ARC Review: Down Shift (Driven #8) by K Bromberg

The review as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: October 4, 2016
Publisher: Signet
416 Pages

The New York Times bestselling Driven series continues with a standalone story about finding love where you least expect it…
 
Behind the wheel, racing champion Zander Donavan is at the top of his game. But after too much excess in his personal life, he’s forced to step away. He needs to accomplish something all on his own—outside of his famous father’s shadow. 

Getty Caster is running away from the abuse that clouds her past. She thinks she’s found the perfect escape—until she discovers a stranger in the beachside cottage she’d been promised. He’s undeniably sexy, but she’s there to heal. Alone.

Before long though, fighting with each other turns into fighting their attraction. And giving into desire sets off a chain reaction that has their pasts colliding. With an unexpected love on the line, can they overcome the fallout to build a future?

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I've only read a total of, I think, 3 books from this series, but I've enjoyed them all. Down Shift surprised me. While reading the first few chapters I wasn't quite sure I would like it all that much and then the story broke and we got to the heart of the journey and I was sucked in.

"Just jump"

 

From what I've gathered, Zander is from the first book in the series. Since I started on book 5, I didn't have the pleasure of meeting Zander when he was a kid. When I met him, he was an angry young man having just uncovered some horrible truths about his childhood that his own mind had locked away. My first impression was not a kind one. Here was a man throwing away his career and family over anger. He chose not too talk about it, to find the truth in the lies, but instead lost sponsors and was fired from his racing team - by his own father. 

We then jump to Getty. A very timid and cautious young woman hiding out on a coastal island. What she's running from we don't know yet. She's the complete opposite of Zander's harshness. She's working at a local bar and staying at a cottage owned by an old friend of her mothers when she suddenly gets an unexpected houseguest - Zander.Both having been told they could stay there - one from the wife and one from the husband- they must learn how to live together with their secrets.

 

One thing that I do like from Bromberg is nothing is instantaneous. Yes, there's attraction - but attraction happens instantly. Relationships need to be built, both friendship and more, and Bromberg recognizes this. Especially with two characters who have such messed up pasts. They begin as just two people cohabiting, then slowly a friendship emerges, trust is built until suddenly there are stronger feelings. But as we all know, with these stronger feelings comes more problems. 

Getty's past catches up with her forcing her to finally stand up to the people who held her down. With Zander's help, she's able to see that it wasn't all in her head and she had a good reason for running. I really liked how Zander didn't swoop in and make everything all right, instead he helped her become string enough to stand on her own. In return, Getty showed Zander that it's ok to be vulnerable and that sometimes the past isn't what we thought it was. Letting go and moving forward, while it may be hard, is the best thing to do. 

A story about coming to terms with the past and moving ahead toward the future. Down Shift is drama, pain, and sweetness all rolled into one. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

ARC Review: Sweet Ache (Driven #6) by K. Bromberg

The blurb as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: June 2, 2015
Publisher: Signet
400 Pages

The New York Times bestselling author of Slow Burn turns up the heat when a sexy bet turns into so much more…

Hawkin Play, the bad boy rock star with a good guy heart, has lived a lifetime of cleaning up after his twin brother’s mistakes. Hunter’s most recent screw-up could land Hawke in jail and risk the band’s future. Hawke agrees to guest lecture at a local college to stay in the judge’s good graces—and a bet with his bandmate to seduce his sexy teaching assistant is icing on the cake.

Quinlan Westin is harder to bed than Hawke imagined. She knows his type and is determined to avoid the rocker at all costs—even if their attraction runs deeper than simple lust.

Just as Hawke might finally be winning over the girl, his brother has other plans. When Hunter realizes his twin finally has a weakness, he’ll stop at nothing to take advantage…

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 Ok, not going to lie, I didn't go into this book with very high hopes. I had only read Slow Burn (Driven #5) by Bromberg and I wasn't too impressed. But holy crap, by the end of the first chapter, I knew I was going to love this one. 

Rock star Hawkin Play meets his match in Quinlan Westin and their romance just burns through the pages. Talk about hot! The chemistry between these two was just off the charts. From the moment they meet, when Hawkin finds out that Quin is his TA for a college class where he's a quest lecturer, there's instant spark. Quin seems immune to the charms of this known playboy and Hawkin is not used to being told no. After she turns him down once, Hawkin makes a bet with his fellow bandmate that he'll get Quin in bed before the semester is done. 

I think it's important to make every moment count.

Hawkin is your typical rockstar - mostly. He loves his job, he loves women and he loves to party. But there's a darkness to him that comes in the form of his twin brother. Constantly trying to hold onto a promise he made his late father, Hawkin finds himself once again bailing his brother out. Only this time, it could end up costing him his career and freedom. 

Quin is tired of picking the wrong man. While she doesn't mind the occasional hookup, she realizes that she wants more. Seeing her wayward brother finally settled has her wanting that. When she meets Hawkin, she knows he's not the one to settle with, but she's inexplicably drawn to him. She knows he's hiding something and it's something she thinks is worth sticking around for.

 

Aside from their chemistry just being off the charts, Bromberg spends time building up their friendship. You can see almost instantly why these two are drawn to each other and you can almost pinpoint the exact moment when Quin becomes more than a bet. While the sex scenes were very steamy, my favorite parts were seeing how seamlessly Quin fit in with Hawkin's bandmates. She just fit and his bands reactions to her were great. 

This book was steamy, sweet, and humorous. There was also an underlying story about wanting to belong and the true meaning of family. If you're looking for a hot summer read, look no further. Sweet Ache is for you.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Slow Burn (Driven #5) by K Bromberg

The review as seen on Goodreads:
Release Date: February 25, 2015
Publisher: Signet
400 Pages

From the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Driven series. 

One Night. That's all it was supposed to be.

Reeling from the sudden loss of her sister, Haddie Montgomery has sworn off relationships. All she wanted from Beckett Daniels was a sexy distraction to help her escape her pain for just a little while....There weren’t supposed to be any strings attached—so why can’t she shake the memory of that unforgettable night from her thoughts? Or the taste of his kiss from her lips?

No matter how hard Haddie tries to forget about him, Becks relentlessly tries to prove that she should start living for today. But she is determined to avoid romantic commitment, and she can always use her ex-boyfriend’s reappearance to help snuff out the slow burn within her that Becks has sparked....

Or will fate force her to realize that this kind of connection doesn’t come along very often and a chance at love is worth the risk?

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Hello, my name is Jenn and I like to start books in the middle of the series. I just can't seem to stop. Luckily, there are a lot of series now that don't require you to have read the entire collection. This was one of them and also my first from this author.

Haddie is not dealing well after the loss of her sister and the story begins with our main character at her friends wedding, getting trashed and just looking to get laid. Enter Becks, a mutual friend, who has been interested in Haddie for some time. He convinces her that a one night stand is not a good idea and for this one time, she agrees. But Becks has no willpower and eventually caves to Haddie's whim, only to find that one night is not enough.

I felt for Haddie, I really did. Losing a family member to cancer is something that is personal to me and to a lot of people unfortunately. What I didn't understand is how she just kind of gave up on her life. There's living in the moment, and then there's just being plain ridiculous. Her fear that what happened to her sister would happen to her plagues Haddie throughout the book. Even seeing the love her sister left behind, Haddie still couldn't understand why she needed more than no-strings attached.

As the story progressed, I kept getting more and more frustrated with Haddie. The relationship with her ex and how she just let him live with her. I mean, come on, it was obvious to everyone what he really wanted! But the kicker was when a serious medical issue comes up and she keeps it from everybody - including her best friend. That doesn't make you strong. Suffering in silence doesn't make you a better person to your friends. Ugh, sorry, it just really bothered me how she would complain about no one being there for her but they had no idea what was going on!

And then there was Becks. He was good. He dealt with Haddie's bullshit a lot longer than most would have, but he also wasn't this 'boy next door' that the author described him as. He had a temper and said things in anger that were extremely harsh. There were almost two different Becks and who knows which one you were going to get.

Finally, there was the relationship between the two. So much volleying back and forth. One minute they were good, then everything was hell, then it was good again. The chemistry was on fire in the beginning but then seemed to get lost. It was hard to see why they wanted to be together.

Overall, I didn't dislike it but I didn't love it. Others have told me to read Driven and swear I'll fall in love with Colton. I'm willing to give that a chance. I liked the way Bromberg wrote, I just didn't connect greatly with these characters.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.