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stephanie_inman's Reviews (228)
I have read this entire series (although I still need to add reviews for the rest of the books) and I can say without a doubt, this is THE book to read when it comes to the Winston Brothers.
I fully admit, I had read so many reviews where people talked about how much they love Cletus, and I, being the doubter that I am, was skeptical. How could this character live up to those reviews? Here's the thing, though: Cletus totally lives up to them.
While I loved Cletus, and would read him do just about anything, we still had a really good story. In a twist, the Winston who is always in everyone else's business, and pretty much knows all of the secrets in their town, finally met his match. While he was busy ignoring Miss Jennifer, The Banana Cake Queen, Jennifer was studying him. Cletus underestimated Jennifer and I fucking loved it!
Jennifer, tired of being known only as The Banana Cake Queen, wanted to start her life. And she wanted a husband, babies, the whole domestic life. But, due to her parent's meddling and their being so overprotective, she wasn't sure how to act around men. Jennifer's biggest weakness, not being taken seriously, also became her greatest strength. Because she watched people. She wanted to learn how to interact with them. She knows Cletus has dirt on everyone. She knows that he often blackmails people to get what he wants. So when Jennifer gets proof of a wrongdoing done by Cletus, she turns the table on our Winston meddler. She blackmails the blackmailer.
Cletus thinks he has his life all planned out. He meets the new mechanic at their garage, and thinks they are "suited". He intends to get his life together and then he will approach Shelly, court her, and eventually marry her. Cletus is nothing if not practical. Shelly is exactly the type of woman he sees himself ending up with. She checks all of the boxes that Cletus has.
Jennifer? Not so much when it comes to being the type of woman that Cletus wants. For the most part, Cletus thinks Jen is weak, silly and high maintenance. He doesn't respect her. He doesn't even really give much thought to knowing her.
Now, can I just talk about Jen for a minute? Because, damn, did I ever love this girl! Jen proved to be a smart, capable heroine. I loved seeing her finally stand up to her parents. She went from doing everything they said to becoming her own person. And as for her relationship with Cletus, I love that her backbone extended to that as well. She not only stood up to her parents, but when Cletus tried to make decisions for her, she stood up to him as well.
I often complain about too many virgin heroines, but in this case, I didn't mind. One of the main aspects of Jen's character is that she was extremely sheltered. So her not having had sex made a lot of sense. It fit with her character and the story. I think it also helped that, while Cletus wasn't a virgin, we didn't have to hear about all of the women he's been with. In fact, Cletus was a selective lover. He wasn't about jumping into bed with just anyone.
This book is just everything I wanted to see in this series. I cannot recommend it enough.
I fully admit, I had read so many reviews where people talked about how much they love Cletus, and I, being the doubter that I am, was skeptical. How could this character live up to those reviews? Here's the thing, though: Cletus totally lives up to them.
While I loved Cletus, and would read him do just about anything, we still had a really good story. In a twist, the Winston who is always in everyone else's business, and pretty much knows all of the secrets in their town, finally met his match. While he was busy ignoring Miss Jennifer, The Banana Cake Queen, Jennifer was studying him. Cletus underestimated Jennifer and I fucking loved it!
Jennifer, tired of being known only as The Banana Cake Queen, wanted to start her life. And she wanted a husband, babies, the whole domestic life. But, due to her parent's meddling and their being so overprotective, she wasn't sure how to act around men. Jennifer's biggest weakness, not being taken seriously, also became her greatest strength. Because she watched people. She wanted to learn how to interact with them. She knows Cletus has dirt on everyone. She knows that he often blackmails people to get what he wants. So when Jennifer gets proof of a wrongdoing done by Cletus, she turns the table on our Winston meddler. She blackmails the blackmailer.
Cletus thinks he has his life all planned out. He meets the new mechanic at their garage, and thinks they are "suited". He intends to get his life together and then he will approach Shelly, court her, and eventually marry her. Cletus is nothing if not practical. Shelly is exactly the type of woman he sees himself ending up with. She checks all of the boxes that Cletus has.
Jennifer? Not so much when it comes to being the type of woman that Cletus wants. For the most part, Cletus thinks Jen is weak, silly and high maintenance. He doesn't respect her. He doesn't even really give much thought to knowing her.
Now, can I just talk about Jen for a minute? Because, damn, did I ever love this girl! Jen proved to be a smart, capable heroine. I loved seeing her finally stand up to her parents. She went from doing everything they said to becoming her own person. And as for her relationship with Cletus, I love that her backbone extended to that as well. She not only stood up to her parents, but when Cletus tried to make decisions for her, she stood up to him as well.
I often complain about too many virgin heroines, but in this case, I didn't mind. One of the main aspects of Jen's character is that she was extremely sheltered. So her not having had sex made a lot of sense. It fit with her character and the story. I think it also helped that, while Cletus wasn't a virgin, we didn't have to hear about all of the women he's been with. In fact, Cletus was a selective lover. He wasn't about jumping into bed with just anyone.
This book is just everything I wanted to see in this series. I cannot recommend it enough.
I don’t want to go to into the details on this one, because I think it’s just best enjoyed if you don’t know exactly what you’re getting. I’ll just say it’s a bit dark. Not the darkest thing I’ve read, but compared to most contemporary romance, yeah, it’s a bit rougher.
I’ve seen a lot of complaints about the sex in this one. Particularly the ménage scene. Personally I had no issues with it. It made sense to the characters and the story. It was incredibly well written. Like, it was actually hawt. But, yeah, if you’re someone not comfortable with a couple inviting someone else into their bed, then this might be a problem for you.
I felt the connection between our MCs, Rika and Michael. The only thing I didn’t like was that a simple misunderstanding set up this entire plot. Having this much shit go down because people just can’t talk to one another was just a bit too much.
We get to know Kai, Damon and Will a bit here. Often when a book is setting up stories for other characters, we miss out on a bit from the main couple. Or we don’t really get much of an introduction to the characters that will be the MCs in the future books. Douglas walked this line to perfection.
The book also sets up enough of a plot to keep you intrigued, not only in this book, also for what comes next.
Definitely a very strong series starter.
I’ve seen a lot of complaints about the sex in this one. Particularly the ménage scene. Personally I had no issues with it. It made sense to the characters and the story. It was incredibly well written. Like, it was actually hawt. But, yeah, if you’re someone not comfortable with a couple inviting someone else into their bed, then this might be a problem for you.
I felt the connection between our MCs, Rika and Michael. The only thing I didn’t like was that a simple misunderstanding set up this entire plot. Having this much shit go down because people just can’t talk to one another was just a bit too much.
We get to know Kai, Damon and Will a bit here. Often when a book is setting up stories for other characters, we miss out on a bit from the main couple. Or we don’t really get much of an introduction to the characters that will be the MCs in the future books. Douglas walked this line to perfection.
The book also sets up enough of a plot to keep you intrigued, not only in this book, also for what comes next.
Definitely a very strong series starter.
For a shorter book, I had trouble focusing on this one. I also got frustrated with Gabe's back and forth. One minute he was all about Sasha, and the next he was saying how he couldn't be with her because she was a friend of his brother's. This seemed to go on and on.
As for the "dark" past of Gabe's, that was built up to be way more than it was. The dude got into some trouble as a teenager. Yeah, he considered himself a "grifter" (and I think someone else in the book refers to him that way) but we aren't actually given any evidence of this. He stole cars as a teen. We're told that he has the skills to take money from people (grift) but we aren't given enough of a backstory for this to seem like it should be an issue.
Sasha is dealing with wanting to be a singer and she wants to open a club. Most of her family "doesn't believe in her". Again this is played light and doesn't seem like it's a serious conflict.
Honestly, this book wasn't bad. I just would have liked to see a bit stronger of a hero (with less back and forth over his being with Sasha) and a bit more to the story.
As for the "dark" past of Gabe's, that was built up to be way more than it was. The dude got into some trouble as a teenager. Yeah, he considered himself a "grifter" (and I think someone else in the book refers to him that way) but we aren't actually given any evidence of this. He stole cars as a teen. We're told that he has the skills to take money from people (grift) but we aren't given enough of a backstory for this to seem like it should be an issue.
Sasha is dealing with wanting to be a singer and she wants to open a club. Most of her family "doesn't believe in her". Again this is played light and doesn't seem like it's a serious conflict.
Honestly, this book wasn't bad. I just would have liked to see a bit stronger of a hero (with less back and forth over his being with Sasha) and a bit more to the story.
TW/CW: violence, kidnapping/child endangerment
I went back and forth between two and three stars on this one. The only real thing it had going for it was that it was a fast paced read and it kept me interested enough that I read it pretty much in one sitting. So, because I was hooked enough to finish it as quickly as I did, I’ll give it three stars.
Without going into too much details, the story is a mystery after all and I don’t want to spoil it, let me just say I agree with a lot of the other reviews.
These characters were stupid. Like how do they get out of bed and function kind of stupid. And not one single character in this entire book was likable. I hated the husband. I hated the wife. The neighbors. The wife’s parents. Literally they all just sucked.
I also didn’t like that both abuse and mental illness is used as plot points, but then also glossed over. I think if the author was going to go there with these topics, they should have gone a bit deeper.
The story focuses on the kidnapping of a baby. The story of how and why unravels quickly. Because it unravels so fast, it was fairly predictable. There was no time to drop clues. It’s more that you get a big clue and immediately find out that you’re right.
As for the ending, I honestly think the “surprise” at the end was not only predictable, but unnecessary.
I went back and forth between two and three stars on this one. The only real thing it had going for it was that it was a fast paced read and it kept me interested enough that I read it pretty much in one sitting. So, because I was hooked enough to finish it as quickly as I did, I’ll give it three stars.
Without going into too much details, the story is a mystery after all and I don’t want to spoil it, let me just say I agree with a lot of the other reviews.
These characters were stupid. Like how do they get out of bed and function kind of stupid. And not one single character in this entire book was likable. I hated the husband. I hated the wife. The neighbors. The wife’s parents. Literally they all just sucked.
I also didn’t like that both abuse and mental illness is used as plot points, but then also glossed over. I think if the author was going to go there with these topics, they should have gone a bit deeper.
The story focuses on the kidnapping of a baby. The story of how and why unravels quickly. Because it unravels so fast, it was fairly predictable. There was no time to drop clues. It’s more that you get a big clue and immediately find out that you’re right.
As for the ending, I honestly think the “surprise” at the end was not only predictable, but unnecessary.
TW: question of consent
This was a decent read. I might be a bit generous with how much I enjoyed it simply because of the hatred I had for Raiden. After Raiden, Duke was sort of what I needed to make me smile again.
While I’m still not super happy with the manwhore trope, it’s definitely not shoved down our throats as much in this one.
I appreciated the commentary that a drunk person cannot consent to sex. I do want to mention, however that the commentary seemed out of place if we’re supposed to like the heroine. I know that I’m being picky. Duke wasn’t drunk. But the fact that Willow thought he was drunk and only felt bad after the sex? Nope. I’d call that out in a male character. Women characters should be held to the same standards.
Taking that out of the book, however would leave me with likable characters and a good enough story to entertain me for a few minutes. I do wish this one would have been a little longer. We really weren’t given enough time to see Willow and Duke interact.
My three stars are basically all for Duke. He was a good friend to Charlie in Raiden’s book. He has always been the one character in this series who just seemed likable. And he managed to be the only “manwhore” out of this entire series who also had a personality.
This was a decent read. I might be a bit generous with how much I enjoyed it simply because of the hatred I had for Raiden. After Raiden, Duke was sort of what I needed to make me smile again.
While I’m still not super happy with the manwhore trope, it’s definitely not shoved down our throats as much in this one.
I appreciated the commentary that a drunk person cannot consent to sex. I do want to mention, however that the commentary seemed out of place if we’re supposed to like the heroine. I know that I’m being picky. Duke wasn’t drunk. But the fact that Willow thought he was drunk and only felt bad after the sex? Nope. I’d call that out in a male character. Women characters should be held to the same standards.
Taking that out of the book, however would leave me with likable characters and a good enough story to entertain me for a few minutes. I do wish this one would have been a little longer. We really weren’t given enough time to see Willow and Duke interact.
My three stars are basically all for Duke. He was a good friend to Charlie in Raiden’s book. He has always been the one character in this series who just seemed likable. And he managed to be the only “manwhore” out of this entire series who also had a personality.
DNF @ 30%. While I love many of the books in this series, I couldn’t get through this one. I tried going to the next book and just reading this one off and on, but I wasn’t enjoying it enough to want to actually go back to it. The book prior to this one, and the book following it are both great. I didn’t like the heroine, Cleo. I liked Denver, but didn’t feel any chemistry between him and Cleo.
I also didn’t care for the story. The whole scene just isn’t my thing.
I hated to DNF this. I’ve enjoyed many of Piper Rayne’s other books. They’re great authors. This one didn’t do it for me, but we all have personal preferences. My DNF of this one doesn’t reflect my views on their writing. This was purely a story based/character opinion for me.
I also didn’t care for the story. The whole scene just isn’t my thing.
I hated to DNF this. I’ve enjoyed many of Piper Rayne’s other books. They’re great authors. This one didn’t do it for me, but we all have personal preferences. My DNF of this one doesn’t reflect my views on their writing. This was purely a story based/character opinion for me.
I'm reviewing this on maybe my third reading of this book? My only "official GR" read is this, the most recent one. But, this book is one of those that is so good that I have the ebook and still bought the hardback for my book shelf. That, to me, is the ultimate decision on whether or not a book is brilliant:
Is it shelf-worthy?
Simon is 100% shelf-worthy. This book is such a great representation, not only of being LGTBQ in high school, but just being in high school. I'll admit it's been years since I've walked the halls of high school, and times are definitely not the same as then. But the messages in this book ring true for most of us who maybe struggled finding where we belong.
What I love about Simon is that he didn't struggle as much with being gay as he did with how being gay would change everything around him. He knew who he was, and he had accepted it. He was certain his family would support him. (Side Note: Simon's family is awesome. I take it as quite a compliment that my own kiddo told me that they saw a lot of me in Simon's mom). Even knowing that his family would always love him, he still had this feeling of not wanting things to change. He was comfortable with who he always was. He worried that coming out would change the way others saw him. And, of course there was this little voice in his head thinking "What if I'm wrong? What if they can't accept me?" It's that voice inside of him that I think resonates with pretty much everyone. And it rings true for so many aspects of being a teenager. That is why I think this book is so special.
I don't want to downplay the LGTBQ aspect of this story. And I think books that showcase the struggles of teens (and even adults) coming out or even just accepting themselves are super important. We need that content. We also need this content. A book that shows us acceptance, but that sometimes that acceptance is still a scary thing.
The "voice" of Simon is refreshingly honest, vulnerable and smart. And I enjoyed every minute of the story he told.
Is it shelf-worthy?
Simon is 100% shelf-worthy. This book is such a great representation, not only of being LGTBQ in high school, but just being in high school. I'll admit it's been years since I've walked the halls of high school, and times are definitely not the same as then. But the messages in this book ring true for most of us who maybe struggled finding where we belong.
What I love about Simon is that he didn't struggle as much with being gay as he did with how being gay would change everything around him. He knew who he was, and he had accepted it. He was certain his family would support him. (Side Note: Simon's family is awesome. I take it as quite a compliment that my own kiddo told me that they saw a lot of me in Simon's mom). Even knowing that his family would always love him, he still had this feeling of not wanting things to change. He was comfortable with who he always was. He worried that coming out would change the way others saw him. And, of course there was this little voice in his head thinking "What if I'm wrong? What if they can't accept me?" It's that voice inside of him that I think resonates with pretty much everyone. And it rings true for so many aspects of being a teenager. That is why I think this book is so special.
I don't want to downplay the LGTBQ aspect of this story. And I think books that showcase the struggles of teens (and even adults) coming out or even just accepting themselves are super important. We need that content. We also need this content. A book that shows us acceptance, but that sometimes that acceptance is still a scary thing.
The "voice" of Simon is refreshingly honest, vulnerable and smart. And I enjoyed every minute of the story he told.
TW/CW: violence, abuse, sexual assault, rape
Full disclosure: this review is being written after reading this book at least once a year since it’s publication date in 2014. This is THE book that got me back into reading the romance genre. I hadn’t read romance in years. Maybe some light chic-lit style, but nothing that we know of as today’s contemporary or new adult romance.
This book introduces us to the Gentry Boys. Triplets who grew up rough, and lived the same way. In their quest to make themselves feel better, as teenagers they hurt our heroine, Saylor.
Here’s why I love this book. Saylor isn’t anyone’s victim. Yeah, she stays longer than she should in an abusive relationship, but once she decides she’s done, she fights. She also has the capacity to forgive. Circumstances bring her back into the lives of the Gentry Boys and she falls hard and fast for Cord Gentry. Cord is the one who hurt Saylor the most. He made her think he liked her, so she would sleep with him in high school. She later found out he and his brothers had a bet on which one of them would be the one to take Saylor’s virginity (yes, I do have issues here. And I hate the phrase “take Saylor’s virginity”. There’s all sorts of misogyny around that, but I’ll move on for the sake of this review)
I also love that the brothers struggle. And I don’t mean with just their demons growing up. No, money, jobs, just living. I am so over books where everyone is a billionaire and real life never gets in the way. Here Cord and Saylor actually have jobs. It’s just refreshing to read due to the incredibly overdone nature of the billionaire/virgin trope that is rampant in romance.
All in all, this is just a solid romance book. While not my favorite of the series, it’s absolutely worth the read.
Full disclosure: this review is being written after reading this book at least once a year since it’s publication date in 2014. This is THE book that got me back into reading the romance genre. I hadn’t read romance in years. Maybe some light chic-lit style, but nothing that we know of as today’s contemporary or new adult romance.
This book introduces us to the Gentry Boys. Triplets who grew up rough, and lived the same way. In their quest to make themselves feel better, as teenagers they hurt our heroine, Saylor.
Here’s why I love this book. Saylor isn’t anyone’s victim. Yeah, she stays longer than she should in an abusive relationship, but once she decides she’s done, she fights. She also has the capacity to forgive. Circumstances bring her back into the lives of the Gentry Boys and she falls hard and fast for Cord Gentry. Cord is the one who hurt Saylor the most. He made her think he liked her, so she would sleep with him in high school. She later found out he and his brothers had a bet on which one of them would be the one to take Saylor’s virginity (yes, I do have issues here. And I hate the phrase “take Saylor’s virginity”. There’s all sorts of misogyny around that, but I’ll move on for the sake of this review)
I also love that the brothers struggle. And I don’t mean with just their demons growing up. No, money, jobs, just living. I am so over books where everyone is a billionaire and real life never gets in the way. Here Cord and Saylor actually have jobs. It’s just refreshing to read due to the incredibly overdone nature of the billionaire/virgin trope that is rampant in romance.
All in all, this is just a solid romance book. While not my favorite of the series, it’s absolutely worth the read.
This is one of my go-to re-reads. I started my GR counts over in 2020 because I really wanted to delve into my reading, and maybe keep a better lisf of what I’ve liked and what I haven’t. So, whatever my GR read count on this book is, add at least seven to that for the number of times I’ve read this book.
This is the second book in Cora Brent’s Gentry Boys Series. It follows Creed and Truly. Obviously, Creed is one of the Gentry triplets. We also met Truly in the first book, Draw. She worked with our h, Sayler and they became friends.
There was really no interaction between Creed and Truly in the first book. Still, I always prefer to know both characters in the next book in an interconnected series, so I was glad they used Truly as this book’s heroine.
I absolutely loved Creed and Truly together. Both have been through a lot. Both have demons. But, where Creed has always before let his demons drag him down, turning to alchohol more than any other vice (although it’s said he’s also used women) Truly has learned to see through the darkness. She brings a light to Creed.
Their relationship begins as a one night stand. Creed doesn’t think himself the type of man worthy of someone as good as Truly Lee. And Truly has been taken advantage of and used by men since she was a teenager. She doesn’t want to risk her heart.
Still, when these two get together it is explosive. I have read every book in both the Gentry Boys and the Gentry Generations series and Creed and Truly Lee are still my favorite couple.
Note: I’ve read some reviews that are very positive when it comes to Creed, but have harsh thoughts on Truly, due to her past. While I respect everyone’s opion, I just want to mention that I definitely do not feel this way. Creed is a known “manwhore” (I do hate that term) and has had sex with women he doesn’t even know. He would hook up with women to make himself feel better. Truly wasn’t a virgin. She was taken advantage of at seventeen by a thirty year old man and suffered serious consequences for those actions. She then slept with other men. For some reason, women seem to be critical of her, but less so of Creed. I don’t understand that at all. Again, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I did want to mention this. Ms. Brent is one of the great writers who I feel empowers her female characters. They aren’t all virginal Mary Sues. Sometimes they makes mistakes. Sometimes they just have sex because (gasp) they are adult women and they have had adult relations before meeting the hero. They are relatable. And I am a huge fan of hers because of this.
This is the second book in Cora Brent’s Gentry Boys Series. It follows Creed and Truly. Obviously, Creed is one of the Gentry triplets. We also met Truly in the first book, Draw. She worked with our h, Sayler and they became friends.
There was really no interaction between Creed and Truly in the first book. Still, I always prefer to know both characters in the next book in an interconnected series, so I was glad they used Truly as this book’s heroine.
I absolutely loved Creed and Truly together. Both have been through a lot. Both have demons. But, where Creed has always before let his demons drag him down, turning to alchohol more than any other vice (although it’s said he’s also used women) Truly has learned to see through the darkness. She brings a light to Creed.
Their relationship begins as a one night stand. Creed doesn’t think himself the type of man worthy of someone as good as Truly Lee. And Truly has been taken advantage of and used by men since she was a teenager. She doesn’t want to risk her heart.
Still, when these two get together it is explosive. I have read every book in both the Gentry Boys and the Gentry Generations series and Creed and Truly Lee are still my favorite couple.
Note: I’ve read some reviews that are very positive when it comes to Creed, but have harsh thoughts on Truly, due to her past. While I respect everyone’s opion, I just want to mention that I definitely do not feel this way. Creed is a known “manwhore” (I do hate that term) and has had sex with women he doesn’t even know. He would hook up with women to make himself feel better. Truly wasn’t a virgin. She was taken advantage of at seventeen by a thirty year old man and suffered serious consequences for those actions. She then slept with other men. For some reason, women seem to be critical of her, but less so of Creed. I don’t understand that at all. Again, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I did want to mention this. Ms. Brent is one of the great writers who I feel empowers her female characters. They aren’t all virginal Mary Sues. Sometimes they makes mistakes. Sometimes they just have sex because (gasp) they are adult women and they have had adult relations before meeting the hero. They are relatable. And I am a huge fan of hers because of this.
This is the book in this series I was looking most forward to. I wish there had been more set up for Zack and Josie in the previous books. I feel like we didn’t get a whole lot of build up for these two. Everything happened quickly.
I loved Josie. I didn’t like that she was a virgin, though. It felt too much like she was pining for Zack, and he was experienced, so it wasn’t as much of a case of mutual pining as I think we are supposed to believe.
That leads me to my other point, we’re supposed to believe Zack knows that he’s in love with Josie, and he wants to be with her, but then when it gets the chance, he acts like it’s nothing more than a casual hookup? Up until the point that Gabe found out about them, it didn’t seem like Zack was nearly as in this relationship as Josie was.
Overall the book isn’t bad. It moves too quickly, and we aren’t given a chance to really know the characters or feel their connection. I just wish it would have slowed down a bit.
I loved Josie. I didn’t like that she was a virgin, though. It felt too much like she was pining for Zack, and he was experienced, so it wasn’t as much of a case of mutual pining as I think we are supposed to believe.
That leads me to my other point, we’re supposed to believe Zack knows that he’s in love with Josie, and he wants to be with her, but then when it gets the chance, he acts like it’s nothing more than a casual hookup? Up until the point that Gabe found out about them, it didn’t seem like Zack was nearly as in this relationship as Josie was.
Overall the book isn’t bad. It moves too quickly, and we aren’t given a chance to really know the characters or feel their connection. I just wish it would have slowed down a bit.