Dirty English is now a #8 Wall Street Journal Bestseller! #1 in the Amazon Store; #1 in Contemporary Romance A scarred fighter.A girl with rules.One night of unbridled passion. There are three things you need to know about Elizabeth Bennett: she’s smart as a whip, always in control, and lives by a set of carefully crafted rules. She’s learned the hard way that people you love the most always … that people you love the most always hurt you in the end. But then she meets Declan Blay, the new neighbor at her apartment complex.
A tattooed British street fighter, he’s the campus bad boy she’s supposed to avoid, but when he saves her from a frat party gone bad, all her rules about sex and love fly out the window. She gives him one night of unbridled passion, but he longs for more.
With only a cardboard-thin wall separating their bedrooms, he dreams of possessing the vulnerable girl next door forever.
One night. Two damaged hearts. The passion of a lifetime.
A modern love story inspired by Pride and Prejudice
Dirty English is a full-length stand-alone 75,000 word novel with a swoony, heartfelt HEA.
(Also included is one chapter of her debut novel Very Bad Things.)
FILTHY ENGLISH (British Bad Boys #2) and SPIDER (British Bad Boys #3) are now available! This series is complete.
more
I’m at a surpass with this one – I love me some British bad boys and Declan did not disappoint at all. I loved Elizabeth as well, she was strong but I didn’t like her approach on things. I understand that they both were broken people and I loved how they helped heal each other, their chemistry is on point. It was just too much drama for me – Elizabeth’s Mom and her crazy ex, yeah I wanted to smack them both more than once. Declan’s ex and his Dad – I wanted to smack them both so many times as well. I found myself rolling my eyes a few times over them both, but I muscled thru because I wanted to see Declan and Elizabeth’s happily ever after. So I did, it was abrupt and so sudden that I almost got whiplash. But they got it, that’s what matters. I don’t see myself reading this again in the future but I will be reading Dax’s story, I can’t resist a British bad boy heartthrob.
This is not your typical new adult college romance. I loved this from start through to finish!
Declan is the British bad boy who fights in an underground club. He owns a gym and his plans for after college are to run the gym and compete in UFC fights, rather than follow the path his father has laid out for him.
Elizabeth has written off relationships after her high school boyfriend destroyed her. Her theory that she can’t get hurt if she doesn’t let a man into her life.
They didn’t stand a chance at staying apart. The chemistry between these two is intense in all the best ways!
BLOODY HELL (that’s what Brit say, right?) this book was a surprise discovery for me- I was new to this author, and I really enjoyed this read. So many things my anglophile heart adores-tattooed British fighter saves (in more way than one) beautiful, vulnerable neighbor based on PRIDE AND PREJUDICE? Get out of my head, ILSA!
But seriously, this book is sweet and steamy read, about survival and connection and the liberating power that loving someone else has on you- and how it helps you see yourself.
Our heroine is Elizabeth, who is coping in destructive ways as the result of past traumas. She’s struggling with the ghosts of her history but she’s resilient and determined – strong and smart. She’s created order in her life to cope with the disorder of her trauma. She’s the perfect dichotomy- affecting strength on the outside but breaking on the inside.
Her path crosses with her neighbor, our delicious British underground street fighter, Declan- who, too, has been broken from his past and is using a different vice to cope- fighting. He steps in at a key moment for Elizabeth, and turns our carefully ordered rules on their head. He’s a swoony book boyfriend- he doesn’t’ give up on our heroine, he breaks down her walls,he shows up for her when she needs it, and their connection is as emotional as physical…..but he also DELIVERS in the bedroom steamy.
The story moves quickly, we have dual POV, and the chemistry sparks- that same delicious pull you feel between Elizabeth and Darcy in P and P you feel here- that inexplicable draw.
If you, like me, love a good Brit alpha and like an angsty, steamy storyline with a surviving heroine whose romantic journey helps catalyze her healing, then this is for you.
I can’t believe that I’ve had this book sitting in my Kindle for so long and never got around to reading it. OMG! this book was hot hot hot! This is my first book by this author and I look forward to many many more books by her. This book blew me away. I absolutely loved Declan and Elizabeth’s story.
Declan and Elizabeth, what a pair! Declan is an underground fighter, who is also British (because who can resist a British accent?!) and Elizabeth is a smart girl with rules and always has to be in control, especially when it comes to men. She has her own set of rules when it comes to men! The best part is, they end up living next door to each other at the college. Elizabeth has a very rough past, which I will not spoil, which is why she has a whole set of rules in place and has to be in charge.
KU. This was my second IMM book and like Boyfriend Bargain, it started a little slowly but picked up. Elizabeth & Declan are both college students. Elizabeth was raped in high school (for those who might be triggered by this, it was a roofie situation and while the act itself isn’t detailed the immediate aftermath was).
Elizabeth has determined she won’t fall in love again, won’t date, and only has one-night stands. Declan, while originally/superficially comes off as a “bad boy”, is intelligent, perceptive, caring, responsible and protective.
Other reviews mentioned it was difficult to “connect” with Elizabeth ~ and maybe it wasn’t the author’s intent, but I sort of felt like it was the point. A realistic one at that. Her reactions & choices in response to being raped were normal. Maybe not healthy, but consistent with many victims.
There’s a lot going on in this story, but I really appreciated that it wasn’t the one-dimensional fluff that some NA books can be.
I’m looking forward to Dax’s book.
An intoxicating read!
A scarred fighter…
A girl with rules…
One night of unbridled passion…
What a read! So full of passion and love and lust and amazingness.
I was hooked from start to end. This British dude is officially one of my favourite book boyfriends. This book was everything – heartfelt, raw and so full of passion.
Be warned: you will be sucked into this story from the very first page. You will go through a range of emotions so be prepared!
Full of attraction, passion, love, surviving, fighting and finding yourself.
Perfect for readers of contemporary romances.
I really enjoyed this broken girl meets sexy, tattooed fighter with scars from his past storyline. It’s full of the push and pull angst and smoking hot chemistry. Declan and Elizabeth’s journey is like a classic story. One I highly recommend reading and listening to. The narration is fantastic and elevated this book to another level.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters of Declan and Elizabeth, as well as secondary characters Dax and Shelley, were well fleshed out, keeping me interested in the story. I had moments where I was cheering on the heroine and moments when I questioned why she made the decisions she did. I am a fan of the way Ilsa Madden-Mills wrote this book and look forward to reading more of her works.
There’s a reason this book is still floating around the romance world years after its publication. Declan and Elizabeth’s story really is just THAT great! Declan is possibly one of the sexiest heroes around and he definitely meets his match in Elizabeth. This is the ultimate college romance,and I had a lot of respect for how it didn’t shy away from serious subject matter either. Ilsa handles the tough topics of assault and victim blaming that are unfortunately still such a prevalent part of campus life in a way that is mature, informed, and admirable. The story definitely has the capacity to inspire awareness and call its readers to action. A must read for all romance fans!
Another great book from this amazing author. From tragedy comes love. Find out how two hard headed people so right for each other take the stubborn way out. Talk about wanting to hit them both on the head to knock some sense into them… My favorite line is: “Like a stray dog that whines for scraps, I’d been begging my Mom to love me my whole life. Yet out of my shitty childhood, a strong drive had been forged in my heart. To Be More.”
A good story and plot at the beginning but the end was unremarkable and predictable. This makes me hesitate to read the next book in the series.
This entire series is amazing! This book introduces you to the Declan, his brother, and his cousin. Declan and Elizabeth are neighbors, and lordy they have chemistry.. who wouldn’t? Declan’s need to protect Elizabeth makes him instantly the hero. Add in an english accent, and some steamy sex and trust me, you will not regret reading this book.. or the rest of this series!
Prom night is supposed to be a joyous celebration–a night to remember! Not a night that will forever haunt you and scar you for life. Elizabeth’s prom date, Colby did just that to her. A night forever burned into her mind–a night that she will literally never forget. Now she’s at Whitman University and far away from rich, egotistical Colby. She’s still scared. She keeps all men at arms length. She has a policy: one night only, no hot guys, no rich guys, no popular guys. Oh and no repeats. Her new neighbor Declan changes that policy. Elizabeth decides that if she’s going to get over that night, she needs to take control. If she can have a one night stand with Whitman’s sexiest guy on campus then she can take steps to heal herself. But Declan changes more than just her policy. He piques her interest in many other ways too such as how he has a copy of Pride and Prejudice sitting in a box with his boxing gloves. She wants to know more about him especially after meeting him and Dex at a frat party. For some reason Declan makes her feel safe which is odd since he’s a gym trainer and UFC hopeful. She should be scared of him and his love of violence. But it does the opposite.
What started off as a typical bet with Dex–who can get the girl to flirt with first or a date from her–becomes more than Declan expected. Of course, it has to be the unicorn on campus. He only remembers her because her namesake matches his favorite character from Pride and Prejudice–Elizabeth Bennett. While his twin is the smooth talking frat boy–Declan is rougher around the edges. For some reason he feels protective of her even from his own twin–the man he shares everything with. But Elizabeth has some serious secrets. He wants to help her heal and overcome them at the same time. Why on earth does he keep kissing her? She’s fragile–too fragile. Declan is scared he’s going to break her. But will he be the one broken?
For some reason I didn’t expect to get pulled in to this book as much as I have been. I love the characters of Declan and Elizabeth (and that she is an Elizabeth and not shortened) and the cast of characters around them are great aswell. It feels like a tight story and I loved watching all their interactions and I enjoyed mentally shouting at them at various points along the way, lol. Great book, excellent read. Looking forward to the next one….
the beginning was great but the end felt a bit rushed.i would have liked more scenes where the main characters were actually in the relationship.
LOVED this. The characters were wonderful and the storyline kept me hooked. Finished in a day!
Young love first love. Teen +
Dirty English
Declan is into underground fighting and is working on opening a gym while finishing college. Elizabeth is living her life by her own rules, although it’s a shell of what she would like to be. Declan has to help Elizabeth to heal from her past, and help her learn to trust again. It was a fast and insta-love, but sometimes you need that, and today was one of those days. Both Declan & Elizabeth had overcome difficult pasts and I hope they get to have a long HEA. Since it felt like a quick read, I’m excited to read Filthy English and hopefully get a glimpse of them.
I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It is hot, hot, hot. And it isn’t just the accents! I highly recommend getting the audio version. Something about the way the boys in this series just speak and say things but are also so realistic is amazing.
Only thing that bothered me is the idea that people in NC have a southern accent… yeah… no.