For Charlotte Sommers those were three words she could use to describe her life to a tee since moving down south to continue with her studies and escape her obsessed ex-boyfriend. Classes, work, and sleep were three more. Her life wasn’t exciting in the slightest. It never had been.
All that was about to change.
When a new tenant moves into the empty apartment down the hall, the mysterious stranger piques Charlie’s interest. Why did he always wear his hood up? What did he look like under there? Was it him playing the acoustic guitar she sometimes heard when she passed his door, or was it the stereo? Finally, with something to break the monotony of her life, Charlie makes it her mission to find out.
When they are finally introduced to each other through less than desirable circumstances, they embark on an unlikely friendship. But Charlie begins to suspect Jake is hiding something.
Her friend Cara is wrong: Jake isn’t an axe murderer, or a psychopath. But he will change the course of Charlie’s life forever.
A brand new contemporary romance novel by L.J. Sealey.
L.J. Sealey was born and raised in a little Welsh town by the sea. It rains a lot, so she often has a great excuse to sit at her writing desk and while away the hours at her laptop.
She still lives in N.Wales and when she's not travelling around the country working with her husband - who is a professional singer - or singing backup vocals herself in her husband's band, she likes to read and watch her favourite TV shows which normally includes plenty of CSI, The Vampire Diaries and sitcoms.
L.J Sealey is the author of the complete Divine Hunter Series.Awaken, book one is currently FREE on eBook everywhere.
Ok, this is going to be a weird review because even though I am not going to finish (I'm at 51%) I am still gonna recommend this one. I got this on the stuff your kindle day, and it's really good...it just has a certain kind of angst that's just hard for me to read. Personal preference.
Charlie and Jake are neighbors that both have secrets in their past that affect them to this day. Jake is the mysterious hot, broody neighbor that's closed off and tries to keep everyone away. Charlie is friendly, and determined to become a friend. There is a lot of nice tension, but Jake is determined to keep hands off. So for me, that drives me crazy in books, but lots of people like that kind of back and forth... So if you are one of those, I suggest giving this book a go. Its well written and has good characters :)
Charlotte is treading water in her life. Between studying and her job she doesn't have much time for anything else and she's perfectly fine with that. Her ex was enough to put her on a boyfriend hiatus for an indefinite time period! Pity that her curiosity won't let her fascination with her mysterious neighbour go!
Jake is trying to make a go of his new life, all whilst living under the radar. His family is fractured, his life devastated first by tragedy and then a miscarriage of justice. Now he just wants to lie low and have peace with his music.
Their initial friendship blossoms into a friends with benefits arrangements - neither of them quite ready for anything more. But fate seems to have other ideas!
OMW the emotions run high with this contemporary romance. I swithered between rooting for jake and Charlotte to not so silently seething over Jake's family separation and Charlotte's abusive ex. The heartstrings were well and truly pulled, I'll tell you!
The friendship bond between Charlotte and her besties is beautiful - there is a wonderful scene near the end of the book which just encapsulates their "family" and I have to admit my own family/friends unit is just as tight and they'd do the exact same thing for me! Jake is the perfect mix of strong and vulnerable, sensitive and quick to defend others.
This is your classic "bad boy next door" story. We follow Charlie, a girl just going to Uni and living her best life, but she has this mysterious new neighbor. She's desperate for him, but he's cold, distant and he has a secret! I don't normally read romance books so this book was a little out of my comfort zone but it was great and captured my attention. This book was well written and super enjoyable. Definitely a "feel good" book. There weren't very many spicy scenes and they were very tame, so if your looking for just a little bit of spice, this is perfect for you! This is the first book in a trilogy of stand alones and I'll definitely be checking out the next book! ------ Sometimes the smallest wounds hurt the most Ordinary. Mundane. Tedious. For Charlotte Sommers those were three words she could use to describe her life to a tee since moving down south to continue with her studies and escape her obsessed ex-boyfriend. Classes, work, and sleep were three more. Her life wasn’t exciting in the slightest. It never had been. All that was about to change. When a new tenant moves into the empty apartment down the hall, the mysterious stranger piques Charlie’s interest. Why did he always wear his hood up? What did he look like under there? Was it him playing the acoustic guitar she sometimes heard when she passed his door, or was it the stereo? Finally, with something to break the monotony of her life, Charlie makes it her mission to find out. When they are finally introduced to each other through less than desirable circumstances, they embark on an unlikely friendship. But Charlie begins to suspect Jake is hiding something. Her friend Cara is wrong: Jake isn’t an axe murderer, or a psychopath. But he will change the course of Charlie’s life forever. ------
I received a free e-copy of this book via the BOOKLounge for Readers and Authors, and this is my honest and voluntary review.
In Paper Cuts, we meet Charlie - a young university student who escaped the clutch of a topic relationship and started fresh. When she is the victim of an attempted mugging, her mysterious neighbour steps in and helps her. As she gets to know Jake, tensions rise and not everything is as simple as it seems.
I loved this so much! Charlie is an absolutely amazing FMC! She has flaws and a dark past that makes her easy to relate to. Her relationship with Jake is so realistic, and both their pasts affect their relationship together. Whilst I did love this, I was internally screaming at them to just get together - but my god when they did? FIREWORKS. Their chemistry is undeniable and I was itching for them to finally put their differences aside. There are so many twists and turns throughout the book that I honestly had no idea how it was going to end!
At 345 pages long, this took me just under four hours to read. I highly recommend it to any romance fan. Please note that this book contains multiple adult scenes, including those with violence and a sexual nature.
Wow this book was everything I had hoped for after reading other books written by LJ Sealey I didn’t expect anything other ,it was written perfectly very well worded and even when there was banter between the best friends it was as you were in the book with them,(it’s how me and my friends are with each other,so true to life) the way everything was described even down to the British weather, transport ,and traffic references were spot on ,the story had you wanting to turn the pages to carry on reading to find out what was going to happen next for Charlie and Jake I read this book in a day and didn’t want it to end, i can’t wait and I’m so excited for the next book in this series if you want a great story to lose yourself in you will not be disappointed in this book so grab yourself a hot cup of tea,click onto this book Paper Cuts and get yourselves lost in the amazing world of LJSealey The next book in the series will be an easy purchase for me x x x
Paper Cuts is my first read by L.J. Sealey, and I really enjoyed the book. Jake and Charlie are neighbors whose lives intertwine after Jake helps Charlie out of a dangerous situation. Both characters have painful pasts, and while Charlie has begun to let go and move on, Jake has resigned himself to living a lonely life as a danger from his past continues to be a a threat to him and anyone he cares for. I felt the book was overall well balanced. Both main characters' stories were well developed, and the supporting characters added humor and warmth. Also, while there is great spice in the book 🌶️🌶️🌶️, it never seems thrown in just for the sake of it being there. I like that the story wasn't driven by a physical relationship between Jake and Charlie but was instead driven by Charlie's and Jake's gradual healing and the resolution of their past traumas. I definitely look forward to reading the rest of this trilogy and will plan to check out other books by L.J. Sealey!
3.5 Stars! I enjoyed Paper Cuts. I think the plot was good, the main characters good and the secondary characters a good addition to the story. Charlie was a strong woman who obviously knew what she wanted and was willing to do anything for those she cared about. Jake was a great man who had been through so much crap in his life that it had just beaten him down. He was such a great man though and was so deserving of a better life. Reading about them and the progression of them was quite slow but it was good to see them go through the steps and learn more about them as people and their pasts and how they’d shaped them both. In the end you could tell they’d both be willing to do whatever it took for one another and i really enjoyed the epilogue- i think it was a great way to show Charlie and Jake and their relationship and devotion to one another but more so that last part and the wrap up for Jake was really great to read. Overall a good read and people should give it a go!
For Charlotte Sommers those were three words (Ordinary, Mundane, Tedious) she could use to describe her life to a tee since moving down south to continue with her studies and escape her obsessed ex-boyfriend. Classes, work, and sleep were three more. Her life wasn’t exciting in the slightest. It never had been. When a new tenant moves into the empty apartment down the hall, the mysterious stranger piques Charlie’s interest. Why did he always wear his hood up? What did he look like under there? I loved this book. It was an intriguing story that pulled me right in. And am voluntarily leaving my review.
So this was a new author to me and what drew me in the most was that cover! It is beautiful and just made me want to read this story as it felt like it would be angsty and gritty and i was right! Charlie and Jake are neighbours and although both of them are fighting their own demons of the past they are both drawn to each other without even trying to be. They both have sadness in their life and are scared to move forward, especially Jake but as soon as they make eye contact the sparks start flying and the pair cant deny the chemistry. Full of little twists, sad events and crazy friends what else would you want in a story! *Read as part of KU*
Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ While the book was quick to hook me with the prologue, it then hit the breaks and settled into a slow burn. The pacing speeds up drastically about half way and makes for a swift read through the latter half of the book. Written from two POVs, you experience the angst and desire of both characters without much repeating of content. There definitely has adult content and spice for those looking for it 🌶️🌶️🌶️
I enjoyed reading this book and found it to be a great palate cleanser between romantasy and romance series. I definitely recommend this book for any romance lover.
LJ Sealey is a new to me author and I was lucky to get an early copy of her new book Paper cuts. I was really sucked into the story from the first few pages. The whole mystery of why Jake is the way he is is torturous. His story had my heart bleeding in way that had me rooting for him to get the girl and keep her. Charlie has her own demons that we get glimpses of. Really well written and some really emotional subjects within. Fantastic and I can’t wait for the next book!!
Paper Cuts is a heartwarming story about two people who overcome their past and find love that is meant to be. Charlie is a university student who is intrigued by the new guy down the hall from her appointment. Jake is trying to out run his past and lay low. Charlie helps to break Jake out of his shell. Jake’s past catches up to him and makes him question what he really wants. This is a nice contemporary romance and a sweet story between the two characters. Highly recommend.
I absolutely loved hearing about Jake and Charlie. Their story was incredible from start to finish. Well done LJ Sealey. The eye for detail in the surroundings and the hardships that they both suffered and the beautiful friendship of Charlie and Cara and Jason was perfect
Such a great love story! He is trying to hide and she is so Chris out him. They both struggle with the past but through her persistence then meet and she breaks down a lot of his walls and shows him how to live again. Their chemistry and pull they feel for each other is understandable. Fantastic read!
Charlotte comes to know the guy next door when he rescues her. They have an instant connection to each other but their past is coming back to haunt them. Will they be able to survive everything or will it break them completely. Love their ending.
Wow what a ride, the story of Charlie and Jake certainly pulls you in and holds you tight as they find themselves and each other. From abusive and desolate pasts, family trauma and prison these two deserve a happy ending. A lovely emotional read
Another great story from this author. Charlie and Jake are neighbours. They hadn't met until Jake saved Charlie from a group of guys who seemed intent on attacking her. They both have pasts they're trying to hide from. Can they find happiness?
I enjoyed this far more than I expected to. I got a copy on SYK day and when I realised I was going to see the author at FFB in March I thought it was the perfect time to give it a go.
There’s something really special about a romance with an actual plot that doesn’t just feel like a device to get them together. I really enjoyed the character development and there was something really refreshing and different about it. I’m looking forward to giving the second book a go and actually loved it so much I’ve ordered paperback copies for the event. Well worth a read although I’d just check your trigger warnings before hand if you have any triggers as there are a few ♥️
This was a very sweet story. It is not what I normally read but was a good reading experience. I would recommend this one to those who like a little thrill and a lot of sweetness. Cute book.
I really enjoyed this love story. This is my first from this author and I really enjoyed it, the story kept me from cover to cover, I'll be checking out the rest of the series that's for sure.
Charlie has a new neighbor. She has never seen his face as he hides it very well when he is out of the apartment. One night as she is walking home, she is robbed by a bunch of teens and who steps in to help??? MYSTERIOUS NEIGHBOR, Jake!!! Charlie tries to befriend the man even as he clearly makes it known that he is a lone wolf and chooses to remain that way. Jake is hiding a secret from everyone, including Charlie, and refuses to open up til he has dealt with it but can not stay away from Charlie.
I really enjoyed how J.L. Sealey developed this relationship between the H and h. She shows how love can be found between two very different people. I think one of the points that the author tries to make is that no one is a true island. There is strength in finding a family and friends. For Jake, our H, that was a lesson that took a while to learn as the cards he was handed was filled with pain and heartache. As a side note, one of my struggles in this book was just the difference in language. As a person born and raised in the United States, I did have to Google some of the swaps in words and phrases in order to grasp what was being said. That aside, I look forward to starting the next book in this series
This was my first book by this author and I went in fairly blind. It was a pretty lovely read with a delicious slow burn. Both characters have a bit of a mysterious past that's seriously affected them, however they've handled it in opposite edits l ways. Charlie has been pushing to reach her goals and not let the past interrupt her new life. Jake seems determined to not let anyone or anything in his life while he focuses on getting revenge on the man that took everything from him. Jake wasn't expecting someone like Charlie though and can't seem to resist the draw.
The book is in British English so some phrases were unfamiliar but I had no issues following it. I felt like I saw many of the twists or reveals coming but still enjoyed the read. There was some unnecessary filler plots that didn't really go anywhere, unless they are meant to connect to other books. It's definitely a slow burn and there was some clunky dialogue in the spicy scenes.
OH and 1/2 star deduction for when Jake calls he study if stars and constellations ASTROLOGY instead of ASTRONOMY.