Addiction

Magnetic Desires #2

by Misti Murphy

Birdie Lance isn’t a victim. She’s an idiot who let a boy get too close. At least that’s how she sees it. It's easy to not make the same mistake again — she doesn’t let anyone in anymore.

After the accident, Dr. Drake Barclay threw himself into his obstetrics practice, and uses boxing to keep the demons at bay. A recovering addict, he is barely existing, until he meets the bombshell who pushes all his buttons.

Two people coping with the traumatic scars of their past find an irresistible bond that may just heal them both.

Genres: Romance

193 pages, ebook

First published June 13, 2015

About the author

Misti Murphy writes sweet and funny, sometimes frustrating and always swoony romantic comedies with just a teensy bit of angst.

When she's not writing she lives in an imaginary world full of happy humans, glitter, and unicorns.

Not that being a mother of four, plus four fur kids isn't practically the same thing. Except when they steal the Tim Tams.

(Kangaroos are practically unicorns, right?)

Reviews

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

She's like an Addiction to him...

Addiction took me completely by surprise. I started reading with a vague idea about each of the main characters moving on from something devastating happening in each of their lives. Birdie our heroine has been living her life hiding herself from others, especially men. She has her brother and a few friends until she joins a gym to give her back some confidence. Drake is an Obstetrician who lives a fairly shallow life. He works and he has random hook-ups to distract him from the grief of losing his first love. Birdie and Drake meet at the gym when Drake joins to start boxing again as another form of numbing his pain. They see each other and there is an instant attraction. Drake wants her in his bed and Birdie's first thoughts are...RUN!!

This story is mainly centred around the two of them moving past their issues and opening their hearts up to each other. Once Drake talks Birdie into taking their relationship to the bedroom, the fireworks start. This couple has some seriously HOT sexy times. There are lots of roadblocks in their journey to happiness and unfortunately most of them are created by each other. I'm not normally into angsty reads, but this one didn't drive me crazy. I think I tolerated it better because I could understand their issues and felt they were portrayed quite realistically.

I did enjoy this story and found it easy to read. A sweet but very messed up heroine who is determined to move past her issues and a tattooed Doctor who works out what he wants and is determined to get her.

Thanks Misti for the gifted copy of Addiction to read and review.

[Mercedes · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, I have to start this off talking about Drake. I mean, he is a sexy tattooed, motor cycle riding doctor who boxes in his spare time. Where do I sign?? So what if he was a recovering drug addict. He first meets Birdie at the boxing gym they both go to and he immediately wants to hook-up with her. He had this great sort of internal conflict because he kind of wanted to be a “hit it and quit it” guy but also knew that probably wasn’t going to happen with Birdie. He was a good character, he was pretty open with Birdie when the time was right and he was patient with her but also pushed her limits and forced her out of her comfort zone. Drake balanced Birdie as best he could but I didn’t feel like they were one of those couples that were just DESTINED to be together. I thought seeing people from Drake’s past was really interesting and I was kind of intrigued by his brother. 

Birdie was a whole different story. At the beginning I really liked her, she was this strong no nonsense kind of girl who took care of herself and was trying not to let her past control her present. As I got to know Birdie more she just became more of this scared little girl and the tough girl from the beginning slipped away. She was really guarded and really down on herself at times. Birdie had a lot of secrets that she wasn’t really willing to share with Drake and yet she wanted to know all of his deepest darkest secrets straight from the get-go. Things with her and Drake moved really quickly for someone so averse to dating and men in general. Ultimately I felt like Birdie was a bit of a contradictory character. 

Ultimately I didn't really feel like their relationship totally came together for me. They were just an okay couple in my opinion.

ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

**ARC**

This was really good! I loved both Drake & Birdie, very likable characters. Dr. Drake Barclay is a dream, he is an Obstetrition! YES, REALLY! Tatted and all~ let's take a look


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Drake became a gynaecologist for a specific reason, one that had left him heartbroken for a very long time. Birdie, well, she has suffered after an event that happened when she was very young and it left her in fear of males. Drake notices Birdie at a gym he just started going to and instantly drawn to her but she isn't going to make it easy for him.

Let's take a look at our lucky Birdie...

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I don't know about you, have you ever seen a OBGYN that looks like our Dr. Drake here? Oh geez, let's take one more look just to make sure we are seeing correctly...


While reading all about Drake I couldn't help but dream of him delivering our babies. My only request would be he do it shirtless, sporting not only his pack but tats as well! Not to mention how hot it would be to make his babies.


This book is worth the read in my opinion, grab it and read all about this sexy Dr. Barclay.

[Sivutha · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Addicted Stars

I like this more than the first book.

Birdie is Orion's little sister. When she was younger her dad passed away, she decided to party hard and ended up getting raped while drunk at a party. Slowly, her problems are eaten away at her. No drinks and men until one man catches her eye at the gym. Birdie struggles with her fight or flight reaction.... going with flight she runs from him as fast as she can. Drake isn't sure what the hell is with this woman whom he lust over at first sight.

Running from Lanston to Reverence when his fiancé was killed in a car accident. He is now OB/GYN at Reverence Hospital and the doctor who delivered Clo and Orion's baby. Will Birdie be the woman who can repair his broken heart. But Drake doesn't give up, he relentlessly breaks her down until she finally gives in to him. Drake is also fighting his own demons.

What will happen when Drake and Birdie open up to each other?

Hoping that Mellie and Mike get their own story.

[Deb Hanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Arc received in exchange for an honest review.
☆☆☆☆

This is my 2nd novel from Misti Murphy, and probably my favorite. 1st off let me just say, you should probably read Compulsion before starting this one, as it sets up quite a lot of the characters in this story. I am enjoying this series and look forward to the next 2 books to come.

Addiction tells the story of Birdie Lance, little sister to Orion the lead character in Compulsion. She has had a tough time growing up, with the death of her dad she took a walk on the wild side, ending up getting raped while drunk af a party. She hid this from her family and friends for such a long time, that has eaten away at her. She no longer drinks and has sworn off men forever, until one man catches her eye while at the gym, something about him scares her from the very beginning... She can't trust him!

Afrer the traumatic birth of her niece, she runs into Dr Drake Barclay, the man from the gym at the hospital. She is put on edge again with him, but he refuses to let her go a second time. After scaring the absolute crap out of her, he covers her mouth so she can't scream and pushes her into an empty room. Knowing how she feels for him, Birdie struggles witn her fight or flight reaction.... going with flight she runs from him as fast as she can. Poor Drake is left wondering what the hell is with this woman who is under his skin from that 1st sight.

Drake has his own demons he is fighting, he ran from Lanston to Reverence when his fiancé was killed in a car accident. He is now OB/GYN at reverence hospital and the doctor who delivered Clo and Orion's baby. Knowing now that Birdie is related to his favorite patient, he figures it is an easy way to break her down, to get her in his bed.... cause that's all he wants... or is Birdie the one woman who can repair his broken heart.

He never imagined how hard it would be to get Birdie to give in to him, she is so strong willed, it takes more than his good looks to crack this cookie. Add in her over protective brother, her best friend Mellie and gym owner Tom, he has more than jyst her to worry about. But Drake doesn't give up, he relentlessly breaks her down until she finally gives in to him.

She eventually finds the strength to give in to Drake, and when they have sex that 1st time, it is earth shattering for both of them, a drug neither wants to turn down. But with so many secrets between them, can they really have a life together....? As Drake and Birdie open up about there demons will it make or break them?

As with compulsion, there is quite a few other storylines, but I was happy to see a happy ever after for Clo and Orion, but more questions remain for Mellie and Mike that is still unresolved, I'm hoping they get their own story.

[Lorena Tucholke · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the first time I found a book where the hero isn't a total douchebag, he's a suffering human being who lost part of his life and got scared to try again, he isn't a billionaire , but just an OB gyn Doctor who really cares for his patients, he's fighting hard against old addictions and starts to boxing again to burn some old demons, there in the gym he saw Birdie for the first time, she is like a magnet to him, and he can't escape that attraction.
She think she isn't a broken girl, and try every day so hard to stay away from mens, she don't want to be burned again, she is so scared to be attracted to Drake, he could broke her entire plain routine, but for some reason she just needs to be near him, and booth together can fight their demons, one demon a time, great story, sweet, and hot, and real, very real. Yo feel that you are part of the story, you feel their pain and joy. Give it a chace to this book, you won't regret!

[💫MakeU1dor 🌺 · Rating 3 out of 5]

*~* I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review *~*

Overall I liked the book and would recommend it to others. For me I really liked Drake and was really liking how tough Birdie was in the beginning. I really didn't like how she held so much back from him but expected him to reveal all to her. I also didn't like how she had been alone after her incident and then all of the sudden with drake she let was able to give into him as quick as she did.

Birdie seemed to come off as very hard and independent, but after reading she was very contradicting. Drake I found was a bit guarded but was able to open up a bit better then Birdie. The whole Poppy reveal bothered me. I liked the way that they seemed to need each other on a deeper level and that they each had someone looking out for them and their best interest and thought they were good for each other.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

ARC provided by author in exchange for an honest review.

I love receiving ARCs and always, fingers crossed, want to love the book and give 5+++++++ stars. I couldn’t do it with this one. I can only explain it that I felt something was missing. The storyline potential was great. Drake as a H was a contradiction. A dedicated physician, a grieving widower, a sexy, tatted boxer. Birdie as a h for me was missing something. I didn’t exactly get the attraction between the two to be honest. As I was reading I felt there was a page or two missing from each chapter fleshing out the story between these two and the secondary characters like Drake’s brother and his sister-in-law (both not my favorite people). I felt I was getting glimpses here and there but not enough to keep me fully engaged.

[Karine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where to start? I really wanted to like this book more than I did. I felt that Bridie was such a strong female character in the first book. The way she was bossing her brother around and making sure he wasn't feeling sorry for himself showed she had something. And she did. Well at the start of this story she did. The more I read, the more I felt less of a connection to her. She just wasn't doing it for be by the end. It seemed like the author was writing about two different people with the one body. Could be just me thou.

I did like Drake thou. He was well put together and on the surface seemed to have everything together and knows what he wants out of life. However looks can be deceiving and who doesn't like to see a damaged hero recover from their demons. I just wished that he had ended up with the Bridie I fell in love with from the first novel. But they seemed to fit well together.

[Tami Lund · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an intense, sexy read. This book is smokin' hot. Drake is every girl's fantasy, and Birdie becomes addicted, despite her best attempts to stay away. It's a beautiful love story between two people who both have some pretty deep scars. There were several points in the book when I could not fathom how they could move beyond their obstacles, yet I was desperately eager for them to do so, just so I could read them together again. Because together these two are HAWT. There are some seriously naughty and delicious scenes in this book. It's worth the read just for the sex - and bonus - it's a fabulous story, too! Highly recommend. Well done, Misti Murphy.

[Medavis66 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot! Mmm, waaaaay yummy. I loved the first book, but wow! did this one just blow it away. Drake is Doctor Feelgood, that is for certain. He seemed to be just what Birdie needed (as she was to him). There were a couple oftimes I wanted to smack her. However, within the context of the story, her behavior, actions, and feelings were consistent with her character, so I got over myself. These two have both been broken but together they mend each other. I loved it!

ARC provided in exchange for honest review.

[Kay Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first MUST say that I loved Drake. I think though he was damaged, girls would definitely dig him. The relationship between him and Birdie was hot and sexy. I was rooting for them throughout the whole book.
Though sometimes I wanted to smack Birdie and say damn it girl get with the program because Drake was trying, I loved it.
It was written well and I can't say enough how much I loved these two.
Great read...Five stars

[Misti Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Addiction - the second book in the Magnetic Desires series is scheduled for release on the 15th June.

I absolutely loved bringing this story to life. There's nothing better than getting down to the nitty gritty of two broken people and finding a bond so strong that it can heal them. Except getting to share it with readers.

[D · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author brings damaged characters to life in such a way that you can't help but continue to read their story even when you don't agree with them. The story is told from two POV, but it is clear throughout whose emotions and thoughts you are reading about. Both characters continue to make bad choices, but no one is perfect.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

1st from this author will not be last.... H was very Alpha and h was fun and took everything with a grain of salt.. Went through some family issues but came out very independent. Looking fwd to more from this author on other characters.

*ARC received for honest review*

[MELODY · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second in Misti Murphy's Magnetic Desires Series. I will say although the book reads well on it's own, I would highly recommend reading Compulsion first. It introduces us to the main characters and the story line, so you won't feel lost and frankly the series is freaking awesome!

In this installment we get to hear Birdie's story. Birdie, is a strong independent woman, with a secret that she has been hiding since she was 14 years old. This secret has shaped how she lives - she doesn't date, she doesn't do sex, she doesn't really live. Then one day while working out at a boxing gym, her life changes - not that she doesn't fight it.

Enter - the very hot, very messed up Dr. Drake Barkley, drake is a recovered addict - after spiraling out of control when his pregnant fiance is killed. He is on the straight and narrow and new in town. His life has been a series of one night stands with no regrets. Then he sees Birdie. He wants to take her to bed, he doesn't date, he feels he had his once in a lifetime chance at love and when Hailey and Poppy die he is done. But, once he kisses Birdie - he starts to live again and Birdie - she might just be living for the first time.

The road to true love isn't always paved in gold, can Birdie and Drake be honest with each other about their past and learn to survive together? I must admit I wanted to slap them a couple of times but I am a believer in if a book makes you feel, it is most certainly done well.

Ms. Murphy, weaves her story well, and I have to admit I was happy that I was wrong as to who hurt Bertie when she was 15. The characters are strong and well developed. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

If you are looking for a hot romance, with characters that are down to earth and realistic - Addiction is definitely worth the time.

[Moon Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

* I received this ARC in exchange of an honest review*

Two broken souls, two broken hearts... This is the story of Drake and Birdie.
They say opposites attract, but they are pretty much the same.... And that's what grabbed me in this story! Usually one is stronger than the other and picks the other up! In "Addiction" both of them are weak, very emotional personalities who were broken by life, but it's them being together that is their salvation! Based on the theory that love cures it all, Misti Murphy shows us that an alpha male is not always the solution! And it was refreshing! Sweet and sexy Drake and Birdie will guide you through their struggle and you'll ask for more!!!!
Very romantic, emotional and red hot, this book is like balm for the heart! Well written, interesting and passionate you won't be able to resist the chemistry and the need Drake and Birdie bring to each other! In this book you'll be also exposed to secrets and painful past of all the characters, which makes you anticipates the other books in the series!!! I just loved it and honestly can't wait to read more!!!!!!

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an Copy of this book for a honest review along with book 1 of this series and I mistakenly read book 2 before book one but I am pleased to say that this is a pretty excellent stand alone since I wasn't confused at all haha. This was a solid romance read. The characters had a lot of tension between each other and it gradually built until the attraction became an addiction that eventually healed and filled in all of the cracks and holes in their lives. Both of these characters have dealt with some pretty serious issues in their pasts and we see throughout the book how those events have shaped who they are when we first meet them in chapter 1. You can tell there is room in this series to have more books about certain people and that the characters will cross over up to a point. Which makes me pretty stoked since those are my favorite kind of series. The storyline was pretty fast paced and I found myself reading this book in one sitting. I enjoyed it and will definitely pick up other books by this author!

[Brittany Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

*I received this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Once I had finally gotten over the book hangover from the first of the series, which I’ll admit, it took a while, I dove into this one. Addicted is as good, if not better than Compulsion, which I absolutely loved! Both characters, Drake and Birdie, had damaged pasts with deep secrets and were not the relationship type. They resisted, but once they were hooked on each other, there was no going back. The title fit the book perfectly!

There were definitely laugh out loud moments. I loved the support system that Birdie had. Big brother, protective best friend, etc. The threats that were made against Drake were priceless. I think I enjoyed reading from Drake’s perspective most. His thoughts were too funny at times!

Drake being a tattooed OB/GYN made him even hotter! His boxing hobby added extra spice, as well. Definite keeper! The detailed steamy scenes were fantastic! It would be pretty darn difficult to get too much Drake!

I'm looking forward to reading the third book of the series!

[Shaunna Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Birdie keeps away from almost everyone. Unfortunately she can't let go of her past, and this keeps her from letting anyone get close. When she meets Drake it's the same as everyone else except she feels the pull he has on her. Drake makes her come out of her shell, but could Drake be another guy that hurts her? Drake moves away from his home after the accident and makes a decision that will change him forever. Could he have a chance to find love again with Birdie or will his past come back to haunt them both?

[Nancy Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gifted copy for honest review.

I really enjoyed reading Addiction. This is second in the series Magnetic Desires. This story is about Birdie, Orion's sister, who has men issues and Drake who has lost the love of his life. I recommend this one.

[Ashley Stevenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received ARC copy of this book for a honest review. Birdie and Drake have secrets about there past are ashamed to admit one terrible mistake. Will Birdie take a chance to break out of her shell and feel alive by her man side or let her fears get the best of her. Read this book to found out.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review coming soon.

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could I would give this book a ten star rating. I am #TeamDrake that is all I really need to say.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.