Title: The Man Next Door
Author: Roya Carmen
Genre: Romance Suspense
Release Date: May 21, 2020
I was just a girl, a young neglected girl with issues. I was a mess. A mess he wanted nothing to do with. He knew better. But I certainly didn’t. All I knew was that I liked what I saw.
I grew up in small town Michigan, raised by a single alcoholic father and two older brothers who never gave me the time of day. All I had were my best friends, Izzie and Gavin, a reclusive broken man, ten years my senior. My father forbade me to see him, but I didn’t listen. I was crazy about him and he adored me. Even when our small community was rocked by a heinous crime and Gavin was the main suspect, I still loved him.
When tragedy struck, I finally escaped. As far away as I could.
I’ve been in Chicago ever since, trying to forget all about my past. Yet, I find myself still thinking about my past, about Gavin and Izzie, about my other life. I’m not truly living anymore, just going through the motions. Until…
Noah Reed. My new neighbor. Beautiful, sweet and intoxicating. There’s something about him I just can’t put my finger on. He’s the first man since Gavin I truly let myself fall for. I think he might be the one. Until…
… the day I discover his secret.
“I absolutely loved 'The Man Next Door'. It is a fantastic story and really original.” - Louise
“Wow! This was steamier than I thought it would be.” - Angela
“I couldn't put it down. You outdid yourself. The characters and story are perfectly developed, all of them, from main characters to supporting characters. This is the best one you have written so far.” - Melissa
Roya Carmen is a busy mom, romance writer, designer, bookworm, chocoholic, and hopeless romantic. There’s nothing she enjoys more than making up stories about love, and sharing them with her readers.
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Have you ever read a romance that catches you so off guard with how fucked up the hero is that the only reason you don't put it down is because you have to see how in the world the author is possibly going to redeem him?
That's exactly what happened to me with Untouchable by Sam Mariano! I was almost certain I would wind up dnfing it, but thankfully, I kept on reading.
It's certainly not a book for everyone, but if you're a new adult, dark romance fan, I recommend you give it a try!
Holy fucking shit! That's what I thought as I read the beginning of Untouchable by Sam Mariano. The first scene between the main characters, Carter and Zoey, is more than just uncomfortable. It's sick, twisted, and fucked up on a level I've never seen in a book about high school students. In fact, the entire book is.
I'm not going to lie or sugarcoat this. If you have ever read a book and disliked it, because you thought the hero was abusive or the couple's relationship was toxic, back away slowly now. No. Fuck that. Run! Run away and never look back! I'm serious. Don't even bother picking up this book. You will hate it. I think anyone that reads this and wants to enjoy it has to be extremely curious, open minded, and/or love dark, fucked up relationships.
The purpose of this review is not to scare every reader away. Normally, I don't do much warning in reviews at all. I just feel like this one needs it though. It's better to find out if a book is going to be a huge bust for you before you dive into it if you can help it. It's also better for the author.
Basically, this story has the potential to piss a lot of people off. That's just a fact. The author knew that when she wrote it. She has a warning in the beginning of the book itself, so I don't feel bad expressing this now. Now that we've got that out of the way, let's get into my thoughts on this one!
I've read a lot of Sam Mariano's previous work. It's clear she loves her asshole alpha heroes. I love them, too. It's probably a big part of why I've enjoyed all of her books in the past. She also has a knack for writing characters that you can both love and hate at the same time. I've never seen an author do this the way she does. She's kind of fucking brilliant in that way actually.
However, when I started reading this book, I didn't think she could get me to read past chapter 2. What Carter does to Zoey is absolutely disgusting and flat out unforgivable. There's no two ways about it.
I whole heartedly believe there was nothing Sam could do to completely redeem him to me. That's the thing about her though. She almost never completely redeems her characters (at least the ones I've read about). It's that simple. What she does is finds heroines that are perfect for them just the way they are, and that's exaclty what she did here.
Not only did I read past chapter 2, I read almost the whole damn book in one night! It's over 500 pages! Her writing style sucked me in completely. The interactions between the characters are just so interesting that I couldn't stop reading. I had to know where the author was going to take the story after all of the horrible shit that happened between them in the beginning of the book. Obviously, I knew they were going to probably end up together. I mean, this is romance after all. Exactly how the fuck that was going to happen was what kept me intrigued.
Both characters infuriated me time and time again, but after a while, no matter how fucked up and wrong it was....I wanted them to end up together. That being said, I wish Carter would have been more sorry for what he did. Hell, I wish Zoey would have lit his house on fire with him in it instead of starting a relationship, but neither one of those things happened. Thankfully, Sam found another way for things to end that left me feeling satisfied.
In the end, Zoey and Carter are perfect for one another. She is just strong enough and crazy enough to challenge him, keep his interest, and deal with his emotional issues. He is morally challenged, emotionally scarred, and messed up enough mentally to peak her academic interest and tug at her heart strings. On top of that, they are sexually compatible in every way.
Their intense chemistry made for some scorching hot sex scenes! Overall, it's a match made in crazy town, but by the end, I was cool with it. Both parties understood what they were getting into and were truly happy.
Bottomline, I enjoyed this book despite the fact that I think Zoey is insane for forgiving him and attempting any type of relationship academic or otherwise. In real life, I would never be okay with this type of relationship, but lucky for me, this is fiction.
One of the things I love about fiction is that it has different rules than we do in the real world. Not every story has to have a moral or an inspirational message. Some stories are just for fun, to make you think, to explore unique situations and complicated characters, or to make your panties wet from laughing or because it's hot af. This is one of those books, and I enjoyed reading it.
I recommend this to readers of dark and extremely unconventional romance with damaged characters and anyone that isn't concerned about my warning, the author's warning, or warnings in general.
Before you go, here's a little taste of Carter and Zoey for you to enjoy!
Excerpt
That's exactly what happened to me with Untouchable by Sam Mariano! I was almost certain I would wind up dnfing it, but thankfully, I kept on reading.
I have a lot of thoughts on this book, and I don't think I can do a better job of expressing them than I did in my review.
It took me a lot of time, but I think I finally got it right.
This review is actually one of my favorites I've ever written, so I thought it would be the perfect one to post for Freaky Friday Flashback!
I'm not going to lie or sugarcoat this. If you have ever read a book and disliked it, because you thought the hero was abusive or the couple's relationship was toxic, back away slowly now. No. Fuck that. Run! Run away and never look back! I'm serious. Don't even bother picking up this book. You will hate it. I think anyone that reads this and wants to enjoy it has to be extremely curious, open minded, and/or love dark, fucked up relationships.
The purpose of this review is not to scare every reader away. Normally, I don't do much warning in reviews at all. I just feel like this one needs it though. It's better to find out if a book is going to be a huge bust for you before you dive into it if you can help it. It's also better for the author.
Basically, this story has the potential to piss a lot of people off. That's just a fact. The author knew that when she wrote it. She has a warning in the beginning of the book itself, so I don't feel bad expressing this now. Now that we've got that out of the way, let's get into my thoughts on this one!
I've read a lot of Sam Mariano's previous work. It's clear she loves her asshole alpha heroes. I love them, too. It's probably a big part of why I've enjoyed all of her books in the past. She also has a knack for writing characters that you can both love and hate at the same time. I've never seen an author do this the way she does. She's kind of fucking brilliant in that way actually.
However, when I started reading this book, I didn't think she could get me to read past chapter 2. What Carter does to Zoey is absolutely disgusting and flat out unforgivable. There's no two ways about it.
I whole heartedly believe there was nothing Sam could do to completely redeem him to me. That's the thing about her though. She almost never completely redeems her characters (at least the ones I've read about). It's that simple. What she does is finds heroines that are perfect for them just the way they are, and that's exaclty what she did here.
Not only did I read past chapter 2, I read almost the whole damn book in one night! It's over 500 pages! Her writing style sucked me in completely. The interactions between the characters are just so interesting that I couldn't stop reading. I had to know where the author was going to take the story after all of the horrible shit that happened between them in the beginning of the book. Obviously, I knew they were going to probably end up together. I mean, this is romance after all. Exactly how the fuck that was going to happen was what kept me intrigued.
Both characters infuriated me time and time again, but after a while, no matter how fucked up and wrong it was....I wanted them to end up together. That being said, I wish Carter would have been more sorry for what he did. Hell, I wish Zoey would have lit his house on fire with him in it instead of starting a relationship, but neither one of those things happened. Thankfully, Sam found another way for things to end that left me feeling satisfied.
In the end, Zoey and Carter are perfect for one another. She is just strong enough and crazy enough to challenge him, keep his interest, and deal with his emotional issues. He is morally challenged, emotionally scarred, and messed up enough mentally to peak her academic interest and tug at her heart strings. On top of that, they are sexually compatible in every way.
Their intense chemistry made for some scorching hot sex scenes! Overall, it's a match made in crazy town, but by the end, I was cool with it. Both parties understood what they were getting into and were truly happy.
Bottomline, I enjoyed this book despite the fact that I think Zoey is insane for forgiving him and attempting any type of relationship academic or otherwise. In real life, I would never be okay with this type of relationship, but lucky for me, this is fiction.
One of the things I love about fiction is that it has different rules than we do in the real world. Not every story has to have a moral or an inspirational message. Some stories are just for fun, to make you think, to explore unique situations and complicated characters, or to make your panties wet from laughing or because it's hot af. This is one of those books, and I enjoyed reading it.
I recommend this to readers of dark and extremely unconventional romance with damaged characters and anyone that isn't concerned about my warning, the author's warning, or warnings in general.
Before you go, here's a little taste of Carter and Zoey for you to enjoy!
Carter smirks, catching me around the waist and pressing me up against his car. “One small flaw in your plan, princess.”
I let him smash me against the warm metal at my back. Holding his gaze as he leans in until our chests are touching, I ask, “Oh yeah? What’s that?”
“If no one else is paying my dick any attention, I’ll make you pick up the slack.”
It shouldn’t send a thrill through me when he tells me he’d ‘make me,’ because he’s him, and I know he actually would. He seems to have twisted something in my brain though, because instead of wanting to push him away for saying something so perverse, I want to hook my leg around his hip and draw him closer. I want to spread my thighs and feel his heat between them. I want to play with him, egg him on, tell him to go on and do it, then.
But I can’t, because I really do need to get to class.
“Maybe that was my diabolical plan all along,” I tease.
“Maybe it was.” Carter smiles, dragging the back of his hand along the curve of my jaw. “Well played, Ellis. I hope you read the fine print, though. Now you’ve locked yourself inside a cage with the beast.”
“That’s okay,” I joke, just before his lips brush mine. “I’ve got thick skin, and I’m beginning to like when you nibble on me.”
Did you enjoy Untouchable by Sam Mariano?
Do you have any recs for me with twisted heroes or stories you've enjoyed that make you question your sanity?
If so, leave them below in the comments! I would be happy to check them out!
Happy Hump Day, Chatterbabes!
I decided to try something new this week by participating in WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words!
It's all about the three W's!
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Hard to Handle, book one in the Hard series, an all new series of standalone books by New York Times bestselling author, K, Bromberg, is coming June 30, 2020!
Cover Designer: Helen Williams
Cover Photographer: Rafa G. Catala
Model: Emilio Alcaraz
At first, the request seemed simple—sign a new athlete to the agency.
Then I found out the new athlete was none other than the most wanted man in hockey today: Hunter Maddox
Gifted. Sexy. At the top of his game. And the only man who has ever broken my heart.
If signing him will help save our family business, I’ll swallow my pride and do what’s asked.
But when it becomes clear his uncharacteristic antics off the ice are a hint of something deeper, keeping things strictly professional between us becomes more than complicated.
But I know better than to cross that line.
I’ll never date a client. Not even for him.
***
Win the Stanley Cup and do it before time runs out.
Not a small feat, but it’s what’s motivated me since the start of my career.
And time is running out.
Enter Dekker Kincade.
Feisty. Dogged. Damn gorgeous. The one I let get away.
I have no idea why she’s traveling with the team, but hell if resisting her is going to be easy.
But I have a job to do, and I refuse to lose sight of that end game. Even if she confuses me. Even if she sees parts of me I’ve hidden from the world.
I can’t lose focus. Not even for her.
Pre-order today!
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3glG6vM
Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/HardtoHandleKB
Apple Books: https://apple.co/3d3h9TK
Nook: https://bit.ly/2M0Vqjr
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3bZhDZO
Google Play: https://bit.ly/36uLzf8
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2LWC3YW
💥EXCERPT REVEAL!💥
Take a peek inside UNORTHODOX (Sick Love Duet #1), Max and Addison’s twisted, hot, burning story full of blood and crime by Author K.V Rose, coming June 9th!.
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