Cold (Cold, #1) in Naughty with a Touch of Nice

Jan 07, 2014 Laura Carson rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned, naughty-fun, contemporary, tattoos-piercings, tortured-hero-heroine, romance, authors-to-watch, m-m, nook, reviewforblog

4 1/2 stars

* I was given a copy of this title, via the author, in exchange for my honest review *

4 1/2 stars

Lem Porter is serving a life sentence. Slowly allowing the 4 walls to crush him, he entertains himself with the sorry excuse the prison calls a greenhouse. Remembering his past dream job and life of spending his days deep in the woods where he's always felt most at home, he is saddled with the realization that one night changed his life forever and there's no going back. Anderson Passero 4 1/2 stars

* I was given a copy of this title, via the author, in exchange for my honest review *

4 1/2 stars

Lem Porter is serving a life sentence. Slowly allowing the 4 walls to crush him, he entertains himself with the sorry excuse the prison calls a greenhouse. Remembering his past dream job and life of spending his days deep in the woods where he's always felt most at home, he is saddled with the realization that one night changed his life forever and there's no going back. Anderson Passero is serving a reduced 8 year sentence for selling drugs out of his club, learning the hard way he let his need for comfort and acceptance influence his judgment. With only 8 months left and off a fresh transfer, he's determined to keep his head down and just make it through the last couple months before he can start rebuilding his life. Lem immediately catches his eye, he is both intimidated by his formidable size and thrilled at his raw masculinity, but anything more than sneaking the occasional peak is dangerous and not part of his plan. When a bad decision with the wrong person lands Anderson in hot water and fighting for his life, Lem risks everything to save him, setting the very things Anderson tried to avoid in motion and teaching him that love may just come from the darkest circumstances.

Lem and Anderson were automatic grab you by your neck characters. They both had enough of a back story to tell that kept you hanging on but I loved the raw beauty of both men. Lem was basically a gentle giant that spent his whole life fighting people's first impressions of him due to his appearance and stature. There was a vulnerability to him that was deep and pure emotional chaos, as well as a charismatic attraction that went beyond his outward good looks. It felt like you could watch prison breaking his spirit day by day through the pages. Anderson was a different approach to the same positive characteristics. He was the more outwardly emotional of the two, dealing with insecurities deriving from a home that didn't accept him for who he was or what made him happy. Both certainly had surprises up their sleeves for the reader. Side characters were essential to the world building but not heavy in this one which was beneficial. The main characters didn't get lost in a swamp of extra names and details. A few other prisoners that you got to know by name as well as Gia, Anderson's sister, allowed a dimension to the main characters rather than detracting from them.

The story itself wasn't overly crowded. It was told in a way that grabbed you and took you on a smooth flowing and gripping roller coaster that stopped before you were ready, leaving you wanting more. I was never more thankful to have the 2nd book available! I lost a few extra hours of sleep reading one to the next but I needed more of the characters that I had grown to cheer for and love. And of course I can't write this review without mentioning the sex. While not excessive, the steam factor was abundant and made me have to turn on a fan. The tension both sexual and psychological was leaping off the pages and making my heart skip a beat. I've sadly become somewhat of a cynical reader, possibly from the abundance of books I've read and reading a lot of the same, but Cold managed to break through that and remind me why I love reading, and even caused me to shed a tear(because I had something in my eye of course :) ). Just a great book to get lost in from an obviously talented writer. ...more

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