Asher memorized the love of his life under shadow and smoke. One night, every year. A woman with no name, no address, and no number. It’s their arrangement. But Asher is not one to accept his circumstances. He is a man of discipline, honor, and passion. And he’s prepared to make her an offer she can’t refuse.
BAD MEN
Carrie’s in love with the last Good Man, and she’s plotting to seduce him. After years of intensity with her caped mystery man, she’s left with no choice. No more tension. She wants an explosion—until a raven-haired football player collapses on her mid-game and she’s saddled with a sling. Asher is infuriating and most undoubtedly a Bad Man, but his every fleeting touch evokes a spark across her skin and strips the breath from her lungs. As the harsh line between good and bad blurs, Carrie learns how much a costume can hide. Can she trust a man straddling the line?
M L Chambers writes contemporary romance and fantasy romance with passionate heroes, stubborn heroines, and a heavy dose of steam, pining, and danger mixed in.
A try-anything-once aficionado, she loves to include both new and obscure experiences in her stories.
When she’s not consuming books, M is skiing (alpine and water) or cuddling up with her collie and cat.
I have never written a review before and I’ve had a day to think on it and this book pissed me off so unbelievably much I cannot believe I put myself through the torture that was reading this
I would read anything she writes. A grocery list. Her Notes App. Health instructions on the back of a CVS receipt. So for me to say that this is the best thing she’s ever written, take that with a grain of salt.
All this to say, though … oh my GOD, what a book. What a story. What a MAN. I though Cole was going to be hard to top (with Miles sneaking in as a happy second) but Asher? Fuck me sideways and call me Nancy, Asher has demolished me. I want to hold him, and punch him, and read him a bedtime story. I want to take him to the arcade. I want to throw him a birthday party. I want to buy him a stuffy. I want to make cookies with him, for him. I want to have a backyard bbq with him and the team. I want to take him to try heaps of sports and activities and crafts and classes, so he can find something that brings him joy. I want to hold his hand in the shopping mall and sit in the food court with our bags and stale pretzels. I want to buy him the fucking toad. I want to buy him the god damned fucking toad.
Stay.
I would stay for him. I would break my own heart before even giving him the chance to ask. I would never want him to feel like he has to ask. I want Ash and Cassie to live a long and ridiculous life together. I want them to have a giant family, found and made. I want vacations, and school plays, and parent teacher conferences, and coaching the girls soccer team. I want them to have everything, and I am making myself cry just putting these words out into the world.
He painted her fucking freckles, man. He is words on a page and he can’t ever exist because men like this aren’t real. They can’t be real, they are too precious and wondrous and heart wrenching to be real. And that’s ok, because no one can love him the way he needs to be loved like Cassie can.
I loved the plot of the story and it was for the most part well executed but the writing needs some work! She sometimes described stuff then didn’t mention it again, or like there was a broken sink scene and it had like one line saying they mopped up the floor. No mention of them stopping the water either. However other things went into a LOT of detail but didn’t necessarily lead anywhere or it didn’t need the attention. Also they don’t bring Reginald into the story nearly enough. I was excited to find out about Reginald only to have like 6 pages in total have him in it. They didn’t even have anything particularly exciting or moments with him, just mentions of him. It could have been a great addition to the story! Also saying the main guy loves kids but there was not any scenes or other mentions of children after that. Once again, would have been a great addition to the story and might have helped us bond more with the main man.
There is a lot of angst and yearning in this book and it can feel adolescent sometimes because the stakes never seem as dire as the characters are making it out to be. The author’s writing style is complex, mature, and reminds me of a stream of conscious worsting style. Unfortunately, for me, it feels like a book that takes itself too seriously because the serious writing style doesn’t match the unserious vibe of the plot itself. I liked them separately, but together it made getting through it a little hard and time consuming.
It’s a really fun read. It started off a little slow with flashbacks but the two MCs are worth it. They make you want to root for them and empathize too. Great spice and great chemistry.
Good book! There were times when it was hard to keep track of without noting the date at the start of each chapter. It was a very cute premise with Asher and Carrie having no idea that they’ve met on Halloween for the past several years without any clue of the other’s true identity. The entire book played out adorably and the end was most certainly worth the confusing parts.