Tag Archives: E.L.Todd

Review: Love on Fire (Stars #2) by E.L. Todd

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Title: Love on Fire
Author:  E.L. Todd
Publisher/Year:  E.L. Todd 8/6/19
Length:  200 Pages
Series: Stars #2

Overview

Neil Crimson is back from his mission. We promised we would just be friends, to keep our hands to ourselves and have a platonic relationship.

But I haven’t been with anyone since he’s been gone…and I miss him so much. When he walks in the door, he’s just as strong and handsome as I remember. He’s a little thinner than before, but still regal and powerful. When I look at Neil Crimson, I don’t see a friend…I see the best I’ve ever had.

But it could never happen again.

Until one night when he shows up on my doorstep…and says I’m the best he’s ever had too.

My Thoughts

This is certainly a story of star crossed lovers. they’re so meant to be but they are in vastly different places in their lives with different wants for the future. If Charlotte wasn’t so understanding of what Neil truly needed in his life and if Neil wasn’t so focused on what else is out there in space, I think that we could have a wonderful love story.

We pick back up right after Neil’s come home from his mission to the moon. It’s been three months and while we expect things to change, we hope they stay the same. Unfortunately there’s been a lot of change.

Charlotte’s moved out of Neil’s house and has bought her own house – she’s laid the groundwork for her own positive future. She’s living her best life and seems to be in a good place with things. She worries and cares about Neil but also wants to stay true to their deal.

Vic and Stacy promised to start a family, and that’s what happens – she’s pregnant and we watch how that news affects and changes Charlotte since we know that her marriage fell apart because she wasn’t able to have kids. (at least that’s what we were told)

So Neil comes back, and we learn that he’s still focused on Charlotte. That makes us happy but at the same time we know that there’s complications that will come of it. Stacy and Vic really don’t want them to be together since it’s clear that their futures hold different things, and we even see Charlotte and Neil fight the feelings that they have for one another. It becomes too hard to do and they agree that they’re going to try again. To be more than just friends since that’s what is natural.

We’re all hoping for the happy ending, but we know that there is a secret mission that Neil’s got on the docket and we know that it’ll only mean heartbreak for Charlotte.

There’s another story line here where we watch Cameron (Char’s ex) come back to her after his pregnant girlfriend loses their baby. He realizes what he had and he wants her back. The question arises will she take him back.

then there’s Kyle – we know that he’s in love with her and we watch that cause problems. He makes his move and she pushes him away and then we see him try again. Complications!

Where we net in this story is a baby is born, a baby is on the way, someone leaves and lots of people are heartbroken. There’s a big question mark on where this story will go and I wonder if anyone will be happy, if people will survive and what the outcome of this wrong way love story will go. I just got book 3 so i’m diving right in. Enjoy!

Review: Stars on Fire (Stars #1) by E.L. Todd

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Title: Stars on Fire
Author:  E.L. Todd
Publisher/Year:  E.L. Todd 7/26/19
Length:  190 Pages
Series: Stars #1

Overview

I was happily married until the doctor gave me terrible news. My husband must have never really loved me because he left me shortly afterward. It’s been six months and I’m in a better place…but do you ever truly get over something like that?

Then I meet Neil Crimson.

The guy isn’t just handsome, smart, and charming. There’s something special about him.

He’s an astronaut.

He just returned from a three-month voyage at the moon and now he’s working at the NASA Space Center in Houston. He’s my best friend’s brother-in-law so I see him all the time. Every time we bump into each other, I like him a little more. 

After my divorce, I’m looking for something easy, something fun.

Neil Crimson seems easy and fun. 

I’m about to have a fling with an astronaut. How many people can say that?

My Thoughts

It’s nice that when i’ve been reading various series by E.L. Todd, that i’ll get the finale of a trilogy and then a bonus first book to a new series. That’s what happened here when I finished the Fighter. Something that i’ve noticed of a lot of these series, we have insanely intelligent (genius) hot sexy male leads taking over the pages, and just as impressive smart strong beautiful women partnering with them to keep a story going. this is no exception.

We meet out leading lady at the onset of this story – we watch Charlotte adapting to her life in the new normal. She’s recently divorced and trying to pick up the pieces of that failed marriage – and we only get hints for the first half of the story as to what caused the breakup. It seemed like she and her ex were well suited, they were madly in love with each other until they weren’t.

She’s got a great job to fall back on, amazing friends, and a new perspective on what her life should be now. it’s through her best friend Stacy and her husband Vic that we see a shine come back to Charlotte’s eyes. They are the kind of friends that you want to have because they’re there for it all. When Charlotte was down from the breakup, they picked her up. Vic didn’t have to – he’s Stacy’s husband, but he treats her like a little sister and that’s something special.

Things change when we’re watching a rocket landing and learn that it’s Vic’s brother Neil, who’s the astronaut piloting the mission and he’s finally back after 3 months away. There’s anxiety over having a successful landing, and once that happens, everyone’s happy for this hot sexy American Hero to be back on Earth.

From here, we watch a new friendship blossom. Neil is back on Earth, he’s in high demand because he’s smart, he’s one of the best, and he’s incredibly attractive. Women drop at his feet for his attention, everyone wants a piece of him because he’s the man of the hour, and all he wants is to make his family proud….even though he knows that they don’t like what he does for a living. (mind you we learn that his father was an astronaut that was killed in a rocket explosion at launch). He’s not looking for marriage or kids since he knows that he’ll be in space more than on Earth and his priority is always that. This makes for the perfect friendship because Charlotte doesn’t believe in marriage and it seems like kids aren’t her jam at this point in life. (for reasons that we learn later).

They are clearly attracted to each other but they don’t act on it. instead they develop a friendship, banter and enjoy what is new and different in their lives for the first time ever. It makes Vic uncomfortable that his brother is bonding with Charlotte in a way that wasn’t expected but, at the same time he likes to see two friends happy.

Of course as these stories go, whatever starts as purely platonic never ends well and we see something unique and interesting grow out of that. There’s a chemistry that they share and there’s a comfort that’s unexpected. Neither expects the heat and electricity that they feel together, and that leads to some of the hottest on brand scenes from our amazing author! Neil is protective of her in everything that causes her pain and of course doesn’t want to be the cause of making her upset. Because of that, Charlotte actually tries to put boundaries on their relationship because friendship is far more important to the both of them.

Age old tale of what you want v. what you get – so of course things get complicated (in a good way maybe?) and we’re left at the edge of our seats as a result of another unexpected trip to the moon. I’ve got the next book on deck to jump right in and I can’t wait to see where we are taking off to next! Enjoy!

Review: The Lover (Doctor #3) by E.L.Todd

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Title: The Lover
Author:  E.L. Todd
Publisher/Year:  Independent 5/14/19
Length:  199 Pages
Series: Doctor #3

Overview

Against all odds, Finn and I have managed to be together.

Colton continues to warn me, says that Finn will never change.

But he already has.

I don’t know what the future holds…but I think Finn fits in somewhere.

My Thoughts

This third installment is yet another example of the insanity that we’re living in. From the summary, we know that Pepper and Finn are together, but we don’t know what that means for the future relationship and for the relationship with Colton. He’s still not thrilled with the idea of his brother and Pepper together and that drives an even bigger wedge.

Everyone wants to live their lives towards the end goal of happiness, but what we’re learning throughout this third installment is that it’s not possible. This isn’t fantasy land, and there’s no chance that everyone will have their happy ending.

What IS happy though is Colton’s story. He’s come out of his shell and has really started to thrive in his life. He’s in a great relationship with a guy who seems to be right for him – and his friends and family really like Tom as well. He’s enjoying his new job and really feels like he’s doing something for the greater good. The only problem that he has in life is that he’s not in a great place with Finn and that’s going to be a long road to get to a happy spot again.

On the other hand, we have an intense romance with Finn and Pepper to focus on. they are beyond deeply in love, even if they don’t admit the words to one another for quite some time. Their chemistry is off the charts and the white hot inferno that we saw in the last book continues to burn even hotter here, giving us some of the hottest scenes out there. Something that our author is known for and something that carries this story through.

We’re spending a lot of time here relying on trust, and love. We see what’s possible when you have so much love for someone that you give them unconditional trust, and it’s really great to see a healthy relationship in that sense. What concerns me though is that they have such different impressions of what the future should look like. We know that Pepper wants the family and kids. She wants to settle down and live in Seattle near her friends and her business. That’s never been Finn’s story. He’s always moved around – never staying in one place for too long and really not committing to much of anything and even though he sometimes feels like he can commit to Pepper, it’s always on his terms.

And that’s where we end this third book. We are on such a high knowing that Finn wants to commit to Pepper, wants to have a future with her which is very uncharacteristic for him, but again it’s on his terms. He wants her to give everything up and that’s something that she just can’t do. So sadly, we are not in a happy place when this third book ends, and I hope that we can figure out what that means in the long run. There’s really no way that they can both get what they want together, so we’ll see if they can get it apart. Sadly – Enjoy!

Review: The Man (Doctor #2) by E.L. Todd

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Title: The Man
Author:  E.L. Todd
Publisher/Year:  Independent 4/16/19
Length:  164 Pages
Series: Doctor #2

Overview

Now that Jax is gone and I’m single once again, I’m supposed to be finding Mr. Right.

But Finn is the only guy I want. 

Every time we’re in the same room together, the heat is explosive. We can barely look at each other without our hands shaking. As days turn into weeks, our resolve softens.

And then we can’t fight it anymore.

My Thoughts

So when we were last with these characters, we saw lots and lots of heartbreak and uncertainty. There were failed attempts at restarting lives, making a change to the positive, and yet those things crashed and burned. Colton had put himself out there and met a guy named Aaron, felt that there may be something there, but sadly that fizzled out. Pepper started something with Mr Gorgeous, but he felt far too uncomfortable with the relationship that she had with her ex husband, and even forgiveness wasn’t enough. Ultimatums are never good and we saw how that ended.

So we’re into the second installment here, watching them try to pick up the pieces of things. It’s hard to watch happiness slip through everyone’s fingers, and we want the best, however the problems keep piling up.

The chemistry between Finn and Pepper is palpable. You feel the temperature rise in the room when ever they are near each other, and it’s really anyone’s guess on who they’re fooling by not acting on what they feel, but at the same time, they are trying not to act on what they feel. We know they kissed in the first book, and we know that they tried to draw a line there -but we also know that their connection is something that they can’t even fight, and that means that we’re going to see a fiery hot inferno erupt.

What happens in this piece of the story is intense. Pepper and Finn find that they have more than just a surface attraction and that there’s potential for something great, but they are also forced to hide what’s going on from Colton and we know that it can’t last that long.

Colton has a bit of a personal roller coaster in this book as well. He knows that he has to come clean with his parents and that means telling them that he’s divorced from Pepper, gay and without a job. At the same time, Finn gets to make his reentry to the family – and frankly there’s no way that the night will go well..and it doesn’t.

From there, there’s the challenge of Colton coming to terms with his parent’s reaction, but at the same time, finding a new job, and a new man. There are so many ups even with the downs.

We know the other shoe is going to drop when / if he finds out about Finn and Pepper, and when Finn even tries to do the right thing, is blows up in their face. So that means that no one is happy at the end of this book, just like in the first one. Now i’m off to book three because well….I have no choice but to dive right back in and see what’s going to happen. Enjoy!

Review: The Man I Thought I Loved (Two-Faced #2) by E.L.Todd

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Title: The Man I Thought I Loved
Author:  E.L. Todd
Publisher/Year:  Independent 9/24/20
Length:  186 Pages
Series: Two-Faced #2

Overview

Two-Faced.

That’s exactly what he is.

A liar.

I’ve already been ripped into a million pieces before, and I don’t have the strength to do it again. Thankfully, he didn’t have much of me to begin with. I was smart about it, not giving my heart away as easily as my body.

But he’s still there…everywhere.

My friends tell me to forgive and forget, to give him another chance.

Sure, I can forgive.

But never forget.

My Thoughts

We had an introduction to this series that was fairly surface level and in this second installment, it’s great to see that the bar is just a bit low, that way we can excel. We know that there was something great developing between Dax and Carson, but we also saw that trust was paramount to everything and there was a significant loss in that when Carson learned Dax’s true identity.

The chance for them to be happy is almost non-existent even though it’s clear that there’s still intense chemistry. She walks away and wants nothing to do with him and he has no choice but to fight. He realizes quickly though that it’s a losing battle and that there’s no convincing Carson to think about his lie as being something that wasn’t consequential.

Dax slips back into his playboy ways, even though Carson is the only girl that he wants. Carson surprisingly doesn’t go back to her Boy Toy ways but we don’t really know if it’s because she’s in denial about how she feels about Dax or if she’s just put off men entirely.

Knowing that their friendship groups are now intermingled, these two call a truce of sorts. They agree to be friends, and what we see from here takes this book to a deeper level. We watch a true friendship develop – we see Dax and Carson open up to each other in a more fulfilling way and grow to be true friends. It gives Dax hope, and when he makes his move again, he is shot down. Carson is firm in her answer of ‘NO’.

Enter Evan, Carson’s ex-husband, and his reappearance changes everything. Her heart is broken all over again once she realizes that he’s remarried so quickly, and when he tries to approach her, she tries to act brave and powerful, but is scared beyond means, because she doesn’t want to have all those emotions brought up again on how she failed in her marriage. Luckily for her, Dax is there and takes matters into his own hands, and from there we see the trajectory of the story change. The future is still unknown, but there’s a new path to go down.

There are a few side stories here as well. We watch Charlie navigate his feelings for Denise (Carson’s sister) while trying to be caring about Kat (his ex)’s feelings. It’s a mess and while everyone’s trying to be sensitive, there’s really only so much a person can take. We also watch the evolution of Dax’s sister Renee’s relationship with her boyfriend William, and see how he’s welcomed into the family (or not) and what that means for the future. It’s a sweet next piece to the story and i’m intrigued to see where book three takes us since the title is a bit daunting. On that note, Enjoy!

Review: The Man I Thought I Knew (Two-Faced #1) by E.L. Todd

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Title: The Man I Thought I knew
Author:  E.L. Todd
Publisher/Year:  Independent 9/5/20
Length:  178 Pages
Series: Two-Faced #1

Overview

A real man.FINALLY.Chiseled eight pack? Yep, he’s got it.That shadow on a sharp jawline? Yep, two for two.So charming you want to scream? Definitely.Not all intimidated by my success? Check.Pretty much perfect? Ooooh yeaaahhh.All that man…just for me.But I’m an investigative reporter for the biggest newspaper in the country, so it’s my job to pick up on details, to see the signs that other people miss. I’m not afraid of danger. Not even afraid of dying.And there’s definitely something about this man that I’m missing…I’ve got a caboose that doesn’t quit, so I will get to the bottom of this.Every man has two faces. I’ve seen one side…but what about the other?

My Thoughts

It’s been a while since i’ve read something by EL Todd and it’s an interesting re-introduction into a series. The story itself has a lot of legs, but i’ll be honest, the way that the characters talk don’t really match their pedigree and the image that we get through the descriptions.

We start off from Carson’s point of view. She’s a Harvard educated journalist who’s worked her way up in The New York Press to get the good stories to write – the ones that are dangerous, that require a specific touch and an angle. She’s put herself in danger time and time again, and honestly, it’s what she needs since her personal life imploded. We learn that she was married and that her husband cheated on her, and as a result, she’s got thicker walls up than most people. She refuses to get close to anyone, and instead has her ‘Boy Toys’ . It’s one night, in a bar, when she’s working on a story that her life changes.

Enter Dax – a sexy as all heck man, who exudes power even in his t-shirt and jeans. He recognizes Carson’s fire, just by overhearing a conversation and decides that he wants to know more. While he accepts the sex only nature of a relationship, we realize quickly that he’s a good guy and maybe wants more.

We spend the bulk of this story watching them dance around the idea of being something more. Being something real. Both are hot off divorces with spouses who burned them pretty badly. They aren’t willing to trust easily, but they both realize that there’s more than just a physical connection.

The Dax we know is a guy who seems to make ends meet, he says he’s in finance and he’s able to afford nice things, yet his apartment is sparse. Carson lives with a co-worker and doesn’t really splurge on things, and doesn’t care about materials or wealth. As a journalist though, her spidey sense peaks when she feels like something is off with Dax but she decides not to investigate him because that’s not what a relationship is about. That comes to bite her in the butt, when she learns who he is and what that means to her.

It’s a shallow level introduction to the series, where we don’t know what the outcome will be since there are so many implications both personally and professionally, but we know that Dax seems to have ingratiated himself into the life of Carson and her friends that i’m sure it’s not the last of him. On top of that story line though, we do get what our author is known for, some of the steamiest scenes that are hot and descriptive and make you wonder what you’re doing wrong in your own life to not find a partner as open, wld and sexy as these two. I guess this means that we’ll have to go and pick up book two and see what comes next. Enjoy!

Review: Sunday (Timeless #7) by E.L. Todd

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Title: Sunday
Author:  E.L. Todd
Publisher/Year:  CreateSpace Publishing 8/27/16
Length:  184 Pages
Series:  Timeless #7

Overview

I ruined everything.

Instead of telling Rose the truth, I kept everything to myself. Even though my intentions were good and I was just trying to help, I was in the wrong. Seeing the look on her face in that courtroom was unbearable.

Will she ever forgive me?

Could I blame her if she didn’t?

All I know is I love her. I can’t live without her. There’s an unbreakable connection between us that I can’t shake off.

I have to get her back.

My Thoughts

After watching everything that Kyle has gone through in this series, through his relationship with Frankie and with his past dealing with his sister, we all really want him to find his happy ending. It seemed like it was possible with how things were evolving with Rose but then the truth about the case that he was working on came out in the worst way and she ran.

We start this final installment with Rose furious at Kyle for keeping his case a secret, but Kyle even admits that he was in a lose lose situation. that there was no way that he was ever going to come out in an ok place with this because Rose had so many walls up and even with the best intentions, those walls would always be up.

So what we get to watch in this seventh book is how Kyle tries everything to find his happiness. He goes to Frankie for advice – trying to figure out how to survive in a world where Rose doesn’t exist and the unexpected support and help from Hawke even makes things interesting. In this installment, we see how people have grown and matured and how that knowledge and life experience some how made it possible to go on in life.

Kyle tries everything and we see progress start to get made just to have it knocked down again. We see every angle attempted. His quest to make her feel secure, his attempt to make her jealous, the scheme to get Hawke to build a professional relationship that Kyle can take over. Most doesn’t work and it’s only an unexpected intervention that makes anything change. but as expected – that change doesn’t pan out as we hoped.

Rose spends much of this story with her walls up, with her fear taking hold all the time and a belief that she’s damaged and not good enough for anyone. She can’t believe that Kyle wants anything about her, and even when he professes it, she’s challenged to believe it. The emotions that she feels for him scare her and she’s even more afraid of intimacy with him.

So you can only guess how this whole roller coaster will play out. Who will get involved to make things happen and who will come out of the wood work to pick up the pieces when life doesn’t work out the way that we want. We at least get a lovely wedding in this story (yup – someone gets married) and we see additions to the next generation (yup lots of babies too). I hope you guys have picked up this series and enjoyed it since i did – and i’m sad to see it go. oh well…on to the next. Enjoy!

Review: 325 First Fights (First #2) by E. L. Todd

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Title: 325 First Fights
Author:  E.L. Todd
Publisher/Year:  CreateSpace Publishing 9/27/17
Length:  270 Pages
Series:  First #2

Overview

I can’t believe this is real.

I’ve lost years of my life, years of memories.

He tells me we’ve been happily married for years, but I despise him so much that I can’t believe that.

How did he get me to fall in love with him the first time?

And how does he expect to do it a second time?

My Thoughts

at the. end of the first book it seemed like we weren’t going to see a happy ending for anyone, but then all of a sudden, the stubborness that we saw in our mains turns a corner and there’s hope.

Cypress and Bree seem to be on a new trajectory – and she’s giving him a chance – a real chance this time. We spend much of the story watching her change her mindset a bit here, knowing that she doesn’t truly a fully trust him right now, but that she’s willing to give him the time since he seemingly was there for her for eighteen months when he didn’t need to be.

So that story continues and evolves, but in this second book we get to look under the hood at some of the others.

We know of the attraction with Ace and Amelia and how they’ve acted on it, and we see it for what it is. There’s a lot of chemistry there and Amelia wants more but Ace hides behind the notion that he likes to be single because he doesn’t want to watch Evan (Amelia’s ex) come back and try to win her over. Amy says that will never happen and truly expresses her feelings for Ace, but he is afraid to let his walls down, and as a result, we see the dynamic of the friendship group change.

At the same time, the group goes to Evan and confronts him that he needs to be a better father to his kids, and he takes the opening now that he’s single again to try to eek his way back into Amelia’s life. She’s not there for it, but he prays on moments of weakness to try to find his in.

That’s a train wreck waiting to happen if i’m honest.

Then there’s Blade. The 5th wheel so to speak and it’s his turn to have his story. He finally finds a girl that he’s interested in, attracted to and inspired by, and when he takes her out and sees how amazing she is, he falls fast. the problem though is that she’s french and spends half the year in Paris so he thinks there’s no hope. He’s hurting the relationship even before it has a chance to get started.

So in this second installment, we actually spend most of the time in relationship bliss with everyone in their happy worlds until the last 25% or so when things all come crashing down for EVERYONE. i can’t wait to see how things play out to be honest. Cypress and Bree are basically over AGAIN, Ace and Amelia’s chance has come and gone, Evan’s working his way back into the family and Blade has just given up. so…i’m now going to search for book 3 to see how this turns out. Enjoy!