Hard Ever After (Hard Ink #4.6), by Laura Kaye

Format: e-book, 176 pages

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: February 2, 2016

Genre: Contemporary romance

Back cover blurb: Justice served. Honor restored. Team reunited. 

After a long battle to discover the truth, the men and women of Hard Ink have a lot to celebrate, especially the wedding of two of their own—Nick Rixey and Becca Merritt, whose hard-fought love deserves a happy ending.

As Nick and the team shift from crisis mode to building their new security consulting firm, Becca heads back to work at the ER. But amid the everyday chaos of demanding jobs and their upcoming nuptials, an old menace they thought long gone reemerges, threatening the peace they’ve only just found.

Now, for one last time, Nick and Becca must fight for their always and forever, because they know that when true love overcomes all the odds it lasts hard ever after.

My review: Nice ending to the series that wraps up a major loose end and sees Becca and Nick tie the knot. My only gripe is those cover models are NOT how I pictured them.

My rating: 4/5

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Rock Redemption (Rock Kiss #3), by Nalini Singh

Format: e-ARC, 349 pages

Publisher: TKA Distribution

Published: October 6, 2015

ISBN: 9781942356325

Genre: Romance

Back cover blurb: From New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh comes the next contemporary romance in the Rock Kiss series…

Kit Devigny could have loved rock guitarist Noah St. John. Their friendship burned with the promise of intense passion and searing tenderness…until the night Noah deliberately shattered her heart.

Noah knows he destroyed something precious the night he chose to betray Kit, but he’d rather she hate him than learn his darkest secret. All he has left is his music. It’s his saving grace, but it doesn’t silence the voices that keep him up at night. Chasing oblivion through endless one-night-stands, he earns a few hours’ sleep and his bad boy reputation.

When a media error sees Noah and Kit dubbed the new “it” couple, Kit discovers her chance at the role of a lifetime hinges on riding the media wave. Wanting—needing—to give Kit this, even if he can’t give her everything, Noah agrees to play the adoring boyfriend. Only the illusion is suddenly too real, too painful, too beautiful…and it may be too late for the redemption of Noah St. John.

My review: Some people will have a problem with this book – there is cheating of a sort and the hero is a bit of an ass a lot of the time. However, I really enjoyed the story and the writing, which drew me in to Noah and Kit’s freinds-to-lovers story. The trauma of Noah’s childhood was not revealed until very late in the book and this mystery was very intriguing, unlike Kit’s stalker who was easy to pick – I did so from the first mention of them in the story. Kit had the patience of a saint and I enjoyed her a lot more than I expected. Abe and Sarah’s story next should be interesting.

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

My rating: 4/5

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Hard To Let Go (Hard Ink #4), by Laura Kaye

Format: Audible audiobook, 11 hours and 53 minutes, narrated by Seraphine Valentine

Publisher: Harper Audio

Published: June 30, 2015

Genre: Contemporary romance

Back cover blurb: Five dishonored soldiers.
Former Special Forces.
One last mission.
These are the men of Hard Ink.

Beckett Murda hates to dwell on the past. But his investigation into the ambush that killed half his Special Forces team and ended his Army career gives him little choice. Just when his team learns how powerful their enemies are, hard-ass Beckett encounters the biggest complication yet—seductive, feisty Katherine Rixey.

A tough, stubborn prosecutor, Kat visits her brothers’ Hard Ink Tattoo following a bad break-up—and finds herself staring down the barrel of a stranger’s gun. Beckett is hard-bodied and sexy as hell, but he’s also the most infuriating man ever. Worse, Kat’s brothers are at war with criminals her office is investigating. When Kat joins the fight, she lands straight in Beckett’s sights—and his arms. Not to mention their enemies’ crosshairs.

Now Beckett and Kat must set aside their differences to work together, because the only thing sweeter than justice is finding love and never letting go.

My review: A great ending to the series. I can’t say I had as much love for Beckett as some of the others going in to this book, which maybe is reflected in my rating, but I liked Kat and really enjoyed this action-packed story. The timeframe is ridiculously short for all of these men to fall in love – three weeks overall – which also grates with me a little. But I love Laura Kaye and am keen to get started on the Raven Riders series. Hopefully we’ll see more of Rixey and his crew there.

My rating: 4/5

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