“Better When it Hurts is an intense and heartbreakingly beautiful story. I couldn’t read fast enough to see what would happen next with Blue and Lola. A definite 5 star read for sure!” ~ Jenika Snow, USA Today bestselling authorA forbidden romance about pain that binds us together…Five years ago we lived in the same house. He was the ultimate bad boy.And my foster brother.Now he’s back. … brother.
Now he’s back. Tougher, harder, meaner. All of it aimed at me, because I was the one who sent him away. It’s payback time. He wants his pound of flesh, and I am helpless to say no.
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BETTER WHEN IT HURTS is a full-length romance that does stand alone. Fair warning: Blue is a cruel bastard and a dirty talker!
Books in the Stripped series
½. Tough Love (prequel)
1. Love the Way You Lie
2. Better When It Hurts
3. Even Better
4. Pretty When You Cry
Praise for Better When It Hurts:
“5 Angsty Love-versus-Hate Stars! Better When It Hurts sucked me in hook, line, and sinker within the first few pages.” – Allison, The Reading Escapade Book Blog
“There’s one thing I can say with certainty, Skye Warren never fails to deliver a heartfelt, slightly dark, I can’t stop turning the pages story. This one is no different.” – Di, Twisted Sisters
“Very Angsty 5 Star Read! This book is so compelling, you won’t be able to put it down, this is one of those books that you’ll want to save to re-read.” – Melissa, Books Can Take You There
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I don’t normally enjoy “dark romance/erotica” books because for me, the real world is usually dark enough. But I enjoy Skye Warren and when I saw Better when it Hurts on sale in audio on Chirp I went ahead and downloaded it. I was pleasantly surprised by the emotions of this book. Is it pretty hearts and dream eyes? No. But there’s a realness and a rawness in these characters and this story that literally had me almost in tears more than once. I just wanted so much more for the characters as they fought against each other and believed every hurtful action and word instead of trying to look deeper. By the time they finally did I felt like I could breathe again. I wanted to hug them and tell them that they’d be okay. Any book that can make me feel like that is a great book in my humble opinion.
Better When It Hurts is about Hannah who now goes by the stripper name Lola. Hannah was tossed around twenty-four different foster homes growing up. She has not let what her foster brothers did to her turn her into a victim. Instead she took that pain and control with her, turning her into a survivor.
Lola earns a living stripping for money. She hears the men catcall, hears them proposition her, and hears them swear at her every night. But the one thing they can’t do is touch her.
Blue is the bouncer who protects Lola from men who try to take it too far with her. Five years ago, Hannah told a lie about Blue that sent him away. She’s scared now that he is back to seek revenge against her. Not knowing what he is capable of worries her. He knows about her past and where she came from.
I knew going in this was going to be a sexually driven story. Sometimes those work for me and other times they don’t. I didn’t care much about Blue or Loa’s characters. I wasn’t invested in there story. Nor did I connect with them. Something didn’t work in this story.
Narrator:
Veronica Fox is the brilliant female performer. This audiobook was recorded in a professional setting with the highest listening quality. This was an unabridged copy.
Hannah/Lola and Blue’s story broke me apart and then put me back together. Such love and maybe hate but I don’t think it was true hate for either person. History gets rewritten when the lies are exposed. When sacrifices are uncovered. I can’t wait for more from this couple in Even Better. I hope I don’t get torn apart again.
A heartbreaking, super dark romance full of content triggers. A well-written story with complex characters, some humor, very hot intimate scenes, and lots of twists.
I struggled to get into this story, but it does get better even if it’s a little all over the place in spots. I enjoyed it enough to download the follow up novella, Even Better, and would give other books by this author a chance
My favorite by Skye Warren to date, and so far the darkest and most realistic. Up there with Scars by Sinden West. Hannah had a femme fatale vibe similar to Paige from Scars. Both heroines were deeply flawed, but redeemable characters.
This can be read as a stand-alone, and it can be read before the “prequel” that was actually published after this. I recommend reading this * before * the prequel, because the prequel contains spoilers.
Triggers: Noncon, dubcon, and violence
I loved this book! I love Blue and Lola/Hannah! Warning: This series is considered “Dark Erotica,” so the plot isn’t always pleasant and there are no rainbows or glitter to be found in the crumbling cracks of Tanglewood’s streets…unless they fell off of a stripper’s costume.
In “Better When It Hurts” Skye Warren offers the perfect blend of raw & grungy with sweet & sincere that will have you turning the pages faster than you really want to go – because you never want it to end!
Blue hates Lola with a passion that’s its own kind of energy, but he can’t stop from wanting her more than his next breath, either. They have a history and he wants vengeance for the five years of hell she put him through – because of a lie.
Lola knows he’s there to claim his just dues, and she’s almost willing to give it to him. Anything to keep him from discovering the truth. From learning exactly why she lied all those years ago. Anything to assuage her own twisted desires for him that’s right on the razor’s edge between lust and self-inflicted punishment.
My personal taste leaves me aching for a POV switch whenever I read Skye’s books, wishing for a chance to get inside of the male lead’s head, but otherwise the flow was great. Just the right amount of action, sex, romance and back-story. The only thing I was concerned with was the fact that Lola’s character didn’t even carry pepper-spray or have any kind of self-defense lessons – and given her history, her job and living in the worst town ever, that just didn’t seem very realistic to me. I think if a woman’s first and last thought every day is survival in the hardest-knocks kind of situations, she would definitely take every measure available to keep herself safe. That should have been a natural reflex of her survival instincts, not something overlooked.
The characters are just amazingly well meshed, their chemistry is perfect. There isn’t a moment in the entire book where you’re left feeling disappointed over their undeniable connection, even in the height of Blue’s anger or in the lows of Lola’s self-loathing. It’s real, gritty, heartfelt and super hot!
I would recommend this book to anyone and can’t wait until the next installation comes out in the Fall to see what the future holds for Candy & Ivan!
I really liked this book. It had me intrigued from the start. Blue is this mysterious guy I wouldn’t mind spending a couple of nights (or forever) with. I normally don’t like flashbacks but here I liked them and thought it was an important part of the story (they are short).
Blue is alpha that didn’t take no for answer, because he knew that Lola was attracted to him and wanted to say yes (but had conflicted feelings). She mainly didn’t want to get involved because she was protecting him. I really felt for Lola she had been through a lot and deserved her HEA. I love that Blue was so protective, but at the end he didn’t go to any extremes when Lola told him not to do something (to protect him). I wish it was longer though, it was pretty fast-paced. I am really looking forward to Candy’s story!
This book is about Lola/Hannah betrayed Blue five years ago when they was in the same group home. Lola is just knew that Blue is waiting to take his revenge on her. Blue does not know that she was trying to save him five years ago as well as she is trying to save him now. Blue finds her working as a stripper so he became a bounces to keep a eye on her. Now is the time to buy the book to find out what happens to the people in it. It is worth it to buy the book. I will be buying the other books from this author.
I was disappointed in this book about Lola and Blue. She is a stripper with a past with Blue. He finds her five years later to exact revenge. It was too violent and sad for me.