The start to a sexy new series from New York Times bestselling author, Kendall Ryan.She’s much too innocent for me, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting the sweet, young librarian. I’m dominating and possessive, and my control streak runs a mile wide. The way she looks at me—like I’m one of the heroes in the books she loves, like I’m broken, and she wants to be the one to piece me back … and she wants to be the one to piece me back together—it only complicates things further. I’m nobody’s hero.
But there’s no denying my tragic past reads like one of her favorite literary classics. It’s raw. Visceral. Captivating. And together, we’re a perfect mess.
How can I resist when the sexual sparks zapping between us set me on fire? The need to control, and claim her force my walls to come tumbling down, but when she learns about my dirty little secret, will my world come crashing down with it?
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Smart and entertaining. I love these characters & will read this again soon.
Loved it!!!
DIRTY LITTLE SECRET is the first book in the Forbidden Desires series. This one ends in a cliffhanger!
Emma Bell is the quintessential librarian, shy, quiet and a dreamer. Her one bright spot every morning is seeing the handsome man in the coffee shop. Gavin Kingsley and his two brothers have built their business, a high end escort service, from nothing. He’s become accustomed to the things money can buy but he’s still not happy. His one bright spot every morning is seeing the beautiful librarian at the coffee shop. However, when she applies as an escort, Gavin and his brother, Cooper both become enchanted by the lovely Emma.
I’ll say first that this is kind of a love triangle between Gavin, Cooper and Emma. Now I normally don’t like to give anything away but I feel like a little warning is important in this case. So here’s a small spoiler if you’re worried: Emma does not have sex with both brothers! That being said, both Kingsley brothers take an interest in Emma though they’re almost completely opposite of each other. Emma enjoys her time with each brother in different ways. But she’s drawn to Gavin like a moth to a flame.
Emma’s looking for adventure and she seems almost naive about it in a sweet way at the beginning of the story. She seems lonely, shy, maybe even lacking some self confidence. As the story progresses and Emma comes out of her shell, she’s like a fabulous butterfly coming out of a cacoon. Unfortunately, she also fluttered between Gavin and Cooper without really giving one or the other a chance. By the end, I was pretty annoyed with how she went back and forth between the two brothers!
Gavin was stubborn, arrogant, enigmatic, an alpha in all ways. He didn’t apologize for anything and I could absolutely see how Emma was so enamored by him. I loved him! There’s obviously a reason why he behaved the way he did and I loved how his many layers are peeled back chapter by chapter.
Overall, I found myself enjoying the beginning more than the end. Not enough to put me off book two, in fact I desperately want to see Gavin and Emma get their HEA! Told from multiple POVs with an oh-my-Gawd-I-need-the-next-book ending. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.
Everybody has dirty little and big secrets
Great book it is a 2 book story and you have the option to continue the stories of the 2 brothers
The hero, Gavin, might be (is) damaged but she, the heroine, is no pushover. Emma isn’t timid in speaking her mind.
Great story line. Couldn’t,t put the book down!
I really liked this series.
I rarely leave a review unless the book is worth recommending and the book is DEFINITELY a must read
Enjoyed this book but I really don’t like when you have to buy more books to finally get the while story. Good book but will not but any more
Loved this book couldn’t put it down
It ended with a cliffhanger and I loathe those type of books. But it was a good story up until that point.
Couldn’t put it down. Excellent
Enjoyed this very much
Great characters looking forward to the others
Strong leads. Fun story
Dirty Little Secret is not quite what I was expecting. I was expecting super dirty, super angsty, super delicious, but what I got was, well, a mild version of all of those things. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, because I did, and I am looking forward to the conclusion, but, it wasn’t as hot and dirty as I had hoped for.
Emma has been crushing on the hot guy in the suit that she sees in the coffee shop she’s been frequenting for about a year now. But there’s never been any contact between the two of them until one day they exchange a longer than necessary look after he drops his business card into the barista’s tip jar. She knows he dropped the card for her to see, so she asks the unimpressed barista for the card she had just thrown away. She’s kind of shocked when it just has his name, Gavin Kingsley, and his company’s name, Forbidden Desires. So of course she looks it up online and finds out it’s a high end escort service. Still, she makes her way to the company, trying her hardest to get a glimpse of the fascinating man she’s dying to have contact with.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t always pay to meet the objects of obsession, because Gavin turns out to be a dick, quite frankly. There’s something about him, though, something dominant that calls to her, even though she knows he’s not really the type of guy she should be interested in.
“I wanted Gavin. Rough and dominating and all wrong for me, and all I wanted was more.”
But, when his younger, sweeter, brother, Cooper, who runs the escort agency with Gavin, and their oldest brother, Quinn, suggests an arrangement between Emma, Cooper and Gavin, where she acts as their escort for some upcoming events they have to attend, she knows she has to say yes, even if she ends up getting hurt in the process.
I was honestly expecting an epic love triangle here, but that is not at all what ended up happening. No, Emma knew right from the beginning that Gavin was the Kingsley brother she wanted, whether or not she’d really get him, whether or not he was good for her, he was the one she wanted. Even though he’s an ass, even though he seems incapable of allowing himself to fall, even though I’m not sure he’s a good guy.
I really wanted to love Dirty Little Secret, but I didn’t. It felt muted to me. I was expecting something more like Wednesday or Filthy Beautiful Lies: The Series (both of which I loved!). I was hoping for an alphahole being brought to his knees, and Gavin is definitely an alphahole, but I didn’t really feel their connection to be that strong. Even the sexy times weren’t that sexy and they were really short and not passionate enough. I didn’t feel a lot of heat between them and Emma’s whole insta love thing was pretty cheesy. I wanted more from them. More passion. More heat. More intensity. More everything. Instead I got the beginnings of what has the potential to be an interesting relationship, but it never quite got there. I honestly was more Team Cooper than Team Gavin, because he was a more interesting character than Gavin. Perhaps the conclusion will be better fleshed out, more intense and more passionate. I really hope so!
I have been waiting for Kendall to come out with a book like this for a while now. I mean, I do like her short, sexy and fun quick reads but this is where it’s at for me. This is filled with passion, angst and suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat. If I could only get one kinda book from Kendall, then her romantic suspense would be what I choose. They are smoking hot and I love every scandalous moment of it. I can’t wait for Kendall to come out with the next one in this series.
Really enjoyed the characters. Beware,however this is a cliffhanger so he ready to download “Dirty little promise” immediately!!
Dirty Little Secret by Kendall Ryan is an entertaining contemporary romance. Ms. Ryan has delivered a book that is well-written. It is in first person, alternating point of view format, not my favorite. Gavin is part owner of an escort service. Emma is a librarian that has been fascinated with Gavin since she first saw him at a coffee shop. Their story is a twisted, emotional rollercoaster. There is plenty of drama, angst and sex. My least favorite part of this story is, yes, the dreaded cliff-hanger. I hate cliff-hangers and would have never read this if I had known ahead of time. Dirty Little Secret is book 1 of the Forbidden Desires Series. This is not a complete book and does end in a cliff-hanger. I’m glad I got this free through bookfunnel, I’d have been even more upset if I had actually paid for it.
I won’t be reading any of the other books in the series.
I voluntarily read a complimentary copy of this book that I received from Bookfunnel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Dirty Little Secret is a story about a brooding man and a cheerful woman. Emma Bell takes a job at Gavin Kingsley’s Company as an escort to Gavin and his brother, Cooper. Sparks fly between Gavin and Emma while they are getting to know each other. I enjoyed the story and read it in one sitting, as I wanted to see how Emma helps Gavin with his past issues. I was very upset as this is a cliffhanger and I absolutely hate cliffhanger books. I wouldn’t have read it had I know this bit of information. While this is a good story and I enjoyed it, be aware going in that you won’t get a HEA or an ending to this story at the end of this book.