Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Craving

Jade Roberts was originally set to get married, but when her fiancé left her at the altar, it was time to get away and start fresh. With an offer from her best friend, Majorie, to come out to Colorado to her family’s ranch, it seemed like just the perfect place for Jade . Upon arriving Jade was face to face with one of Marjorie’s older brother’s, the one she had never met, but heard of, Talon Steel. Talon was all tall, dark, and ruggedly handsome with his incredible physique thanks to years working on his family’s ranch and being a former Marine. This story had best friend’s brother, cowboy romance, a bit of darkness to it, but equally fantastic steamy spice, tension, and a whole lot of Talon and Jade wanting each other badly.

Right away, I was easily fascinated by the story. With Jade’s sweet and kind demeanor to Talon’s serious and blunt attitude, they were complete opposites, but that didn’t stop them from forming an attraction to one another. Jade was on the cusp of becoming an official lawyer waiting on her exam results so, in the meantime she moved to Majorie’s home in Colorado. Talon was the rough and tough former Marine cowboy who also lived in his family’s ranch home, putting him in a forced proximity situation with Jade. The instant lust trope came through with both Talon and Jade wanting each other, and yet, with Talon’s hesitation to let anyone in especially Jade, it added to the angst and sexual tension between them.

Talon was a guarded person by nature, but due to some underlying issues he went through, it was clear that Talon wasn’t going to let anyone in beyond the walls he created. For the first time, Talon felt this unexplainable feeling when he met Jade, she was the first woman to actually capture his attention, have him feeling emotions he never experienced with other women before, and most importantly he caught himself on multiple times considering letting her in, getting to know him more. With Talon’s point of view being included in the story, I was fully able to see just how much Talon was attracted to Jade, as well as see why he was determined to keep his distance from her. Like I said before, please check trigger warnings for this book as it mentioned some heavy stuff.

With a title such as, “Craving”, it was totally perfect to describe the insatiable desire Talon and Jade had for each other. Within the first few chapters, there was that tension between Jade and Talon even coupled with the surprise kisses that Talon would give Jade were hot and heavy. Once it got to sexy time… WHOA! The steamy passion that emanated from these pages weren’t short on the sex appeal nor the spicy scenes between Talon and Jade. Basically, if you want to read a book with lots of spice, this book is for you. This was the kind of book that just kept giving every chapter or so with some hot sexy moments! One minute, Jade and Talon were in the midst of a semi argument and yet, somehow they’d find themselves in the shower going at it again! Talk about the stamina! Even through all the spice, I loved seeing the bits of tenderness and vulnerability from Talon. Talon was usually use to wham, bam, boom getting his needs satisfied, but with Jade it was a whole new experience that was raw and deep. As much as Talon was originally convinced that getting Jade out of his system would solve his “problem” of being attracted to her, that man couldn’t even stop himself from constantly wanting her! Jade was like a siren to Talon, she called to him in a way that made him lose his mind, lose all his inhibitions, and frankly he just wanted her all to himself. Coupled with Talon’s alpha male personality and Jade’s surprisingly sassy attitude, they had their fair share of equally delicious sexy scenes together, and I was burning up just reading it! OMG! So, basically the spice was fantastic alongside the plot of the story.

As I mentioned earlier, this story did mention heavy topics so, it wasn’t a lighthearted story. The darker parts of the story reflected on a time from Talon’s past that greatly affected him, even to his days as an adult. Based on the flashbacks from Talon’s past, I gathered that he went through something horrific and my heart broke for him. As much as Talon seemed strong and stoic to others, inside he was hiding his fears and vulnerabilities from everyone. The only time Talon felt the need to seek help for his struggles was when Jade came into his life. That’s not to say Jade was the sole reason for Talon getting help, but she played a part in making Talon want to get help for himself, to work through the issues that had plagued him for so many years. Although, in the end, it seemed like the one therapy session was momentarily put on pause since other things were happening in the story.

Ok, with the way this book ended, you can’t blame me for one, wanting to know what happens next, and two, OMG! SERIOUSLY?! I knew something was about that certain individual towards the end of the book! Ugh! I NEED TO KNOW! With the cliffhanger, it’ll leave you with more questions and wanting more of Talon and Jade. This story caught me by surprise, but then again when I heard this story involved a ruggedly handsome cowboy, I said, “GIMMIE!” This was such an interesting story, but also a lot of spice that I was happily to read along lol. Jade and Talon’s story definitely isn’t over, this was just the beginning. This first book alone was highly addictive and I can only imagine with this whole series, I’ll be wanting to read all of them. This book wasn’t for the faint of heart, the heavy material mentioned in this book was heartbreaking and traumatic, so please be aware of trigger warnings before reading as this story was definitely not light hearted! All in all, this story was filled with lots of sexual tension, passion, obsession, best friend’s brother, a handsome/angsty cowboy with a dark, haunted past, and a young woman hoping to help the man she’s fallen for. Helen, you did a wonderful job in writing this story, and again I’m obsessed with Talon!

Content Warnings

multitaskingwithbecca's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

I was not really sure how to rate this book. I have read HH before and enjoyed it so I am not sure what I expected with this one but it wasn't what I got.

The relationship is toxic. This is a thing some people prefer to read and I can get past it, but there were big NOPE moments for me. The consent lines here were really muddled. There is one scene that I just can't seem to stop thinking about. It is where Jade repeatedly says no and to stop yet Talon continues to try until she physically strikes him and leaves. She still has relations with him later on even after that. Not bothered in the slightest. It isn't okay. There aren't any trigger warnings that I saw anywhere that prepare you for any of these things in the book either.

Then I also spent the entire book trying to figure out if we were dealing with actual demons or just his psychological ones. HH has written paranormal romance before so that added to me being unsure. This was something that was actually taking me out of the story because it was so unclear.

It all happened so fast too. I kind of wish it had started at the actual wedding where she was left at the altar. I feel like that would have helped us understand what she was going through a lot better. We are hearing about it but I am not really "seeing it". I mean she is essentially going straight into something else without properly dealing with what happened. It is almost like it didn't bother her at all. Not to mention it is stated that weeks have gone by since she got to the ranch, but the way it is written it seems like only a few days.

Don't get me wrong, I want to find out what happens next, but I did have some big issues with this.

It actually feels and reads more like a soap to me than anything else. Everything is so dramatized, rushed, and out there that it feels exactly like that. I enjoy soaps and I know you see more of these toxic relationships and connections there. So maybe that was the goal and I just seemed to have missed it. We shall see how I feel about the next one.

Content Warnings

peachani's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

A thoroughly unlikeable hero. He's undergone severe trauma, but he's also an ass. I can't understand why the heroine would want to be with him, other than thinking he's hot.

Content Warnings

megabethey_1's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

I am not a fan of this book just not my style. He is an ex marine with issues since childhood and it continues on throughout multiple books. Only read this one.

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