ARC Review: Turbulent Intentions by Melody Anne

I think this book might be for some readers but I didn't particularly enjoy it. I've read several Melody Anne titles from a few years back and I liked those but I've been striking out with some of the recent releases.

Right from the beginning, the set up of this book kind of confused me. I thought the book was going to go in one direction but then it goes in a completely different direction. When the book starts Cooper and his brothers are a bunch of spoiled rich boys who are about to lose their father. When their Dad passes away, he leaves a provision in his will that for the boys to inherit a massive fortune, they have to settle down and get married. The thing is, they all are already semi wealthy because of their trust funds so they don't need the inheritance to be rich. So instead of this book being about Cooper making a deal to settle down with a girl and then falling in love right as she finds out she was just inheritance bait, the book winds up being something else. That just threw me off and not because I want to be able to predict the direction of a book. It threw me because it didn't fit into the story later on. I came to the conclusion that Melody Anne was just introducing us to all of the characters and backdrop of this series.

Stormy meets Cooper after his Father dies and has a one night stand with him. I was ok with the one night stand, I got it. Although, I do think women need to be more careful about who they wonder off with. A couple of years down the road, Stormy's life is all sorts of a mess.  She is about to be evicted, she is working at crap jobs and things just aren't going well. I struggled to understand this too. Stormy was young, she wasn't taking care of any relatives, she didn't have any debts she was trying to pay off, WHY was she so financially strapped? I think the author was trying to set up a Cinderella story but I was just at a loss as to why this girl was in the position that she was in.

And then there is Cooper. Cooper is just an asshole. I tried to see him as something more but it was almost impossible. Cooper is arrogant and a playboy. Ok, fine, I can live with that. What got me is that Cooper did not remember who Stormy was when he ran into her after their one night stand. REALLY? REALLY? You can't remember somebody you banged all night long. I'm sure this happens to people in real life but I don't care. I didn't like it with my romance.

When Stormy and Cooper get together, Stormy lets Cooper off the hook way too easily. I totally understand not being able to control your libido. So yes, maybe you have to hate screw a guy every now and then. I just didn't like the fact that Stormy fell for Cooper so easily when he had been such a jerk.

Let's take a moment to discuss Uncle Sherman. I liked the meddling Uncle. I just didn't really get to what end he was meddling. Or I didn't get it for long enough that I was kind of annoyed.

All in all I feel like this book might be good for readers who are newer to the rich boy/ Cinderella girl romance trope. I think I've just read to many of these to be thrilled about this one which wasn't one of the better books I've read. The book isn't a bad read, it really isn't. I just didn't love it.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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ARC Review: Stolen Innocence by Melody Anne

Ok, I like romance with dark themes. I'm a Anne Zaires/ Pepper Winters/ Ker Dukey etc. type reader. I've enjoyed several titles by all of those authors. I've also read Melody Anne books in the past. I've read her billionaire romance titles and this was nothing like any of them. I thought this book might be a balance of the darker themes that I like and the romance that I associate with Melody Anne but NO.

I actually don't think this book qualifies as a dark romance, or even a romance. I consider dark romance to be love stories with taboo themes mixed in. Here, there was no love story but lots of taboo. If you have any kind of rape and abuse triggers, pass on this one for sure. The book is about Mary/Elena who is kidnapped when she is 16 for the pleasure of some sick old perv. When the book starts, we are in the middle of the story and then the book is told going back in time. The beginning was intriguing. A lot of the reason I kept reading some of the more difficult material is because I wanted to see how the book got to that point. FYI, you don't find out in the first installment.

While Elena is being "broken" and "trained" she suffers all kinds of ridiculous abuse. When it is finally Elena's turn to 'please the master,' by a strange twist of fate she winds up in the hands of his son, Dalton. I can't really tell you much about Dalton except that he is very attractive to Elena and torn about his desire for her. It seems like Dalton might rescue Elena but then he kind of doesn't. I guess it's a case of the apple falling sort of but not too far from the tree. It's clear that Dalton is obsessed with Elena but that's kind of her problem. Men get obsessed with her and then do horrible things to her.

There is almost no happiness for Elena in this entire installment of the series. One horrific thing after another happens to her. When she thinks she can trust someone, that goes left quickly. You will need to read a book about rainbows, unicorns, and sunflowers by the time you finish this book.

I'm giving this book 3 stars because Melody Anne is a good writer and that comes across here. I might have given it 4 stars for writing but the author's writing style did not match the subject matter. Usually when you read the darker books, the language is gritty and explicit and matches what is happening in the book. Melody Anne still writes this book like it is a Harlequin romance from the early 90s. It just didn't fit what was occurring in the book and it was distracting.

I usually try to tell you if I recommend you read a book but that's tough to do here. If the things I talked about in this review don't bother you, this might be a good pick for you. For me, I just want more love and hope then was offered in this book.

**Copy provided by Author**

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ARC Review: Her Forever Hero by Melody Anne

This is the last book of Melody Anne’s Unexpected Heroes series; book 3 or 5 if you count the in between novellas. Camden Whitman gets his story. I loved Cam, I mean what’s not to love the man is intelligent, he’s lawyer but he’s not a desk jockey he still works out on the ranch, he’s good looking and hard working, the man comes from a difficult past and knows not to take what he has for advantage. It’s just a shame he fell in love with Grace. Grace Sinclair, I did not like at all; I could not muster any sympathies for her. She just rubbed me the wrong way, for being such a cynical cold hearted bitch half the time she was so annoyingly naïve when it came to her identity being stolen and the potential embezzlement case against her. The first part of the book pretty much worked its way in circles it was Grace giving in a little and then completely closing off, giving in closing off. Hell it took someone threatening her before she would admit anything. Grace has abandonment issues and I can understand why with everything that happened to her, but it’s gotten to the point that she just keeps pushing all the important people away in her life. The end did redeem the book, I liked how it made you think it was sort of anti-climatic, and then pow it hits you with a really good ending.

A file crosses Cam’s desk one day. The file is full of evidence pointing at Grace. A charity was opened up in her name and has been siphoning money from it. Cam is worried, he knows Grace could never do this but he just has to find the evidence to prove who really did. Only Grace isn’t being very cooperative, she doesn’t believe anything will happen because she didn’t do any of that. Cam needs Grace to tell him what happened in the last seven years and see if just maybe someone from her past could be behind it. Grace finally relents and fills in Cam with almost all the sordid details of what happened to her. With that information Cam finally has something to work with. Cam is also trying to gain back her trust and to admit she still loves him and even thought she keeps pushing him away he still is right there when she needs him. Grace’s past isn’t an easy one to escape from since it keeps come back up, especially with her horrid, evil, whore of a mother. Grace does finally work through her past and as they say the truth will set you free. When she finally starts talking about it and getting everything out in the open Grace and Cam can finally let go of the past and embrace the future.

Overall, it wasn’t one of my favorites; but it was mainly Graces fault. I’m not going to discourage anyone from reading it especially if you love Melody Anne. I liked the story and loved the series I just didn’t like Grace.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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Interview with Author Melody Anne and Giveaway

Meet Melody Anne author of Her Forever Hero.

NYT and USA Today Best Selling Author Melody Anne has written the popular series: Billionaire Bachelors, Surrender, and Baby for the Billionaire. She also has a Young Adult Series; Midnight Fire, Midnight Moon and Midnight Storm – The Apocalypse along with her new, traditionaly published, Unexpected Heroes Series and the newest release “Stolen Innocence,” the first book in her new Becoming Elena Series.

As an aspiring author, she wrote for years, then published in 2011, finding her true calling, and a love of writing nonstop. Holding a Bachelor’s Degree in business, she loves to write about strong, powerful, businessmen and the corporate world.

When Melody isn’t writing, she cultivates strong bonds with her family and enjoys time spent with them as well as her friends, and beloved pets. A country girl at heart, she loves the small town and strong community she lives in and is involved in many community projects.

To date, Melody has over 7 million book sales and has earned a spot on multiple best seller lists, including being an amazon top 100 bestselling author for 3 years in a row, as well as a Kobo and iBooks best seller. But beyond that, she just loves getting to do what makes her happiest – live in a fantasy world, 95% of the time.

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ARC Review: Who Am I with You by Melody Anne

Melody Anne has won me over. So far all the books I have read of hers I have very thoroughly enjoyed. This is 1.5 of Melody Anne’s new series Unexpected Heroes, a spinoff of her Billionaire Bachelors series. It’s a light and deliciously lovely story, short and dirty. Sure fires win for fans, and new readers alike.

In this short novella Taylor Winchester a well known Motocross racers suffers an injury and is forced to take time off. For Taylor that is worse than the actual injury, racing and her motorcycle is her life. Staying with her parents is driving her crazy so her mom suggests her brother Hawk’s cabin. Unbeknownst to her Hawk already told his best friend Travis he could use it. Travis and Taylor have a history, a brief history, but still Taylor is still sore about it. Taylor always thought she was in love with Travis and when she was finally is old enough Travis took her virginity. Travis has been in love with Taylor and feels like it is finally the right time to act on it he just has to convince her that it is. The forced time off isn’t the only thing that is driving Taylor crazy it is the thought that she may have to give up her motocross career because this last head injury. Travis feels like he has to show Taylor her other options. But Taylor is stubborn and after having to everyone telling her what she should do she wants to do what she wants to do. Taylor and Travis must figure out a way to compromise or else fail to get their HEA.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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Review: Surrender by Melody Anne

Surrender is the first book in the Surrender series by Melody Anne. I am not sure how I missed that this wasn't a standalone, but needless to say I was shocked at the end when there was a cliffhanger. Luckily all the books have been released, so I won't have to wait long to figure out what happens next. I really liked this book and I found it interesting. It does have a lot of similarities to some of the other popular billionaire alpha books that are out there, but there are also quite a few things that make this one different and worth the read.

Raffaello Pallazo (Rafe) has always had a great life. He works hard, is successful, has a loving family and doesn't want for anything. Until he discovers his wife cheating on him with one of his best friends and business partners. Rafe decides that he will never again let a woman into his heart or give his trust so easily. Arianna Harlow (Ari) was in school and looking forward to a successful future when an accident took everything away. She has sold off everything she could, and is looking for any way to make money in order to take care of her mother. When she sees an ad in the paper for a generous paying job, she immediately goes to apply. After a lot of strange requests and vague details, Ari finds out the job is actually to be Rafe's mistress. He will support her and leave her with a generous severance package when he is finished. Ari is drawn to Rafe, but is disgusted by the way he looks at his relationships as a business venture. She keeps telling him no, and decides that she will look elsewhere. But Rafe doesn't give up easily, and when her mom ends up needing some very expensive surgeries and treatments will Ari be able to continue to say no to him? Especially after they spend more time together and see how well they fit together?

I liked Rafe. He was honest and up-front, and he was also caring with Ari. He struggled to keep things with her the same as he always does, but it was good to see him not be able to remain so detached. I will admit that I didn't really quite understand why he was so extreme with his relationships after his ex-wife. I got that he was hurt and that he was skeptical of all women after that, but it seemed to be a bit much. Especially since he had such a normal and loving childhood and his family was great. I did like that he was sweet to those he loved though and you could tell that he really would do anything for them. As he and Ari got to know each other better, you could see that he was starting to really care about her and was allowing himself to do things he wouldn't normally do with his women. Ari was strong and determined. I loved that she didn't just give in to everything that Rafe said, and she really made him work for it. She was drawn to him and could have easily taken everything he offered, but she didn't and that showed a lot about her character. Rafe and Ari had a lot of chemistry, and they were extremely hot together. But you could also tell that they were forming a connection that went beyond the physical and that they would be really good together.

I really enjoyed this book and I was so interested in seeing what would happen that I couldn't put this one down. There was a lot of steam and heat, but there were also some really great moments between them that showed what their future could be like. I did feel like this book was slow at times, and even though I was invested in these characters I thought that it seemed to drag a bit. I really liked Rafe and Ari, but I also loved the other characters. Rafe's sisters Lia and Rachel were really interesting and I loved them! I can't wait to get more of them and see what happens with Lia and Rafe's friend Shane. I am really looking forward to seeing what happens next for all these characters, and seeing Ari and Rafe's relationship continue. I would definitely recommend giving this book a shot if you are a fan of erotic romance and like the demanding alpha types. I will definitely be reading more in this series, and can't wait to read more from Melody Anne in the future.

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Feature and Giveaway: The Lost Tycoon by Melody Anne

Fighting to survive, Mystic Elton takes one look at the man standing in front of her and knows she needs to make a decision – does she want to live? Discovering that her boyfriend is storing enough drugs to supply a small country, she looks for an escape route. He’s standing in the doorway – standing in the way of her freedom.

Mystic has nothing left – no family, no friends, no one she can rely on. She is all alone and frightened. Managing to get past her ex, she flees, running to the other side of the country, landing in Seattle, she changes her appearance, her name, her life.

After a year, she begins to feel safe. Her ex won’t find her. She’s beginning to pick up the pieces of her once shattered existence and carve out a new world for herself.

That is, until a tall, well-dressed man shows up at her job and tells her they need to talk – and he knows her real name. Fleeing to get away from him, she rushes to the back room and grabs her Taser. When she hits him with it, she thinks she’s home free.

She’s not.

All Mystic has done is really tick off Bryson Winchester, and all he’s trying to do is help her by getting her scum of an ex off the streets.

Mystic has a choice to make. Is this a man she can believe in? Is any man worthy of her precious trust? She’ll find the answers, though they may not be what she expects or wants – her entire world is about to be turned upside down, because not only will she find there are some men out there worth trusting – she will find out the secret of her birth – the reality of who she really is.

Some things should stay in the past – and others… Other things will come back with a vengeance.

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