Off Limits Lover

Houston After Dark #0.5

by Deborah Garland

(Originally Off-Limits Cowboy)

She wanted a taste of danger, but aroused a man who ate trouble for breakfast…

Eighteen. Curvy. Feisty. With a smart pretty mouth that arouses me to the point of madness, Avery is off-limits in every way possible. I indulge in whiskey, chase down sleazeballs, and spend my nights with strangers who don’t ask questions. I don’t do relationships. Or women who are barely legal.

But Avery is mature beyond her years and not afraid to push and tease me, a thirty-year-old man who’s itching to teach her it’s dangerous to play with fire.

Now she’s gotten herself in trouble. A stalker has her in his sights.

I saw her first. She’s broken through my armor and I make all kinds of mistakes because I know she’s mine.

Even if I have to let her go away to college and learn about the world first…

Meet Grant Harding and Avery Clark in this PREQUEL to the Houston After Dark Series. Off Limits Lover ends on a cliffhanger, but Grant and Avery’s story picks up four years later and ends in a HEA in Rough Lover.

Genres: Romance, Dark Romance, Contemporary, Novella, Ebooks, Westerns

84 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 5, 2022

About the author

Deborah Garland is a top 45 Amazon Bestselling and a 4x Award-Winning author of emotional, funny, and steamy romances!

She loves pugs, Friday night Cosmos, and that feeling when she publishes a new romance novel.

She lives on the beautiful North Shore of Long Island and in the summer, she escapes to Maine with her very patient husband.

She eats cheap mac and cheese with expensive red wine, her heroes are ALWAYS over six feet tall, and they fall hard, HARD for the girl.

Visit her website --> https://www.deborahgarlandauthor.com/... to join her newsletter and browse her little love stories.

New Releases are always featured, but all books can be read as standalones. Don’t be afraid to jump in. The water’s fine 😊

Reviews

[Samantha ☾⋆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

SYKD book! I liked this one! I wish it was longer though so I could have had more of a story line. I feel like this book was a good base to be a really good big book! even the short version was good I just needed more of it.

[Shannon Godwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cliffhanger

I was really into this book, and it just ended with a cliffhanger! What a bummer bc I want to b know what happens! I'm hoping callie & Noah get together. I am going how to see about the next book. I'm giving 4 stars bc I feel like it could have had more to it. To much left hanging

[Duchess · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quick novella. Needs to be edited. Weird instalove. Misplaced intensity and background knowledge seemed cliffnote based. No intrigue or meat to keep me interested in it. I'm surprised when I got to the end cuz I was gonna dnf.

[Rachel Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a prequel story, a short story, that sets up the Houston after Dark series. Folks expecting a full book are going to be disappointed.

This is the story of how the couple from book 1 meet. Gives the background. The main guy is 30, a private investigator, and a set in his ways loner. He is hired to look into a stalker situation for a girl who is 18 and about to go to college. These two have instant sparks, but he sends her on her way as he knows he is no good for her and she is just too young. It was nice to read something like this. Most stories just have them fall for each other, but he gave her up so she could be normal and go to college.

The blurb warns that there is no sex in this story. If you are reading it for spice, there is plenty of sparks, but no actual spice. There is a scene where he does some self care on himself while picturing the girl. There is a lot of imagining going on. But no actual banging. All in all, it makes me want to read the series. It was kind of obvious who the male leads will be in the series. I looked up the blurbs and had guessed correctly who book two would be about, just from reading this prequel.

[Elaine Coghlan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Off Limits Lover ~ Houston After Dark #0.5 by Deborah Garland
This is the prequel for Deborah's new series Houston After Dark, a romantic suspense series that follows Grant Harding PI and his team.
Grant is contacted by Landon Carter, a former police detective in Houston, now working at the local college as security. Landon has an 18-year-old daughter called Avery. When Avery starts to receive social media messages from a man she does not know alarm bells ring for her dad. He brings in Grant, although he is 30 he has these feelings for Avery and she is a tease it takes a lot of strength to refuse her.
A fantastic start to a new series from Deborah, and I can honestly say I'm looking for to reading them. Thank you, Deborah, for this book, I know it will do well.
PS It ends with a cliffhanger!so you will need to purchase the next one:)

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Rating: ★★★☆☆

Off Limits Lover by Deborah Garland, published on May 5th, 2022, is a captivating and passionate introduction to the Houston After Dark series, skillfully weaving romance and danger.

First off, I want to extend my gratitude to the author for making this book available for free on Amazon, allowing me to discover and enjoy her writing style.

Grant Harding, a thirty-year-old man who thrives on danger and avoids commitments, finds his world turned upside down when he meets Avery Clark. At eighteen, Avery is curvy, feisty, and mature beyond her years, with a smart mouth that both provokes and entices Grant. Despite his firm resolve against relationships and women who are barely legal, Avery's boldness and allure break through his defenses.

As Avery becomes the target of a stalker, Grant's protective instincts kick in, and he finds himself making all kinds of mistakes driven by his intense feelings for her. The tension between them is palpable, and their chemistry is electric. Even as he contemplates letting her go to college and experience the world, he knows deep down that she’s his.

Garland's writing draws you into a world where passion and danger collide. The characters are well-developed, and the dynamic between Grant and Avery is intense and enthralling. The story’s cliffhanger ending leaves readers eager for the continuation of their story in "Rough Lover," promising a happily-ever-after.

Overall, "Off Limits Lover" exceeded my expectations and served as a fantastic introduction to the Houston After Dark series. If you enjoy romance with a touch of danger and strong, complex characters, this book is a must-read.

[Elayna · Rating 1 out of 5]

It would be a shame to even give it a singular star, but here we are anyways. MMC who's only personality trait is raising his younger sister, while also lusting after girls that are barely legal..... Is just a choice that I could not fathom making. ALSO WHO NAMES THEIR DICK BOSS, please be serious.

[Reads lotsa stuff · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprise! Short story as prequel to series. Packed with action. Filled with spice. Bit of sexual tension and a few racy parts that don’t distract from the story. Characters are quickly developed are very clear. Hard to put down but short enough you don’t need to.

[Jen Fish · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novella feels unnecessary. It’s supposed to show how the couple in book one met and, honestly, couldn’t you just put this in the book?

And I feel this way about all novellas that do this. It’s dumb. It’s frustrating. As a reader, I’m over it.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Off Limits Lover: A Houston After Dark Prequel by Deborah Garland – This was a freebie prequel with one heck of a cliffhanger! The rest of the series is on kindle unlimited, so I will be sticking it on my TBR pile! Happy Reading!

[MARY · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this book. I liked reading this book very much. It was very exciting, full of action, and making me wanting to read more and even left me hanging.

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon & on Apple iBooks today (2/2/2023)! 🎁

[Lucy Roderick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining

What an entertaining detective tale. Plenty of action to keep you turning the pages. Grant Harding is one sweet badass. Avery is a gutsy gal.

[Laura Forsyth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Half a story

Suckered in To reading half of a story again. It’s not so much a cliffhanger as the story just cuts out on the middle. Ugh.

[Luna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leaning more towards 3.5 stars. It was a quick read & left me on a cliffhanger 🥲 time to grab the others asap

[Kaitie · Rating 1 out of 5]

pointless

This book just ends, there’s nothing there, not even really a middle or a romance in general. It’s just there and then over…

[Genine Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF this one.couldn’t get into it at all

[Erica Gabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok. I did not realize this was a prequel and that it ended in a cliff hanger and I have no way to read the next.

This was entertaining and fun and very poorly written.

[Taylor Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really like this book. It was a quick read but didn't particularly enjoy.

[Lacy Schwisow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute

I did like the book, for me personally though I'm more of a dark romance reader this one was more of like omg so adorable. Not complaining its a quick book

[Judy Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

quick read

Quick paced. It has some suspense, sexual innuendo between a girl wanting to become a woman and the man she wants to help her with it.

[jessica smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

that’s it?

Started off well but where’s the rest of the book? Nothing actually happened on the romance sector. Feels like it’s open to be an actual long story line

[Paige Casford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella was good to get background information on the group. I’m excited to see where their stories lead.

[Kayla Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was short and just stopped. The book could have kept going and would have been okay.

[Serena Reel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cant wait to read the test of this series

[Teressa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, quick book. Prequel to a series about private investigators & their lovers.

[Katelyn Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wanted more. Quick read. Definitely wanted there to be more to it.

[LinuayK · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you're going to end a book on a cliffhanger after only 80 pages then the buildup better have been worthwhile.

SPOILER ALERT - It wasn't.

[Moochie · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️ - it was a quick read yes, but it just… felt rushed? its like they wrote it to fit a deadline and had to cut stuff out

i didn’t like grants inner sex monologues every other paragraph. for having just met, and even BEFORE meeting, i think he was just too h0rny 🤣

[Sandra✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25⭐️

Horny motherfucker