“Rough & Tumble by Rhenna Morgan will warm your heart and melt your panties.” —#1 New York Times bestselling author Audrey Carlan (Calendar Girl series) Live hard, f*ck harder and make their own rules. Those are the cornerstones the six Men of Haven bleed by: taking what they want, always watching each other’s backs, and loving the women they claim with unyielding tenderness and fierce … women they claim with unyielding tenderness and fierce passion.
A self-made man with his fingers in a variety of successful businesses, Jace Kennedy lives for the challenge. From the start, he sees Vivienne Moore’s hidden wild side and knows she’s his perfect match, if only he can break it free. Earning this woman’s trust is a task unlike any he’s faced so far, but Jace didn’t get where he is by giving up.
Vivienne’s determined to ditch the rough lifestyle she grew up in, even if that means hiding her true self behind a bland socialite veneer. Dragging her party-hound sister out of a club was not how she wanted to ring in the New Year, but Viv knows the drill. Get in, get her sister and get back to the safe, stable life she’s built for herself as fast as humanly possible. But Viv’s plans are derailed when she meets the club’s seriously sexy owner.
Jace is everything Vivienne swore she never wanted, but the more time she spends with him, the more she starts to see that he loves just as fiercely as he fights. He can walk society’s walk and talk society’s talk, but when he wants something, he finds a way to get it. He’s proud of who he is and where he came from, and he’ll be damned if he lets Vivienne go before showing her the safest place of all is in his arms.
This book is approximately 105,000 words
One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!
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I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads, so here is my review.
I have to say I fell in love with Jace and Viv, they are both strong and strong willed but will protect family until the end. This story will pull you in and keep you there until the end and leave you wanting more. Good thing there is more to come from the other brothers of The Haven.
Vivienne Moore has tried to be more than her past and live her life in the here and now and the proper way. And yet again she has to rescue her drunken sister Callie from another bar or party. This time is at a club where she sees a man, no a God without his shirt on, he is what fantasies are made of. She just wants to get her sister, no trouble and be gone. But that would be too easy.
Jace Kennedy looks the part of the bad boy and he is. He fights for what is his, what he wants and he protects his family. When he sees the beauty across the hall rescuing the drunk girl, she is all he thinks about. And it is more then just for a hookup. He has to learn more about her.
Viv and Jace will go through a lot to be together, her insecurities just might be the biggest problem. Can he show her his real self without scaring her off? Will she accept the Haven as part of her own? Will The Haven accept her as part of the family?
This is a first for me from Rhenna Morgan and I have to say that I have found a new favorite author with this series. And Zeke’s story will be out in April, I can’t wait.
**Wicked Reads Review Team**
3 stars
I liked the story okay but I wasn’t crazy about the way he spoke and all the dirty talk. Loved some of the brothers though so I’ll probably read some more of the series.
Thanks to the publisher and goodreads for my free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Love it and an awesome read. Can’t wait to read the rest of the series.
Rhenna Morgan’s contemporary romance series Men of Haven is currently my go-to comfort read. Just recently I reread books 1 through 5 just for the heck of it. I know she’s finished writing Axel’s story, so fingers crossed we won’t have to wait long now for #6. Rough and Tumble, Jace and Vivienne’s story, is book 1, so a great place to start. Vivi has sass and heart and family troubles. Jace is a self-made alpha with a warm and protective side I just loved. His family is also self-made and unconditionally supportive. Together they work to overcome fear and mistrust, conmen and corruption. There are lots of shades of grey in this novel, which in my opinion made it realistic.
A must read. This was so hard to put down once I started it. I need a man like this one..
Always good to find a new set of tight knit characters to cheer for, that are loyal to a fault. Even better when there is a whole series of them to explore.
Fantastic idea for a series, excellent character development, and wonderful story – Loved this book and can’t wait for more!!!
Okay, with that out of the way. Two men, Jack & Axel, made a promise early in life and became “family”. Over the years they have added four other men to their family and formed THE HAVEN. If others are deemed worthy of and in tune with their beliefs then they might be added to the group in the future. These men are all different but have the same principles and are there for one another – no matter what.
When Viv goes to pick up her alcoholic sister at a club she comes face to face with some Jack and some of the other men in The Haven. For some reason he doesn’t understand Jack is drawn to Viv and makes her safety a priority. Jack is intent on getting to know the true personality of Viv and sets out to do so and in so doing the two become a whole lot more than just friends. In addition to the love story of Jack and Viv there are some bad guys to deal with, an alcoholic sister to save and all of the men of The Haven to be introduced to. Jack is a superb book boyfriend and Viv holds her own although her past insecurities poke their heads out from time to time.
This book was a delight to read. I stayed up till 3am and finally had to turn the light off then finish the book the next day. I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in this series and am thankful to NetGalley and Carina Press for the ARC that they gave to me. This is my honest review.
***4.5 “You Make Me Feel” Stars***
~ 4 Stars for Jace & Viv. .5 Stars for the Brotherhood and their girls ~
I’ve been a huge fan of Rhenna Morgan’s since reading Unexpected Eden and have made sure to get my hands on each book she comes out with as soon as possible. So when it was announced that she was kicking off a new series I pretty much stalked her SM sites for when it was coming out and I can say I wasn’t disappointed! Rough & Tumble a fun and sexy romp that gets the Haven Brotherhood series off to a great start with characters you will find yourself needing to know more about!
Jace grew up on the wrong side of the tracks and will admit that he’s done some things that aren’t necessarily legal, but he got himself on a path where he was able to make something of himself and take care of the people who mean the most to him and extend a helping hand when he can. I want my own Jace. The man is all kinds of dominate scary smexy alpha male who could give a caveman a run for his money with his protective/possessive nature but has a heart of gold that will make you swoon. He gets a wee bit hot headed, but is man enough to own up to it.
Vivienne wants desperately to live in a beige colored world based on her past. She wants a regimented existence and coloring outside the lines, much less in them, with vibrant colors is definitely not allowed. Total honesty here, I didn’t find Viv at all interesting until about the 62% mark. I liked her and found her drive to stand on her own two feet and make her business thrive, and hell even her determination to be boring highly commendable, but she didn’t hit a cord with me until her true nature started to show itself. Her past was rough and there are parts of her present that are as well, but I never got a true connect on why she went to such an extreme. Thankfully, she comes to see that she is leashing herself unnecessarily and when she finally takes the leash off a sassy, witty and confident woman emerges.
Now with my full on adoration of Jace and my like of Viv one could believe that I had issues with their journey to their HEA, and there were some moments where I wanted to Gibbs smack both of them, but overall I liked them together, really liked them together. They complimented each other and through their interactions had them growing without compromising who they were at their core. I loved how Jace pursued Viv and even though he exerted his indomitable will on her, he did his best to always make sure she knew she had a choice in what was going on. There were some instances where that line was blurry, but considering the situations when it happened, one can’t fully be upset about it. The sexual chemistry between them was intense and when the walls finally came down, they were smoking hot. My one issue, that can be put on the ‘it’s not you, it’s me shelf’, is that I wish they’d opened up more about their pasts to each other. They find out things, but it’s from outside sources and I really wanted them to have a full on here are my wounds talk. But I did like that while it was full on insta-lust, time was taken for them to get to know each other in the present.
This was a fun read and I like the concept behind the Haven Brotherhood, it does take a bit of time for it to be explained, but when it finally comes out, it makes perfect sense. There is a bit of a suspense storyline tossed into the mix, but at it’s heart this is a character driven story and was done very well. And as most know, I’m a sucker for well written secondary/supporting characters, and this book has them in spades. From the Brotherhood to their girls, I want to hang out with them and get to know all about their pasts and how it shaped them. Sylvie and Ninette are amazing and Axel is probably my favorite, mostly because he had the most page time of the brother, but I’m totally looking forward to diving into Zeke’s book and seeing what’s in store for him.
~ Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley ~
Super fan of the Eden Series and now joining the band wagon for this well written series and characters!! Morgan does steamy so very well!! On to Wild & Sweet!!
This is my first book by Ms. Morgan. I’ve had her Eden series on my reading radar for sometime and I thought I would start with that series, since I mainly read Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy, but then I won a copy of the first book for the Haven Brotherhood series. I’m glad I picked up this book.
Let me introduce you to The Haven Brotherhood. Five men, who all have checkered pasts, joined together to make a family and become brothers, not by blood, but by loyalty and obligation. Each brother has a hidden depth to them and add in the rough and tumble biker, well you will fall in love with each one.
Jace Kennedy, what a man. He’s an intelligent businessman, co-founder of the Haven Brotherhood, is charitable and active in the community. But for all that he has a vulnerable side that gets drawn out as you read. I really savored Jace. He’s such a great and well developed character to fall in love with. The man is a bad-boy with a heart of gold.
Vivienne Moore, a straight-laced buttoned-up event planner or so she portrays to the world, but deep inside she has hidden away her true-self and thinks that by suppressing her nature, she will be safe. But in doing this she is stifling herself, not living up to her true potential and freedom. Let’s just say Viv needed someone to mess up her perfect boring life. I wasn’t totally on board with Viv, but by the end she turned out ok.
As for the story their is a little side mystery/danger that Jace and his brothers have to deal with, but the main focus is on the relationship. Jace knows what he wants, but he also respected Viv and reined in his nature for her, so he wouldn’t scare her away. The sexual tension between them was explosive, off the chats, and once they hit the sheets, WOW.
I LOVE the men who formed the Haven Brotherhood and can’t wait to read their stories. Each brother comes with a different background and has brought something different to the family. It’s an entertaining concept.
Rough & Tumble was a satisfying and delightful read in the Haven Brotherhood series.
Rated: 4 Stars