Tick tock. One day before the wedding of her dreams, Penny is in a city that is no longer her home. Alone. Heartbroken. Lost. Could the past few years really mean so little to a man that became her world? To a man she’d do anything to protect? There is no future without him. There is no her without him. With only 24 hours until the wedding, is there enough time to repair the damage? Tick tock. … Tick tock.
And even if Penny and James do come back to each other, Isabella is still out there plotting. The world is still against them. Darkness still lurks in the shadows of James’ past. A student and her professor were never meant to be forever. They thought it was an everlasting love, but it was doomed from the very start. Tick tock.
Temptation led to addiction, which exploded into an eruption of chaos. And when the pieces settled, only one thing became clear…devotion. One great love. A love worth fighting for. Because the only thing that lasts forever is love.
__________
TOP 100 BESTSELLING SERIES
NEW ADULT ROMANCE BESTSELLING SERIES
★★★★★ “This book was amazing!”
★★★★★ “I loved every second of it!”
★★★★★ “Heart-stopping.”
★★★★★ “Deliciously beautiful story.”
★★★★★ “Phenomenal.”
★★★★★ “Shocking, heart breaking, and pure.”
★★★★★ “The best series of books I have ever read.”
★★★★★ “I loved every minute of it.”
★★★★★ “BEST BOOK EVER!!!!”
★★★★★ “Ivy saves the best for last!”
★★★★★ “You don’t want to miss this exciting series!”
more
Penny had graduated and now there will be a wedding at the end of June. Penny will also start her internship at James’ company. The engagement party was transferred to his parents house and this is when Isabella started her dirty plots, showed her how ugly his parents were and weren’t beneath bribing Penny to leave James alone. Isabella webbed a web so carefully and hateful just to get James back. She had won she thought. Penny went to his parents to tell them what their precious Isabella did. James’s dad believed her. Rob came to try to help. Will love so deep win?
So I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book. It comes out in a few weeks and it’s the last in a 4 book series. If you haven’t read them yet, you need to! Start with Temptation. I think it might still be free on Amazon right now. Ivy is an amazing writer and she needs to be more known. You can follow her on twitter @ivysmoak. But this book was so good. I love James and Penny. All their insecurities about themselves and each other are so relatable and real. Seriously, you should check her out. She’s one of my favorite authors now.
Wow – This Book Is Explosive! James & Penny’s Steamy Romantic Suspense Is Dripping In Angst As The Couple’s Journey Comes To Its Dramatic Conclusion. There Has Been Such A Build Up To Get To The End Of This Series That It Is Hard To Believe It Is Over.
This is the final of four books in The Hunted series, which is James and Penny’s story. Their romance continues in the three book The Light to my Darkness series. See James as a teenager in the four book Empire High series (Matt’s story), which gives the backstory for the Untouchables – James, his brother Rob, and the Caldwell brothers – Mason and Matt. There are other books that are spinoffs to these books, including the Men of Manhattan series of standalones: City of Sin, Third Chances, and Missing Pieces.
The Men of Manhattan series intersects with The Hunted series. While each series can be enjoyed on its own, each book is even more enjoyable when read collectively because little glimpses of the characters from one book to another add to the depth of their individual stories. Approximating the chronological order, the two series combined should be read as follows (according to the author).
1. Temptation (James Hunter and Penny Taylor’s story, part 1)
2. Addiction (James Hunter and Penny Taylor’s story, part 2)
3. City of Sin (Mason Caldwell and Bridget Cowen’s story)
4. Eruption (James Hunter and Penny Taylor’s story, part 3)
5. Third Chances (Rob Hunter and Daphne Hughes’s story)
6. Devotion (James Hunter and Penny Taylor’s story, part 4)
7. Missing Pieces (Tyler Stevens and Hailey Shaw’s story)
And for those that want to continue reading about James and Penny Hunter, The Light to my Darkness series includes:
1. The Light to my Darkness (James and Penny Hunter, part 1)
2. A Whirlwind of Color (James and Penny Hunter, part 2)
3. This Is Love (James and Penny Hunter, part 3)
FROM DEVOTION, BOOK FOUR:
Fans may choose to read Third Chances from the Men of Manhattan series prior to reading this book. Glimpses of James during his bachelor party weekend in Costa Rica are seen through Rob and Daphne’s POVs.
As the last book closed, James and Penny had each kept some important developments close to the vest since his return from Costa Rica late Sunday night. Someone had been spying on them and sending threats as well as pictures and letters meant to turn them against one another. Penny is convinced Isabella is behind it all, but James has unfortunately fallen for Isabella’s ploy. The couple’s communication had broken down. Stress and emotions as their wedding day approach may have played a role. Avoidance and wishful thinking likely play a role as well. For James, his need to control things justifies not letting Penny in. Regardless, their lack of communication leads to a major meltdown and a breach of trust – far worse than the issues they ignored. Drunk and heartbroken over the $20 million Penny had transferred to Tyler’s bank account, James refuses believe her explanations and berates her verbally before kicking her to the curb once and for all. Penny worries that James may fall into bad habits in her absence and enlists Rob, Mason, and Ian to watch over him. She also seeks out his parents to confide her concerns to them. Rob finds Penny and takes her back to Delaware for the night, but when morning arrives and James has still not responded to her calls and texts, she plans to leave town per his demands.
This book picks up seamlessly where book three left off. It is early Friday morning, the day before James and Penny are scheduled to be married. Tyler unfortunately gets caught up in the drama, which leads to some heartbreak. Just as Penny is ready to head to the airport and begin anew in Chicago, James makes an appearance. The broken pair are overwhelmed by their desire to make amends, yet both still hold a great deal of anger inside. They finally have the heart to heart that they should have had on Monday morning. James had not canceled the wedding, so they agree to move forward as scheduled. James worries that Isabella will stop at nothing to keep him and Penny apart, and he tightens his security to ensure she is kept at bay. The rehearsal dinner takes place that evening, and there are a few surprises in store for them. The threat of danger becomes real the next day, the day of the wedding. Someone continues to target the couple, but the case is not easily solved. James and Penny face their biggest struggle yet, and their friends pull together to help them through it. This is the final story in this series. James and Penny earn a very well-deserved happy ending.
Tyler Stevens, Penny’s good friend from college, has his own story that spins off from this book. He also comes up in the epilogue of Third Chances as that series segues into Tyler’s HEA. He hasn’t always been painted as the good guy, but it is mostly just that he is human and makes some dumb mistakes (and judging his actions while he is under the influence is probably not entirely fair). After years of not getting over Penny, his story has become very sympathetic. His story is found in Missing Pieces, book three of the Men of Manhattan series..
Note also that the three book series The Light to my Darkness is James and Penny’s second series and a continuation of their story.
Wow! There has been such a build up to get to the end of this series that it is hard to believe it is over. It exciting to know that another series provides a peak at James and Penny’s lives in the future; thus it is not as sad to get to the end as it might be otherwise. This final book is full of drama, but it is great to finally see some resolution. James and Penny repeat some old dysfunctional patterns but appear to work things out and put things into context. The drama with his parents and Isabella Is messy and complicated, to say the least. Tyler and Melissa’s relationship with Penny had become complicated in Eruption, and things continue to be off here. The book does a good job of bringing in friends and family, showing several couples coming together to celebrate. Be prepared for some shocking surprises!
Fans of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy will enjoy elements of this story that feel familiar. Penny is sometimes maddening in her decision-making here. The book takes place over a very brief period of time, and as the story is told entirely in Penny’s POV, the reader gets to follow along as she vacillates between choices. It sometimes feels tedious, but it is also very real. She is reserved and not quick to make decisions, so the reader experiences her wavering emotions.
James and Penny’s steamy romantic suspense is dripping in angst as the couple’s journey comes to its dramatic conclusion! James and Penny’s story opens as they meet at the beginning of her sophomore year of college. As Professor Hunter, James is taboo but that doesn’t deter Penny from pursuing him. He tries to do the right thing, but she doesn’t make it easy. As they make their home in New York years later and their wedding day approaches, Penny feels overwhelmed by the changes she faces, and a bachelor weekend away opens the door for a crack in their relationship. Ultimately everything explodes when someone begins to threaten them, leading to the exciting conclusion of the series. This story is nicely written. The plot is somewhat complex. The story is written in first person in Penny’s POV. I rate this book four stars.
A disaster, a heart breaking, breath-stealing disaster. That was what Penny’s life had become. She should have been walking down the aisle with the man of her dreams, but how quickly those dreams had become a nightmare. Now, instead of her happily ever after she was trying to piece together the parts of her broken life, trying to build herself a future that no longer involved the person who was not just her heart, but her soul as well. Isabella had sought to drive a wedge between her and James, and she had succeeded, but that didn’t change how Penny felt. It didn’t change the fact her heart beat only for James. Will James realise what he has done, and if so can he convince Penny to take one more chance? Even if he does, will his ex-wife sit back and watch as they say their I dos, or will there be another scheme, another way to keep them apart, permanently.
Devotion is the final book in Ivy Smoak’s Hunted series, and what a read it is. Filled with disaster, tragedy, and heartbreak. Right from the start you are whisked away on an emotional rollercoaster. Just as things seem to settle, just as we share the joy of the characters the rug is pulled from under us, sending us into a heart-breaking spiral. There were times when reading this my heart hurt for the characters, a feeling that is becoming all too familiar when reading Ivy’s book. Ivy is a mistress of the written word, a maestro of playing the reader’s heart strings, and her every book is certainly a must read. Hands down my favourite author.
What a great ending to this part of Penny and James’ story!!! I couldn’t put it down!!!
I would love to see this on the big screen. I’ve just started The Light to My Darkness and was excited that there story continued! 🙂
What the frick? Did all that really happen in one book?
My mind is reeling. I started this series with no expectations. I’d never read one of Ms. Smoak’s books before and was looking for something new. Honestly, the cover caught my eye, but I’m pleased to say the book wasn’t just another pretty cover with a sexy guy on it. This series had substance. It was well written, and I’m glad I took a chance on The Hunted series.
I grew to love James and Penny and all their flaws and stupid decisions because I knew they each had good intentions; they just made a helluva lot of wrong choices. Many times I wanted to slap them. The secondary characters were also great! I loved some and hated others.
Ms. Smoak will take you on one crazy emotional ride with Devotion. I felt it all: sadness, confusion, anger, joy. I cried, and my heart raced quite a bit in this book. I’m beyond thrilled James and Penny’s story continues in The Light To My Darkness. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to them!
This is an excellent ending to Penny and James’ story! This whole book is exciting, in that it feels like things keep happening to interfere with their happily ever after. At times, I felt like I was losing my mind, I was so anxious to read faster! This whole series is amazing, and one you will want to read more than once.
I downloaded book 1, Temptation, for free on Kindle thinking this was a standalone. I become so engrossed in the story and didn’t mind when I discovered at the end that this was the first book of a series and I needed to be read all of them to complete the story of Penny and James. I headed straight to Amazon and download the next 3 books, Addiction, Eruption, and Devotion. I consumed all 4 books in one weekend and went to work on the Monday after having just 2 hours sleep as I couldn’t sleep until I’d read the rest of book 4. It was months ago since I read a series of books so frantically and everything else was put aside so I could just sit and read. The story of Penny and James does continue with a fifth book, The Light To My Darkness, but I’m unsure if I’ll read it yet as I’m currently happy with the way things ended in book 4
I absolutely love Devotion, I love the entire series! In this conclusion to James’ and Penny’s story, there are a bunch of twists, tons of drama and suspense, action, tears shed and hearts breaking, and most of all, James’ and Penny’s love coming full circle with their friends and family there to support them through it all.
I really cannot say enough about how much I love Penny and James. She’s matured by the time she gets to this point of her life. James is by her side and he’s just as loving and supportive as ever. There are still some secrets lurking, though, and when Penny finds out she’s not happy. James has been through so much in his short life, and he hasn’t exactly been as open with Penny about it as she had thought. He loves her, though, and nowhere is it more apparent than in Devotion.
If you like your romances heavy on the steam, with lots of emotion and twists and turns around every corner, then I recommend you pick up Devotion, but not until you have read the first 3 parts.
Wow wow wow! Buy all of the books in this series. Trust me, you will not be disappointed. A college student falls for her college professor. He has a crazy ex-wife that really thickens the plot and takes the book in a direction that I just did not see coming. An amazing series!