Thursday, July 30, 2015

review || RELEASE ME { blog tour } by Ann Marie Walker & Amy K. Rogers


Berkley/InterMix | July 21, 2015 | Contemporary Romance
Chasing Fire, book 2
★★★★1/2


SOURCE: TASTY BOOK TOURS 

The second in the "seriously sexy and sinfully steamy"* Chasing Fire series, about a pain too deep to forgive and a passion too hot to forget...

Alessandra Sinclair knows that Hudson Chase is the last man she should want. The boy from the wrong side of the tracks has grown into a man who would do anything to get ahead, even if it means breaking Allie's heart. But whenever she's near him, the attraction between them is undeniable. And now that they're working together, keeping her distance from Hudson is almost as impossible as keeping her feelings in check...

Hudson already lost Allie once and he refuses to lose her again. He's determined to use their new business partnership to rekindle the spark he knows is still there. Only the closer he gets to winning her over, the clearer it becomes there are still secrets that could tear them apart for good...
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{ about ann marie walker & amy k. rogers } .


Though thousands of miles apart, Ann Marie Walker and Amy K. Rogers are in constant contact, plotting story lines and chatting about their love of alpha males, lemon drop martinis and British supermodel, David Gandy. You can find them on twitter as @AnnMarie_Walker and @Amy_KRogers.






Ann Marie's Social Media


Amy's Social Media





{ excerpt } .

“We need to talk.” With a quick movement Hudson punched a card into the control panel and the elevator jerked to a halt.

Allie’s eyes darted to the panel and her spine straightened. “We talked at the gallery.”

“That wasn’t a conversation.” More like verbal sparring.

“I said all I needed to say.” She appeared to be completely composed, but Hudson could see the rise and fall of her chest, the white-knuckle grip on her bag.

“You may have unloaded, but hell if I have. And no matter what it takes you’re going to hear me out. Even if it means keeping this godforsaken elevator stopped all fucking day.” He tried to remind himself that anger would get him nowhere. Calm, levelheaded domination was the key to pressing the advantage, except he was way past that. With her he felt like he was gripping sand and every grain was slipping through his fingers.

“Stop trying to control me, Hudson.” Allie turned and lifted her chin. The anger was gone and in its place was a mask of complete indifference. Goddamn, it shredded him. He’d take anger over apathy any day.

He took a deep breath. She was going to ride this facade like the Macy’s Day Parade, marching through their little exchange as if they were nothing more than business partners forced into a resentful coexistence. He had to get her to drop her guard, to let him in. And if pissing her off was what it took to incite a reaction, then so be it.

“It’s never been that way between us and you know it, Alessandra.” Hudson flashed a slight smirk as he prepared to drop the H-bomb. “Well, except for the bedroom. And if memory serves, you enjoyed it.”

He braced himself, expecting a slap to light his face on fire, but instead her eyes dilated and fixated on his mouth. Her lips parted and her breath quickened. He had her. No matter how unaffected she pretended to be, she couldn’t help but respond to him. And the longer they stood mere inches apart, the more desire took over and became a downright menace.

Never one to miss an opportunity, Hudson reassessed on the fly. He stepped closer and his voice dropped to a low, seductive murmur. “Is that what it will take for you to hear me out?” He swept a hand across her collarbone and up the side of her neck. “You, tied to my bed?”

{ review } .

Ah, back in the world of Hudson and Allie.

These two... they have frustrated me again and again, but I found myself falling more and more in love with them in this second installment of Amy & Ann Marie's CHASING FIRE series. When we left off, Allie had walked away from Hudson after learning that he essentially went after her, an engaged woman, to secure placement in her father's company -- or so it seemed on the surface.

Hudson has been in love with Allie for years, and the very last thing he wanted was for her to feel betrayed by him. He fights hard to get her to see his truths, but eventually he realizes that it could be a case of too little, too late, and steps back and away.

"And now I feel like I've lost a piece of my fucking soul."

It takes Allie's best friend, Harper, to get her to see that maybe, just maybe, things aren't always what they seem.

A family tragedy puts Allie in a position she didn't really want, and it makes her grow more as a character -- we get to watch her learn to accept herself, fight for herself, and truly believe in herself. Granted, Hudson will help out with that bill, but truly it's Allie who does the majority of the work.


With a high share hold of Allie's company, Hudson makes it hard for Allie to ignore him. Even when he realizes that he needs to step back and try to let her go, he still stands up for her in a sea of upset colleagues.

"I hate  you," she whispered. Her words were venom but they lacked conviction. Her hands flattened against his chest and her biceps tensed as if she were going to push him away, but instead her fingers curled around the fine fabric of his suit jacket, holding him in place.

Hudson took a deep breath through his nose. His heart pounded, pumping adrenaline through his body. "You wish you did..."

When reading book one, REMIND ME, I wasn't the biggest fan of either Hudson or Allie. I found Hudson to be an ass for the first chunk of the story, and thought Allie was weak. I didn't like how she didn't stand up for herself, how she pretty much allowed herself to be her family's pawn. Both of these characters had growth in the previous story, but I felt that their characterization was more well written this go-around.

However.

The drama doesn't stop just because they've finally come to terms with their feelings. Just when you think that they've moved past it all and are on their way to happily ever after, trust becomes a new theme. Gotta have something to get the reader into book three ;)


{ previous reviews in series } .

REMIND ME review } 4

{ giveaway } .

2 comments:

  1. I own the first in this series and read just a bit of it. I didn't finish it, but it was more because I was coming out of a romance binge and craving something else. I will have to go back to it for sure!

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