyes of a terrified child.”
This book had a real distressed and vulnerable heart beating behind its words. It’s quite the feat to evoke such intense emotion in readers that we’re crying one minute followed by laughter the next. The situational comedy was hilarious as was Hunter’s reaction to the conditions of his house arrest!
‘When her lips twitched and she suddenly turned her head with what sounded suspiciously like a snort of laughter, he couldn’t help but wonder if she’d lost her goddamn mind. That is, until a chill tore down his spine and he turned his head to find himself face to face with a fucking sock puppet. “I’m Mr. Cuddles and I want to be your friend!”
We loved Hunter & Kylie’s story as well as the secondary characters. It was such a brilliantly laid out story where every character played a brilliant part. We are now been left excited for what’s to come in this series, Ryan and Grey had us intrigued and we need more!
‘Over the past several months he’d become her best friend. He made her laugh, teased her, tormented her, made her feel protected; and those times when she struggled, he was there holding her and letting her know she was safe. For the first time in her life, she felt…Whole.’
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September 18, 2024
reading a book and seeing all the side characters who could have their own book in the series, but then realizing that there’s only one other book in the series, and you have no idea who the characters are, and the author said that the side characters you love so much would be getting their own book, but that was years ago so now you don’t know if it’s still happening. i cry.
MAIN CHARACTER NAMES AND AGES
Kylie Davis (27) | Hunter O’Mallery (?)
FEATURES
∘ boss-assistant (live-in) romance
∘ forced proximity
∘ “enemies” to lovers (sort of bully)
∘ non-annoying jealousy
REVIEW
I love a good boss/employee romance (IN FICTION), and this one was an easy one to get into.
The premise of Hunter needing a live-in assistant while he was on house arrest was a little bit unconventional, yet it worked. Although his animosity and rudeness toward Kylie was unwarranted, it wasn’t that bad (IN FICTION).
Watching Hunter slowly fall for Kylie’s charms had me feeling giddy. I loved how after realizing he had feelings for her, he decided then and there to never let her go. There was no doubt he was all-in.
And then the pudding on top: the third act conflict was external. Beautiful.
OW/OM DRAMA minor OW — women send him emails of themselves and situations that Kylie has to read, but he hasn’t actually met them
CHEATING none
THIRD ACT BREAKUP no
ENDING HEA — two months later epilogue
POV dual / third person
SPICE LEVEL 4 / 5
RATING 4 / 5
MAIN CHARACTER NAMES AND AGES
Kylie Davis (27) | Hunter O’Mallery (?)
FEATURES
∘ boss-assistant (live-in) romance
∘ forced proximity
∘ “enemies” to lovers (sort of bully)
∘ non-annoying jealousy
REVIEW
I love a good boss/employee romance (IN FICTION), and this one was an easy one to get into.
The premise of Hunter needing a live-in assistant while he was on house arrest was a little bit unconventional, yet it worked. Although his animosity and rudeness toward Kylie was unwarranted, it wasn’t that bad (IN FICTION).
Watching Hunter slowly fall for Kylie’s charms had me feeling giddy. I loved how after realizing he had feelings for her, he decided then and there to never let her go. There was no doubt he was all-in.
And then the pudding on top: the third act conflict was external. Beautiful.
OW/OM DRAMA minor OW — women send him emails of themselves and situations that Kylie has to read, but he hasn’t actually met them
CHEATING none
THIRD ACT BREAKUP no
ENDING HEA — two months later epilogue
POV dual / third person
SPICE LEVEL 4 / 5
RATING 4 / 5
October 29, 2019
3 Stars!
I’m sad I didn’t love this book. It was just an ok read for me. I honestly thought we were getting a new series. 🤷🏼♀️
This had too much of the same thing in the Neighbors From Hell books.
Him throwing her over his shoulder.
Him angry, grouchy and moody to everyone but her.
Him possessive of her.
Her having an obsession with food.
Them sleeping together but only sleeping. lol
Bla bla bla...same book and style just a different title and characters.
It dragged! I kept looking at my percentage like are we going to get some where? lol
I loved almost all of the books that I’ve read from this author but after so many books you need something different. Hopefully she’ll make it happen:))
I’m sad I didn’t love this book. It was just an ok read for me. I honestly thought we were getting a new series. 🤷🏼♀️
This had too much of the same thing in the Neighbors From Hell books.
Him throwing her over his shoulder.
Him angry, grouchy and moody to everyone but her.
Him possessive of her.
Her having an obsession with food.
Them sleeping together but only sleeping. lol
Bla bla bla...same book and style just a different title and characters.
It dragged! I kept looking at my percentage like are we going to get some where? lol
I loved almost all of the books that I’ve read from this author but after so many books you need something different. Hopefully she’ll make it happen:))
December 2, 2024
Hunter O'Mallery has a temper and its that legendary temper that gets him put under house arrest with a live in assistant he does not want. When Kylie Davis shows up to move in and work, Hunter does his best to not make her feel welcome and to try to get her to leave. Until one day Hunter finds that he wants to solve the puzzle of Kylie but when he does then what?
I don't want to divulge much of this one because it is completely different then R.L. Mathewson's other books. This was a page turner for me and I absolutely loved it. Hunter you want to throttle at times but he quickly becomes one of my favorite heroes as the story goes. Kylie is a wonder, going to reread again and again.
I don't want to divulge much of this one because it is completely different then R.L. Mathewson's other books. This was a page turner for me and I absolutely loved it. Hunter you want to throttle at times but he quickly becomes one of my favorite heroes as the story goes. Kylie is a wonder, going to reread again and again.
November 26, 2019
On the whole I liked this. There is a caveat though. There was something about the writing style that I was not enamored of. There was something not real concrete about the writing. You had to infer quite a bit. That's probably just a me thing. I didn't find it quite as ridiculous as her Neighbor from Hell series with the whole food thing but the parents of the heroine were a little over the top. Mostly in that they got so many others to participate in their shenanigans. Not that I don't think some people would, just that if they were so notorious about their evil deeds you'd think someone would have seen through them. Still I liked it well enough to check out the next in the series when it comes out.
December 20, 2020
Good new series
This book is more serious than most of Ms. Mathewson's other books, especially the Neighbor From Hell series. Hunter was a bit uncaring and unkind in the beginning...ok, let's face it he was a complete douchebag! Slowly, though, Kylie ended up winning him over and he soon began to feel protective of her. The thing with her family was a bit weird and crazy.
I am interested in finding out about Ryan's story that was tossed in at the end of the book. His new secretary and her little boy. We also saw a preview of the next book in the series. I'm so excited!
This book is more serious than most of Ms. Mathewson's other books, especially the Neighbor From Hell series. Hunter was a bit uncaring and unkind in the beginning...ok, let's face it he was a complete douchebag! Slowly, though, Kylie ended up winning him over and he soon began to feel protective of her. The thing with her family was a bit weird and crazy.
I am interested in finding out about Ryan's story that was tossed in at the end of the book. His new secretary and her little boy. We also saw a preview of the next book in the series. I'm so excited!
November 9, 2019
I loved this. I will definitely classify this as a slow burn though I felt cheated. :/
This read more like Mathewson's A Humble Heart then her Neighbours from Hell serious. It was more deep then light-hearted and humourous. It lulled me into the romance. It was real and not insta.
The hero was an unapologetic asshole and the heroine was a twenty-first century woman with a spine of steel.
October 29, 2019
4 1/2 stars great book. I love this author but haven't read one of her books in awhile but after reading this one I am wondering why more and more.
October 28, 2019
She always delivers!
I'm gonna start this by saying that I read a lot. Like between 3-6 books a week lot. Every day a lot. I don't have little kids at home and currently I don't work, so I def have time. Even when my life circumstances have been different, I'm the you're if reader that will routinely read until one or two in the morning if a book is good even knowing I'd have to get up for work a few hours later. Frankly, I'd read more but my hubby isn't a reader and wants my attention on him when we're together. Reading that much means that when an author is TRULY exceptional, I become devoted because there are a lot of mediocre ho-hum stories out there. But when you go through books like I do, you learn to live with that and just be happy when you get really, solidly GOOD stories and authors! RLM is one of the good ones.
I've loved RLM for years. Her books are great; light, funny, happy, and without a lot of unnecessary angst and drama. I'm not a teenager and I don't equate great love with great emotional turbulence. I DO think great love comes with being open and having the maturity to discuss your problems and issues like an adult instead of childishly hiding and letting miscommunication, arguments, and tears drive a relationship. This is one of the reasons I like RLM's books: the adults generally don't expect the other adult to be able to magically read their mind. She keeps things realistic but funny. I like dark romance also, but sometimes you just need happy escapism from real life too!
This had a teeny, tiny bit of unhappiness in it but not so much that it was overwhelming. Which I appreciate, because while I like my EROTIC romance to have a darker theme, if I'm wanting LIGHT romance (which is needed every so often) RLM is one of my go-to's. I'm ridiculously satisfied that while this has an edge, she didn't try to go TOO far out of her norm with this book.
I also disagree that this was like reading her NFH series. I own all of those and reread them on a regular basis because they STILL make me laugh every time. This was very different from the NFH. Again though, she did NOT resort to a weird twisted plot line to introduce unnecessary drama to move her story along. Her protagonists each have their issues but they don't project those issues onto others blindly and they move through them. Thier relationship evolves, as real, adult relationships do. Maybe because she prefaces the story saying it's slightly different than what she usually does some readers were expecting a sh*t-show of an emotional mess? I would have been greatly disappointed if that has been the case as there are a LOT of unrealistic, drama filled, soap-operatic, unbelievable crap out there posing as emotional, heart-rending, rollercoaster, up and down, childish "romance".
This is a solid, mostly light, romance from a solid author that has proven herself again and again without having to resort to emotional manipulation in the ugliest, most blatant manner. I'll continue to one-click her work and be grateful for it as there are just way too many authors out there that CAN'T consistently deliver!
I'm gonna start this by saying that I read a lot. Like between 3-6 books a week lot. Every day a lot. I don't have little kids at home and currently I don't work, so I def have time. Even when my life circumstances have been different, I'm the you're if reader that will routinely read until one or two in the morning if a book is good even knowing I'd have to get up for work a few hours later. Frankly, I'd read more but my hubby isn't a reader and wants my attention on him when we're together. Reading that much means that when an author is TRULY exceptional, I become devoted because there are a lot of mediocre ho-hum stories out there. But when you go through books like I do, you learn to live with that and just be happy when you get really, solidly GOOD stories and authors! RLM is one of the good ones.
I've loved RLM for years. Her books are great; light, funny, happy, and without a lot of unnecessary angst and drama. I'm not a teenager and I don't equate great love with great emotional turbulence. I DO think great love comes with being open and having the maturity to discuss your problems and issues like an adult instead of childishly hiding and letting miscommunication, arguments, and tears drive a relationship. This is one of the reasons I like RLM's books: the adults generally don't expect the other adult to be able to magically read their mind. She keeps things realistic but funny. I like dark romance also, but sometimes you just need happy escapism from real life too!
This had a teeny, tiny bit of unhappiness in it but not so much that it was overwhelming. Which I appreciate, because while I like my EROTIC romance to have a darker theme, if I'm wanting LIGHT romance (which is needed every so often) RLM is one of my go-to's. I'm ridiculously satisfied that while this has an edge, she didn't try to go TOO far out of her norm with this book.
I also disagree that this was like reading her NFH series. I own all of those and reread them on a regular basis because they STILL make me laugh every time. This was very different from the NFH. Again though, she did NOT resort to a weird twisted plot line to introduce unnecessary drama to move her story along. Her protagonists each have their issues but they don't project those issues onto others blindly and they move through them. Thier relationship evolves, as real, adult relationships do. Maybe because she prefaces the story saying it's slightly different than what she usually does some readers were expecting a sh*t-show of an emotional mess? I would have been greatly disappointed if that has been the case as there are a LOT of unrealistic, drama filled, soap-operatic, unbelievable crap out there posing as emotional, heart-rending, rollercoaster, up and down, childish "romance".
This is a solid, mostly light, romance from a solid author that has proven herself again and again without having to resort to emotional manipulation in the ugliest, most blatant manner. I'll continue to one-click her work and be grateful for it as there are just way too many authors out there that CAN'T consistently deliver!
October 29, 2019
Hero is pretty much abusive. He is mean as shit. He treats her HORRIBLY and gets mad that her family and ex treated her badly. Hypocrite much? Hero was a manwhore and heroine was pretty much a virgin
It makes me sad that women find this type of behavior as charming or romantic. This bully romance type of stuff has to stop. Real talk, some of you need therapy.
It makes me sad that women find this type of behavior as charming or romantic. This bully romance type of stuff has to stop. Real talk, some of you need therapy.
November 7, 2019
R.L Mathewson does it again with this Gripping, Sexy, Funny, Broody Man that I just could not get enough of!
Hunter right from the start made me never want to leave this world and I battled with how quick could I read this book greedy to get the story or how can I savour it and make it last?
I never felt so many emotions reading one book as I did with this one I Laughed, I Cried and I yelled A LOT!
Kylie lol the names this man had for her was so funny I wouldn't know whether to laugh or punch him if it were me.
Fantastic book, I cannot wait for the next one.
Would Hunter Be My Book Boyfriend? He is my book husband #Mine
Hunter right from the start made me never want to leave this world and I battled with how quick could I read this book greedy to get the story or how can I savour it and make it last?
I never felt so many emotions reading one book as I did with this one I Laughed, I Cried and I yelled A LOT!
Kylie lol the names this man had for her was so funny I wouldn't know whether to laugh or punch him if it were me.
Fantastic book, I cannot wait for the next one.
Would Hunter Be My Book Boyfriend? He is my book husband #Mine
April 25, 2023
If you've never read an RL Mathewson book, you should.
The Neighbour from Hell series was my introduction and it has been many moons since I've dabbled in their work but WE BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER.
We've got a grumpy/sunshine with this one and Hunter and Kylie are showing up for their book. Although I found it kinda jumped the gun with the way their relationship was progressing, I still really liked this read. Hunter was a lunatic for the first 1/4 of the book but when he saw who Kylie was and what she was like, it was over for him LOL.
I'm happy I finally picked up another book by RL Mathewson but now I've realized how much more I have to catch up on so it's time to get to work folks.
The Neighbour from Hell series was my introduction and it has been many moons since I've dabbled in their work but WE BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER.
We've got a grumpy/sunshine with this one and Hunter and Kylie are showing up for their book. Although I found it kinda jumped the gun with the way their relationship was progressing, I still really liked this read. Hunter was a lunatic for the first 1/4 of the book but when he saw who Kylie was and what she was like, it was over for him LOL.
I'm happy I finally picked up another book by RL Mathewson but now I've realized how much more I have to catch up on so it's time to get to work folks.
October 26, 2019
DNF @ 44%
Ugh I feel like my brain is rotting from reading this book. This is just one of those books that's so poorly written, not developed at all, randomly skips through times, and is filled with useless scenes that don't progress the story. The main guy is a total ahole in the beginning and somehow for no reason begins warming up to the main girl. I could maybe see this developing into a pretty cheesy love story where it gets a bit more bearable to read once the characters actually like each other but the scenes still feel pointless, the writing quality is still bad, and I end up reading and then asking myself why am I still reading this? Onwards and upwards to better reads. I should have known better when I saw the review count was so low.
Ugh I feel like my brain is rotting from reading this book. This is just one of those books that's so poorly written, not developed at all, randomly skips through times, and is filled with useless scenes that don't progress the story. The main guy is a total ahole in the beginning and somehow for no reason begins warming up to the main girl. I could maybe see this developing into a pretty cheesy love story where it gets a bit more bearable to read once the characters actually like each other but the scenes still feel pointless, the writing quality is still bad, and I end up reading and then asking myself why am I still reading this? Onwards and upwards to better reads. I should have known better when I saw the review count was so low.
skim-read
December 6, 2019The Hero has anger issues. So much that he is under house arrest for a year.
His lawyer friend hires a personal assistant for him. She has her own emotional baggage.
The H is very mean to her. There’s no insta love or lust here. They are stuck.
Pages after pages their daily routine is described which was quite boring. Then slowly the H starts getting interested in the h’s life. But I didn’t feel any chemistry.
I’m not saying that the book is bad. But it’s definitely not interesting enough.
Lost interest.
His lawyer friend hires a personal assistant for him. She has her own emotional baggage.
The H is very mean to her. There’s no insta love or lust here. They are stuck.
Pages after pages their daily routine is described which was quite boring. Then slowly the H starts getting interested in the h’s life. But I didn’t feel any chemistry.
I’m not saying that the book is bad. But it’s definitely not interesting enough.
Lost interest.
November 8, 2019
Safety anyone?
October 28, 2019
This was bad on so many levels. So disappointing.
November 15, 2020
AMAZING!!!! RTC
November 12, 2019
Bailed on the Neighbors from Hell series. The early books were fun but they got really repetitive.
Figured I try a new series with this author.
This had potential. Good set up and I could see a good relationship struggling to happen. There were places where I was enjoying it a bit. But the abrupt scene transitions, the repetitive dialogue, very little character development and the tell, tell, tell aspect of the story just didn't make this really work for me overall. Scenes were all over the place and the pacing was odd.
Also the heroine was damsel'd in such an OTT manner. Not only was her family horrific but so was her ex-husband in ways that were so unsubtle that is all reads like a conspiracy entered in by her entire hometown her entire life. I felt very little emotional investment in the character because the pile on of horrors of her life was just relentless again, all tell, tell, tell.
The hero was a jerk and asshole who has anger issues but we are never given to understand why he is so angry. He just got into some fights. He had an unhappy childhood, I guess, mentioned vaguely twice only to never be mentioned again.
I am beginning to think those couple of early NFH books were the highpoint with me for this author.
Figured I try a new series with this author.
This had potential. Good set up and I could see a good relationship struggling to happen. There were places where I was enjoying it a bit. But the abrupt scene transitions, the repetitive dialogue, very little character development and the tell, tell, tell aspect of the story just didn't make this really work for me overall. Scenes were all over the place and the pacing was odd.
Also the heroine was damsel'd in such an OTT manner. Not only was her family horrific but so was her ex-husband in ways that were so unsubtle that is all reads like a conspiracy entered in by her entire hometown her entire life. I felt very little emotional investment in the character because the pile on of horrors of her life was just relentless again, all tell, tell, tell.
The hero was a jerk and asshole who has anger issues but we are never given to understand why he is so angry. He just got into some fights. He had an unhappy childhood, I guess, mentioned vaguely twice only to never be mentioned again.
I am beginning to think those couple of early NFH books were the highpoint with me for this author.
January 24, 2020
Inarticulate, juvenile, filler-filled, slow, pretty silly.
March 31, 2025
“Devastated” is the story of Kylie and Hunter.
The hero is put on house arrest after a violent encounter, and the heroine is assigned as his assistant. For the first quarter of the book, he is mean and a total ahole to her for no reason. He soon starts liking her and realizes the reason for her very passive behavior.
Honestly, the hero’s explicit sexual past was a bit gross and the fact that everyone who did the heroine so wrong for decades got to go scot free really didn’t sit well with me. Average romance, lots of banter. One time read.
Safe
2.5/5
The hero is put on house arrest after a violent encounter, and the heroine is assigned as his assistant. For the first quarter of the book, he is mean and a total ahole to her for no reason. He soon starts liking her and realizes the reason for her very passive behavior.
Honestly, the hero’s explicit sexual past was a bit gross and the fact that everyone who did the heroine so wrong for decades got to go scot free really didn’t sit well with me. Average romance, lots of banter. One time read.
Safe
2.5/5
November 11, 2019
3.5 stars
November 3, 2019
Oh my goodness!! I can not gush about this book enough. Seriously, it's not to often that I love a book enough to actually contact the author to express my love for their book, BUT I so did with Devastated.
I shot off an email to Rylie before I had even made it halfway to gush about how much I loved this book.
This isnt your typical R.L. Mathewson book, if you are a fan of Mrs. Mathewson's books you know they hold a quite a bit of humor. This book holds a lot of anger. But please do not let that stop you from reading because Rylie writes this story so beautifully that as a reader you arent harboring the anger that you read.
These two characters 100% complete each other. This is a couple who slowly bonds together, they become best friends, and slowly help and heal each other. They make each other feel safe and look out for one another.
Without giving to much of this book away Hunter is a man with anger issues whose been put on house arrest for one year. The court has ordered that he have a live in assistant to help with his company and run errands while he is under house arrest. Enter Kylie, the nicest, determined, and stubborn assistant of all time. She is determined not to let Hunter drive her away, fore the both of them have a lot riding on the line.
I can honestly say this may be my new favorite R.L. Mathewson book. Which is saying a lot since I love her Neighbor from Hell series, but this one phenomenal. I cant wait to read about the other characters. I need the next book NOW!! 5 much deserved stars!
ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review.
I shot off an email to Rylie before I had even made it halfway to gush about how much I loved this book.
This isnt your typical R.L. Mathewson book, if you are a fan of Mrs. Mathewson's books you know they hold a quite a bit of humor. This book holds a lot of anger. But please do not let that stop you from reading because Rylie writes this story so beautifully that as a reader you arent harboring the anger that you read.
These two characters 100% complete each other. This is a couple who slowly bonds together, they become best friends, and slowly help and heal each other. They make each other feel safe and look out for one another.
Without giving to much of this book away Hunter is a man with anger issues whose been put on house arrest for one year. The court has ordered that he have a live in assistant to help with his company and run errands while he is under house arrest. Enter Kylie, the nicest, determined, and stubborn assistant of all time. She is determined not to let Hunter drive her away, fore the both of them have a lot riding on the line.
I can honestly say this may be my new favorite R.L. Mathewson book. Which is saying a lot since I love her Neighbor from Hell series, but this one phenomenal. I cant wait to read about the other characters. I need the next book NOW!! 5 much deserved stars!
ARC kindly provided in exchange for an honest review.
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