Izzy Sweet

Izzy Sweet and Sean Moriarty's 7th book in the Disciples series Possessing Eden is one hot and steamy read. I have been waiting a while for Jude's story and it did not disappoint at all. It's definitely better than I thought it could ever be, considering the monster Jude is.
Jude is the monster in Lucifer's group of henchmen with no heart or emotions, making him the perfect killer. But for once in his life he doesn't put his family first. Eden is a single mom stuck in a bad spot trying to escape her abusive husband and ends up used as a pawn to get into Lucifer's group and she does it through Jude after she sees something she wasn't supposed to. His family sees Eden for the threat she is but Jude does not care. His heart is finally working and his attachment to her was sealed when he met her son Abel. He will go to whatever lengths he has to, even lying to protect her from his family hoping he won't have to choose between them with a war on the rise.
I gave this one a 5-star rating and a 4-spicy rating. Seeing Jude with a heart just did it for me. His sexiness shot up a few notches from that. Eden and Jude were just made for each other and although complicated for sure they are perfect together. Like Eden says "Jude is a monster, there's no denying that…. But he's my monster. And I won't let anyone take him from me."… (mer)

Broken Wings, the 1st book in the Royal Bastards MC: Louisville, KY series by Izzy Sweet and Sean Moriarty is the 1st book of theirs that I've read. If I didn't enjoy the Royal Bastards MC series so much I'm not sure I ever would have stumbled onto their books but I'm glad I did. This book is built out of tragic events that happened that were out of the H & H's control and changed their lives. This book takes place in the past and present.
Coy and Allie were high school sweethearts, destined for each other, ready to get married and live a life together until a tragic accident occurred killing Coy's club brother and putting Allie in a coma. Her parents couldn't stand the thought of her with Coy so they saw their chance to change that. When Coy snuck into the hospital to see her he found her room empty. He searched everywhere he could for her but couldn't find her or her parents. It turned Coy into a heartless asshole, to be honest, but understandable. Allie's parents had moved their family out of Kentucky and when Allie woke from the coma she had memory loss and couldn't remember Coy or their life together. Events happened in Allie's life that led her and her son back to Kentucky where Coy found her. And her son looks just like him. He doesn't believe she has memory loss from the accident and takes them both, locking her away until he can force her to remember him and what they had. It makes him an asshole for not believing her and for the way he decides to make her remember. Allie didn't come without trouble following her either. Can Coy make her remember? Can they finally have the life they both dreamed of and planned?
I gave this book a 4-star rating and a 4-spicy rating. I loved that they were just destined to be together but didn't necessarily like how he went about making that happen. The other characters in the book were awesome and I hope we get their books soon. This was a great start to another Royal Bastards MC chapter.… (mer)

I ordered this at the same time as I picked up another of the author's books which sounded like it would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, this one was a disappointment just as that other was, so this was my last try at reading these authors.

Aside from everything about the characters and storyline being the subgenre's exact cliché, delivered without real depth Or originality, the characters themselves weren't believable. I think this subgenre of romance especially requires a bit of a suspension of disbelief, but the characters themselves--as real, breathing people--simply weren't believable, and there's no other way to say it. When you add in editing mistakes, over-the-top writing that was more telling than showing (outside of the relatively well-written sex scenes, which I suspect got a lot more attention than other aspects of the book), and characters that were nothing more than stereotypes who were (both in presentation and in picture on the cover) far too immature for what we're told to believe is their station in life, the book is just a shadow of what it really should be.

Simply, I won't be trying this author team again, and I wouldn't recommend that anyone else bother.… (mer)

On one hand, there were things about this dark romance that I really enjoyed--the characters, in single moments, were believable and worth engaging with (with the caveat that this will probably only be the case if you Like dark romance), and the story itself was fast-paced with a good balance of action and steamy romance. The protagonist's child might have been a little flat, but then again, she wasn't present a huge amount, so that didn't bother me all that much; she was believable when she was present, and in this case, that was enough for me. I will say that, along with the caveat about this being a dark romance, I feel I need to mention the male protagonist here is a far bit darker than most, and we see the violence of his world. The gore involved in him being mafia might be a bit much for some readers, though I actually didn't mind it since these books more often have male protagonists who are Said to be dark, but don't show a hint of it. Definitely not the case here.

That said, my big problem here was with the male protagonist, Andrew. I can't even call what happened insta-love, because it wasn't that, but I will call it insta-obsession. From the moment he met Amy, he had to have her. No build-up, no explanation, no rationale or attempt to explain the sudden, life-charging, all-or-nothing obsession. He just Had to have her. Now, if this had been a pattern with him (which wouldn't be the case, or it would have been a very different man, book, and genre), that might make sense. Serial killers HAVE to have particular victims all the time, and their rationales may or may not make sense. But in this case, where he seems to have been an in-attached and driven man prior to meeting her, totally disinterested in a wife, let alone a child... well, we needed something. Anything at all really. Anything to explain why, as soon as he sees her, he's utterly obsessed with making her his. The more his obsession (because there's no other way to describe it, even from his lips) was harped on, also, the more distracting the issue was. Readers can't help wondering, 'Wait, when did he get so obsessed with her, and why?' The answers: "Immediately upon seeing her" and "We have no earthly clue".

So, would I read another book by these authors? I might. I have another one lying around already, also from this series, and this was a fast and relaxing enough read that I'll probably pick it up. But, at the same time, I really can't recommend this whole-heartedly, engaging as various scenes were, and as strong as other aspects of the book were.… (mer)