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❤~🌟~❤4 SIZZLING STARS!❤~🌟~❤
"Five years in hell brought me to you.”
Sparks fly when the “home wrecker” and the “convict’s” worlds collide in Gallup, Tx!
Confession: I am OBSESSED with stories featuring former felons, so this mouthwatering book cover and tantalizing blurb immediately caught my eye! And holy wow did it EXCEED my expectations! This is my first book by Hayley Faiman and am now a total fangirl!
I was transfixed by CONVICT from page one and was immediately sucked into the lives of Rylan and Channing, two town outcasts who are powerfully drawn together at first sight and against all odds find a second chance at love—and bittersweet redemption.
This smoldering hot, insta-love story unfolds at a warp speed but did not shortchange us on the heart throbbing feels! The intense emotions packed a punch, the whirlwind romance between these two kindred spirits was sweet and endearing, and YOWZA the erotic interludes were on fire!
Ryan and Channing’s combustible chemistry was interlaced with such heartfelt, poignant emotion that I couldn’t help but be completely and utterly swept up in their wildly addictive love story. And yes, there is no denying that this is a love at first sight kind of read—but it felt organic and AUTHENTIC and I truly felt their two shattered souls recognizing each other and slowly but surely fusing all their broken bits together to become whole. But even though their relationship progressed quickly and there was not much push-pull on either of their parts, the journey for Channing, an unwed mom-to-be whose life is shrouded in shame, and Rylan, a former addict whose horrific life-altering mistake behind the wheel will haunt him till his dying day, was far from easy. This book celebrates the beauty of forgiveness, second chances and love triumphing against all odds in the most wondrous of ways!
I fell head over heels for both these MCs —we ALL need a hot, ruggedly sexy, swoonworthy Alpha Male with a heart of gold like Rylan in our lives. His fierce devotion to Channing made me all warm and melty inside! And Channing was a such a sweetheart. I loved her warmth, her kindness, her tender-hearted temperament, and how she always held her head high even when it felt like the vultures were swarming. Gah, despite the obstacles in their path, these two WORKED SO HARD to atone for their past mistakes and deserved a shot at a better life. And I am so glad they found one another to love and cherish and see each other through life’s torrential storms!
I also really enjoyed the gossipy small-town setting of Gallup, Tx, and thought that Ms. Faiman did an exemplary job of depicting the hardships of the working class who struggle to put food on the table and truly live paycheck to paycheck. Furthermore, I especially love how the good-hearted folks in the MCs inner circle always had the H&h’s backs, helping and supporting Channing and Rylan through thick and thin.
So why 4 stars instead of 5? Well, as much as I relished this book, it was not flawless. First and foremost, while I love the steamy chemistry between Ryan and Channing, I do think the author went overboard with the EXCESSIVE amount of sex these two had! Too many scenes of them getting it on amounted to it feeling rather repetitive and I found myself skimming parts, anxious to get back to the tender-hearted romance and the juicy drama. I just felt like there was a bit too much filler on that front at the expense of the story. Also, while there’s no denying that every good small-town romance needs a few dastardly villains, there was an outlandish plot twist at the 65 percent mark involving Channing’s scummy baby daddy, James, and his psychotic wife, Jennifer, that really was a “jump the shark” moment for me. I just could not take it seriously because it was really so preposterous. Thankfully that OTT melodrama resolved itself quickly and we were able to get back to the heart of the story.
And finally, I did feel that the book could have used another round of editing. There were grammatical errors and the author tended to use some of the same expressions over and over again (i.e. “hum” was referenced umpteenth times). And I also felt like some streamlining could have been done to pick up the pace a bit in the second half of the story.
But those pesky quibbles aside, I truly adored CONVICT! This sweet, sexy, second chance story was deeply moving, the HEA made my heart sing, and the manner in which all the drama and abiding love came full circle in the epilogue was beautiful indeed. I was utterly charmed by the town of Gallup and its cast of memorable characters, and hope to see more stories in the Unfit Hero series.
A MUST READ!