booksbyec's reviews
280 reviews

Re Read via Audio, Still just as good as when I read the book.

Re Read but via Audio

 I am just going to say FINALLY!

Miguel and Marcus's story is in our hands.

These two started all this because they fell in love years and years ago. And finally, after all this time they are meeting again, but let me tell you falling in love again is never easy. Especially with the past these two share.

Miguel has his work cut out for himself by trying to turn Marcus's hate into love. And I get where both of them are coming from. Because Miguel thought Marcus died and that he was responsible and Marcus thought Miguel chose family over love.

I enjoy the curveballs and high-energy situations Ashlynn puts her characters through. Something always happens when you at least expect it to. 

Marcus and Miguel have a very high-heat relationship with Daddy Kink and impact play as two major spice points.


They enjoy it and so will the reader. 

The story and both of the characters are morally gray/dark and that is shown in how they interact.

Maddox and Knives (Nayeem) meet as teenagers and they fall in love but something happens that upend their relationship and when we meet them 8 years later the love has turned into hate. 

Knives hate Maddox so much and I understand why, because of what he went through as a teenager. But he also loves Maddox just as much, so I think that twists his brain and his actions because he doesn't know what leg to stand on. 

This book is dark-ish, I would say that the beginning of the book starts out pretty dark and maybe the consent in certain aspects is on the nonexistent side. But the further into the book we get the more the dark turns to light or as light it can be in a mafia romance book. I would absolutely class this as an enemies-to-lovers and second chance romance, just with more alligators and swamps present.  

 

 ⭐️Mobsters & Billionaires Book 3⭐️

We have been following the love story between Ford and Luca since they met in Book 1. But it is not until now that we finally see that the friendly foundation that they have built can turn into something more.

Luca is a mafia don and Ford is a billionaire who rather plays with numbers than people. I get that they should not work together, but these two decide to give it a try and for that, we should be grateful.

Why Ford is the way he is gets explained in the book so I won’t spoil it for you. 

This book is gentler, with more slow seduction and sweet attraction than the other two books. Luca is a gentleman mobster to the core and Ford, who has less experience than the others, realizes they can't rush this. And since Luca is so smitten with Ford, he works hard for the affection and love he knows they have for each other. 

I enjoyed the slower pace and the fact that we got a smaller amount of m*rder.

Kelly is also setting the story up for the fourth book and that made me crave it even more. I have been patiently waiting on getting Hopper and Liam's story.

Mobster & Billionaires Book 2

This book is soo grumpy/sunshine coded with Mads being sunshine personified and Anthony being a bit more on the grumpy side. 

The push and pull between Mads and Anthony drives the story forward and with the overhanging threat against Mads, makes this story take a more high octane approach. We get to see the nitty gritty side of the mobsters and their friends and we also get to see the caring and nurturing side of the morally grey characters and their gentle billionaires. The smexy pull between the two MCs is slow burning but oh so bright and firey when they finally give in. 

In the second half of the book we get a some cameos that made me go “hey I know you guys” and then made me go “oh s*it I think I am reading these books abit out of order”. But I feel like even if all the series are somewhat connected, you can read 1 series at the time and still enjoy yourself. So I guess I will finish Mobsters and Billionaires then go back to Wild Heart Ranch and after that start from the beginning, just to get the OGs stories. 

Btw the orange puffer jacket is a character in itself and I don't want to hear any objections about that. 

This book hooked me line and sinker. 
Rand and his company problems and Joe and his family affiliations made the storyline. 

The way that they "meet-cute" and how it all evolves *chef's kiss*. 

Rand is a billionarie and CEO of an athletics company and Joe works for him. During a big meeting Joe puts Rand in his place and the video of said interaction goes viral. What Rand dosen't know is that Joe is the bastard son of a Mafia Don and when Rand goes  looking for Joe in Brooklyn, he is in for a rude awakening. Joe being the gentleman he is saves Rands life. But it is not without a cost because Joes father put an Mafia-style extradition order on his head and the only place he is safe is in Rand penthouse. Que unhingde and funny momentes when they try to clean up both messes. 

Also all the hints for the books coming in this series has me so involved in what will happen to our favorite billionaires and the mobsters they meet.

It is slow-burnish because we dont really get anything spicy until 40ish % in, but the build up is exquisite. Also they flirt with food and no one can tell me diffrently. 

 

This book is hilariously unhinged. The background is set surrounding a new NHL Team and its owner Jake Bellport. In the season after they won the Stanley Cup Jake had the brilliant idea to acquire 2 players from 2 different teams because of injuries. Mind you, Jake acquires them with some blackmail and sneakiness. 

Leon Howler and Maddox Poirier are mortal enemies and they are not happy to find out that they now are playing together. But when they meet Jake sparks fly and they realize that hate may not be hate but attraction. The way we enter Daddies/Boy land is fast but not a total surprise and for how the story is built it makes sense. The spice is steamy and we get quite a lot of it. 

This book is really a fast read and I will be honest and say that there is not a super big plot, rather smaller plot bunnies getting together and creating this story. This book is a part of a series but I have read it as a stand alone. I feel that maybe you would get out more reading it from the beginning, especially when it comes to the side characters. I have to say though there are some awesome one-liners in this book and I think this one is my favorit;

“What fresh hell is this and how do I get back on the escalator to Earth?”

 

Love in LA Book 3

This is the 3rd book in the series and we are finally getting to know Ramos more. In book 2 Ramos meets Zaden and Alex, a married couple, at the photo studio where he works. And there is an instant connection. Zaden and Alex have a daddy/boy dynamic but they are also looking for a 3rd, because they feel they have more love to give. It is an interesting situation Ramos finds himself in because he doesn't know where and how he would belong in a relationship like this. I don't want to spoil too much but there are some twists and turns I didn't see coming, but they made this book so enjoyable. 

The way Alex and Zaden invites Ramos into their relationship speaks of commitment and communication. Even if Zaden, as the boy he is, wants to move things along instantly Alex is there to calm him and tell him, we should do this slow and easy and not scare Ramos away. This showcases that they are committed to making this work. 

 This book is one the shorter side, just barely over 200 pages. But I feel like we got everything we needed to get our HEA.