ENFORCER BY KATANA COLLINS-ARC REVIEW

Worse than bad. Hotter than hot. These are the bad boys of the Harrison Street Crew, and they answer to no one. They take what they want. And what they want is you.

Ryan Gallagher is the one who does the dirty work. The brute force in the Harrison Street Crew, he lives to have the club all for his own one day. But the one thing he can’t have is Megan Mahoney—the one woman he’s loved since she was a teenager who needed saving.

Megan never forgot the all-consuming passion she felt for Ryan, her larger-than-life, wild teenage love. But coming from a hard, shocking past has left her broken and scared—and untrusting of the Harrison Street Crew. Ten years later, she’s back in Ryan’s world to claim a promise he made to her years ago. And even though she knows she shouldn’t fall for him, Ryan still has an explosive, sensual pull on her that she can’t ignore.

Ryan’s powerful love for Megan is the only thing that could ever soothe the tempestuous beast that roars in his soul. And when she comes back to him to aid her in a dangerous quest—a deadly revenge plot he swore he would be a part of years ago—Ryan can’t say no. He lives to protect this woman. He will die loving this woman. And as the stakes get higher, the love that they have kept hidden all these years explodes and goes further and deeper than either of them expected. But with a dark threat from Megan’s past thrust headlong into their lives, can their love win out?

I liked a lot about this book, I did.  Unfortunately, at least for me, I thought it was too hard, too harsh.  I liked both of the characters, but I felt so much time was spent on the harshness of their life, and of the characters themselves, that it was hard to get lost in their story without feeling a little sad for each of them.

The writing was strong, and I definitely believed in both of the characters and I thought they seemed realistic.  

I guess I like my romance a little more romantic than this was.  And, part of the issue was that the harsher scenes were so real that the softer scenes seemed off to me.

I don't necessarily recommend this title, but I didn't hate it...and I would read the next title by this author.

STRIPPED BARE BY HEIDI MCLAUGHLIN-ARC REVIEW

They don’t call it the Strip for nothing. . . .

In this sinfully sexy Las Vegas romance from bestselling author Heidi McLaughlin, a man who has it all reunites with a woman who takes it all off.

Living in Sin City, Finn McCormick is no stranger to one-night stands, but the last person he expects to find losing big on the casino floor is a former high school fling. Even though Macey Webster’s clearly down on her luck, she’s still a knockout, and she’s dressed like a stripper—because she is one. Drunk off an unfamiliar cocktail of lust, pity, and compassion, Finn offers to pay Macey’s debts if she cuddles up to him around town . . . and does whatever he wants between the sheets.

Macey came to Vegas for one reason only: money. She’s got a young daughter to support, and the tips really are bigger in Vegas. But when she blows her earnings on blackjack, her guardian angel is the rich boy who once stole her heart and never called her back. Although Macey would love to turn the tables on Finn, she can’t afford to refuse his proposition—and soon she’s enjoying herself much more than she cares to admit. Macey’s used to baring her flesh, but baring her soul will take far more courage.

This book, for lack of a better word, was a little harsh.  It was romantic in places, but it also felt a little gritty, a little on the less romantic side of things.  Which, is ok if it is handled well, but a tough read if the overall feeling is that you are watching the lowest side of life.

I liked Macey, a lot.  She was down on her luck, and she was struggling, but she was doing her best.  That said, there were a few things that didn't seem true to me, and the way she met Finn, after losing all of the money she went to Vegas to earn, didn't seem very in character.

Finn on the other hand, was a jerk.  And, while he gets better, it is never enough to over shine the initial impression of him as cold, and heartless.

I think, for me, this one suffered a little bit in the fact that there were some clear Pretty Woman parallels, Macey a stripper, Finn a rich casino owner who hires her for the week to accompany him places, with no other strings guaranteed. This is definitely a story we have heard before, and in this instance it did not work as well as it has in others.

The difference is, you liked the leads in Pretty Woman...but in this, Finn just came across like a jerk.  He wasn't all that sympathetic and really doesn't seem like someone you want to get to know all that well.

As the story goes on, I didn't really warm up to Finn.  I never really thought he was great, and I always found him to be rather harsh and cold.

I don't really recommend this book.