Tag Archives: Black Edge

Review: Black Limit (Black Edge #5) by Charlotte Byrd

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Title: Black Limit
Author:  Charlotte Byrd
Publisher/Year:  Byrd Books 10/12/18
Length:  205 Pages
Series: Black Edge #5

Overview

Is this the end of us? 

I found a woman I can’t live without. 

We’ve been through so much. We’ve had our set backs. But our love is stronger than ever. 

We are survivors. 

But when they take her from me at the altar, right before she is to become my wife, everything breaks. 

I will do anything to free her. I will do anything to make her mine for good.

My Thoughts

Aiden is hanging on by a thread – in a coma, all because of Blake. Ellie’s distraught and goes home to gather some things, and what happens? Blake. he’s there and he’s got an agenda.

We were left at yet another insane point in the story where we know that Blake’s the cause of everyone’s problems (even though several books before Aiden was convinced that it was all Ellie).

She has to fight for her life since that’s what’s needed to make sure Aiden has a life to come back to. She proves to be just as strong as we knew and that means that we’re seeing Blake’s demise. He broke into her place and attacked her, so this is a cut and dry situation right? We hope so.

The story from here out is a more gentle roller coaster in bits than we’ve seen in the past. What happens though is that we watch Aiden’s parents come and take control of things even though they don’t have a good relationship and they have all these ill sensations towards Ellie. The result is that Aiden is moved to Boston, they won’t give information to Ellie, and so on a scavenger hunt we go.

The remainder of this story takes us to Boston. Watching there be little to no change in Aiden’s case, and the toll that it takes on Ellie. She’s pregnant, sick with those hormones and sick from what’s going on in life. Her sister Brie proves to be a rock for her and that’s something that we would not have expected in previous bits of the story. The distraction that Brie gives us, watching as she discovers who her true self is, well that’s not only really appreciated in the story, but appreciated given the context if current 2021 society.

We have another engagement, a wedding, a realization of what’s true, and an arrest. we were moments away from a happy ending, Aiden is awake, alive and bringing all of the dreams that ellie never knew she had to life. Steps away from the altar and things come crashing down.

The roller coaster takes a sharp turn because from here out we see Ellie fighting for her freedom. There’s evidence that leads the DA to believe Blake’s death was premeditated and that Ellie is behind it all. She’s got lawyers who don’t believe her, her reputation and profession working against her. The start of her. relationship with aiden that makes it hard to empathize with her, and all this added to the fact that there’s nothing that Aiden can do….it’s just a sad sad way to end this series.

All the highest highs don’t prepare us for the path that we go on, and we’ve prepared for the lows throughout knowing that everyone us up against a huge obstacle. Families are brought together to be torn apart. Friendships and relationships are put through trials, and we can only know for sure that if our characters stay true to themselves, then there’s hope that even if things don’t pan out as they want, they can live with the outcomes. I’m sad to see how this series ends, but a lot was crammed into this fifth and final book – leaving me looking for something new to read. So…enjoy the world of Aiden and Ellie and we shall see what’s next….

Review: Black Contract (Black Edge #4) by Charlotte Byrd

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Title: Black Contract
Author:  Charlotte Byrd
Publisher/Year:  Byrd Books 9/22/18
Length:  180 Pages
Series: Black Edge #4

Overview

They can take everything from me, but they can’t take her.

Mr. Black is coming back. With a vengeance.

“I need you to sign a contract.”

“What kind of contract?”

“A contract that will make you mine.”

This time she’s going to do everything I say. 

She’s going to hate it and then she’s going to beg for more.

This is the game we play. It’s our game. 

But what happens when others find out? Will we lose everything?

My Thoughts

The summary implies that the biggest concern is what everyone else will think when they find out about what Ellie and Aiden do, but frankly, that’s not the issue at all is it? I mean, we saw the whole world figure out how they met, and what they do when someone leaded information to the press, so really that’s not the issue. It’s trust and broken hearts – that’s where they go awry.

We ended the last book with Aiden breaking Ellie’s heart because he couldn’t handle what was going on and blamed it on Ellie and while that’s not right, that was his reaction. Ellie sees him out at a club with another girl and draws conclusions and lucky for her, Aiden is persistent, and she gives him the benefit of the doubt.

That sets the tone for this next installment of the story. We watch them find a place where they can work back to what things once were. Aiden wants to jump right back into the engagement and Ellie uses the time to think about what things are going to look like in the future.

This story takes us on a healing journey of sorts- watching Caroline try to come to terms with what she went through, and at the same time, watch the evolution of life with Ellie. Ellie and Aiden are in a better place and we want to hope for the best, and at the same time, we get news that Ellie is pregnant and that means that life is happy yet uncertain all over again.

Highs and lows are the balance of the story. Aiden gets the good news that he’s back at Owl, and that means that there’s a bit more certainty out there. He and Ellie seem to be in an ok place and he’s even happy at the idea of a baby. Things crash again though. There’s a death that’s likely a suicide, there’s a case that’s going to get dropped, there’s a fight, a shooting and someone in a coma.

Aside from that – we get a nice supplement to this story in the form of Brie’s situation. Brie is Ellie’s step sister and she blows into Ellie’s life in the middle of all the nonsense. She’s not sure what she wants to do with her life and who she is frankly. And she’s gone to the one person that she feels like she can be honest with and have no judgement.

So, on that note, we end this story on another cliff. While one of our mains is in a coma after a shooting, the shooter is on the loose and we fear that they will never be brought to justice. The other main finds themself in a confrontation of sorts and we’re not sure how to get out of that situation unscathed. So…I guess we’re going to see how things net out in the fifth book. Hopefully there’s something happy to pull out of it all, but things are looking bleak. Enjoy!

Review: Black Bounds (Black Edge #3) by Charlotte Byrd

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Title: Black Bounds
Author:  Charlotte Byrd
Publisher/Year:  Byrd Books 10/12/18
Length:  172 Pages
Series: Black Edge #3

Overview

I don’t belong with her. 

Born into darkness, life made me a cynic incapable of love. 

But then Ellie waltzed in. Innocent, optimistic, kind. 

She’s the opposite of what I deserve. 

I bought her, but she she stole my heart.

Now my business is going up in flames. 

I have only one chance to make it right. 

That’s where it happens…something I can never take back. 

I don’t cheat on her. There’s no one else. 

It’s worse than that. Much worse. 

Can we survive this?

My Thoughts

This story really takes us on an uncertain path. We have moments of happiness, and then in the next chapter, things are flipped upside down and we wonder if we’ll ever find a happy solution.

Emotions are all over the place. The future of Owl is looking bleak and that means that Aiden’s future with the company is looking bleak. He has no idea how to get more money to stop the bleeding and that weighs heavily. The news all comments about how it means that the board will kick him out of the company as well and that makes Aiden miserable. The company that he created from scratch in college is going to be taken away from him. How he handles that and how Ellie handles that will show us what this couple is made of.

In this third book, we usually expect to see some type of resolution but there are several more installments to the series. What we get though is a train wreck of sorts. We find that people are not at all what they appeared to be and that those who want the best for our main characters are capable of taking that away in the blink of an eye.

They go to Tom’s engagement party and that ends in a HORRIBLE way. Caroline is there with her new guy Taylor – the one that she met on Aiden’s yacht – but he isn’t a great as he seemed. Caroline finds his flirting with another woman and that leaves her alone. Not for long though as Ellie discovers Caroline unconscious, being taken advantage by someone at the party. Not just someone, but Tom.

So the story is flipped once again here as we watch how this plays out. Caroline sinks into a numbness that’s expected given the experience that she had. Tom’s future in-laws take Tom’s side and that means that all the headway that Aiden made with Carrie’s father to get investment funds for Owl drops to the side.

Ellie and Aiden though seem to be in a good place finally – a united front even though things are going sideways. So great that in fact Aiden proposes. So we’re on a journey watching a couple find their happily ever after.

Until they don’t. Aiden breaks up with her and all on the heels of someone leaking Ellie’s story under her real name and everything that they all worked so hard to keep secret is now out in the open. Aiden tells Ellie that things were all amazing until he met her – and then things started to go awry. He was distracted, he was focused elsewhere and he feels that she’s been the cause of all the scuff ups. So where does that leave us? two heart broken girls, a friend in jail for attempted rape, and a man without his company. A sad place for our story to leave off and it means that I have to dive straight into the next book to see what can be salvaged. Enjoy!

Review: Black Rules (Black Edge #2) by Charlotte Byrd

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Title: Black Rules
Author:  Charlotte Byrd
Publisher/Year:  Byrd Books 10/12/18
Length:  164 Pages
Series: Black Edge #2

Overview

We don’t belong together. 

I should have never seen him again after our first night together. But I crave him. 

I’m addicted to him. He is my dark pleasure. 

Mr. Black is Aiden. Aiden is Mr. Black. Two sides of the same person. 

Aiden is kind and sweet. Mr. Black is demanding and rule-oriented.

When he invites me back to his yacht, I can’t say no. 

Another auction. Another bid. 

I’m supposed to be his. But then everything goes wrong….

My Thoughts

We continue on this weird little merry go round with our characters here – getting teased about a world that we know nothing about and yet wanting to know more. Ellie and Aiden seem to have something that could be real, but there really are a few obstacles in their way. When Aiden invites Ellie and Caroline to another Yacht party – even more questions arise

We start off this second book with Ellie uncertain as to why she’s been invited again and Caroline looking to take full advantage of what she missed out on. Lucky for her, her regrets are short lived since she gets to have a redo.

We know that things can’t go the same way this time around – that would make for a dull and boring story. So what we get at this second party is an interesting situation. Ellie isn’t trying to impress anyone so again she’s in jeans and a shirt. Caroline knows the cocktail hour protocol so she’s looking her best and mingling. She meets everyone and makes an impression and at the same time, Ellie runs into a guy named Blake who made some unnecessary comments to her at the first party. If you remember, he told her that she doesn’t belong there, yet tried to outbid Aiden for a night with her.

Well….he’s just a premonition of what’s to come and we know it can’t be good. We move from the cocktail hour to the pre-auction set up. Caroline and Ellie realize quickly that things aren’t the same as last time. Ellie is the only girl who’s been there before, everyone else is new. The girls are all asked to wear lingerie v. whatever they are comfortable in (remember Ellie wore her dress, while others went full nude). The other strange piece is that instead of seeing the entire audience, there’s a row of mirrors keeping them separate so no one knows who’s bidding on them and that adds for tension. Ellie wasn’t going to participate but she’s told that Aiden really wants her to, so she goes against her gut and does it.

What happens next is very different than the first time around. Ellie raises a bit of money from the auction, not at all like last time, but quickly realizes that it’s not Aiden who’s bid but Blake. the Auctioneer – Lizbeth was uncomfortable starting the auction since Aiden apparently wasn’t there and now we know what happened as a result.

The trajectory of the story is a bad/sad one from here. We know that Blake doesn’t have Ellie’s best interest at heart and Ellie wants nothing to do with him. She only came to the party to be with Aiden and when it’s someone else, she wants out. Blake won’t let that happen, and in turn, Ellie has to fight for her freedom, and Blake gets injured from both Ellie And Aiden who finally comes to her rescue.

There are repercussions to all this of course and we quickly see the impact that it has for Aiden. Blake was the first investor of Aiden’s company and because of this feud, he’s taken his money out and the money of all his friends. Owl is failing, and Aiden doesn’t know how to fix things. Ellie can’t help and that makes the dynamic even harder. We really want some calm time for them to find out what they could be to each other – we know that they’ve both admitted to stronger feelings, but if they aren’t given the chance to cultivate it, then we’ll never know right?

Add to that – Caroline met a decent guy she things from the auction and we watch that relationship evolve- hoping for the best but not really knowing what will happen. We do’t know anything about Taylor so we don’t know if he’s got honest motivations.

There’s also Tom – Ellie’s friend who she used to have a crush on, but who’s also engaged to their boss. They had a falling out if you remember in the first book, and things come to a head even more in this second book. Tom invites Ellie, Caroline and Aiden to his fiance’s family’s house for an engagement party and we really don’t know how this is going to end up.

Aside from all the sexy steamy things that we read about from time to time in here, there’s also the similar undertone from the Tangled series that i see here – a budding writer/author who goes it alone. learns the ropes to self-publishing and tries to make it into something great. I think that it’s lovely that our author Charlotte Byrd is trying to give all of those aspirating authors out there the knowledge and tools to do it themselves and I hope for Ellie that it pans out. On that note, i’m off to book three since i’m really interested in seeing what happens to Owl and what that means for Ellie and Aiden. Enjoy!

Review: Black Edge (Black Edge #1) by Charlotte Byrd

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Title: Black Edge
Author:  Charlotte Byrd
Publisher/Year:  Byrd Books 10/12/18
Length:  184 Pages
Series: Black Edge #1

Overview

I don’t belong here. 

I’m in way over my head. But I have debts to pay. 

They call my name. The spotlight is on. The auction starts. 

Mr. Black is the highest bidder. He’s dark, rich, and powerful. He likes to play games. 

The only rule is there are no rules. 

But it’s just one night. What’s the worst that can happen?

My Thoughts

Who doesn’t like a good story about sex games right? That’s what we get when we dive into things with Ellie and Aiden. This story starts off with our leading ladies enjoying their lives as most girls do – although they have it a bit better than most of the main female characters that we see in these stories. Ellie and her friend and roommate Caroline met while at Yale, and come from families of privilege. They have the means to do what they want, and don’t struggle like most of the characters that we have. Where it does follow suit is that Ellie wants to make her own way – her family’s money is a result of her mom remarrying – and her step father has a bit of wealth which he shares with Ellie. He pays for her apartment, while Ellie insists on paying her student loans.

Her story’s trajectory changes when Caroline gets the invitation that she’s been waiting for. She heard about this exclusive party and has been waiting for an invite to it, and when it comes, both girls end up on a trip of a lifetime. They are taken to this lavish yacht party where they quickly learn that things aren’t what they seem.

Ellie is immediately given a new dress to wear, courtesy of their host Mr Black. Then they mingle and meet all these young eligible bachelors, where Ellie realizes that perhaps they aren’t exactly her speed. Time and time again she’s told that she doesn’t belong at the party and she questions everything. When the atmosphere changes after a break from cocktails, they are called to the main salon where it’s only women there. Quickly things take a turn for the racy. We learn that the next round of the event is an auction – where the women are up for bid and the man who wins them gets a night of what ever sexual fantasy he wants. The women get to keep the money and are at the mercy of their ‘owner’. Caroline quickly realizes that this isn’t for her and expects Ellie to depart with her but surprisingly Ellie realizes the the idea isn’t so bad and the money that she could make would be worth it.

From then on, the story takes a turn. Ellie perhaps brings the most money in for the night – her gentleman thankfully isn’t an older guy, but instead Mr Black. He’s not at all what she expects, but his preferences are darker and raunchier than she could have imagined. What surprises her the most is how much she enjoys what he does and wants more. The time they spend together seems great but she knows that it’s just one night.

So when she goes to depart the next morning, she thinks that’s the end of things, and yet Mr Black, Aiden – tracks her down before she leaves and gives her something to hope for. What that is, and what that means for her – you’ll only know if you read the story!

There are a few subplots going on as well that make this story a bit meatier. There’s the best friend Tom that Ellie’s had since college – a guy that she’s always crushed on and a guy that broke her heart when he quickly started dating their boss and got engaged. That put the breaks on any emotions and feelings, and thankfully for Ellie, it opened up the possibility with Aiden. What happens in this story though makes us see that Tom isn’t worthy of her devotion. Watching his demeanor and judgement makes us root for Ellie and I can’t wait to see what happens to Tom as a result of his new found rude qualities.

There’s also the bits about Caroline – we know that she enjoys the nicer things in life and that she’s the one who brought Ellie into the world with Mr Black. She now has a bit of jealousy and I can’t wait to see how that plays out for her.

Then there’s all of Aiden’s past and the mystery that surrounds him and his tastes. I’m sure that all the readers here can’t wait to see what it means for the possibility of the future since there are so many dark corners and twists that will be obstacles.

Well…lucky for my eager reader mind – i’ve got the next book already and i’m off to see what comes next. Enjoy!