Billionaire Sutton Mayfair has nothing left to lose…My best friend is getting married to the woman I love. They say the nice guy finishes last. So what’s the point of being a goddamn gentleman?Maybe I should take what I want.Even that sexy little thing on the street corner.She needs a hot meal and a place to sleep. Instead I’m taking her home to soothe the savage beast inside me. I was born a … savage beast inside me. I was born a bastard, and for the first time in my life I act like one.
Except the more I use her, the more I need her.
I didn’t know I had someone left to lose.
But for a single heartbeat, I had her.
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I loved returning to Tanglewood. This is Sutton’s story and it’s an emotional one. What would it feel like to see the two people you love getting married to each other. Sutton is heartbroken as he is attending Christopher & Harper’s wedding. There isn’t enough alcohol to drown the pain away that he is feeling. In his haze, he meets a young prostitute, Ashleigh. He convinces himself that he can use Ashleigh to release his pain but something about her holds him back. Then when Sutton sees her again, he is completely confused with all the mixed feelings he is having about her. Ashleigh has her own tragic past and is just trying to learn how to survive on the streets. What is most incredible about Skye Warren’s talent as a writer, is her ability to take two broken characters in depressed & traumatic situations and instead of wallowing in their life’s tragedies we see glimmers of hope and possibilities breaking through. This is an emotional book about healing, learning to trust again, and believing that love does exist. Sutton & Ashleigh’s story is unique and it will easily be your next 1 click!!!
As soon as I read the blurb for Mating Theory by Skye Warren, I was instantly excited that Sutton Mayfair would finally have a story (and a love) of his own.
I really hated that Sutton was treated like a throwaway toy by Christopher and Harper in the Trust Fund duet when beneath his wealthy and gorgeous exterior there was a passionate man that was desperate for love. Now that his “friends” have moved on and left him behind, Sutton’s personal life has become a mess. Drinking his life away and heartbroken, he meets a girl who reaches him at the most broken parts of his soul. Ashleigh.
Sigh. Now this is where the story heats up! This is where the real Sutton Mayfair shines through the bitter, tortured remains of his past. Sutton and Ashleigh are a fiery hot match with a very small touch of angst, but there is also a gentleness between them that I felt was missing between Christopher and Harper. Ashleigh is just as broken as Sutton, but she is also hiding some very damaging secrets. She is a strong character that still loves with all of her heart even after all of the hell she has been through. I absolutely loved her.
Mating Theory was a pleasant surprise and I have to say that I loved Sutton and Ashleigh’s story. This is an angsty, passionate, forbidden love story that defies all of the rules.
I’ve been eagerly awaiting Sutton’s book since the end of The Evolution of Man and I was not disappointed. Mating Theory grabbed my attention from the start and did not let go. Heartbreak, conflict, passion, chemistry, angst and tension this story had it all and more. Its a story about two broken people from different walks of life who turned out to be perfect for each other. You will be rooting for Sutton and Ashleigh in this book as they will captivate you. Their relationship moved fast and I enjoyed seeing it blossom. This was an age gap romance that I would recommend to all lovers of the genre.
5 TOUCHING STARS!! Sutton and Ashleigh touched every part of my heart. These two needed each other, without knowing how much help they would be to one another. This was a quick read with tons of feels, that will squeeze your heart. Skye Warren has done it again with her fabulous storytelling….grab this Book.
Overall Grade:
I’m going to put this right here, right now: I think Skye Warren is a writing genius. There, I’ve said it. Now, I can move on. Warren is one of the first authors I read who took on the mantle of crafting universes for her characters. In past reviews for her other books, I’ve noted my excitement at her ability to weave in characters from prior books, so that you feel connected to this larger community. When a former character pops up, you know that Warren has taken care to drop us back into a community such as Tanglewood. For all of its darkness, Tanglewood is one of my favorite places BECAUSE Warren makes us want to live there. We want to meet Damon and Penny and Gabriel and Avery and Harlow and Christopher and Hugo and Bea and Blue and Hannah…and on and on. Warren makes us feel like we are life-long friends with her characters, and we hate to leave them. So…thankfully, Warren doesn’t make us.
Enter Sutton Mayfair, one of the devastated heroes in Warren’s Trust Fund series. When we left him, Sutton had been spurned by the loves of his life, Harlow and Christopher. Rudderless and grieving the end of his love affairs with these two, Sutton has fallen into despair, anesthetizing himself and his grief in alcohol. Having agreed to act as Christopher’s best man, Sutton feels overwhelmed and unprepared for that folly. One night, he meets Ashleigh, a prostitute, and he feels a connection with her. As Sutton engages in the wedding festivities for Harlow and Christopher, Ashleigh becomes his lifeline, and she awakens something in him that helps repair his broken heart. However, is it possible for these two to have a future given her occupation and his trepidation about relationships, given his broken heart? Is it possible for the bastard son of an abusive man to find a happy ending?
From its first pages, Warren makes herself known as a poet. There is a lyricism in her words. Since poetry seems to be one of the connections between Sutton and Ashleigh, it makes you wonder if Warren’s own prose becomes poetry as an inspiration for her characters. There were these moments of heavy prose that stirred my little lit student heart. With words like this: “[u]fortunately. Unfortunately, I’ll always be his friend. Unfortunately, there are knives carving the inside of me, writing patterns of loss on the slick side of my skin. ‘Yes,’” you fall deeply into this world of loss and restoration. Every page that turns, Warren’s prose lays bare Sutton’s fractured soul and offers up Ashleigh as his balm. Warren’s words become the catalyst for redemption in her story.
Even in its beginning, there is a tension in Sutton’s story. My heart hurt for him which made traveling through his story at times difficult. Even in the Trust Fund series, you vacillate between the emotion of his eventual rejection and the defenses he raises to protect himself from this rejection. There were times in the duet when I both despised him and hurt for him. Entering Mating Theory, I knew his journey would be a difficult one. I was curious how Warren would transfer our acceptance of Sutton with someone other than Christopher and Harlow. Interestingly enough, she does this with the act of empathy through the character of Ashleigh and the use of repetition to help us better understand his relationship with his past loves. First of all, Warren crafts Ashleigh in such a way that, while she is the youngest character, she reads as the wisest. She sees Sutton’s soul in ways that Harlow and Christopher failed. There is a moment on the day of Harlow and Christopher’s wedding that brilliantly exemplifies her care and compassion for him. It’s here where we begin to understand their connection to each other and its superiority over his relationships with Harlow and Christopher. Even more, Warren, through her use of repetition, illustrates his disconnect from the two. We realize that Sutton has idealized his bond with Harlow. Warren elucidates for us that Sutton doesn’t “know” Harlow as he supposed. Yet, Sutton recognizes Ashleigh’s pain and seems to see into her soul, into the essence of who she is. Warren imagines them as soul-mated, and it allows the reader to accept Sutton’s journey to love Ashleigh. This is necessary because we need to accept a love interest for Sutton beyond Christopher and Harlow, who have chosen each other before him.
For me, this story is Sutton’s story. Ashleigh is a wonderful heroine who is the catalyst for Sutton’s restoration, and she has a clear story in this book. But this is more about a happy ending for Sutton. Don’t get me wrong. I love Ashleigh as the heroine. Again, for me, she’s wiser than the older, more mature adults, and her story is a heartbreaking one. However, I showed up for Sutton. Skye Warren ameliorated Sutton’s life in such a way that the message of second chances is clear. Even after heartbreak, we can find a better path, a richer life, and a deeper love. Moving beyond his past, Sutton finds a brighter future, one he truly deserves. Honestly, I loved Mating Theory a bit more than Warren’s Trust Fund duet because Sutton and Ashleigh’s story could be any of our own.
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/ : Mating Theory by Skye Warren IS standalone but it does have several interconnected characters with a few of Warren’s other books. Told in dual POV, two broken characters meet under unusual circumstances during some of the darkest points in their lives and then find solace in the very unique relationship that they have stumbled into. This is not a light read, both of these characters are flawed and there are definitely some unsavory subjects that could be considered triggers. This one definitely had some Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman, vibes.
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As much as I adore Warren’s work, unfortunately, the interconnected characters involved in the story were from books that I have NOT read yet. Although neither of the other books has to be read, I did find myself wishing that I had read them before reading Mating Theory, especially The Trust Fund Duet which centers around Sutton, Harper, and Christopher. Although Mating Theory is about Ashleigh and Sutton, to better understand Sutton’s character and what he’s been through, I think it would have been better to read The Trust Fund Duet first.
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Skye Warren writes emotional turmoil like nobody’s business. Even though I hadn’t personally read what Sutton had gone through in The Trust Fund Duet I could FEEL the pain and the heartbreak he was going through. Although Mating Theory was a good read, it still felt like that “something” between the characters was missing. Maybe because the story was on the shorter side, it just felt like the romance development was a little lacking. Which is why I couldn’t quite give Mating Theory the full 5-stars. Still a good read though! Again, I think I would have enjoyed it a bit better if I had read The Trust Fund Duet prior.
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If you enjoy fake relationships that turn real and May to December/ Age Gap romances, then I suggest checking out Mating Theory BUT I would definitely read through The Trust Fund Duet first. I need to dig a little deeper into Tanglewood so I’m off to read the duet and the other side character’s stories too!
() : Sutton Mayfair, the broody broken man has hit his rock bottom. He’s lost not one, but two people that he loves in order for the two of them to get their happily ever after… together. Sutton has tried to move on, but now he’s invited to their wedding, not only invited but asked to be the best man.
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I adore broken heroes/anti-heroes so of course, it was very easy to fall for Sutton. Sutton may be broken but he’s still a caring man. He puts on a facade as if he’s an arrogant prick and although I’m sure he is, to Ashleigh he’s everything she’s ever needed. Sutton begins to care for Ashleigh very quickly but fresh off of heartbreak, his heart is still vulnerable and he’s not willing to go through another one.
The only thing that confused me a bit as I got the impression that Sutton was a very dominant man. In AND out of the bedroom… he sure talks a big game…
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But yet, there really wasn’t much follow-through. Maybe it’s because of the things Ashleigh had been through? He was a little more gentle with her then I thought a man like him would be.
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() : Ashleigh Barnes is a young woman who’s been dealt a difficult hand. Ashleigh is trying to survive by any means necessary and unfortunately, the only commodity available to her is her body. Ashleigh is down on her luck and although she’s strong, she’s vulnerable and needs a helping hand. She finds that help in Sutton but worries how genuine his feelings for her are after the way they met.
I did really love the relationship between Ashleigh and her best friend, Ky. The way the two of them looked out for each other and protected each other, so sweet.
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/ : It turns out, Ashleigh and Sutton are just what one another needed and a connection between the two forms very quickly. Both characters are flawed but their flaws are what draws them to one another but in order for things to work, BOTH of them have to be willing to open their hearts to love again… which is a challenge for both of them. There was definitely some steam, but not as much as I would have expected… the saving grace was Sutton’s dirty mouth! Sheesh, that man knows how to leave the panties wet… the only problem, there really wasn’t much follow-through.
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: Nope, no cliffhanger. Sutton finally gets his own happily ever after and Ashleigh’s life turns around for the better… together.
: There are difficult subjects that could be considered triggers. E.g. prostitution, drugs, etc. If you would like to know more about what those are, feel free to DM me!
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ℐ ℴ ℯℯℯ ℯ ℴℯ ℴ ℴ ℴℴ.
Oh my, Skye Warren has done it again. Don’t miss Mating Theory.
She needs a hot meal and a place to sleep. Instead I’m taking her home to soothe the savage beast inside me. I was born a bastard, and for the first time in my life I act like one. Except the more I use her, the more I need her.
I read, sank and drowned myself in this beautifully written story. It was an escape to get caught up in all the passion stirred up between Sutton and Ashleigh while savoring those moments when sparks ignite. I was devouring page after page from beginning to end!
The price of a kiss
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~ Loving one person is bad enough. Loving two is pure hell. Loving three would be enough to break me. I can’t let myself fall again.
That’s the only thing I’m sure enough of as I watch Christopher bend Harper back for a deeper, more passionate kiss.~
This story swept me along, and I found myself caught up in the richness of the characters, the perfect meeting of minds, souls, and emotions between Ashleigh and Sutton. Would love to find out what happened to Ky! Looking forward to reading more about the characters introduced to me via this fairy-tale story!
Mating Theory by Skye Warren is the story of Sutton and Ashleigh. If you have read the Trust Fund Duet then you will have encountered Sutton but you don’t have to have read that to enjoy this book. Just wanted to make note if like me you have read that series and wanted some more of it. Sutton of course is heart broken because the two people he loves and care for are in love with each other. So he is left a drift. Ashleigh is a young women just trying to survive anyway she can which has lead her to some choices that aren’t for everyone but it what she has to do. So when these to meet it a somewhat crash because neither is wanting or thinking of anything more that just what they came together for. Both were so broken it was hard to see how they would work at first but it kept me turning pages for sure. This was a page turning read for me that bordered on the “Pretty Women” theme.
I’m going to break her to pieces. I’ll break myself, too.
I don’t know how she does it, but Skye Warren has some of the most addictive writing styles I’ve ever come across. Once I start one of her books, I can’t stop until I’ve devoured every single word. And Mating Theory was no different.
“I loved them with a selfish, shallow love. I wanted them for myself. But you… God, Ashleigh. I love you the real way. The deep way. The way where I need you to be safe and secure and strong more than I need to breathe.”
In this book we follow Sutton and Ashleigh. Two broken souls looking for comfort and someone to punish for the hands they’ve been dealt. Sutton is a billionaire in his 30’s who had a rough childhood, and is now in the present day suffering a massive heartbreak as he watches the two people he loves get married. Ashleigh is a homeless teen who has recently turned to prostitution to survive. The two meet and they immediately can’t get enough of each other.
The chemistry was there, the characters were amazing, and I cannot wait to go back and read some of the side character’s stories. I only wish that this book was longer. I didn’t want to leave Sutton and Ashleigh so soon.
Overall rating 4 stars
Steaminess 3 stars
5
I could not put this book down!!
I loved & adored this book!! I’m surprised how many times I teared up for Sutton and Ashleigh It was raw, emotional, & beautiful! These two broken people are trying to survive after heartbreak, and both want to deny the possibility of love!
I’ve been waiting for Sutton’s book since the end of The Evolution of Man. I love how the issues with Christopher & Harper didn’t just disappear. Instead, we see how Sutton is forced to deal with them!
Ashleigh is a woman with a past and uncertain future! She is exactly what Sutton needs! Actually, they need each other whether they know it or not!
Get ready for hot sexual tension, undeniable chemistry, passion, and heartbreak!
Another fantastic emotional romance from Skye Warren!!!
Sutton has spiraled into depression. Watching Christopher and Harper prepare for their wedding is more than he thinks he can take. Loving both of them like he does it is difficult to accept he lost out. The woman he loved chose another. The man he fell in love with, chose that woman.
In the midst of all of this, meeting Ashleigh tugged at his heart. It is obvious she is struggling to survive by selling her body. Between the two of them, they share the need to be loved and cherished. It is not surprising that they find a lot in common and understanding.
This is their love affair. How long does it take to fall in love?
I am voluntarily reviewing this book. Thanks to the author for sharing a copy with me.
Down on your luck, heartbroken, in deep despair? Well so is one devastatingly handsome man that fills the pages of Mating Theory by Skye Warren. This book is steamy and sad but with a bright outlook that will restore your faith in mankind. Warren has been one of my favorite authors for some time now and I never miss a chance to read her books. All her stories are one-click worthy and do not disappoint. Come back and visit the rich and the poor lives of the people of Tanglewood and see just what kind of trouble they have brewing now. 5-stars for Mating Theory by Skye Warren
Sutton Mayfair is heartbroken. He made the mistake of falling in love with not one, but two people and those two people fell in love with each other. Now as Harper and Christopher’s wedding is upon them Sutton must pull himself together and sober up enough to be the best man at the wedding for the two people, he loves the most. Ashleigh never thought she would find herself on the streets but that is where she is. Her friend Ky tells her to wait for the high-end clients and stay safe, but Ashleigh doesn’t want to sell herself at all, but her hunger says otherwise. When Sutton finds Ashleigh in the rain and promises her money and dinner for just one kiss how can she turn it down. Now days later Sutton has taken care of Ashleigh and she has broken the one cardinal rule that Ky taught her “don’t get attached”. What Ashleigh doesn’t know is that Sutton is just as attached but his moral compass has kicked in and he can no longer be that man that she knew before. Is there really any hope for a broken street urchin and an equally broken millionaire?
I have been waiting for so long to see Sutton get his book. My heart broke for him when he fell in love with Harper and Christopher and in the end they choose eachother and left Sutton alone. So when I learned Skye was finally giving Sutton his book I was so excited. I was anxious to see if the girl at the end of Christopher and Haepers book was the girl Sutton ended up with. This book turned out even better than I could of hoped for!
Sutton is heartbroken and living on the edge of craziness and not caring about anyone or anything. Sutton has to put himself back together to be the best man at Christopher and Harpers wedding. But can he do that and stand there and watch the two people he loves marry eachother? Sutton thinks if he takes a date then everyone won’t see how much pain he’s in so he hires Ashliegh to go with him.
Ashliegh is a prostitute living in an old abandoned factory wth her best friend. Starving and trying to make enough money to live except she’s not succeeding. When she meets Sutton he offers her money to be his date for a wedding. Ashleigh agrees because that’s alot of money and can feed her and her pet cat for months. But the more time she spends with him the more she starts to have feelings for him. But can she have a life with him? Can he love her even though she’s a prostitute?
I truly believe that there isn’t a book Skye writes that isn’t a 5 star! So make sure you one click this deliciously hot book!
The missing piece for The Trust Fund Duet, Ashleigh and Sutton’s story it was more than I ever imagined, it was very emotional, how two broken souls try to survive after a heartbreak. Their passion and chemistry sets them in motion, all the tension and angst makes this story will wrench your heart until the last page. A perfect story for a complex character. A must read.
4.5 stars
I have been waiting for Sutton’s story, and Skye Warren did not disappoint! This was a poignant and inspirational love story.
At first, I was a little put off because I thought that it was going to be too similar to a Pretty Woman type story but I was happily proved wrong. Although it was similar, the author does a wonderful job of writing a unique story full of emotion and feels. There is angst, anger, heartbreak, and passion. Sutton has been through so much emotionally, I was hoping that he would find his HEA. He has broken by love, by his best friend and the girl he thought would be his forever. Now that he knows this is a reality, he is angry at the world, angry at love, and doesn’t believe that he is deserving of the happy ever after kind of love. So when he meets Ashleigh on a street corner, why does she bring out so many conflicting emotions in him? He wants to do dirty, bad things to her but he wants to take care of her at the same time. She seems so young and innocent. Ashleigh is just trying to survive the only way she can, by using her body. She ran away from home due to abuse. So when she happens upon Sutton, she sees his pain and wants to help him but she needs the money too. Ashleigh has a friend, Ky, he lives with her in the abandoned sugar factor. He always tells her not to get attached, but Ashleigh is having a hard time sticking to this rule. Sutton knows he’s no good for her but can he resist?
This was such a beautiful, emotional, and powerful story with a ton of feels. The emotions bled off the page. It kept my attention from start to finish. There are some difficult subject matters but it is well written into the story. The characters in this book are so real, you feel their pain, joy, and triumph. I loved them all. It was great seeing other characters from the Tanglewood community in this book as well. I loved the sparks that fly between Sutton and Ashleigh. It was palpable and undeniable. Sutton is probably one of my favorite book boyfriends. Ashleigh was stronger than she appeared, and I fell in love with her too. I highly recommend reading it.
***ARC received in exchange for an honest review.***
Emotional and passionate. Ashleigh and Sutton are some of the most unique characters I have read in a long time. From page 1 as you start to be pulled into the mind of Sutton you want to tell Ashleigh to run but what kinda fun would that be. As we know that is never the direction Skye would send us.
The duel POV enhances the journey these two souls take. The chemistry is unparalleled between these two. It was utterly devastating to learn of their background. To see these two twisted beautiful people save themselves and each other. The writing as always is impeccable and poetic.
Mating Theory by Skye Warren is the follow up to the Trust Fund Duet. This is Sutton’s story and what a story it is. Sutton and Ashleigh’s story is simply beautiful. It’s a older man, younger woman read but there’s a twist on that. It is raw, dark, emotional, heartbreaking, powerful, angsty, steamy, intense, forbidden, touching … Ashleigh is young but she inside she is older than many her age. She wears her wounds on the inside that bleed constantly. She is constantly in pain but trying to hide it. Sutton is a man who is still recovering from a gaping wound and is trying to stem the hurt from his broken heart.
These two are such broken pieces who fit together in such a beautiful yet dark and twisted way, that I loved reading how the unusual way they came together. Hang on for a forbidden and complex gem of a romance read that will take you on Sutton and Ashleigh’s journey.
My Rating: 4.8 stars ***********
Sutton is a man with a dark past and so many demons. Poor Ashleigh had her own cross to bear. This couple has an uphill battle to make things work between them, but sometimes no matter how hard you struggle, it is not meant to be. Or is it?
Skye Warren writes with such emotion and passion that the reader absorbs those emotions and feelings so deeply, as if the story is happening to them, with them, and for them.
This Tanglewood series is the most captivating and compelling saga I have ever read.