Tag Archives: Driven Series

Review: Sweet Ache (Driven #6) by K Bromberg

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Title:  Sweet Ache
Author: K Bromberg
Publisher/Year: JKB Publishing 6/2/15
Length: 395 pages
Series:  Driven #6

Overview

Hawkin Play, the bad boy rock star with a good guy heart, has lived a lifetime of cleaning up after his twin brother’s mistakes. Hunter’s most recent screwup could land Hawke in jail and risk the band’s future. Hawke agrees to guest lecture at a local college to stay in the judge’s good graces—and a bet with his bandmate to seduce his sexy teaching assistant is icing on the cake.

Quinlan Westin is harder to bed than Hawke imagined. She knows his type and is determined to avoid the rocker at all costs—even if their attraction runs deeper than simple lust.

Just as Hawke might finally be winning over the girl, his brother has other plans. When Hunter realizes his twin finally has a weakness, he’ll stop at nothing to take advantage….

My Thoughts

I think that it’s fair to say that we Love Quinlan and its great that she gets her story here.  I feel like after meeting her with Rylee and Colton and seeing the protective side that she had for her brother’s heart – it was about time to see if she could be happy.  While we don’t get any back story on her and relationships, we know that she doesn’t really do them as she’s typically attracted to bad boys and the only hint that we get is Dante – her ex who comes back to stay with her for a while for reasons unknown and who seems to think that he can get her back in his bed too.

At the same time we are reading about Hawke’s story – we know that he’s a rather successful rocker who’s taking the fall for his twin who’s not really on the up and up all the time, and feels obligated because of circumstances that are revealed throughout the story.  As a rocker, we can only expect and assume that he gets any woman when he wants, where he wants, so knowing how Type A Q is, it’ll be fun to see how things turn out.

When paths cross as Quin’s school where she’s a TA, sparks fly.  She’s coerced into helping out in the class that he’s guest lecturing in, and if he doesn’t teach her a thing or 2 as well (not on the syllabus of course) – well that’s where things get really hot.

The point of this story i think is that we have yet another really damaged guy – he’s got some of the same issues that we saw with Colton, about not feeling worthy of love or even being open to it, and the fact that Q is like Rylee in a sense shows us that there’s going to be a lot of life lessons and internal growth here.  It’s a roller coaster for sure since Hawke seems to do everything in his power to screw things up.  He pushes her away all the time, both because he doesnt want her too close and because he’s trying to protect her, but of course the immense amount of passion, chemistry and heat that these 2 have keeps them closer than they expect.

One of the great things of course (and as i’ve said before) from K Bromberg is that she writes some amazingly steamy scenes, each unique to the dimensions of the relationship so where we had great heat and passion from Colton and Rylee and even Becks and Haddie in the past, what we have here is really new and perfect for this couple. The questions that are begging to be answered though in this story is whether sex is enough or if the secrets that Hawke’s keeping will come out too soon and make things both real and broken.

I kind of hope that we get another installment to the series, however i don’t know who it would be based on.  Maybe Vince?  The other thing that i noticed in this story was a reference to a band the D-Bags – who were in another series but another author that i read.  i love that -if it was intentional  – the reference to another band from a series that’s really resonated with this genre.  But that’s just me.  so on that note – happy sunday all!

Review: Slow Burn (Driven #5) by K Bromberg

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Title:  Slow Burn
Author: K Bromberg
Publisher/Year: JKB Publishing 2/24/15
Length: 340 pages
Series:  Driven #5

Overview

ONE NIGHT. THAT’S ALL IT WAS SUPPOSED  TO BE.

Reeling from the sudden loss of her sister, Haddie Montgomery has sworn off relationships. All she wanted from Beckett Daniels was a sexy distraction to help her escape her pain for just a little while….There weren’t supposed to be any strings attached—so why can’t she shake the memory of that unforgettable night from her thoughts? Or the taste of his kiss from her lips?

No matter how hard Haddie tries to forget about him, Becks relentlessly tries to prove that she should start living for today. But she is determined to avoid romantic commitment, and she can always use her ex-boyfriend’s reappearance to help snuff out the slow burn within her that Becks has sparked….

Or will fate force her to realize that this kind of connection doesn’t come along very often and a chance at love is worth the risk?

My Thoughts

While not nearly as much of a roller coaster as the main bit of the series, still quite engaging none the less.  We finally get to see the tension between Becks and Haddie come to a head and while it was inevitable, the path that their relationship goes on is one that wasn’t necessarily what i was expecting.

We all know Haddie as being Rylee’s roommate and best friend – the voice of reason and the girl who pushed Ry to fight for Colton and pushed Colton to get his head out of the sand.  All the while, she’s the one that stood along side the couple with Becks – hoping that things would work out as they should.  So, it’s great to see their chapter continue.

We also knew Becks as the foul mouthed voice of reason for Colton, the one that told Colton exactly what he was thinking and got him to see that Rylee was the right girl for him.  So, taking that same knowledge and attitude, i think that we see that he’s destined for his own happy ending.

The fact that there’s so much obvious chemistry between these 2, well you know that we’ll get a lot of heat and passion.  The challenge that i face here is that we lost a bit of the entertainment quality that i’ve come to appreciate from both of the characters when they were supporting cast.  Not to say that it wasn’t great – since i enjoyed the story – but there was a bit of flair that we lost here from Becks specifically that i loved and now miss.

Throughout this story – we see that there’s a rather serious underlying plot that was introduced for Haddie that shows us why all her choices in life are what they are.  I think that it’s something that’s deeper than i was expecting, but ties things together nicely – getting us to an epilogue that made me tear up since i wasn’t hoping that it wasn’t true.

So…all that being said – i love that we got to see some type of extension with these 2 and as a nice treat – i saw that there’s going to be a #6 to the series so we can see where Q lands.  (Colton’s sister if you don’t recall).  So…happy wednesday everyone and hopefully i can find the next book to read.

 

Review: Raced (Driven #4) by K Bromberg

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Title:  Raced
Author: K Bromberg
Publisher/Year: JKB Publishing 11/4/14
Length: 150 pages
Series:  Driven #4

Overview

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author K. Bromberg comes a companion book to the Driven trilogy. Contains mature themes.

Review: Crashed (Driven #3) by K Bromberg

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Title:  Crashed
Author: K Bromberg
Publisher/Year: JKB Publishing 2/27/14
Length: 404 pages
Series:  Driven #3

Overview

When life crashes down around us, how hard are we willing to fight for the one thing we can’t live without, each other?

Life is full of moments.
Big moments.
Little moments.
And none of them are inconsequential.
Every single moment prepares you for that one instance that defines your life. You must overcome all your fears, confront the demons that chase you, and cleanse the poison that clings to your soul or you risk the chance of losing everything.

Mine started the minute Rylee fell out of that damn storage closet. She made me feel. Made me whole when all I thought I could ever be was incomplete. Became the lifeline I never knew I needed. Hell yes, she’s worth the fight…but how do you fight for someone you know you don’t deserve?

Love is full of ups and downs.
Heart stopping highs.
Soul shattering lows.
And none of them are insignificant.
Love is a racecourse of unexpected twists and turns that must be negotiated. You have to break down walls, learn to trust, and heal from your past in order to win. But sometimes it’s the expected that’s the hardest to hold on to.

Colton has healed and completed me, stolen my heart, and made me realize our love’s not predictable nor perfect-it’s bent. And bent’s okay. But when outside factors put our relationship to the test, what lengths will I have to go to prove to him that he’s worth the fight?

Whoever said love is patient and love is kind, never met the two of us. We know our love is worth it-have acknowledged that we were meant to be-but when our pasts crash into our future, will the repercussions make us stronger or break us apart?

My Thoughts

I don’t know if it’s possible to jam pack more into this finale of the series but our lovely author has managed to do it.  there’s something to be said about being able to write such a roller coaster of events, so much disaster and destruction and still have if feel like it’s not overly far fetched (granted it’s a story so there’s only so much reality to it).  the fear, love, anxiety, and passion that just leaps off the pages here is something to take note of.

As you remember from Fueled (#2), we see that things are starting to get better or these 2, Rylee and Colton are trying really hard to find themselves in a good place but it’s still not easy. He’s still healing from his car accident, and of course the expectation is that he’ll try to push her away more, yet they both realize that they love each other in a way that was never expected and that’s something that keeps bringing them back.  the Chemistry and heat that they share is something that’s quite impressive.

In this third and final installment, what we have here is really a story about Colton coming to terms with who he is / was and what he’s worthy of.  Rylee’s job here is to be patient, allow herself to fight for him without killing herself in the process.  Of course that’s easier said than done when someone decides that they want to kill her.  Literally.

Throughout this finale, we get so much heat and passion, but of course being held at arms length just a bit.  We see that there’s so much fear about what will break them and what will bring them together.  The impossible happens at one point that makes Colton’s eyes open and makes Rylee realize that maybe there’s more that can be done, but is afraid to hold out hope.

Becks of course continues to be the major voice of reason which i love – he’s got a sense of humor and reality that only best friends can bring to the table.  he’s not afraid to tell colton what he needs to hear and if there was someone that was better suited – well that would have been impressive.

The story plays out as you expect, however there’s an epilogue and a 2nd epilogue just to make sure that you get the closure that you need.  we have a 1 yr leap and a 10 yr leap and both are fantastic.  i think that you see resolutions for more than just the mains that we love and i think that’s a great approach that K Bromberg has taken.

So all that being said, i’m going to track down Raced which is the Colton POV installment and see what else we can get out of this series since there were handfuls of chapters from his POV that really helped keep the story moving.  With that, have a great week everyone – Happy Monday!

Review: Driven (Driven #1) by K Bromberg

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Title:  Driven
Author: K Bromberg
Publisher/Year: JKB Publishing 12/25/13
Length: 324 pages
Series:  Driven #1

Overview

Rylee Thomas is used to being in control. But she’s about to meet the one man that just might make her enjoy losing it…

I am the exception to the rule.

In a world full of willing women, I’m a challenge to the roguish and achingly handsome Colton Donavan. A man used to getting exactly what he wants in all aspects of life. He’s the reckless bad boy constantly skating that razor thin edge toward out of control, on and off of the track.

Colton crashes into my life like a tornado: sapping my control, testing my vulnerabilities beyond their limits, and unintentionally penetrating the protective wall around my healing heart. Tearing apart the world I rebuilt so carefully with structure, predictability, and discipline.

I can’t give him what he wants and he can’t give me what I need. But after a glimpse beneath his refined exterior into the dark secrets of his damaged soul, can I bring myself to walk away?

Our sexual chemistry is undeniable. Our individual need for complete control is irrefutable. But when our worlds collide, is the chemistry enough to bring us together or will our untold secrets and battle of wills force us apart?

My Thoughts

So i was on the hunt for a new series and the cover art on this one just got to me.  It’s odd cause i’m not usually into the whole thong/butt thing but it worked.  So what we have here is the first installment to what’s clearly a troubled romance between Colton and Rylee.

We meet Rylee on the night of a charity date auction that she’s set up for her company – one that helps ‘abandoned’ boys get back on their feet and counseling and all that.  These kids are troubled and clearly it has a strong pull on Rylee – so the thought of this auction, something that she’s so against is still something she’s willing to do – for the boys.

It’s at the auction that she meets Colton – not realizing who he is, either in relation to her company or to his fame – and they share an intense and immediate chemistry that results from her getting locked in a closet.  We see the passion and heat coming from them the moment they meet, but Rylee is very guarded after her fiance was killed and she keeps him at bay as much as she can.

Throughout this first installment, we get to see glimpses of the troubled past that colton had, yet we never quite get to the crux of it.  We know that he strongly relates to the cause of Rylee’s company since he himself is adopted, and Rylee knows that there’s more pain and torment to the story since he’s very haunted, yet she can’t quite get there with him since he’s so closed off.  As a result of that as well, he won’t allow himself to feel, to love and he gets off balance when he realizes that maybe what’s always worked in the past in terms of ‘relationships’ isn’t going to work here since he wants more but is obviously afraid.

As you read through this story – you want the best for them, you want to think that Rylee can help Colton as much as he can help her heal, but you know that it would be too easy.  Every time they take a step closer, there’s something to pull them apart, their own minds.  The other bit is that of course there’s another woman who wants Colton and is going to sabotage Rylee the entire way.

The cliffhanger at this first bit of the story is that just when you think that they’ve turned a corner, Colton’s admitted that he’s feeling more for her than for anyone else in the past and that it scares him, well, he ends up having a nightmare and throws her out.  So i guess the question is what is it going to take to get him to open up to her, and if it’s possible.  We know that the kids that Rylee cares for were the reason that they came together in the first place so i wonder if they will play a role in them getting back together if it’s in the cards.  I also wonder what Tawny is going to do with this whole situation – we know that she loves him and thinks that he’s going to end up with her, but of course he doesn’t feel the same.  So i’m curious and i’m thrilled that this series was published so long ago so i can just jump into book 2 today.  On that note – have a great weekend everyone and Happy Saturday!