Book review: HELL OF A MESS, by Abbi Glines

Mississippi Smoke #8

Luther & Lace

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Abbi Glines books are so addictive and I am having a great time with this Southern Mafia series.  The stories are enthralling, there’s passion, love, humor, sex, and some gritty Mafia stuff just to make it more spicy and dark.  However, this book was more of a love story, how a man who was completely against marriage and being tied to only one woman, falls hard for a woman who sees him as a hero.

This story stars Luther, one of the old guys in the group, Linc’s and Garret’s contemporary, and a grandfather.  But that doesn’t take away his sex appeal, and it’s amply shown by how fast Lace gets stuck on him, despite the age gap.

After being badly beaten and dumped behind a dumpster, Luther and Locke rescue her, take her to Luther’s and Linc’s mansion, and have the doctor they have on call attend to her.  She spends days in the hospital room they have in the basement, Luther accompanies her every morning, reading to her while drinking his morning coffee.  And getting roasted by the guys for it!

I loved how they connected, Lace sees Luther as her savior, and Luther feels a strange compulsion to protect her.  In spite of the strange circumstances, there’s trust on both parts, and Luther starts to like her, to like being with her and have conversations.  She feels safe with Luther, and in spite of having amnesia from her trauma, she knows this is the first time she gets affection from someone, after her mother died.  Once she recovers her memory, she remembers that she only had abuse from her father and he used her for his purposes.

There’s some action, but there’s more love and sex and feelings, and I enjoyed it hugely.  I was indifferent to Luther before in the series, but now I think he’s a wonderful person and just right to bring Lace to life.  The story has a huge plot twist midway through and it completely blows everything we thought was going to happen.  Kudos to the author for making it so fantastic!  There’s some angst and some scenes that made me want to cry.  So you could say that this book has everything and is a whole experience.

Purchase links

https://geni.us/HoMAG

About the author

Abbi Glines is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Rosemary Beach, Sea Breeze, Vincent Boys, Field Party, and Existence series. She never cooks unless baking during the Christmas holiday counts. She believes in ghosts and has a habit of asking people if their house is haunted before she goes in it. She finally moved to New England into a home that is 200 + years old with it's own ghosts. She drinks afternoon tea because she wants to be British but alas she being born in Alabama, her life in New England is as close as she will get. When asked how many books she has written she has to stop and count on her fingers. When she’s not locked away writing, she is reading, and/or watching Netflix like the introvert that she is. 

You can connect with Abbi online in several different ways:

www.abbiglinesbooks.com

TikTok @abbiglines

Twitter: @abbiglines

Instagram: @abbiglines

Snapchat: abbiglines

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abbiglinesauthor

Book review: MIDNIGHT BETWEEN US, by Claudia Burgoa

Timberbridge Brothers #4

Kier & Simone

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Intense, emotional, and angsty, just how I like my books!  I devoured this book, then re-read slowly to enjoy and savor the angst.  This author enjoys wrenching my heart and putting it together again, and I love it!

I never thought Simone and Keir would ever get their HEA because they were so broken.  They both used the same strategy to deal with their issues: keep people apart, live alone, bury the pain deep inside so it doesn’t come out and unravel.  Except the love they had for each other, which they had buried deep and wanted to ignore, still existed and was too strong to resist.

I loved how the author structured this story.  It has reminiscences from a stormy past, for both Simone and Keir.  Keir comes from the Timberbridge brothers, who had such a crappy home life, full of violence, hatred, and abuse.  Since Keir was one of the oldest brothers, he took a lot of the abuse to protect his little brothers, so he has a lot of issues and dysfunctions to deal with.  Instead of giving us instant redemption and reconciliation, the author took the characters through tribulations and more heartache.   There is a part that was so emotional that I felt like my chest was going to crack open.  

Simone is the product of a teenage pregnancy, and what is worse, her grandfather is the town’s preacher.  She had to live with her mother’s bad reputation and her grandparents abuse of her mother, who finally left, and the strict, loveless household she was forced to live in.  They were each other’s comfort until Keir up and left without a goodbye, until he appears almost dead and tied up, in the trunk of a car.

There’s a feeling of menace, as Keir stays hidden from the Hollow Syndicate, the ones who beat him up and left for dead.  Simone was assigned to patch him up and keep him alive.  Then to keep him at her house which is like a fortress.  Imagine all the feelings and chemistry and guilt floating around for Keir, who abandoned Simone twenty years ago.  There’s resentment and pain on her part, guilt and repentance on his.  It’s all yummy angst!

Another thing I loved was seeing Atlas, oozing marital happiness and even giving out advice!  And then I understood that the older Timberbridge brothers, Malerick and Keir, are the most broken because they got the brunt of the abuse, and luckily their books were left for last, so the best was left for last, yay.  I have my suspicions about Malerick, let’s see if they turn out to be true.  Now I can’t wait for the final book, Malerick’s, and see how it’s all resolved.

Purchase links

https://geni.us/MidnightBetweenUs

About the author

Claudia is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author. 

She writes alluring, thrilling stories about complicated women and the men who take their breaths away. Her books are the perfect blend of steamy and heartfelt, filled with emotional characters and explosive chemistry. Her writing takes readers to new heights, providing a variety of tears, laughs, and shocking moments that leave fans on the edge of their seats.

She lives in Denver, Colorado with her husband, her youngest two children, and three fluffy dogs.

When Claudia is not writing, you can find her reading, knitting, or just hanging out with her family. At nights, she likes to binge watches shows or movies with her equally geeky husband.

Connect with Claudia Burgoa:

https://claudiayburgoa.com/wp/links/