ARC Review: Ink & Lies by S.L. Jennings

I have to admit that when I read the blurb for Ink & Lies by S.L. Jennings, I knew I had to read this book. It just instantly drew me in, and I knew the story would be unlike anything I have ever read before. I definitely wasn't disappointed, and this book was truly unique. It almost felt like two separate stories, as the first half had a completely different feel than the second half did. While the first half was light and funny and had me laughing out loud, the second half was emotional and angsty and brought out all the feels. 

August and Fiona have been best friends for years. They have been each other's everything, yet they have never crossed the friendship line. August is an author, and he writes under the pen name Hope Hughes. He sells romance though he doesn't believe in it. But when he is forced to face some truths about his life, he quickly begins to realize that maybe he hasn't just been lying to everyone else all his life, but also to himself. 

I really struggled at times with both Fiona and August. Don't get me wrong, these two were absolutely perfect for one another. I loved their friendship, and it was clear that it went much deeper even if neither of them acknowledged it. But I really wanted to shake these two at times. I couldn't figure out how they couldn't get their acts together, and sometimes they were so hurtful to one another. I hated seeing them go through everything that they were, and it really broke my heart at times. But I also never gave up hope that these two could figure it all out, even if it wasn't happening as fast as I would have liked. 

Overall, this book was such an emotional read. It was definitely a roller coaster, and I couldn't put it down. I think that there was so much happening for these two and while they didn't always handle things the best, it did feel real and believable. While I didn't absolutely love what was happening, it did bring all the feels and was the kind of book that had me invested right from the start. I loved that this was told from the male POV though, and I think that just added to the unique experience here. I think that fans of Jennings will really enjoy this story, and those unfamiliar with her work will enjoy it as well. I am a huge fan of friends to lovers books, and this was unlike any that I have ever read before. This book is worth the read, and I look forward to more from Jennings in the future.

**ARC Provided by TRSOR Promotions**

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Interview with Author S.L. Jennings and Giveaway

Meet S.L. Jennings author of Tryst.

S.L. Jennings is a New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of contemporary and paranormal romance, reality TV junkie, obsessive coffee drinker and collector of crazy.

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ARC Review: Tryst by S.L. Jennings

I have to admit that I was intrigued with Tryst when I first heard about it. Not only because it was the sequel to the much talked about Taint by S.L. Jennings, but also because of the content. The blurb immediately made me curious, even as it made me a little scared if I am honest. Cheating is one of those topics that defnitely brings out strong feelings in readers, and the fact that this book deals with sanctioned cheating and even a menage was really interesting to me. I knew going in that this one would probably bring out a ton of emotions and be rough at times, but I also knew that it was going to be super hot as well. 

Heidi DuCane is known for being a pit-bull of a publicist, she is very successful and lives for her career. Her doctor husband Tucker DuCane is the exact opposite. Though they are committed and love each other more than ever, things have changed between them and most days they are going through the motions more than anything. The happiness they once had isn't as strong as it was, so when Heidi gets the chance to make rockstar Ransom Reed her client she jumps at the chance. Ransom is every woman's fantasy, and being on Heidi's hall-pass list allows her to indulge in everything that he is offering her. But what starts out as a sexy night together with Tucker watching, quickly becomes more personal as Ransom signs on to be Heidi's new client. The more Heidi and Ransom spend time together and get to know one another, the more the lines begin to blur. Though Heidi has never been unhappy with Tucker, she finds that Ransom is able to satisfy some of her needs that Tucker has never been able to. But now that Heidi, Tucker, and Ransom have gone down this road, the only thing that is certain is that nothing will ever be the same as it was before their tryst. 

It is so hard for me to put into words what I am feeling about these characters. There were points throughout this book that I loved each of these characters and there were times that I pretty much hated each of them as well. While I was left still being on the fence about Heidi and Tucker, I have to say that the person I feel the most for here is Ransom. He had so much beneath the surface, and it was clear that he was struggling. I really wanted to dig deeper with him, and I found myself the most interested in Ransom out of anyone here. Heidi was a bit damaged as well, and she had needs that Tucker wasn't able to fulfill before Ransom entered the picture. I wish that she had dealt with them more here, as I feel like we never did see that. While she did make some progress and she was able to voice her needs to Tucker when she wasn't able to previously, I felt like the real reason behind those desires and the issues causing everything were never dealt with. Tucker was the character that I probably felt the most for during the majority of this story, at least that was the case until close to the end. Then there was something that happened that changed everything for me. I really thought that this guy was just doing whatever he could to make his wife happy and I honestly felt like he was the one being wronged here. But I have to say that when all was said and done, I felt like Heidi and Tucker really deserved each other and not necessarily in a good way. I was so upset with everything that had happened, and I just wanted Ransom to get as far away from these two as possible.

There was a ton of heat here and a lot of emotion. I will warn readers that if you have problems with cheating (even with permission from the cheater's spouse) or menage, that this book probably isn't for you. While this book is so much more than those things, they do play a huge part in this story and I think that readers need to make sure that is something they can handle before starting. While I did enjoy the sexy nature of this book, I feel really torn as far as the actual story went. I have so many mixed feelings here, but the one thing that I can't seem to shake is the feeling that Heidi and Tucker just flat out used Ransom. While he definitely wasn't forced into this situation by any means, it seemed as though he was manipulated into a lot here and ultimately he was the one that truly suffered the most. Fans of Taint will be glad to see familiar faces here, though this book is a complete standalone and you do not need to have read Taint in order to understand Tryst. While this book wasn't my favorite, I will read the next book in this series as I am really excited about where things were headed at the end of this book.

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

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Feature and Giveaway: Taint by S.L. Jennings

Right now, you’re probably asking yourself two things:

Who am I?

And, what the hell are you doing here?

Let’s start with the most obvious question, shall we?

You’re here, ladies, because you can’t f*ck.

Oh, stop it. Don’t cringe. No one under the age of 80 clutches their pearls.

You might as well get used to it, because for the next six weeks, you’re going to hear that word a lot. And you’re going to say it a lot.

Go ahead, try it out on your tongue.

F*ck. F***ck.

Ok, good. Now where were we?

If you enrolled yourself in this program then you are wholly aware that you’re a lousy lay. Good for you. Admitting it is half the battle.

For those of you that have been sent here by your husband or significant other, dry your tears and get over it. You’ve been given a gift, ladies. The gift of mind-blowing, wall-climbing, multiple-orgasm-inducing sex. You have the opportunity to f*ck like a porn star. And I guarantee, you will when I’m done with you.

And who am I?

Well, for the next six weeks, I will be your lover, your teacher, your best friend, and your worst enemy. Your every-f*cking-thing. I’m the one who is going to save your relationship and your sex life.

I am Justice Drake.

And I turn housewives into whores.

Now…who’s first?

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ARC Review: Taint by S.L. Jennings

I admit that I'm disappointed with Taint. After reading the blurb I was expecting a raw, gritty and erotic read and that was not the case at all. Yes, there are times when the hero says/thinks some rauchy things but that was it. None of his dirty thoughts came to fruition. I was just expecting so much more from this.

Honestly I felt like the first half of the book kind dragged on. I kept turning the pages in anticipation for something to finally happen with Justice and Ally. It just seemed to take forever and by the time it finally did I found that I really didn't care. There was just so much build up and I just wanted more.

I will say that I really enjoyed them together and found that they had great chemistry. I liked that Justice liked Ally for who she was and didn't want her to change, goofiness and all.

I just felt like Taint was kind of unrealistic at times. I don't want to go into too many details as I don't want to spoil anything but I just didn't buy that these prominent women would be okay with their husbands sending them away for six weeks to get sex lessons from a virtual stranger. How and in what world is this okay? I just found it hard to believe that these women would want to stay with their husbands. Plus there were some things that came up with one of the housewives husbands that just seemed to be a bit over the top.

All in all I found Taint to be an okay read. Did I hate it? No, but I didn't love it and that's a bummer because I was really looking forward to this one.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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