Tag Archives: Stella Gray

Review: Broken Trust (Broken #3) by Stella Gray

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Title: Broken Trust
Author: Stella Gray
Publisher/Year:  Paige Press 11/09/21
Length:  190 Pages
Series: Broken #3

Overview

You can’t run from the past… or from a Bellanti.

I’ve always been a foolish girl.
I should have learned my lesson the first time a man betrayed me.
It hurt when Rico abandoned me. My father’s deal was agony.

Dante’s betrayal… it might kill me.

And there’s nothing I can do.
He’s not the kind of man who takes orders from his wife.
And he’ll never let me leave.
There’s nowhere I can go that he won’t find me.

My father forced me to marry him.

Dante made me love him.

It’s my turn to show them all what a Bellanti woman is…

My Thoughts

It was so lovely to jump back into this story since it’s been a roller coaster between Frankie and Dante throughout books 1 and 2. Their relationship (as most do in this genre) start off on someone be forced into a relationship that they didn’t want, for reasons they didn’t know, and then there’s an evolution of hate turning into love. and then of course there are lies and withholding of information that causes the fragile foundation to crumble.

What we saw at the end of book 2 is exactly that. They had something great, Dante was able to turn off the harsh cold side of himself for a bit and they went away and had a romantic weekend. All for that to come crashing down when Frankie discovered the terms of the deal that her father made with, and realizes that there was almost no value placed on her worth when she was traded to clear a debt.

So, we watched Frankie leave Dante and walk away from the life that they had, and we learn that she’s gone to Florida, to Miami to stay with her mom for a bit. While she’s there, she also learns that she’s pregnant, meaning that as much as she wants to be done with Dante, she never will be now.

Dante knows where she is, he’s tracked her and assumes that she’ll come back, but when weeks go by and that doesn’t happen, he decides to go after her. What we see from there is expected. Frankie is angry that he won’t leave her alone, yet she’s drawn to him from the chemistry and bond that they’ve developed. She finds that she can’t stay away, her heart won’t let her even though her head is telling her to run. IT’s not until he brings in the big guns, the whole family to bring her back and we see that turn a corner.

That break is short lived of course though because there’s someone gunning for the Bellantis and for the Abbotts and no one is safe. Livvie has to go into hiding. The sisters have to be extra protected by their husbands and there’s no idea yet who’s after them. We know that there’s a blonde man with a tattoo on his neck that paid off a mechanic to tamper with Dante’s father’s car which ended up in his death, and we also learned that a similar fate was planned for Marco which makes Dante even on more edge since Marco is a bit more free wheeling and a race car driver that doesn’t have boundaries.

We watch how the notion of a baby changes the dynamic of the entire cast – there are those that are happy and those that are happy with a twinge of jealousy. But we can only hope that it will firm up the bond in the families. until someone comes and hurts what doesn’t belong to him.

Both Frankie and her sister Charlie are caught in the crossfire, both end up in the ER and only one comes out relatively unscathed. The trajectory of this story changes and we can only hope for a better outcome down the road.

On top of all this nonsense, Jessica is still around and that angers Frankie almost as much as the lies on the circumstances of the marriage. Jessica wants Dante and wants to get everything that Frankie has but quickly learn that perhaps she’s now set her sights on another Bellanti and that cannot be a good thing for anyone.

So, in the epilogue, we see how things resolve, perhaps not to how we hoped, but then we realize that there is far more that hasn’t been tied up than we wanted. The idea that Livvie and her mom are protected, hidden in New Orleans is a reassurance, however when we realize who her bodyguard is, there’s an entire new reason to have anxiety. AND….her story isn’t the next in the series which means that we have to wait so much longer to find out how that works out. UNFAIR yet so smart by our author. We now get a story tied to Marco which I think will be great since he likes to live life far more dangerously than the other brothers. So I shall be patient and wait for that one to come out and I hope you guys read the series until then. Enjoy!

Review: Broken Vow (Broken #2) by Stella Gray

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Title: Broken Vow
Author: Stella Gray
Publisher/Year:  Paige Press 10/5/21
Length:  194 Pages
Series: Broken #2

Overview

I thought the past was behind me… but becoming Mrs. Bellanti put a target on my back.

My husband isn’t a gentle man.
And God knows he isn’t the sharing type.
Rico’s announcement has dropped a bomb into my marriage.

I never thought I’d see Rico again.
Never thought Dante would ever have to know.
Seeing the way he looks at me now, as though I’m just another problem to be handled?
It’s breaking my heart.

I thought I was in love once before.

I swore I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

But falling for a Bellanti was far worse than a simple mistake…

My Thoughts

We ended book 1 on the worst note – seeing things start to get amazing for Dante and Frankie – they really did seem to have a true and real relationship, one that had love in it regardless of the means to the beginning, and then Rico shows up. We didn’t know who he was, but we knew that there was a reason that Frankie was avoiding his calls in book 1.

She was married. To Rico. And he left her. On their Honeymoon and never came back. She was heartbroken, then angry and then she went home.

Fast forward to the present when she’s truly happy with Dante and he with her, and then Rico appears. Perfect timing right? He makes Dante lose trust in everything, and we see Frankie lose everything. She is kicked out of the house, out of Dante’s life, out of the vineyard. She watches Jessica the conniving assistant come back and sink her claws into Dante. On the other side of things, we also watch her non-Dante life fall apart. Her father sells off all of the horses that Livvie loves so much and we watch Livvie get shuttled between Charlie’s house in SF to school every day since they deem it unsafe for her to stay at the house with their father anymore.

There’s so much despair happening – we don’t know what else can go wrong. Charlie and Frankie are trying to be strong – Charlie’s husband is still away and he’s been away longer than ever so she’s nervous. There’s really nothing good on the horizon and really all that Frankie wants is for Dante to give her a chance to explain.

He’s not having it. He wants to hear nothing that Frankie has to say – he just wants to cut his losses with her, take over the winery that he got when he married her and be done with it all so that his family’s reputation doesn’t get hurt any more.

Little does he know that there’s more to the story than anyone knows. Frankie goes searching in her father’s office and finds the contract that sells her to Dante. What is included are the clear words that the Abbot vineyard goes to Frankie and her legal husband. which is not Dante – so she goes in fighting, knowing that Dante only wanted the grapes. She thinks that she’ll be able to convince Rico to leave and give her his piece of a failing winery but vindictive Jessica lets Rico know the full value of what he has.

This makes the story take a frustrating turn. Rico doesn’t want to let Frankie go because he wants the money from the vineyard – and Franke really doesn’t want to sell her family history. Rico never wanted anything from Frankie even when they were married if it wasn’t tied to money. When he realized that her father wasn’t going to be able to buy them a house in Italy, that’s when he left her, so we know that his money driven.

On the flip side, Dante hates Frankie and hates Rico, and really just wants to get everyone out of his life. What’s nice for Dante though is that he has a brother Armani who’s not going to leave any rock unturned and will get to the bottom of what’s going on with Rico – and what we learn is not surprising but it’s a way to end things.

The turn that we see happen in this story – throughout the uncertainty is the notion that love can conquer all – and that sometimes even the hate that you have for someone is firmly rooted in love. Dante wants to hate Frankie and wants her out of his life but what he realizes is that she’s gotten under his skin. He wants to get her out of his system physically but when he does that, when they come together with intense heat and passion, it’s not enough for him. He wants more. On the same note, Frankie has never stopped loving Dante – she only wants to make him realize that what they had is real and what she had with Rico was an illusion.

We’ve made it over a hill of sorts, but there are lies and there are untruths being told that have broken trust all over again. The end of this story leaves us on another cliff where we thought life would be happy and move in the right direction but the discovery of information makes that impossible. Our happy bubble is shattered and it’s going to take quite a bit of effort to get it back on track. Now I have to wait 3 weeks -ish to get the final installment of the series – so i’ll try to be patient. Enjoy!

Review: Broken Bride (Broken #1) by Stella Gray

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Title: Broken Bride
Author: Stella Gray
Publisher/Year:  Paige Press 9/7/21
Length:  200 Pages
Series: Broken #1

Overview

I was sold to him to settle a debt… but Dante Bellanti never settles.

My father was always a gambling man.
Unfortunately, he never could pick winners.
When the wolves closed in, he chose himself, like always.

He traded his freedom… for mine.

He forced me to marry.
Now Dante Bellanti owns my body.
I’m just another possession for a man who already has too much.
So I won’t let him have my heart.

But you know what they say about gambling.

The house always wins.

And I’m at the mercy of the Bellantis…

My Thoughts

Well….I read through this book in a matter of hours last night, could not put it down because I really needed to see what happened between Frankie and Dante. Frankie was on the precipice of something great – coming home from Italy after spending a few years learning how to improve her family business and what does she learn when she walks in, it was all for nothing

Down the road there’s the Bellantis – who are mourning the death of their patriarch and Dante finds himself at the head of the family. Trying to alleviate the family of the ownership of some debts that people owe them, ensuring that territory that is theirs remains safe and giving space where they can afford to in order to keep the peace. As part of that, he takes on the debts of Frankie’s father and with that, he takes her as part of the payment.

The story from here on out is watching Frankie come to terms with a life that she never wanted, for reasons that she’s not sure of, and with a man that she wants but doesn’t want to want. Her older sister is able to give her some guidance on how to life with a ‘made man’ since her husband is part of a crime family and together they try to protect their younger sister.

Dante on the other hand has to manage his two brothers – each of who has a different motivation in the family business if any at all, and we hope that there’s something that can come out of that family.

There’s an adversary in the form of Dante’s assistant – a woman who clearly wants Dante as more than a casual bed partner, and when she meets Frankie and sees there is something building between husband and wife, well, we know that it’s not going to end well for anyone.

There are several unknowns in this story. One is how Dante’s father died. We learn that perhaps Frankie’s father knows more about it than he let on, so we see if that plays out. Then there’s the notion of wondering if Frankie and Dante will ever find a common ground. She wants to be an equal – she wants love and she wants to work. She’s given an opportunity to help the vineyard and we have to be patient to see how that plays out. There’s also a man named Rico that Frankie clearly doesn’t want to have any contact with and of course that means that he will show up at the wrong moment.

We have a roller coaster with this couple – there’s chemistry and a spark between them that’s unexpected and they slowly come to have more than hate towards one another. They are celebrating the First Press of a new wine that bonds their families together and then the unimaginable happens. A spouse turns up that no one expected…..end scene.

You can now understand why I couldn’t put the book down last night so now thank goodness book 2 is out and i’m going to read it tonight! Enjoy!

Review: The Truth (Charade #3) by Stella Gray

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Title: The Truth
Author:  Emma Slate
Publisher/Year:  Tabula Rosa Publishing 5/25/21
Length:  250 Pages
Series: Charade #3

Overview

My family has given everything to salvage the Zoric name and reputation from my father’s tarnished legacy.

I only needed a moment to destroy it all.

Along with two hearts.

It was supposed to be a simple charade. I never thought Ford and I would fall in love.

But I can’t take back what I’ve done.

He can’t change the past.

And what we’ve done changes everything.

But only if I stop running.

Someone has to lose either way. But when the truth comes out, there might be no winner at all.

My Thoughts

As I jog my memory to think back to where we ended book two, i’m quickly reminded that we once again found ourselves on the downward spiral of Emzee and Ford’s relationship. They were happy until Claudia shared some information that Ford never wanted her to know – the truth behind what happened in high school at his own hands.

Claudia reveals that all the rumors that Emzee suffered from, those rumors to which she thought that Ford rescued her from, where actually started BECAUSE of him. So the onset of book three, we are taken to the past where we see what happened to prompt that. We learn that Ford overheard his parents fighting and learned that it was because of the illegal business that Em’s dad ran, and Ford felt that his parents were going to split up because of it, resulting in his life being ruined. So he took it out on her.

From this point on in the story, we watch how things go from bad to worse. We learned that Emzee was pregnant in book two, and she still hasn’t shared that information with anyone. She starts the divorce process to get out of the marriage which solves many of her problems – she no longer has to stay married to a man she continues not to trust, and she’s also able to uphold her part of the bargain with the Malones where they will pay off the Russian mob if they split.

The divorce prompts a move to New York and a start of a new life. Ford’s not going to take this laying down, so we watch for the next bulk of the story how he tries to win her back – how he moves to New York, into the same building and even buys the building. He woos her every day with romantic gestures and every time it seems like they’re making progress, Em sticks to her guns and begs for the divorce.

Just when Ford makes a big breakthrough, Claudia shows up again and well we know what happens every time that happens. The end of the couple. Which makes everyone happy except for Ford and sometimes Emzee.

There’s so much going on in this story though that we can’t forget about other sub plots. There’s the Bratva and what the Zoric’s will do about them if the Malones don’t keep up their end of the bargain. There’s the notion that Tori’s pregnant and due any day, Brooklyn is pregnant and not far behind, and still no one knows that Em is pregnant.

There’s Emzee’s new job that she loves but the same job that takes her away from her charity in Chicago so we have to wonder what will come of that. and there’s Claudia – there HAS to be an ulterior motive there for her to continue to pursue Ford and interject herself at every turn, yet it’s not obvious throughout the series…yet.

So….add to all that turmoil a few Very steamy scenes partially due to intense chemistry but also due to pregnancy hormones and what we get is an insanely indulgent third and final installment to Emzee’s story. Not sure that the closure is what we expect or need, but it serves it’s purpose. So…Enjoy!

Review: The Act (The Charade #2) by Stella Gray

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Title:The Act
Author:  Stella Gray
Publisher/Year:  Stella Gray 4/13/21
Length:  300 Pages
Series: The Charade #2

Overview

It was always going to end in heartbreak.

You can’t pretend-marry the man you secretly love and escape unscathed.

Ford has never hesitated to ask for my help before, but this is the farthest he’s asked me to go. Not that I ever say no to him.

Even when I know I should.

Sleeping with my husband is the best worst idea possible.

It’s everything I dreamed it would be.

But everything to me is nothing to him.

And he’s not the only one I’ve made promises to.

My Thoughts

This story was never meant to be easy, and as we enter into this second installment, we see that easy is not something that’s even in the back of our minds. When we left the first book, we saw the ultimatum/deal that Ford’s parents put in front of Emzee and she had no choice but to take it. While her own personal feelings, stemming back years and years were leading her down one path, she had no choice but to accept the offer of Ford’s family bailing her own family out, at the compromise of walking away from Ford. Just when she thought there was something real between them.

We’ll remember that there was an unbalanced relationship between these two – Emzee was in love with Ford yet he wasn’t there really. He was always using Em as a fall back and as a safety net of sorts. It’s only when this charade takes hold that he sees her as something more. He came to the realization that he loved her, and just at that point, Emzee had to break his heart.

So the journey that we go on in book two is watching the wedding take place – knowing that emotions became even more complicated. We see them go on a honeymoon in this awkward phase of their relationship where they don’t know how to act with each other anymore. We see them come back to the real world, and watch how Ford won’t allow any concessions to Em in his home and his life. While they have a routine, it’s still clear to Em that she’ll never fit in. His parents make it clear that they wish Ford was still with his ex and his Ex still feels as though she’s the woman for him.

There’s a lot of mis-trust in this story. We watch the insecurities that Em has in herself and her relationship come to fruition when Ford continues to flirt and entertain the advances of Claudia. Refusing to remove things that she put in his apartment in exchange for Em being ale to make her own personal touches. We watch as Ford gets jealous when Em entertains a job prospect by a man who clearly finds her attractive and uses that against her. So you can only imagine that part of this is to amp up the hate sex, but part of it is a power dynamic that no one is willing to allow to shift.

So much continues to be an obstacle for our characters. Em’s family still has to deal with the Russian Mafia and her siblings are all trying to plan for what’s next knowing that they’ll lose the business. They all have game plans and worry that Em won’t have them. That she’l have to rely on Ford but they dont’ realize that the relationship with Ford has an expiration date, so she’s really left playing the part of secure when she’s anything but.

The roller coaster continues – and we watch how there’s an understanding that Ford and Em come to in their relationship. Despite all the forces against them, they admit that they share the same feelings for one another and that they will make things work. It’s no surprise that just as things start to fall into place, something comes up that makes them veer off path. That something is information that Claudia shares that causes Emzee’s world to implode. We’re left at a point where there’s really no coming back from the information and whatever was possible for them is now irrevocably lost. This also means that perhaps the deal that Ford’s parents forced Em into is the best solution for everyone since there’s nothing good that can come to them in the future. I don’t know about anyone else, but these twists and turns lead to such intense dynamic shifts, exciting highs and lows, and great passion. So…..I guess i’ll have to wait for book three some how – and I don’t think i’ll be that patient! Enjoy!

Review: The Lie (The Charade #1) by Stella Gray

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Title: The Lie
Author:  Stella Gray
Publisher/Year:  Stella Gray 2/23/21
Length:  390 Pages
Series: The Charade #1

Overview

The world knows Ford Malone as the heir to a real estate fortune. 

But to me he’ll always be my best friend.
The guy who saved me from my bullies back in school.
The man I’ve secretly loved for years.

When he needs me to be his plus one at a family event, I agree without hesitation.

Imagine my surprise when he announces our engagement.

As usual, I’ll play along.

Nothing has to change except the way we behave—the way we touch—in public.

But his private touches change everything.

Soon the crush I’ve hidden for so long is threatening to swallow me whole.

If I tell him how I feel, it could ruin our friendship forever.

But if I don’t, the lie will ruin me instead.

My Thoughts

I’ve enjoyed every other series of the Zoric family and I think that we all were waiting to see how Emzee’s story would play out. We know her as the youngest – the little sister to Stefan and Luka, and we watched how the elder siblings entered into marriages based on contracts and not on love, only to have them turn into more than they ever could have imagined. Each story being more complicated than the last, but we see now that they are all happy, and expecting children of their own.

So fast forward now to Emzee. She’s always been a bit different than her siblings – really a bit goth, a bit of a loner. She’s marched to her own tune, and now that she’s trying to find her footing in the world that her father left in shambles, she’s managed to build a great charity, grow her friendships with her sister in laws, and try to stand on her own two feet. She’s even managed to keep her best friend from High School in her life – and that friend is Ford Malone. The boy who helped keep the bullies away from her when rumors spread as a teen, and now they have this type of friendship that outlasts relationships and trauma of life.

We find ourselves in an interesting situation, where Emzee is at a family event for Ford, his mother’s birthday party and while she’s maneuvering her way around the event raising money for her charity, she quickly finds herself in the crosshairs when Ford’s mother continues to hound him about getting married to his new ex-Claudia and Ford pulls her into the mix. In the form of his ‘girlfriend’.

Yup – so that’s the path this story takes – watching yet another fake relationship come to the forefront. Ford needs his mom off his case and he knows that Em will do anything for him. She’s never said no, and it’s because she’s had a crush on him from day one and he knows it. Emzee always thought she was good about hiding it but nope!

The journey from there out is one where we watch this lie take all sorts of forms. Ford needs Emzee to do all the girlfriend type things, and she needs to do her best not to lose her heart in the process. It becomes harder and harder when there are so many conflicting moments between them. Ford brings Emzee to all these events to play the dutiful girlfriend and then he muddies the water with moments of romance and sensuality. Emzee thinks that at times there’s more and then he does something or says something to remind her that she’s nothing more than a pawn.

The challenge with a lie is that something will either push the lie into becoming true, or something will happen to make everyone get hurt. We watch how both happen simultaneously. There are moments when we believe that both are leaning to each other – that emotions are becoming real, that connections are real, and then the rug is pulled out from under them when secrets come out. The hiccup in all this is that now the relationship has turned into an engagement, and yet another contract marriage is born – where they are going to stay together for a year in order to get Ford’s family off his back,……but what we have come to realize is that the other shoe is going to drop with even more secrets.

Those secrets being another underlying plot line that is a result of what the Zoric’s father did with the family business. You’ll remember in the previous series, we watched how the family learned that their father was involved in trafficking the models and now that the agency has gone clean, apparently there are people who are not thrilled with the lost revenue. Namely the Russian Mafia. They’re after the family for money and the Zoric’s don’t really have that kind of cash laying around.

When Ford’s family somehow learns about the mafia being after Emzee’s family, a deal is put on the table which turns the entire trajectory of our story on it’s head. All the hope that we had for the future is now dashed, and what that means is that there are too many players involved for any type of positive outcome. Now sadly we have to wait 2 more months for book 2 to come out and we’ve literally been left on a ledge that needs pulling back from and I have to wait it out. So….on that note…i’ll find something else to ease my anxiety for the meantime and I can’t wait to see what’s next for Emzee, her family and for Ford. enjoy!

Review: The Ruin (Convenience #3) by Stella Gray

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Title: The Ruin
Author:  Stella Gray
Publisher/Year:  Stella Gray 9/15/20
Length:  203 Pages
Series:  Convenience #3

Overview

My life is in ruins. Failed marriage, failed career—I’m a failure.
 
My husband may have had a hand in it, but I can’t help missing him.
 
We made an agreement. I signed the contract, and so did he. Without our arrangement, everything falls apart. 
 
So we’ll keep losing ourselves in each other’s bodies.
 
We’ll keep pretending everything is fine.
 
But maybe I’m getting sick of pretend.
 
Maybe I want to find something real.
 
And just maybe, Luka does too.

My Thoughts

We were on such a roller coaster in book 2 that I think we could use a bit of a reprieve in book 3, the final installment. If that’s what you were expecting as a reader, then you don’t know Stella Gray that well, and of course we were on another turbulent ride.

The end of the last book had our hopes up soo high thinking that Brooklyn will finally get her break on a huge national / international campaign, especially since Luka seemed to be her cheerleader, but we were left freefalling off a cliff when Monica Shore’s name was called and shocker, she had a new look that was exactly that of Brooklyn.

Tensions are high since Brooklyn now feels betrayed, by her husband and by the woman who seems to want to get into Luka’s pants. It’s sad to think that everything they overcame in book 2 was now falling to the wayside. Brooklyn runs to LA to be with Mateo who’s the only person who’s able to help her pick herself up off the floor. They craft a plan dubbed Operation Sexify which is now a means to make Brooklyn less wholesome since that’s the persona that Luka and Stefan needed her to take on.

The bulk of this book is tense, they are at odds with one another, yet there’s still clear love and chemistry between them. They can’t stay away from each other but they both have such hatred about the situation that they can’t be around one another. It takes Luka being called up to testify in his father’s trial to get Brooklyn to come back to his side, and when we think that there’s hope, walls of stone and ice are up once again and it seems as though there’s really no point in even making an effort.

What we do get as a constant is that every time they do seem to like each other more than they hate each other, we get some of the kinkiest steamiest scenes ever. And those carry the story through.

True to form with this story – just when it seems like they’re on the final uptick, controversy hits – the first time it was on their honeymoon when the leak of Brooklyn’s offer from Elite came to light. This time it was Monica herself leaking the details of what was offered to Brooklyn, implying that she took the deal and lied to the family. Luckily, Luka already knew the details, but that didn’t help things when Brooklyn goes to see Luka to make sure things are ok and overhears him talking to someone supporting Monica yet again instead of his wife.

We get gender reveal for Stefan’s baby, and the growing up of Mr Kibbles. We have romance and sadness, hints of opportunity for love for Em, and yet, there’s still so much vagueness for Luka and Brooklyn. This story definitely gives them the send off that we wanted and I think that there was no way to truly expect all that was thrown their way. I read that Emzee now gets her own series coming out of this one but the release date looks like Feb 2021 so I have to be VERY patient. Oh well – Enjoy!

Review: The Contract (Convenience #2) by Stella Gray

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Title: The Contract
Author:  Stella Gray
Publisher/Year:  Stella Gray 7/28/20
Length:  206 Pages
Series:  Convenience #2

Overvew

If only I’d never signed that contract. Or accepted the one I didn’t.

My husband doesn’t trust me. Not that I can blame him.

But he needs me, needs my image. I need his connections. And I have to find a way to convince him to set aside our differences.

There’s one way that always works.

Even when we hate each other, our bodies betray us.

The one place we’ve never disagreed is in bed.

Except this is about more than just us.

And even Luka Zoric’s legendary control breaks sometimes.

My Thoughts

It’s been a minute since I was wrapped in the world of Luka and Brooklyn but it takes just a second to remember where we left things off – they were newly married, they started to build a foundation that seemed stronger than the farce that this began as, and then it all crumbles on their honeymoon when Luka is tipped off about the contract that Brooklyn had been offered with Elite Models to get insider information about them to bring them down.

Mind you, that was old information, old news – the contract hadn’t been something that Brooklyn was pursuing at all anymore, but Luka didn’t care and so a wedge was forced between them. We spend the bulk of this second installment watching them hate each other. Watching Luka not allow Brooklyn to explain and watching Brooklyn trying to figure out how to survive knowing that the situation that they were in was something that she really couldn’t get out of. She was ambitious and she really did feel like there was something between her and Luka.

Every time they started to make progress, someone would come between them. That typically led to heat and passion and painfully raunchy sex (for a moment) but then nothing good would spawn from that. As a reader, you hope for more of those heated moments, but you know that there’s nothing good behind them.

It’s only when enough pushing is done that they take a moment outside of the world to be with the family to realize that there are emotions that mean something and use that as an opportunity to try to heal. If only healing was possible right? Through an unfortunate circumstance, with a person who was out for the downfall of Brooklyn (and likely the agency as well), we see the final scene of this book turn out in the exact opposite way that we want, and they are ripped apart again. I can’t wait to see what happens in this next book and how Luka can explain things, but i’m sure he’ll try. So…i’ll be patient and hopefully enjoy it. You guys should too!

Review: The Sham (Convenience #1) by Stella Gray

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Title: The Sham
Author:  Stella Gray
Publisher/Year:  Stella Gray 5/5/20
Length:  235 Pages
Series:  Convenience #1

Overview

Our marriage is a sham. I’m the first to admit it. Only privately, of course.

Notorious playboy Luka Zoric needs a wife, and the good PR it brings.

I just need the career boost being his top model will give me. It’s a win-win–on paper. But since when has real life been simple?

His jealousy makes me crazy.

The control he maintains over my body is unacceptable.

I really shouldn’t be so turned on by it.

But there’s more to both me and my husband than meets the eye.

And it isn’t long before I’m wondering–which of us has made the bigger mistake?

My Thoughts

It’s funny – i was going to read this book before the Arranged series and i’m glad that i didn’t. That’s the set up to this, the prelude to this bit of the story and it really helps set the stage.

We met Luka in the first book – he’s the younger son of the KZM dynasty and a playboy at that. Throughout the first series, we saw him as a drunk, as a guy who’s out for the next quick affair, usually with a model from the agency and really just a PR nightmare. Now that the brothers are in charge of things, we see that Stefan and Luka need to turn things around in the agency’s image and while Stefan has done a great job from a business perspective, Luka now needs to help give them a more human image….resulting in another arranged marriage.

That’s where Brooklyn comes into the mix. These two met a few years back when Brooklyn was trying to make her big break on the modeling scene which resulted in a string of lies from Luka and a great one night stand for these two. Fast forward 3 years, and we’re back at the newly formed DRM agency where Brooklyn is trying to get her shot at the open audition.

What all the girls soon realize is that this isn’t a usual audition, the girls are being asked unique and personal questions, and this is all for the hunt for Luka’s wife. Brooklyn checks all the boxes and we get to watch the push pull throughout the first half of the book between these two. There’s chemistry between them but Brooklyn is so upset about how Luka clearly doesn’t remember her, and Luka on the other hand is sooo attracted to her that he’d be dumb not to remember her. Mind you, all this brings out jealousy and tension that’s really intense and unexpected on both parts of the couple.

The journey from here is a roller coaster. We watch the games that they play with each other because it seems like they both are holding onto this notion of a temp marriage, but there’s history there, there’s chemistry and need and clearly stronger and deeper emotions that anyone expected.

Throughout this though, there’s also a secret that Brooklyn is hiding that i caught onto pretty quick and i’m sure most others did as well. I don’t know what motivated her to get into the situation that she’s in, but it’s one that’s going to hurt a lot of people, especially her new family, and i can’t wait to see how she gets out of this one.

We get a lot of the same heat and passion levels that we saw in the former series. There’s a chemistry and intensity that Ms Gray writes that really keeps us engaged. The moments that this couple steals together, in closets, in bedrooms, anywhere – they are on fire and that’s exactly what’s needed to keep a story like this moving. So…now i have to wait until July to get book 2, but in the meantime, you should read this and the other series and enjoy!

Review: The Choice (Arranged #3) by Stella Gray

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Title: The Choice
Author:  Stella Gray
Publisher/Year:  Stella Gray 11/25/19
Length:  236 Pages
Series:  Arranged #3

Overview

On the day my husband and I committed to each other, I didn’t wear a white dress.

We didn’t exchange rings.

There was no audience or minister to witness our union.

Only the two of us.

We swore to put each other first, to take on the evils our families had perpetuated together. Side by side.

But that was before the past returned to haunt us.

Now everything has changed.

Stefan can’t have both his past and my future.

I can’t ask him to choose.

And neither of us can do what has to be done without the other. It’s an impossible choice, but we’ve run out of time.

My Thoughts

When we were left at the end of book 2, Stefan’s past was paraded in front of his face at a time that could not have been more destructive, with implications that challenged everything that he knew. His father was behind it all, the past and the present and i think that it’s clear to us that there’s no length that he will go to that’s too far.

Anja – the woman that Stefan loved all those years ago is the woman that’s in front of him now. Not only has she come out of hiding, but she’s come with a seven or eight year old son – the perfect age for when she left Stefan. Meaning…Stefan has a child that he didn’t know about. And to add insult to injury, when Stefan was sure that she was running to protect herself, it turns out that she was likely under his nose – because his father had paid her to stay away, and had paid to keep her cared for all these years – waiting for the right moment to bring her and the boy out.

So we spend much of this third installment watching how this has implications on everyone in the plot. What choices can Stefan make that will care for everyone involved. He’s clear to himself that his intentions towards Tori are the same, that she’s the person he loves and the person that he needs, yet Tori being the young girl that she is, she feels that she has to step away. She puts on a brave face for a while of course, but she knows that she has to back away since there’s a family involved now, and she can’t be the one to break it up.

Anja is the pawn in all this – brought back under false pretenses, of course all at the manipulations of Konstantine. Thinking that she has a chance to be with Stefan again, thinking that they will have a happy ending, but that’s not necessarily the case- until a fantastic day at the zoo makes it a possibility.

Throughout this finale to their story, we’re on a roller coaster of emotions. Trying to determine when you’ve fought enough to say that you’ve done all you can and walk away from emotions. Don’t forget the plot to take down the dark side of KZM which is still in play, yet much more challenging now that there are all these other distractions.

Someone in this story dies – hearts are broken and families are torn apart. What we get in addition though is a lead into the next series that i’ve picked up, giving us a glimpse into what could be a new reality for some of our characters and what we hope will be a happy ending. All while enjoying some of the steamiest scenes of this series yet. There’s chemistry that keeps bringing characters together, and at the same time, pulling them apart.

So, on that note, i’m excited to see what comes next in The Sham, another series by our great author and i’ll be back soon im sure with that review. Enjoy!