A full-length STANDALONE romantic comedy from USA TODAY bestselling author R.S. Grey.I was issued a warning: stay away from Ben Rosenberg.As Clifton Cove’s resident “king”, he thinks he’s entitled to anyone and anything.The trouble is, I’ve spent my whole life following the rules and playing it safe. I know what it feels like to be the good girl. I’m the police chief’s daughter and a librarian—… chief’s daughter and a librarian—for adorable children, no less. My wardrobe consists of colorful sundresses and baggy jeans. I might as well have a Post-it stuck to my forehead that reads: Yup, she’s a virgin.
An all-nighter with a fictional hunk is about as exciting as my life gets, until one day, fate decides to take pity on me and shove me straight into the path of Mr. Off-Limits himself.
Oof.
Just as I suspected, every inch of him promises to be my demise. Up close, he’s tall, menacing, dangerously handsome—the type of man who’s never spent a single moment worrying about the opinions of others. A well-behaved girl would do as she’s told and avoid him at all costs, but I’m overdue for a little rebellion.
No more Friday nights sprawled out on the couch in my comfiest pajamas. No more wishing I had the courage to misbehave.
Everyone thinks Ben is going to ruin me.
They think he’ll chew me up and spit me out.
Well, Ben…go ahead.
Tempt me. Taunt me.
Make me bad.
MAKE ME BAD is a full-length romantic comedy. For a limited time, I’ve also included an excerpt from my bestselling romantic comedy A PLACE IN THE SUN!
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Y’all, I loved Make Me Bad. So, so much. As is often the case with Rachel’s books, it struck all the right chords with me. It might not have made ME bad, but it definitely made me swoon and giggle. I loved every moment of it.
Madison and Ben’s story was just flat out fun. While Madison and I weren’t all that similar — aside from the whole love of books thing — I found her SO relatable. Also, I want to be friends with her. Ben’s kinda bad boy but really not vibe so worked for me. He definitely deserved more credit than Madison’s dad and brother gave him. Together these two were amazing. Their banter was A+ and their chemistry was off the charts. I was utterly charmed by their slooooow burn romance. And the payoff, too. Smokin’ hot goodness!
Make Me Bad was a delight. Madison and Ben were wonderful. I adored their story from the very first (and heroic!) meet cute to the epilogue that gave me all the feels. I even adored Madison’s meddlesome family, once they let up on Ben some. Rachel has done it again and I’m not at all surprised. There’s a reason (or many) she’s one of my go-to authors.
I received a complimentary copy of this book for review consideration. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Favorite Quotes:
I’ve spent my entire life in this exact role: the good girl. The rule-follower. The curfew-keeper.
It’s your life, your only life, and you get to choose how you spend it.
This kiss is going to ruin me. I will have this kiss on a pedestal for the rest of my life, encased in glass.
We accept the love we think we deserve.
“I’ve spent a lot of hours in this library, a lot of time with my nose stuck in a book. I want a memory that will make me blush every time I walk into this room. I want to do something bad… something very, very naughty.”
“It’s like I’ve evolved into my final form: a big, bad butterfly.
Just when I think I couldn’t love RS Grey’s books any more than I already do, she comes out with one like Make Me Bad and proves me completely wrong. Not only is it adorable and charming and cute, but it also checks all of the boxes I love in a romantic comedy: a delectable slow burn, tons of witty banter, a sweet and charismatic hero, and a heroine you can picture being best friends with in real life.
Madison is a 25-year-old children’s librarian who wishes for more excitement in her predictable, ho-hum life. Her birthday wish comes true in more ways than one when Ben Rosenberg swoops in to be Madison’s knight in shining armor. What starts as a shaky secret friendship, blossoms into one of the swooniest relationships I’ve read in a while.
Madison’s family is a bit overprotective and even though Ben’s reputation with them isn’t stellar, he works very hard to prove their prejudice wrong. I love that he didn’t give up on Madison and kept his promise to help her. Not only did she come out of her shell, but she also blossomed into a fun-loving, independent woman who realizes her worth. Good job, Ben!
With subtle hints of Beauty and the Beast, Romeo and Juliet, and Pride and Prejudice mixed in, Grey gives us a fairytale romance an introverted bookworm like Madison can only dream of. The secondary characters added some hilarious moments and proved to be some of the best friends you could ask for. Oh, and the surprise in the epilogue? Amazing and perfect.
This is my thirteenth book by RS Grey and I never want her to stop writing so that I don’t have to stop reading her words. Like, ever. Make Me Bad is one of my favorite reads of the year and its only March—which makes me very excited for Grey’s upcoming summer release.
I love this book!
Oh my goodness! The swoony and giddiness of this book is perfect in every way! I love these characters so much. Ben was so much sweeter than I was expecting and I ate him and his actions up. I fell for him hook, line, and sinker. He was the perfect person for Madison to look to for help. She was a little ridiculous but it made it so much fun! Headstrong, she knows exactly what she wants and Ben makes it easy for her to test her boundaries and be a little bad. I am in love with their love!
Every time I read an R.S. Grey book I find myself giggling to myself and even sometimes laughing out loud. This book is no different. Just like always, the humor adds so much life to the story. It makes connections to the characters so easy and fluid.
If you’re looking for a book that will give you butterflies in your stomach, give you a nice escape from reality, and leave you with a giant smile on your face, this story is for you!
Grateful to have received a complimentary ARC copy to honestly review.
4.5 Stars
Make Me Bad is a sweet, sexy, and fun, feel good story.
Lately I’ve read some books that whilst they’ve been quite good, they didn’t keep me completely captivated from start to finish. That wasn’t the case with Make Me Bad, this low angst, slow burn romantic comedy will keep you not only captivated, but also entertained, and leave you with a smile upon your face.
Maddison Hart is a sweet, kind, naïve and socially awkward librarian. She will do anything for those she loves and has a huge, loving heart.
Ben Rosenberg, is a sexy, caring, intelligent, driven alpha who also happens to be the most eligible bachelor of Clifton Cove.
There’s an element of forbidden romance, and rivalry between Maddison’s blue collar family and Ben’s white collar family.
The banter between this pair is witty, charming, and humorous.
I highly recommend this title to anyone who loves a small town, romantic comedy.
Boy did this book come into my life right when I needed. There’s just something about the way R.S. Grey crafts her romantic, feel good comedies that puts a smile on my face and a song in my heart…well probably not the song part but I’m definitely riding a book high when I finish reading her low angst, adorable reads, and Make Me Bad follows suit, and I might even say it’s one of my absolute favorites of R.S. Grey’s stories!
I can’t tell you how much of Madison’s life was the mirror image of my life at that age. Even though I wasn’t still living at home, I was still the good girl, the rule follower, the girl who didn’t take a lot of risks for fear that my escapades would get back to my father or the school district I taught at because when you live in a small community, everyone seems to know everyone else’s business, and due to Madison’s father’s job as police chief of Clifton Cove, Texas, she can’t do anything or go anywhere without her dad knowing, so I really can’t blame her for being in bed with a good book at 8:00 each night!
Ben Rosenberg’s lifestyle is pretty much the antithesis of Madison’s. Growing up privileged, he had the best of everything and the attitude that goes with living in luxury. Add to that the fact that his past shows that he liked to live it up a bit more than he should have and it’s beyond clear that these two would not ordinarily run in the same circles, which must mean that fate had a say in bringing this shy librarian and well-bred lawyer together.
The fact that Madison’s dad has a history with a younger version of Ben works well with Madison’s desire to branch a bit more than she would ordinarily do, especially after her father forbids her from associating with bad boy Ben, so just going against his wishes is something Madison wouldn’t normally do, but the chemistry between her and Ben as well as their attraction to each other resonates from the pages, so I can’t say that I blame Madison for choosing to live dangerously and go behind her dad’s back by striking up a friendship and maybe even more with one of his enemies.
I love that Madison didn’t completely go off the rails when it came to her misbehavior; she’s been a rule follower for so long as well as a daughter and a sister who almost always listened to her father and her brother’s dictates that becoming unhinged wouldn’t have realistically illustrated her desire to be bad, so the fact that Madison works on spreading her wings, breaking away from her father’s influence, and taking the necessary steps to become her own woman was the perfect path for her, and the fact that Ben allowed her to do that and guide her when she needed a tutorial or two in how to take a walk on the wild side.
I absolutely adored Madison and Ben’s story. It’s funny, romantic, and entertaining with the perfect amount of sexual tension and steam. Readers will be smitten by Madison’s quirky personality and the things Ben does to show her how he sees her and how she should see herself.
Make Me Bad checked off EVERY SINGLE ONE of my romantic comedy boxes and then some. It’s such a fantastic read, and it made me feel so damn ooey gooey inside when I was finished reading!
5 Poison Apples