I hired her to distract my enemy. Now I’m determined to have her for my own. I’m Maxon Reed—multimillionaire, mogul…shark. If a contract isn’t high profile and big money, I pass. Now that I’ve found the deal of a lifetime, I’m jumping. But one cutthroat bastard stands between me and success—my brother. I’ll need a totally devious ploy to distract cynical Griff. Then fate drops a luscious redhead … Griff. Then fate drops a luscious redhead in my lap who’s just his type.
Sassy Keeley Kent accepts my challenge to become Griff’s perfect girlfriend. But between the witty conversation and the days together, I’m having trouble resisting her. The quirky dreamer is everything I don’t tolerate…but she’s utterly charming. I more than want her; I’m desperate to own her. I’m not even sure how drastic I’m willing to get to make her mine—but I’m about to show her.
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The first book in the More Than Words series is a gripping read that captivates readers. Mason and Keeley are two strong, dynamic characters that easily grab readers’ attentions and their romance is sweet at times and full of sizzling magnetic chemistry. Maxon and Keeley are lovable, complex characters and their relationship is full of scorching hot passion that heats up the pages but it is also a bit complex as it features an unusual twist with the male having an agenda that he is consumed by, one that is completely blocking his heart which keeps the emotional turmoil high throughout this story.
The plot is steady paced and flows smoothly from beginning to end and the story is intriguing holding readers captive throughout as they wonder whether this couple will ever reach a happily ever after. With a couple of surprising twists that readers won’t see coming and character stubbornness ruling this relationship, this romance is quite an enjoyable read and since the author once again spins a wonderful tale full of fascinating characters and complex character interactions, readers can easily become caught up in the story. This romance is a standalone story but readers will definitely want to come back for more than the words of this series.
I loved the twist at the end of this book. Never saw it coming!
4.5 stars
I have read the others in this series and wanted to know how Maxon and Keeley’s story began. It is one that is great and a little heartbreaking but you have to read it to see how it ends.
Maxon Reed it the number one realtor in Hawaii and he has found the one property that will set him up for life. But there is another standing in his way and it happens to be his brother Griff. He meets Keeley at a bar and thinks she might be the perfect person to distract Griff. Once Griff is distracted, Maxon can win the listing.
Keeley Kent uses meditation and music to center herself and keep herself happy. When she meets Maxon at a bar, she knows it wouldn’t take much for her to fall. After spending the night together, Keeley is shocked when Maxon offers her money to distract his brother. She is heartbroken that he would chose his job over her.
Can Keeley show Maxon that family is more important that his job? Will Maxon realize his feelings for Keeley before it’s too late? Can Keeley forgive Maxon and move on with her life? Will Maxon win the listing of a lifetime?
If you haven’t started this series yet, I recommend starting it and begin with this one. It wasn’t bad with the way I read it but it helped me learn what I was missing. I love this series and can’t wait for the next one.
**I received a free copy of this book to read and review and this is my honest opinion**
I must admit that Maxon took a bit to like in this story by Shayla Black. I mean he wasn’t the most mature or very nice for that matter. But Ms. Black was able to redeem him with Keeley’s help. I really enjoyed Keeley. She was such a “hippie” personality but she had common sense to balance out those tendencies. I love that she made Maxon look at who he was and who he wanted to be. They say the right woman can make you a better man and Ms. Black proved the truth of that saying as Keeley and Maxon fell in love. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Keeley guide even as she found herself falling. I love that with love Maxon became a much more likable person. This story is a nice enjoyable read by Ms. Black.
Twist and Turns Oh My!
Maxon Reed is a real estate agent in Maui. He was business partners with his brother Griffin (Griff) until they had a misunderstanding that broke up their company over three years ago. Now he is determined to be the number one agent on the island. When a property comes up that his brother wants to list he’s determined to try to win it at any cost.
Keely “Sunshine” Kent was abandoned in Maui by her ex-boyfriend and has to take odd jobs to make ends meet. She decides to sing at a bar for the first time and that’s where Maxon notices her and has an idea that he can use her to distract his brother Griff and steal the big real estate deal. Except as he gets to know her the more he is drawn to her. Keely is a free spirt who is kind, funny, vibrant, full of life. She is determined to help Maxon see that there is more to life than just real estate deals there is love and family if you are willing to open your heart. Maxon has grown up in a tuff family and his last relationship left him not believing in them. Maxon and Keely couldn’t be more opposite but their chemistry and magnetism is off the charts. There were quite a few twists and turns I didn’t see coming!
I really love Shayla Black‘s skill with words. The story-lines she writes are not only passionate, but so are her characters. Maxon Reed and Keeley Kent are as passionate as they come. And not just in a sexual nature, but also in a characteristic nature. Their interaction with one another is witty and flirty and sexy. It keeps you interested and invested.
One of Shayla Black’s writing skills that always stick to my brain is the ability she has to write fresh stories with the same underlying theme to it. She takes an alpha-male and brings him to his knees with an equally alpha female who isn’t as overtly alpha as him. What I mean by that is that her female leads have depth you don’t normally read. They don’t wear their strength on the outside. It is hidden but always there. Keeley Kent was young but took on a very grown-up offer from Maxon to help him close a deal. It was intriguing to see such a young woman play this role. And she did it perfectly. Which of course is due to Shayla’s unwavering skill with characterization.
I love this new beginning of a series and cannot wait to see how she moves forward with it and with whom
This book had me turning pages well into the night. I couldn’t put it down. Maxon has a crazy plan to get back at his brother Griff. He finds who he thinks will be a perfect fit in Keely. If he can get her to agree to distract his brother, he’ll land the deal. It’ll put him at the top of his game. But Keely gets under his skin. Can he go through with his crazy plan? Will he keep Keely for himself? Will Keely go through with it after she realizes she has feeling for Max? So many questions. Once you start this book you won’t want to put it down.
This book…. wow I loved it! First this book is written from the male POV and it is awesome! So often we read from the heroines POV for most of the book and we can relate to her emotions and motives. But this book is awesome because even though it is written from the heroes POV you can understand all of his motivations and reasons. Now don’t get me wrong I wanted to hit Maxon over the head several times in this book but it was awesome to read what he was really thinking verses his actions. Keeley could have just been a manic pixie dream girl but she has all the fun and quirky qualities but with depth and charm. I loved the chemistry between Maxon and Keeley and it was a joy to read their romance. I don’t want to give any of the plot away so I will say that this book made me laugh, shake my fist with anger, sigh with romance and kept me turning the page. My only complaint is that it ended!
Great read! High on the drama, even higher on the passion and I LOVED the twist at the end!
First of all, I fell in love with this book, although it took me time, and I totally recommend this book to every romance lover. You won’t be disappointed!
I was intrigued in the beginning with the fact that this book is all told in his perspective, and I am so used with a female one, that I got scared I wasn’t going to like it. But the tables turned around and I had such a good time reading his POV through it all, that in the last chapter, when is Keeley telling how it all ends, I wanted more from Maxon.
Also, Keeley and Maxon are such beautiful people that I wanted both in my life, Keeley for her happiness and serenity and Maxon for his passion and ability to make me laugh.
This author has something that I appreciate a lot: the gift to combine writing stories with singed ones. It makes it even harder for me to forget about this book, because when I hear the songs, I’ll remember Keeley and Maxon.
I can’t stop saying that I really loved this book, so much that I immediately started searching for more books from Shayla Black, even paperback ones. I found a gem!
“More Than Want You” (nook) grabbed my attention and I stayed up until early morning to finish reading the book. At first Maxon was not a nice person but I loved how he wanted to and did change for Keeley. The twist was a big surprise and it was perfect. A wonderful HEA.
Thought it was quite boring actually… I found it difficult to complete the book.
I am a fan of the author. I read a lot of her novels. This one didn’t disappoint.
morality play fostering emotional & familial healing. A fast, fun read with enough surprises to keep my interest
Shayla has once again delivered with another amazing and romantic couple, the best was the paradise Mauii. Now lets talk about Maxon and Keeley, they were sweet the one minute and savor the next minute. They were total opposites of each other but perfect for each other. While Maxon was business oriented and Keeley was an artistic. I absolutely loved them and devoured them. Definitely recommend this series to everybody.
This is the first book I’ve read by this author and it won’t be my last. I absolutely loved it. The characters were complex, the storyline kept me engaged and you wanted them to find a way to make it work. The twists of the story were like no other that I’ve read. There was also great chemistry and steam. I would definitely suggest putting this on your to read list.
After listening to More Than Crave You recently, I decided to go back and listen to other books in the More Than Words series, so I went back to the beginning. More Than Want You is Maxon and Keeley’s story, and it’s a good one.
The beginning of this story threw me, because I was sure that this was the first in the series. It begins with Maxon and his brother Griff in a not-speaking-to-each-other family rift. And what’s happened before will play into this book and the next one (about Griff). It felt as if I had missed something, but at the same time, the way it is set up is great storytelling for this one. It builds in the opportunity for a twist AND a segue way into the next book, which shows that Black planned this pretty well.
The sex is steamy and open-door, the language throughout is adult and may be offensive to some. So if you’re listening on an audiobook, of course you probably shouldn’t have young ears in the room when playing it out loud. I feel like because there was all this angst/tension happening, that the sexy times were too far apart, but the book itself wasn’t as long as More Than Crave You, so it worked out. For a confident to the point of narcissistic guy, Maxon sure does have a lot of angsty, insecure moments. But then again, don’t all narcissists?
I love Keeley and the bar moments. How narrator Christian Fox remembers and does all these voices is beyond me.
Christian Fox narrates this book as well as the rest of the series, and he is amazing. This one is told from Maxon’s view for 90% of the book, and Fox’s voice is great. I thought I would be hung up on him as Evan Cook (from MTCY), but he was just different enough–and of course Shayla Black ‘s writing of each of their voices is masterfully done–that I got total Maxon from this reading. But while Maxon doesn’t sound exactly the same in this book as in MTCY, Keeley is spot on! I totally picked up on her. Not sure about a couple of other characters, though. There are a lot of voices here.
Overall: More Than Want You was as great as More Than Crave You, reading them out of order doesn’t diminish the experience for me,–they work great as stand alones–and I will probably pick up a couple more in the future. Christian Fox narrating doesn’t hurt either.
I loved the first book in the More Than Words series. As soon as I was done reading book 1, I ordered and read More Than Need You (book 2). I liked this one as well. Just ordered More Than Love You (book 3). I am definitely hooked on this series!!!
Wow. Once again, Shayla knocks me on my ass with an amazing story and amazing characters. So many twists and turns in this book, it continued to have me second guessing everything I thought I’d figured out about the plot and where I thought it was heading, just as I thought I’d worked it out, BAM! Shayla throws me another twist.
Maxon – The lead male character in this plot is everything I look for in a book boyfriend. He’s alpha, dominant, closed off, and driven to succeed, and a pretty big asshole at times but behind all this is a man struggling with his own demons and his constant need and determination to prove to his father that he is worthy. The determination so powerful that it clouded what was really important. I couldn’t help but feel for this man. Growing up not being taught how to express his feelings which causes him to be a closed off man, hiding behind a past full of emotional torment and shame. Afraid of letting someone knock down the wall he’s put up.
Keeley – The lead female in this plot. She’s absolutely gorgeous. She’s a confident, strong willed, and minded, free spirited and just adorable character with a massive heart, she’s caring, loving and kind. It was hard not to fall in love with her. She was everything and more that Maxon needed.
The two of them together were captivating and to read the way she tried to help Maxon and forced him to face and over come his demons, his overwhelming resentment and anger towards his brother and this emotional torment he’s lived with for so long was an emotional ride, yet a beautiful one. I absolutely loved this love story and it’s unlike anything I’ve read before.
Shayla is mastered at what she does. Her detail to characters is incredible, she has a way of pulling you in so deep that you get so invested in the storyline and you can’t help but frantically sit there and turn page by page wanting to know each and every little detail. I almost felt as though I wasn’t just reading this plot, I was living it and every time I took a break or had to put the book down, I would continuously keep thinking about the story. I could feel that Shayla put all her emotions into this story, it’s evident and in my opinion, it makes me love this book even more. I’m a massive fan of Shaylas’, I have been for a while now and just like the rest of her work, this was phenomenal and I can’t wait to start book two and see what she has in store for Griffins’ and Brittas’ story!
I highly recommend this book, it’s full of passion, love, pain, angst, drama and everything else in between and will keep you on your toes all the way through.
Okay I will admit it, I read this series out of order so I sort of knew what to expect going into this book but not totally so there were still some big revelations.
I LOVE Keeley and I knew I would because I really liked her in the other books I read, but, this story shines a light on her that makes me LOOOOOVE her even more!
It’s hard when family doesn’t talk to one another and it’s even harder when you have been deceived by someone you blindly trusted which is the case for Maxon. My heart broke for him.
Shayla Black not only writes steamy stories that make you hot under the collar she writes stories that pull at your heartstrings and this one is no different. Keeley and Maxon will have you rooting for them right from the beginning. The narration is done by Christian Fox and he did a wonderful job with bringing this steamy story to life. Happy Reading or Listening whichever you prefer I promise you wont be disappointed!!!