I’m not a protector.I’m a damaged ex-con,The last thing I need is an innocent little virgin,Thinking I’m her happily ever after.She’s naive and pure, the kind of woman a man like me doesn’t deserve.But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t notice the way that uniform hugs her petite curves.The moment she slipped me her number,It snapped me back to reality,and those dirty fantasies went right in the … reality,
and those dirty fantasies went right in the trash along with her number.
So I kept my distance,
Until that night.
Saving her felt like redemption from my past.
Falling for her was where I fucked up.
Now the shadows from my past have returned and I’ll stop at nothing to keep her safe.
Even if that means I have to lose her forever.
I thought I could have a taste and walk away,
Instead, I stole her innocence and broke her heart.
This isn’t a f*cking fairytale sweetheart,
And I’m no knight in shining armor.
This time the big bad wolf just might eat you alive.
This bad boy romantic suspense will have you on the edge of your seat and fanning yourself from the heat and passion! Get ready for a Kindle Melting happily ever after with no cheating or cliffhangers. PREVIOUSLY TITLED DAMAGED.
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ARC given by Author through Booksprout.
My review is given voluntarily.
I gave this book a 5 plus
This is the 1st book in the ‘South Side Boys’ series, and what a way to kickoff a new series. I have now read all 4 books and they are all incredibly good. Author poured all types of angst into each characters, they all had their troubles in the past, but they are trying to makeup for it, and make a honest good life, but the past has a way of coming back to haunt you sometimes. The men are all sexy hot, the woman are beautiful, sexy and smart with a side of stabourn. They all have health sexual appetites…lol the chemistry is HOT. The good thing is in the end they all end up with a HEA, after they go through a shit load of storms they must all face individually, and together as friends and family !
I really loved this series. I highly recommend you read them!
Two people who have painful pasts. Annabelle is Is an artist and manager of a cafe, but is also an innocent. Jaxson is anything but pure but he has turned his life around. Both have an instant attraction but they have things stopping them.
This is a steamy contemporary romance, filled with great characters and lots of drama, that keeps you engaged until the end. I found the characters were well crafted complete with positive and negative characteristics. The storyline flowed smoothly and quickly and took me on an emotional rollercoaster. The narrative was from both main characters allowing insight into their pasts, feeling, emotions and actions. Both characters have to resolve past experiences and deal with current obstacles in order to have a chance at happiness. I loved how the characters developed and supported each other. The steamy scenes worked well and enhanced the storyline rather than take away from it. If you like heartwarming, sexy, contemporary romances then you should enjoy this novel.
This story was really good. Liked how they worked through the feelings of inadequacy. Jaxon has always been the bad boy on the ring side of the tracks and harbors guilt over the death of his younger sister. Annabelle is innocence personified but has a crush on the guy that comes into the coffee shop. When he inadvertently saves her when she is attacked in her way home from work their story kicks off. Ups and downs. With a little angst thrown in towards the end. It’s a good book. Only thing I didn’t like was I wish we knew the karma fate of his dad. He deserved either a beating or more jail time personally. Loved the ending. Looking forward to tori and Kallums book.
I really enjoyed this book. I will say around chapter 25 I kept wondering what was going to happen because there’s over 40 chapters and around chapter 25 everything is perfect for the couple. They love each other and things are going perfectly…. there were a lot of chapters just reiterating their love for one another. I can’t say I minded that though!! Also, this has very low ansty which I’ll say I was happy about. Sometimes you just need a good romance with low drama!!!!
I’ll start off by saying that I don’t hand out 5* ratings on a daily basis. This book TRULY deserved it.
Annabelle Locke is struck speechless and becomes a total clutz when HE enters the cafe she manages. At first he doesn’t say much to her. Until one fateful night where he comes to her rescue.
Jaxson Kelly is trying to keep to himself. Yes, he’s definitely noticed Annabelle, but he can’t give into their attraction. He has too many skeletons in his proverbial closet that he can’t allow to touch her. Then he has to come to her rescue one night and all bets are off.
Annabelle and Jaxson are perfect together. Their story is scorching hot and tense. I loved their interaction. The flow of the story was right that kept my attention.
I recommend this read!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is a story about Anabelle, a somewhat quiet, innocent girl working at a coffee shop and Jaxson, a jaded tough guy from the wrong side of the tracks. When he comes in for coffee, they do not speak, but she crushes on his dark and dangerous vibes. He is sure they could never be together because of the past he wants to hide and she is too shy to even speak to him. Until one night she needs to. I thought this was a really good book and I had a hard time putting it down.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
It Grabbed My attention and focus so strong I could not put it down. A word of advice when you get your copy. Grab a snack, a comfy seat, kick back and relax. You will not be moving until you finish this bad boy here. Remarkable job. Thanks for sharing.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I read 70% of this book and quit. It got boring, and I reached the point where I no longer wanted to complete the journey.
Loved the book it was great the story was well written and the characters were great. Annabelle and Jaxson has chemistry that is steamy but does Jaxson past stop them from their happily ever after.
Thank you for allowing me to review your book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Very well written story,great characters and so entertaining book.
Annabelle, a coffee shop owner sees this very quiet man every day for cup of black coffee.
Jaxson, co-owner of an MMA gym and ex-con definitely had a black past.
They have a great chemistry ,but, past secrets come out, danger comes too. Both of them are threatened and sacrifices have to be made.
This is the perfect start to a new series , has a lot of hot romance and enough mystery to have you turning pages to find out what will happen next.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book. Exceptional job on this book. This book was good from the moment I started reading it until I clicked on the last page. Ms. Winters knocked this one out of the park. You have Annabelle with her problems and losing her inspiration in life. Now Jaxson also has his problems but when the two meet. You kindle is going to burn up. I really enjoyed this story and was glad that it had a happy ending.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What a story line! What characters! What a great storyteller Alexis Winter is! This book is a great read. I loved it.
The book has everything, and I do mean everything, that I like in a really good book; angst—hand ringing kind, laughter—even the out loud kind, tears—more than a few, anger—yep, fist hitting face kind as well as descriptions of what might be triggers for some, and some great heat, and the all important HEA.
One of the things that I liked the most was the FAMILY that these characters build out of their ragtag bond throughout a harder than normal life interfaced with each other through love and friendship.
The emotions were real and the characters while flawed were perfect in many ways. Once I started the book I could not stop until I got to the end. Even then I wanted more. I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.
Superbly written! Immediately this book will draw you in and immerse you into a world of action, drama, humour, witty banter, good friends, and intrigue. The story flows smoothly and moves along at a brisk pace with excitement and a mix of emotions on every page. The storyline is very interesting and well developed. The characters you will love; the chemistry between the main characters is instant and steamy with sparks flying everywhere. A MUST READ!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I really liked this story! The characters are fantastic, how they all are there for each other, the family they chose and are closer than could be. There is a story within the story. You go through all sorts of emotions it is written so well. You will be cheering for the shy girl to speak to the guy she is crushing on. You will go aww when the big, bad guy feels he isn’t good enough for the shy girl. You will want to do some damage to the big bad guy every time he makes her cry. You will feel good when people are given a second chance (more than one second chance going on here!). I am looking forward to the stories of the other South Side Boys who made it good.
Annabelle is the shy barista manager that has been crushing on this big bad Mr. Dark and Dangerous customer. He barely says anything. He points with his eyes what he wants and shapes a $5 bill on the counter for his coffee. Every time she sees him, she becomes a clutz. If she isn’t spilling coffee on things, she is dropping trays of sandwiches. One night after locking up, she takes a shortcut to the train station on her way home. She was thinking of Mr. Dark and Dangerous and took a different back alley when someone grabs her from behind. She bites his hand and gets away, then trips and he catches her again so she screams for help. Her tattooed knight saves the day. He then speaks with her and tells her to call him if she is closing alone and he will make sure she gets home safely. Tori, her BFF and co-worker, talks her into taking a self-defense class after her mugging. Low and behold, guess who owns the club the class is in. Boy does he look hot in the boxing ring in just a pair of shorts. She would like to trace every one of his tattoos with her tongue. They start to chat back and forth a bit. Tori tells her she needs to give him her phone number, so she writes it on his coffee cup the next time he is in. She watches as when he sees her number on the cup, he throws it in the garbage.
Jaxson comes from the South Side of Chicago. His father was well known for running numbers and gambling. He taught his son to fight and then got him into the fights. When Jaxson found out they were fixed so his dad could make more money, he walked away from his father. When he didn’t fight and his father couldn’t win money to pay his gambling debts, the thugs who went looking for his father found his 14 year old sister and killed her as a lesson. Shortly afterwards his father, Stan, was arrested and jailed. Since then Jaxson spent some time in jail when he got between an abusive guy and a woman. The abusive guy was a cop, so Jaxson spent a year in jail. There he met his partner in The Pit, a boxing, MMA, exercise club. They are totally legitimate now. They are successful in that they make enough to pay the bills, live comfortably and provide a good service for their customers. When Jaxson walked into the coffee shop, The Perk, and saw that redhead the first time, he knew he was hooked. He would go back just about every day, just to see her. He felt that she was too good for him, so he would never speak with her. She reminded him a bit of his sister, being innocent and all. He wanted her and he wanted to protect her. After saving her from a mugging, with a knife at her throat, he wanted to protect her even more. When she signed up for the self-defense classes, he was proud of her. He knew that he couldn’t stay away from her forever. She already lived in his mind everyday.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
As always this author delivers a great read with characters that are well developed and engaging and the storyline flows smoothly from the beginning to the end.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Oh, this is such a wonderful read! This is a story of Jaxson, a bad boy from the worst part of Chicago, and Annabelle, an upper middle class artist who is currently working at a coffee shop. When she first sees Jaxson, sparks fly. But she is too shy to approach him, and he doesn’t believe he is worthy of such a beautiful and gentle woman. Jaxson co-owns a gym where MMA is practiced and, after Annabelle is attacked and rescued by the exceedingly handsome Jaxson, she decides to join a gym and learn self defense. Little does she know it is the gym Jaxson owns. What happens between them is beautiful in the beginning, until a darkness overshadows their relationship. This is a must read!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I was hooked when I read the first chapter of this book. Jaxson and Annabelle had so much chemistry. Jaxson was a bad boy reformed by doing time in prison. He grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. Annabelle is the complete opposite. She is a cafe manager but her real passion is art. She is a pure and innocent virgin. Jaxson comes in the cafe Annabelle works and that’s how they meet. Annabelle gets herself into something that is life or death and Jaxson comes to her rescue. This is a great story! I highly recommend this book.
Damaged by Alexis Winter is an awesome read; captivating,intriguing,emotional and sizzling hot,filled with action,drama and a bit of suspense.a romannce story of Jaxson and Annabelle,well written,strong characters with off the charts chemistry,loved it!,i cannot put it down! well done!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
An amazing heartwarming romance . This addicting storyline kept me engrossed and compelled page after page. The plot included mystery, secrets, danger, sacrifices, angst, twists and turns, humor, and sizzling hot heat that had me having to finish in one sitting. The characters had incredible hot chemistry, were relateable but flawed. It was told in dual point of view enabling me to see and feel their differences and flaws as the together found healing and love to a incredible HEA. I voluntarily read and reviewed this fantastic ARC. I can’t wait for more in the series to find others characters HEA.
This is a GREAT start to the South Side Boys series!!
Jaxson has a dark past filled with lies and a ton of pain. He is an ex-con who has turned his life around since getting out. He hardly talks to people, including his business partner and two best friends so when he sees Annabelle for the first time at the coffee shop he knows no matter what it would be best to stay away but of course that’s not how life goes.
They say opposites attract and Jaxson and Annabelle prove how true this is!! I can’t wait to see what Alexis Winter has in store for us with this series. I’m looking forward to more of it.