Boss Lady by Alli Frank & Asha Youmans

In this funny and inspiring novel from the authors of The Better Half, a mess of a heroine is desperate to resolve her past so she can finally rediscover who she was always meant to be.

Antonia “Toni” Arroyo’s protective mother has outdated notions for her daughter’s life: employ her natural beauty and marry young. But Toni has wholly different aspirations.

A promising inventor and budding entrepreneur, she fights to keep her passions alive as a financially strapped mother of twins with a job in airport transportation services that has her going in circles. One treasured frequent passenger is elderly traveler Sylvia Eisenberg, Toni’s sage but unofficial adviser and cheerleader. When Toni meets Sylvia’s grandson, Ash, a striking venture capitalist, luck just might bend her way.

With a game-changing new business endeavor in development, Toni hustles an opportunity to pitch her idea on TV’s Innovation Nation. Toni’s unexpected challenger? Her very own recently resurfaced, self-aggrandizing not-quite-ex-husband. As Toni’s interrupted past collides with her tenuous future, she is more determined than ever to follow through on her delayed dreams. Toni’s been clinging to “maybe” for so long—it’s finally time for “absolutely.”

 

 

Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Hardcover (US)  ~  Paperback (US)

Audiobook (US)
Narrated by Bahni Turpin
~ Also Available with KindleUnlimited ~

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars rounded up

There is much to like in this book. I really liked that the old lady who chatted to Toni at the airport really was the entrepreneur and innovations guru who had supported some of the biggest names in the business – it was a clever reminder not to judge a book by its cover!

Toni has a brain which cannot stop coming up with bright ideas – she just needs one to work and be picked up by an investor so she can stop her job driving airport transfers. Her ex walked out, leaving her bringing up twins and shouldering all the bills and burdens. When Sylvia, her favourite client, falls ill and she goes with her to the hospital, their lives become more entwined.

Meeting Sylvia's grandson, Ash, changes everything – she finds someone attractive for the first time in forever, but he is completely out of reach... let alone she is still married. And now he is in a position to give her a chance at her dream on a TV investment show. Of course, her ex pops up, like a bad penny, and chaos ensues.

I felt that the plot got a bit overly twisted in places and could have been rejigged a bit to reduce the need for explanation, but I did really enjoy the characters and the storyline, as well as the outcome!

 

 

Alli Frank

The robustness of a farm girl, the honed sophistication of a city woman, a dash of Jewish chutzpah, and a heaping cup of endurance athlete and voila, you have ALLI FRANK.

Alli was raised in Yakima, WA, the only child of two parents who instilled in her that hard work coupled with a resilient spirit will take you where you want to go. So up some of the highest mountains Alli climbed, down insanely steep terrain she skied and across long swathes of land she ran. To pay for all this adventure, Alli has worked in education for over 20 years in San Francisco and Seattle – from an overcrowded, cacophonous public high school to a pristine private girl’s school. She has been a teacher, curriculum leader, coach, college counselor, assistant head, private school co-founder, sometimes pastor, often mayor, and de facto parent therapist. A graduate of Cornell and Stanford Universities, Alli can still be found with her nose deep in a book or hunkered down at the movies, never one to miss a great story.

Alli lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband, two daughters and terribly cute mini-Bernedoodle. When she needs good food (cause she can’t really cook) she turns to her co-author Asha Youmans.

Connect with Alli Frank!

Facebook  ~  Instagram  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

Asha Youmans

ASHA YOUMANS was raised in Seattle, WA, by an educational and civil right pioneer father and a children’s hospital administrator mother, along with a sister and a brother she admires and adores. As a child, Asha was a member of a two-time city champions Double Dutch team, among the first wave of girls to integrate Little League baseball and rode a unicycle, tumbled and juggled as a member of a traveling circus acrobatics team. She also read everything she could get her hands on from X-Men comic books to the “Clan of the Cave Bear” series to Camus.

Enrolled in gifted programs while attending public school, Asha went on to graduate from one of America’s premier private academies, Lakeside School, from which her father, TJ Vassar, earned a diploma as the school’s first black graduate. After receiving a degree from the University of California, Berkeley, Asha returned to Seattle where she taught in public and private schools for nearly 20 years.

Asha is a fabulous home cook who loves storytelling and connecting with others by making them smile. She lives with her white husband, two ethnically ambiguous sons, and a dog that is part Yorkie and part who-the-heck-knows.

Connect with Asha Youmans!

Facebook  ~  Instagram  ~  Twitter  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads

 

 

ARC provided by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided with a free copy of Boss Lady by Alli Frank & Asha Youmans to read and review.

Followilled by Erica Chilson Release Blitz

What does it mean to be a Followill?

Embarking on the lifelong journey of true adulthood, Rayna Scott is about to graduate college and return to Followill. Rayna experiences a gamut of emotions for falling into her new role so easily, much to the surprise of the Followill family.

More than just a prop for Governor Followill’s campaign.
More than just a stubborn housemate.
More than just an obligation for her chosen parental units.
More than just vows made to Daddy and Momma.

A precarious balance as Rayna struggles with who she used to be, who she is today, and who she will become versus who she would’ve been had her life not been altered by tragedy.

Moving forward and refusing to look back, just as Rayna makes peace with what it means to be a Followill, she’s thrust into the knowledge of her paternal line. After the solitude of a small family, no burdens of responsibility or pressure of obligation, Rayna is tapped out with the Followills. She has absolutely no desire to engage with the family that abandoned her daddy.

Secrets buried beneath lies, Rayna discovers Peri is just one of many relatives hiding in plain sight.

What does it mean to be a Devereaux?

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Followill series!
For book one, Followill, click HERE.
For book two, Followill Loyalty, click HERE.

 

 

Book 3
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Also Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

 

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is the strongest finale that we could have dreamed about for this wonderful trilogy. If you have not started it yet, then you are very lucky to be able to read all three books together, rather than having to wait! You absolutely need to read them in order – so if you have found this first, do yourself a favour and go back to Followill or you will miss out on why this is such a great book.

From the get go I was excited that this book takes us straight to the end of college days for Rayna and her peers. Yes, we get some of the intervening years filled in, to give us some insight into why she might be feeling as she does, but it is this post-graduation stage of her life which is going to be the most revealing!

One truth from her childhood drives Rayna, the need to study and be the best she can – and certainly she has not let herself or her daddy down. She will return to Followill as required and be the very best at her predetermined career. On that score there is little doubt... but her understanding of her family, her future, and true love? That is more than a little complicated – but utterly delicious.

I really do not want to say more, because peeling back the layers of crazy is the most exciting thing about reading one of Chilson's novels, and this is no exception. I loved every bit of this whole trilogy, and really feel that this installment just brought all the eye rolls, the chuckles, some gasps, and, by the end, a serenity which isn't saccharine, but which is earned and deserved... even if unconventional.

I am looking forward to hiding away over my Christmas break and reading all three back to back... with some handy snacks and a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign on my door!


Angela – ☆☆☆☆☆
Oh, my goodness! So many twists and turns, so many secrets and lies, so many subtle leaks and some really good, in-your-face revelations that left my mind spinning, and it all made for one heck of a rollercoaster ride. More than once, I’d be reading along, just going with the flow with Rayna and BAM, a sudden drop from a happy high had me white-knuckling my Kindle. Gah! It wasn’t even my life and I was an anxious mess while reading at times. And I FREAKING LOVED IT!

Nearly four years have passed since the end of Followill Loyalty, with Followilled being partially centered around another Followill wedding, but this wedding is one Rayna is happy to be a part of, even if it isn’t well-timed either, with it taking place towards the end of her final semester at college. Poor timing or not, it gives readers a chance to see just a bit of Rayna’s college experience, to see how she’s grown over the past four years, and how she hasn’t. Her biggest personality flaw remains her inability to actually hear what is being said by and about Charlie. The girl still has blinders when it comes to that man and they’re not the good kind of blinders, but at least this time around, Charlie seems to have a better grasp on Rayna’s blind spots. So much so, that he actually encouraged one of her misconceptions and enjoyed the look on her face when she learned the truth. Charlie. Charlie. Charlie. While it was funny, he failed to anticipate just how far down the rabbit hole that misunderstanding took her.

We finally got to go to CAMP!!! It was everything I expected and then some. Oh, so much more. Those Followills sure are some naughty buggers. As fun as it was to watch Rayna experience Camp for the first time, to get to meet some of the different branches on the Followill family tree, to fumble while learning the secret language of Camp, and to finally fully comprehend Charlie’s place, and hers as his intended spouse, in the Followill family, it was the verbal showdown between Rayna, a Followill elder, and a guest that had me unable to peel myself away from the book. I was wholeheartedly on Rayna’s side on this one. I was as baffled and frustrated as she was by the Followill elder’s inability and refusal to see past his cock. He was far more condescending than I expected when he treated her complaint as if it was due to Rayna’s age and not because the transgressor was so far in the wrong that criminal charges could be filed. I don’t blame Rayna one bit for losing her temper and “outing” the transgressor publicly at Camp, especially when the transgressor tried to defend her actions and play the victim. Considering the transgressor’s profession, I wanted to bitch-slap her myself for her actions. My only problem with that scene came later in the book when Rayna includes the transgressor in an event, as an olive branch, because she was ashamed of her “childish” behavior of airing her grievances publicly at Camp. I thought Rayna’s outburst was more than justified because she had already spoken to the transgressor privately and it accomplished nothing. Sorry, but the public naming and shaming was well deserved for both the Followill elder and the transgressor because everyone in the family needed to be aware of the risks the transgressor posed. I’ve probably confused you, but trying to write about a scene while avoiding spoilers can be a bit tricky.

I know the author released the Followill books, intending them to be a trilogy, and they do well as a trilogy of Rayna’s story. However, I really, really, really hope that Chilson’s muse comes-a-pestering and won’t let up until we get more stories from the residents of Followill because there are so many characters whose stories need to be told. And I would seriously love the chance to catch up with Rayna, Charlie, and Paul (and Felix) to see how life, politics, and the Followill legacy is shaping their lives… or how Ms. Rayna has changed the shape of the Followill legacy for the better.

 

 

 

ERICA CHILSON does not write in the 3rd person, wanting her readers to be her characters. Therefore, writing a bio about herself, is uncomfortable in the extreme.

Born, raised, and here to stay, the Wicked Writer is a stump-jumper, a ridge-runner. Hailing from North Central Pennsylvania, directly on the New York State border; she loves the changes in seasons, the humid air, all the mountainous forest, and the gloomy atmosphere.

Introverted, but not socially awkward, Erica prides herself on thinking first and filtering her speech. There are days she doesn’t speak at all. If it wasn’t for the fact that she lives with her parents, giving her a sense of reality, she would be a hermit, where the delivery man finds her months after expiration.

Reading was an escape, a way to leave a not-so pleasant reality behind. Reading lent Erica the courage she gathered from the characters between the pages to long for a different life. Writing was an instrument of change, evolving Erica into the woman she is today – a better, more mature, more at peace thinker.

Erica has a wicked mind, one she pours out into her creations. Her filter doesn’t allow all of it to erupt, much to her relief. Sarcastic, with a very dark, perverse sense of humor, Erica puts a bit of herself into every character she writes.

Connect with Erica Chilson!

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Facebook Group: M&M of Restraint

 

 

 

Hosted by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Followilled (Followill #3) by Erica Chilson to read and review.

Followill Loyalty by Erica Chilson Release Blitz

Life changes in less than a week…

Rayna Scott was showcased as her momma’s maid of dishonor, learned everything she thought wasn’t as it seemed, caught her boyfriend in the act during the reception, managed to graduate at the top of her class, reached the age of majority with little fanfare, and was deflowered in the most baffling of ways…

Those were just the highs.

Life as Rayna knew it ended in the most violent of lows, forcing her to swallow the stubborn pride her daddy instilled and welcome the torturous emotional side her momma tried so very hard to draw to the surface.

Falling off her high horse, Rayna figuratively breaks every bone, battered by life lesson after life lesson, learning the importance of loyalty and how it binds you into a family much tighter than blood ever could.

Followill Loyalty

Don’t miss our reviews of the rest of the Followill series!
For book one, Followill, click HERE.

 

 

Book 2
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Also Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

 

 

“He’s done!” Chad shouts at every officer in the vicinity, and there are a ton clogging up the hallway. A solid wall of uniformed officers and elected civilians. “I want him handcuffed, processed, and caged.”

Stunned stupid, the officer who brought me in sounds both hopeful yet cautious. “Sir, we need something to charge him with.”

“Gimme.” Chad turns me to face him, palms landing heavily on my shoulders. Then his fingers dive beneath the collar of my dress, plucking my new phone from my new bra. “You’re Heather’s daughter, so you use your bra as a purse, and cops don’t tend to pat breasts down when it’s a young girl. You’re also Russ’s daughter.”

Fiddling with the phone, half a dozen text message alerts ding at once. “There’s your proof. The video and audio were purposefully turned off in the interview room, but Rayna was thoughtful enough to record everything that happened from the time the first responders arrived. Goodbye.”

 

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angela – ☆☆☆☆☆
For the quick and dirty first, there is no cliffhanger at the end of Followill Loyalty. Your fingers can relax. However, your tear ducts are likely to get a workout – at least mine did, several times, even when I read it a second time and knew what was coming. And they weren’t all sad tears either as I shed some tears in frustration, in anger, in empathy for Rayna’s poor self-image and the hits she kept taking, and bittersweet tears for a mother who, knowing her life was being cut short, prepared to be there for her daughter in the only way she could when she left this mortal coil behind. I also have to say, I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!! I KNEW IT!!! I can’t say what IT was that I knew because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read book one yet, or who did and didn’t pick up on it, but I’m feeling pretty smug about it.

As for the book itself, I’m not sure how much I can actually say without giving too much away. A LOT of questions from the first book are answered, not all of them, but a lot of them, even if Rayna missed the answer or misunderstood what was being said. I adore Rayna and I empathize with her immensely when it comes to her poor self-confidence for her physical appearance and feeling like she doesn’t fit in with much of the world around her, but I am so glad I am the reader of her story because both of those characteristics severely color her interactions with those close to her, often leading her to misunderstand or misread the situation. Mind you, it doesn’t help any that Charlie is appallingly dreadful at communicating with Rayna and far too readily accepts her at her word when she says they’re on the same page. Of course, Rayna remains the queen of assuming how others feel about her, specifically assuming they harbor negative feelings toward her. But she does show the beginnings of change in that aspect during the farewell pool party with her interactions with a potential future Mrs. Followill – you’ll have to read the book to find out who the Mister is.

Some of the most significant scenes in Followill Loyalty are events I can’t discuss because of how spoiler-heavy they are. The injustices that Rayna experienced at the beginning and at the end of this book… UGH!!! I can’t even go there because my heart broke for her even as my blood boiled for her. She may have been forced to grow up too quickly with all that has happened so far, but she was wise beyond her years and capable of meeting the challenges she faced thanks to her parents. Oh yeah, Rayna’s rollercoaster ride did not slow down much during this installment and had more than its fair share of panic-inducing drops along the way. I’m buckling in extra tight for book three because I know her harrowing ride isn’t over yet. Don’t let the catharsis of the final chapter fool you, Chilson is sure to be saving the sharpest twists and turns and the biggest bumps and drops for the finale. But I’m gonna throw this out there right now, I would happily (and greedily) read more stories featuring the other residents of Followill once Rayna’s trilogy is complete because the Followills absolutely fascinate me, and I suspect there are far more secrets than Rayna can even begin to fathom. Bring on book three because I’ve got more questions than need to be answered.

 

 

 

ERICA CHILSON does not write in the 3rd person, wanting her readers to be her characters. Therefore, writing a bio about herself, is uncomfortable in the extreme.

Born, raised, and here to stay, the Wicked Writer is a stump-jumper, a ridge-runner. Hailing from North Central Pennsylvania, directly on the New York State border; she loves the changes in seasons, the humid air, all the mountainous forest, and the gloomy atmosphere.

Introverted, but not socially awkward, Erica prides herself on thinking first and filtering her speech. There are days she doesn’t speak at all. If it wasn’t for the fact that she lives with her parents, giving her a sense of reality, she would be a hermit, where the delivery man finds her months after expiration.

Reading was an escape, a way to leave a not-so pleasant reality behind. Reading lent Erica the courage she gathered from the characters between the pages to long for a different life. Writing was an instrument of change, evolving Erica into the woman she is today – a better, more mature, more at peace thinker.

Erica has a wicked mind, one she pours out into her creations. Her filter doesn’t allow all of it to erupt, much to her relief. Sarcastic, with a very dark, perverse sense of humor, Erica puts a bit of herself into every character she writes.

Connect with Erica Chilson

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Facebook Group: M&M of Restraint

 

 

 

Hosted by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Followill Loyalty (Followill #2) by Erica Chilson to read and review.

Followill by Erica Chilson Release Blitz

Imagine the rage…

Imagine the rage from being the only child of foundlings, one raised across the street from where I’ve spent my entire life, and the other raised in a prominent family but refuses to tell me her maiden name. Yeah, try answering security questions without that important detail.

Imagine the rage from learning everything you thought you knew was nothing but secrets covered in lies, as an entire town enables my momma.

Imagine the rage after losing my daddy, only to have to take care of a fragile southern lady who doesn’t know the definition of responsibility.

Imagine the rage from having the only person who meant anything taken from me. My best friend. My math teacher. My soon-to-be stepdaddy only a few years older than me, who picked my momma over me.

Imagine the rage of witnessing a wedding being planned that costs more than a four-year higher education degree, a down payment on a house, and a new car, with a wedding party that wouldn’t fit packed inside a school bus. All because Momma hitched her wagon to Followill’s most prominent son, after I’ve worked to support us both since Daddy died.

Imagine the rage of swallowing your pride, as a young woman of color forced to be the Maid of Dishonor at a wedding hosted at a plantation, because it’s the groom’s ancestral home that will look pretty in the pictures.

Imagine a momma who stole my man, then decided to get married less than a week before graduation, smack-dab during finals, and hours before my eighteenth birthday, with the entire wedding party filled with my furious classmates.

I’m Rayna Scott, and that rage burns so bright, Momma no longer casts me in her shadow.

 

 

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
~  Also Available with KindleUnlimited  ~

 

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angela – ☆☆☆☆☆
I forgot.

Have you ever had a favorite author whose writing you strayed from for a while, either because they started writing in a new genre, or you started reading in a new genre, or perhaps there was a lengthy break in their publishing schedule, or something else happened that led you to take a break from reading their books? And then you pick up their latest release and get so sucked into the story that it’s almost like you’re getting to experience their writing for the first time, and you find yourself falling in love with one of your favorite authors all over again.

So yeah, that was me as I read Followill. Because I forgot just how good Erica Chilson is at writing in the first person. Because I forgot just how good she is at making me feel the main character’s emotions, especially their frustration when those around them – the people they’re supposed to be able to trust completely – are lying to them, both outright lies and lies of omission. Because I forgot just how good she is at spinning a web of secrets, lies, and betrayal that I can feel the metaphorical gut punch the main character experiences when they discover they’re living in a house of cards, not of their own making, and it’s falling down around them. Because I forgot just how good she is at creating a small town and its small-minded, judgmental, gossiping residents who will cut you with words, but will have your back and defend you against outsiders because no one comes into their town and messes with their people. Because I forgot just how good she is at creating families whose family trees have too many branches, or too few branches, or branches that intersect and twist around one another so much that you understand the need for blood tests before marriage certificates are issued. Because I forgot that even when I manage to sus out what’s happening before the main character does, there’s a curve ball I didn’t see coming that will leave me just as devastated as they are. And because I forgot just how damn good she is at writing a cliffhanger that I both loathe and love in equal measure because I love that anticipation of having to wait for the next book because I absolutely MUST KNOW what happens next, all while loathing that I have to wait… hanging onto that cliff by my fingertips and cursing her name the entire time.

My hat’s off to you, Erica Chilson, Mistress of Mindfuckery and Cliffhangers, because once again, you have delivered it all. I cannot wait to crack open my review copy of book two because simply waiting long enough to write my review was as long as I could stand to wait. Because I remember now. I remember just how good you are at ensnaring me with your writing and making me lose myself in your worlds. And I’m ready to return to Followill to discover what you have in store for Rayna because as bumpy as her ride in book one was, I suspect that rollercoaster she’s on is just getting started and I’m not convinced it’s going to remain on its tracks. And I have questions, soooooo many questions that need answers because I also remember just how much you like to use foreshadowing, and quite a few seeds have been planted along the way and I can’t wait to see what else you have to sow in Followill.


Shelby – ☆☆☆☆☆
Followill by Erica Chilson is Rayna Scott's story. A young woman in Followill, Louisiana who has experienced some serious lessons in her 17 years of life. Rayna has fought for everything, she's earned every bit of good, and she has worked hard for every achievement.

Feeling every bit the outcast, as teenagers do, she has a small network around her, including her momma and her math teacher, Charlie Followill.

But things are rarely what they seem, no matter your age, and the town of Followill has many, MANY secrets that need to come to light!

This story sucked me in: I like many of the characters and want to get to know them better (Damien, especially), there are naughty and taboo-ish themes, and some strange family dynamics. I want, no, I NEED to know what is really going on. These people have secrets layered in secrets, and I need to know how Rayna is involved or more likely, what her momma was hiding and why.

I enjoyed this story, the characters, the mystery of Followill but man, the cliffhanger is KILLER! No worries though, as I WILL be rabidly waiting for book two.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆☆
This is the first book in a trilogy – and you will want to get hold of book two the second you arrive at the final page! Followill is the name of the town where this book is set, and the name of the principal family of the town. Everyone wants the power and prestige which comes with that name, and those who don't are considered less.

Rayna Scott, at 17, has no intention of being seen as less, and in addition to working so hard at school to ensure she gets the scholarship which will see her finally leave to go to college, she has been in charge of the household since her father died when she was 14. Her momma never really recovered her health and is seemingly incapable of working – so it falls to Rayna.

Then her beloved maths teacher, and best friend – Charlie Followill – becomes her mother's boyfriend, fiancé, and soon-to-be husband... this riles up Rayna inside so much... yet she would never deny her mother anything. This dichotomy is described with such power and vehemence it is impossible to stop reading. I loved that Rayna is both old and wise beyond her years, but then also wonderfully naive and young. It rang so true, and many of us will identify with parts of her thoughts.

There is an amazing tension which exists from the very beginning, and unsettles, and makes one curious, possibly a little confused, and definitely expectant... just go read it and find out why!

Give me book two... NOW!

 

 

ERICA CHILSON does not write in the 3rd person, wanting her readers to be her characters. Therefore, writing a bio about herself, is uncomfortable in the extreme.

Born, raised, and here to stay, the Wicked Writer is a stump-jumper, a ridge-runner. Hailing from North Central Pennsylvania, directly on the New York State border; she loves the changes in seasons, the humid air, all the mountainous forest, and the gloomy atmosphere.

Introverted, but not socially awkward, Erica prides herself on thinking first and filtering her speech. There are days she doesn’t speak at all. If it wasn’t for the fact that she lives with her parents, giving her a sense of reality, she would be a hermit, where the delivery man finds her months after expiration.

Reading was an escape, a way to leave a not-so pleasant reality behind. Reading lent Erica the courage she gathered from the characters between the pages to long for a different life. Writing was an instrument of change, evolving Erica into the woman she is today – a better, more mature, more at peace thinker.

Erica has a wicked mind, one she pours out into her creations. Her filter doesn’t allow all of it to erupt, much to her relief. Sarcastic, with a very dark, perverse sense of humor, Erica puts a bit of herself into every character she writes.

Connect with Erica Chilson

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads
Facebook Group: M&M of Restraint

 

 

Hosted by

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Followill (Followill #1) by Erica Chilson to read and review.

Heated by Naima Simone

From USA Today bestselling author Naima Simone comes Heated, a sizzling novel about a breakup professional who embarks on a fake relationship with a client’s ex—the one person she wasn’t supposed to fall for.

Zora

I’m Denver’s unmatchmaker. Every city needs one.

Why? Because people break up—and sometimes they should. But when I learn that entertainment attorney Cyrus Hart is someone else’s mistake, I can’t believe it. He’s smart, successful, and sexy as hell.

When a chance encounter with Cyrus turns into something more, I can’t help but fall for him. Our chemistry is undeniable. But his ex used my company to send him that letter—and that’s a problem. Especially since he doesn’t know I own the company.

How can this possibly work? I know from experience that the riskiest ventures are the worthiest ones… but falling for Cyrus Hart may be my biggest gamble yet.

Cyrus

I’m a man with a plan—college, law school, a great career. So far, so good.

Until a stranger shows up on my doorstep and reads me a breakup letter from my girlfriend. My carefully laid plans unravel.

But then I meet someone new. It’s spontaneous. It’s electric. And it’s not according to plan.

 

 

Book 1
Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Audiobook (US)  ~  Paperback (US)
~ Also Available with KindleUnlimited ~

 

 

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆
This is the first book in a new series, by a new-to-me author. It had a lot to commend it, although in places there was too much visual scene setting, and I am not a huge fan of overly descriptive writing. Both Zora and Cyrus were complex characters, and their layers were built up over the story in a way which by the end made a lot of sense.

The underlying plot of Zora and her siblings running a business which specialises in ending relationships for people was imaginative and engaging. It showed the serious side of helping people out of abusive relationships, as well as inconvenient ones. And provided a very original meet-cute for the leads. I am curious as to how Miriam and Levi will get their chances in future installments, as they are very different individuals!

I found it difficult to believe that Cyrus and Zora had much chemistry, and so that added to the stiltedness of their early encounters, but their understanding of each other's needs did develop, and they grew as people too. A clever turn around for two pretty jaded individuals!

 

 

Published since 2009, USA Today bestselling author NAIMA SIMONE loves writing sizzling romances with heart, a touch of humor, and snark. Her books have been featured in the Washington Post and Entertainment Weekly and have been described as balancing “crackling, electric love scenes with exquisitely rendered characters caught in emotional turmoil.”

She is wife to Superman—or his non-Kryptonian, less-bulletproof equivalent—and mother to the most awesome kids ever. They all live in perfect, sometimes domestically challenged bliss in the southern United States.

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Heated (Burned, Inc. #1) by Naima Simone to read and review.