Title: Taming Cross
Author: Ella James
Series: Love Inc
Genre: NA Romantic Suspense
Book Description:
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE FROM BESTSELLING AUTHOR ELLA JAMES...
For twenty-three years, Cross Carlson was a playboy. You know the type. Tall, dark, and wealthy. Blue-eyed. Charming. He seemed to have it all so easy. But Cross was harboring a terrible secret - one that helped ruin the life of an innocent girl and almost ended his own.
Finally out of the hospital, Cross is flailing, scarred in both body and mind and stifled by the weight of the secret he still keeps. The only way to absolution lies in a Mexican convent, and going there could cost him everything.
If there's anyone who knows what it's like to screw up big time, it's Meredith Kinsey. Just a few years ago, Merri was an ordinary girl with a job at her college newspaper and white picket fence kind of dreams. Now she's holed up in a Mexican convent, hiding from a drug lord who thinks he owns her.
What happens when the only way out of hell is with the son of the man who put you there? They say love conquers all, but does it really?
NOTE: Cross and Merri's story is a Love Inc. Book. It features some characters from Selling Scarlett, but it follows a completely different story line can be read as a stand-alone.
*Taming Cross is a new adult romance novel and is not intended for young readers due to violence, sexual situations, and mature language.
Teaser
Sister opens the door to a small reading room with green carpet and white bookshelves, and we pause before going in. All at once she pulls me to her chest and kisses my head. “Be brave, Merri, my love. You must do what you must do. We only want what's best for you.” And then she...leaves. She leaves me here, before I even see who's in the room. For the longest second, I stay on the threshold, staring at the man who is facing the bookshelf. My eyes run down the length of him, expecting to find Jesus or one of his Sicarios, but that's not what I find. I don’t know who this man is. He’s tall, with dark hair and large bones. Long legs, wide back, big shoulders. He looks lean, almost sick, because I can tell he shouldn't be. He reminds me of a starved lion I saw once in a documentary. He turns toward me slowly, and as he moves I'm frozen, like in those nightmares where you're being chased but you can't run. At first I'm not looking at his features—only the expression, which is somehow both solemn and surprised. And I feel like I've been struck dead, because he has an angel's face. It's not just the flawless blue of his eyes or his celebrity-perfect bones. It's not his perfect, straight-line nose or that lush, cherubic mouth. It's not his smooth skin. It's what I see inside his eyes. Something so intense, so sad, so ecstatic, so relieved, that I know he must be God's answer to my prayer. For the longest moment, he just looks at me. I feel like I'll unravel in the brilliance of those ice blue eyes. I'm so thrown off I whisper exactly what I'm thinking. “Are you here to take me?” His lips curl slowly, into something that's not at all a smile. My heart stops as he steps slightly closer. “Rescue you.”
MY REVIEW:
The good: Interesting plot and story line, good pacing, likable characters; and ultra steamy!
The bad: Nothing constructive to embellish on.
My thoughts:
"Taming Cross" was a great follow up from "Selling Scarlett" and can be read as a standalone. I was at first very skeptical of it but in the end I couldn't put it down.
"Taming Cross" tackles topics such as sex, violence, and some illegal activities that may not be everyone's cup of tea.
What I really liked about this story were the characterizations of the Cross and Meredith "Merri." Both characters have been through unthinkable ordeals in their lives and when they collide it's pure magic. Such a good pair of people that bring upon different dynamics to the table. How refreshing.
I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment, "Unmaking Marchant," and hope to see Cross and Merri in it again! Pretty please! ;)
My Rating:
-Overall : 8.5
-Plot : 8.5
-Writing : 8.5
-Characters : 8.5
-Cover : 8.5
Don't forget to check out the first book in the Love Inc Series: Selling Scarlett
Elizabeth DeVille doesn't belong at a party like this - one where the gowns cost more than her Camry and cigars run higher than her grad school utility bills. Dragged out of seclusion by her best friend Suri, Elizabeth is merely playing dress-up, rubbing elbows with a crowd that banished her troubled family years ago. Hunter West is tired. Tired of parties, tired of pretending, and tired of trying to right a wrong that haunts him every day. Bourbon heir and professional poker player by day, by night Hunter is gambling with his life in a high-stakes game of crime and blackmail. When Elizabeth stumbles into Hunter's den of vices, she's a light in the darkness, a flame in the void. And, just like everything he touches, Hunter mars her in a record time. To rectify the damage done, Elizabeth needs money she doesn't have, and she's come up with a foolproof way to get it. Follow Elizabeth - code-named Scarlett - to the lush Nevada brothel where she'll auction her virginity and risk the only thing that's not for sale: her heart. The highest bidder is a familiar face, with wicked hands and the devil's mouth. And a secret so dark that it could cost her life. **Mature Content Warning** Not recommended for readers under the age of 17 due to mature language, sexual content, and violence.
Selling Scarlett is a full-length novel of 107,000 words. It has a complete happily-ever-after ending with no cliffhanger. It's the first Love Inc. novel, featuring a different couple in each novel.
About Ella James
Ella James is a Colorado author who writes teen and adult romance. She is happily married to a man who knows how to wield a red pen, and together they are raising a feisty two-year-old who will probably grow up believing everyone's parents go to war over the placement of a comma. Ella's books have been listed on numerous Amazon bestseller lists, including the Movers & Shakers list and the Amazon Top 100; two were listed among Amazon's Top 100 Young Adult Ebooks of 2012. To find out more about Ella's projects and get dates on upcoming releases, find her on Facebook at facebook.com/ellajamesauthorpage and follow her blog, www.ellajamesbooks.com. Questions or comments? Tweet her at author_ellaj or e-mail her at ella_f_james@ymail.com. Links Purchase Taming Cross on Amazon Purchase Selling Scarlett on AmazonPurchase Taming Cross on B&N Purchase Selling Scarlett on B&N Website Facebook Twitter
Thanks so much for being part of my tour! ~Ella
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