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Synopsis:

He had held a secret that destroyed her world. Everything she had known was no longer true. Blaire couldn’t stop loving him but she knew she could never forgive him. Now, she was back home and learning to live again. Moving on with life… until something happened to send her world spinning once again.

What do you do when the one person you can never trust again is the one that you need to trust so desperately? You lie, hide, avoid, and pray that your sins never find you out.

My Review:

This is the second book in the Too Far Series by Abbi Glines and picks up where the first book, Fallen Too Far, leaves off.  After loving the first book, I was DYING for this book to release.  I read it in a day…..and I already miss Rush.

I’m going to do my best to give this review without spoilers, and damn, it’s going to be tough!

Blaire is back in her hometown in Alabama, and trying to get on with her life after leaving Rush.  Is there such a thing though?  Life after Rush?  She also comes to realize that the small town she grew up in no longer feels like home.  She had grown to like Rosemary.  Had friends there, and misses them.  She needs to find her own place and find where she truly belongs in the world.  Now, circumstances will arise and lead her back to Rosemary….and she will have no choice but to see Rush again.

Rush is a miserable bastard.  He realizes he can’t live without his sweet Blaire, but also realizes he totally screwed up and chances are she will never take him back.  Now, after three long weeks without her, she’s coming back to Rosemary.  He had no idea why she was coming back, and had no clue what to do to make things better, but one thing he did know….he was going to do his damnedest to get her back.  He wasn’t going to live without his sweet Blaire for another minute.

Together, Blaire and Rush have more obstacles to hurdle than I can even begin to tell you (trying to keep this spoiler free ARGHHH!) and damn, if it didn’t make me love the two of them even more than I already did. 

This book was freaking amazing.  I got a text from a good friend letting me know it was released a day early, which happened to be the day we left on our family ski vacation.  I downloaded it on my phone and started reading immediately…and finished it that day.  The intensity of what is going on between Rush and Blaire was something I could NOT stay away from and was glued to the story from the very first page.  Rush is even more amazing than he was in Fallen Too Far.  He turns into the book boyfriend we knew he was capable of being.  Damn, I do love me some Rush! Blaire is just as amazing as she was when we met her.  Strong and determined and always willing to do what she needs to do to survive on her own.  Together, their chemistry is delicious.  The emotions in this book go from each end of the scale in the most incredible way.  I went from laughing, to crying, to wanting to throw my eReader across the room. I’m sure people think I’m insane after the amount of gasping I did while reading this in public.  There were quite a few twists in this story I didn’t see coming….and they kicked ass!  Again, without getting into spoilers, which is REALLY TOUGH, just know that it ends how you would want it to end!!

Abbi, thank you, thank you, thank you for another taste of Rush and for an emotionally charged, beautifully written, insanely devourable read! I will be not-so-patiently waiting for Wood’s book and know it will be yet another kick-ass story!

Four-and-a-Half Loves  

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Synopsis:

An ambitious intern. A perfectionist executive. And a whole lot of name calling. Discover the story that garnered more than two million reads online.

Whip-smart, hardworking, and on her way to an MBA, Chloe Mills has only one problem: her boss, Bennett Ryan. He’s exacting, blunt, inconsiderate—and completely irresistible. A Beautiful Bastard.

Bennett has returned to Chicago from France to take a vital role in his family’s massive media business. He never expected that the assistant who’d been helping him from abroad was the gorgeous, innocently provocative—completely infuriating—creature he now has to see every day. Despite the rumors, he’s never been one for a workplace hookup. But Chloe’s so tempting he’s willing to bend the rules—or outright smash them—if it means he can have her. All over the office.

As their appetites for one another increase to a breaking point, Bennett and Chloe must decide exactly what they’re willing to lose in order to win each other. Originally only available online as The Office by tby789—and garnering over two million reads on fan fiction sites—Beautiful Bastard has been extensively updated for re-release.

My Review:

A few months ago, I had seen this title pop up here and there and was dying to read it but realized it hadn’t released yet. The other day, I get a text from my husband asking if I had heard of Beautiful Bastard and said he had read an article on it and thought I should read it….it just so happens he sent me that text on release day. I ran right out and bought it. Gotta say, I owe this review to him because I LOVED this book!

Chloe Mills is working at Ryan Media for her MBA internship. Her boss, Bennett Ryan, is a total condescending, obnoxious jackass. So much so, that her and her two best friends have dubbed him “beautiful bastard”. Unfortunately, the “beautiful” part had to be added because the man is delicious. He never fails at finding something to criticize Chloe on. Her handwriting, the volume of her voice….anything. Sad part is, even with all of the jackassery, she can’t help but being attracted to him. So when Bennett shocks the hell out of her with a somewhat shocking advance, she will have to decide if she will allow it…

Bennett Ryan prides himself on being successful and in control. Always in control. At the age of thirty, he’s accomplished more in his professional life than most men even dare to dream about. He is not one to act on irrational impulses, which is exactly what this attraction to Miss Mills is. SO many things are wrong with wanting her. She is his intern, in his family’s company. In other words, wrong on so many levels. If only she could stop this push and pull with him and stop giving his attitude back when he deserves it, it would make it so much easier to remind himself of the wrongness of the attraction. It’s a shame that one night in an empty conference room will lead to the ultimate downfall in his decision to keep Chloe at a distance.

As you may already know, this was originally published as a Twilight FanFic story. In my opinion, it went far past FanFic and blew me away. When I first started it, I kept thinking it was going to be like Fifty Shades of Grey, since both stories share the young, attractive CEO, BUT, that’s really where the similarities end. I have to say; I enjoyed this story more than Fifty. The sex was HOT and the characters were amazing.

Chloe is a fantastic heroine. She is smart, educated, sassy and doesn’t take sh@t. Yes, she has to deal with Bennett’s prick moods, but she doesn’t let him walk all over her. She gives his snark right back to him and I freaking love that! She’s not going to let anyone push her around or jeopardize her career. I admire her tenacity, especially when it came to dealing with Bennett.

Bennett is the perfect hero that keeps us guessing. He starts out as the guy-we-love-to-hate and turns into the guy-we-want-to-win-the-girl. Yes, he’s douchey. Yes, he’s used to getting everything he wants without having to ask twice. He’s also genuinely unaware of how he comes off at times, which made him more real as a character. He wasn’t so set in his ways that he wasn’t willing to try and change…especially when it came to Chloe’s opinion of him.

This book starts off hot and heavy…and by saying hot and heavy, I mean sex within the first 20 pages. The emotion between Chloe and Bennett ran high and intense. They loved to hate one another, and couldn’t stay away. What starts out as angry sex, turns into much more than they were anticipating. One of the things I liked most about this book was that it really was entirely about Chloe and Bennett. Sure, there were some business and family things thrown in but it wasn’t overwhelming and didn’t take away from the developing relationship between them. My favorite thing about this book, however, is that the chapters switched back and forth from Chloe and Bennett’s point of views. BRILLIANT! It really made me value both characters and their run of emotions that much more.

As I enter my book hangover from having finished Beautiful Bastard today, I will tell you that I highly recommend this book and have to thank my hubs again for the text on release day! Thank you to Christina and Lauren for teaming up to bring us a kick-ass read! (Oh, and for giving me another reason to love my Je Ne Regrette Rien tattoo!)

Four and a Half Loves