Everly (Striking Back #1) by S.M. Shade
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#New_Adult, #Contemporary, #Romance
The first time I met Mason Reed, we were standing naked in a bank, surrounded by guns. That should have been a warning. An MMA champion, trainer, and philanthropist, but not a man who gives up easily, Mason is trouble dipped in ink and covered in muscle. Growing up in foster care, I'm well aware that relationships are temporary, and I do my best to avoid them. After a sheet clenching one night stand, I'm happy to move on, but Mason pursues me relentlessly. Sweet, caring, protective, and at times, a bossy control freak, this persistent man has climbed inside my heart, and I can’t seem to shake him. After saving me from a life threatening situation, he’s also won something much harder to obtain. My trust. But does he deserve it? Is his true face the one he shows the world? Or is his charitable, loving manner only a thin veneer? This book contains sexual situations and is intended for ages 18 and older.
4 out of 5 (very good)
Independent Reviewer for Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Everly has lived a life without parents and in the system, from home to home until she got put into a group home to age out of the system. She was lucky enough to have inherited enough money so she doesn’t have to work so she uses her time and talents to volunteer in a Women’s shelter for battered and abused women and in a children’s home. She has a past that leaves her untrusting of a new relationship. Mason comes storming into her life and plans to be the one to change that. He has secrets in his past as well as in the present that make it nearly impossible to trust him. Can Mason and Everly move past the secrets and have something positive blossom from it? What will happen when their relationship is put to the ultimate test?
This was an interesting book. The Alpha male lead character is written incredibly well, he is hot, sexy, and possessive! Who couldn’t love that? The female lead character wasn’t necessarily my favorite character. She doesn’t trust anyone, but part of that is to be expected with her past. The part I think that maybe bugs me the most is anytime anything happens that is negative involving Mason, she automatically assumes the worst. This was a continuing trend through the book, it never got any better.
The author does a great job evoking a number of different emotions from me as I read though. There were times when I would smile and laugh, times when I would sigh, and other times when I would be angry or annoyed. There are some great suspenseful, sit on the edge of your seat, moments that will keep you reading. There were some seriously great scenes throughout this book that were so descriptive that it was easy to close your eyes and vision the scene that was being read. I loved this aspect.
The book ends in somewhat of a cliffhanger. It will make you want to read book two as it did me. I can’t wait to see what the author has in store for Everly and Mason in book two. I’m definitely hoping for a HEA! Go pick up a copy and see what you think!
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
S. M. Shade is a homeschooling mom hopelessly addicted to Dr. Pepper, love stories, sunshine, and men with full sexy lips, though not necessarily in that order. A voracious reader since sounding out her first word, she started writing as a teenager and rediscovered her love of writing as an adult. Originally from Indianapolis, she now lives in a small Kentucky town with her teenage son.