He burns for her. Lucky for him, she likes to play with fire. . .My name is Eddie Rosas, but everyone calls me Trouble. Since I got out of prison six months ago, I’ve had one goal: find my father, whatever the cost. My older brother says I need to move on. He also wants me to leave our gang, East Side Hollenbeck, and go straight, but I can’t—not until I uncover the truth about our family and its … truth about our family and its missing piece.
One problem? I’m distracted. My distraction’s name is Carmen Centeno. Smart, passionate, and tough as hell, Carmen is a woman from the neighborhood who’s built her career as one of the city’s top chefs. She’s a master of creating pleasure both in and out of bed. But when our connection deepens, how can I show her I’m not the trash everyone says I am?
The pressure’s rising. Carmen deserves a man she can depend on. And when the ghosts of my past rise up, I’ll have to outsmart them—or lose my shot at a future with the only woman who believes in me.
The Rosas brothers will return in Tanked!
Praise for the first Eastside Brewery novel, Thirsty
ONE OF THE BEST ROMANCE NOVELS OF THE YEAR “A powerful, honest look at love as both a motivation and a risk.”—The Washington Post
“Heartrending, raw and beautiful.”—USA Today
“A brilliant read. There are good writers, and then there are writers that just leave you in awe. And Hopkins has definitely left me in awe.”—Hypable
“Bold and unapologetic.”—Smexy Books
“A sizzling, emotionally intense story that is both gritty and heartwarming, an addictive page-turner that will stay with me for a long time to come.”—New York Times bestselling author Cathryn Fox
“Sexy and soul-wrenching, with Sal’s irresistible voice luring you through a living, breathing Los Angeles.”—USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone
“An amazing read! I stayed up way too late to finish and haven’t stopped thinking about the characters. Highly recommended!”—USA Today bestselling author Molly O’Keefe
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You know when a book is SO GOOD that you just can’t articulate HOW good, because you are a mere mortal and the task requires a god? I am in that position right now.
I fell in love with book one of this series, THIRSTY from the moment I saw the cover. I don’t just mean that I loved the cover – I mean I had, like, a moment of DIVINE KNOWING and realised that this series was about to be everything I’d never known I wanted. And I was CORRECT. THIRSTY remains one of my all-time faves, but you know what? I love TRASHED even more.
The book starts with Eddie on his first day out of prison, having hot and anonymous sex with a woman he found crying in a garden. If that sounds kinda wild, it’s even more wild to actually experience (um, through the book I mean) because Mia somehow managed the impossible and made me care about a sex scene between two people I don’t know. I COULD FEEL THEM FALLING SPIRITUALLY IN LOVE YOU GUYS. IN BETWEEN THE HOT TONGUE STUFF, I MEAN. ALSO, I FELL IN LOVE WITH BOTH OF THEM AT THE SAME TIME. THIS IS IN LIKE, THE FIRST TEN PAGES. HELP.
So then the woman dips, and Eddie can’t find her, doesn’t know her name, and pines after her for months even as he tries to put his life back together while on probation. I should add that these books are all first person present from the heroes POV, which works because Eddie and his brother Sal are so charming and sweet and real and vulnerable, and also because their heroines are so dynamic and bold and unapologetic that you still get to know them. Eddie is so invested in Carmen (yes, he discovers her name eventually) that sometimes looking at her through his eyes actually felt like being in HER head. He noticed so much because he cared so much. Also, his sexy thoughts are incredibly overwhelming and I might be slightly in love with him.
So, post-mystery boink this book becomes a boss/employee romance when Eddie finds himself working for Carmen, then it becomes a mystery romance as Eddie tries to figure out what happened to his father and Carmen tries to figure out what the hell Eddie’s up to. Also, there’s some angsty forbidden love action because Carmen is a good girl with a career, Eddie is an ex-gang member, and she is possibly the only person in the universe who recognises that he is indeed good enough for her. ANGST GALORE!
Also, did I mention – EDDIE READS ROMANCE NOVELS.
I don’t think I can explain the perfection of this book any better than the above, so I will leave you with the following quotes:
– I turn her name around and around in my mind like a warm coin between my fingers. Carmen. Carmen. Carmen. –
– I’m so angry at my heart—for what, exactly? For wanting closeness with her that I haven’t earned. –
– Even my right hand knows this is not healthy. “Obsessed,” I whisper to myself. “You’re obsessed with her, you f*cking creeper.” –
– “I’m poor but I’m sexy. No-one can put a price on that.” –
– “Why can’t you act normal, just for a few minutes?”
“I don’t know. Because I’m a gangbanger?” –
– “The white folks are coming, Salvador.” –
– “Do you even know how sexy you are? Use me, Carmen.” –
– “…she snores like a hibernating bear, but it doesn’t bother me. I think it’s kinda cute.”
AND THE BEST QUOTE OF ALL:
– I want to go back in time and visit myself, stuck in a prison cell, reading romance novels and convinced that happy ever afters don’t happen in real life—at least not for people like me. I would say to myself, “Just you wait, fucker. Just you wait.” –
This book is simply amazing. Incredible characters, a story that will put your heart in your throat more than once, hot hot sexy times, and so brilliantly written. I went right out and bought every other book by this author and recommend everyone does the same.
This is the second book in the series. This series gives you the realness of life. It’s raw and edgy. Eddie served his time and now he has to take back his life to create a future. Easier said then done especially when your old life starts to sinks in claws into you. This time around he has something worth fighting for, Carmen. I loved her because she can see the good guy Eddie is even though he never sees it himself. She makes him want to be a better man. Carmen and Eddie have such great chemistry. They burn up the pages. Eddie’s childhood memories breaks my heart. My heart just bled for him and his brothers. I loved catching up with Sal and Vanessa to see how their love is doing. It made my heart happy. I can’t wait for the third book in the series.
Loved it!!!
I fell hard for Eddie and Carmen! This was my first read from Mia Hopkins and definitely won’t be my last. It’s a standalone and one of the thing I loved the most was that it was told in the male POV. This is a personal favourite of mine and this author does it VERY well.
It’s full of chemistry, great dialogue and character growth that I loved. I see myself going back and reading her back catalogue very soon.
Definitely recommend.
This is the 2nd book in this phenomenal series, and is Eddie and Carmen’s story. Eddie is fresh out of prison, and is not a bad person in my opinion; he has just made some questionable decisions in his life. Carmen is from the neighbourhood and is one of the towns’ top chefs. There is an instant attraction between these two, and she sees that there is more to Eddie than he thinks. This is a beautifully written story which is raw, gritty, emotional, passionate, intense and filled with love and complicated relationships between family and friends. I was totally captivated throughout this addictive page turner, and I cannot wait to read more in this awesome series.
This book was an unexpected gem. I didn’t know anything about it ahead of time, and found myself totally immersed in the world/neighborhood of east LA. The author was able to convey the constant pressure, lack of opportunity, crummy parenting and gang influences while creating an interesting story with sympathetic characters. I will be reading more of this writer’s work. 4.7 stars.
Loved it.
I absolutely love Mia Hopkins. Her stories have so much heart, her characters have depth, and she shows me cultures and ways of life that I am totally unfamiliar with. The first book in this series Thirsty is one of my all time favorite romance novels. It’s just wonderful. I also love her story Cowboy Lullaby in the Summer Sizzle anthology. I’ve read it multiple times. The male lead Manny is my favorite book boyfriend—humble and gentle. Ms. Hopkins can write a love scene like no one else. What is dirty in another author’s hands is bittersweet when Mia writes it. She’s simply amazing. How she can so perfectly blend social commentary, philosophy, romance and humor in her writing, while combining it with flowing technique is pretty astounding.
So needless to say, I liked this book. Who else could create a Hero who is a gangster that you empathize with and fall in love with? Eddie isn’t as bad a man as he thinks he is. He’s done his time and grown up during his five years in prison. Carmen can see the good in him and she sticks with him through thick and thin, even when Eddie is full of self-loathing. Eddie’s journey to believing in his own goodness evolves as he redeems himself in his own eyes through his own efforts and through Carmen’s unwavering devotion.
What a gorgeous love story. Eddie and Carmen need each other to feel calmed and grounded in the face of relentless adversity. We can actually feel their yearning for each other. What must it be like as adults to have to search for ways and places to be alone, like teenagers? What must it feel like to have nothing, and be told you are less than nothing, yet know that you are capable of grand ideas? And what must it be like to find the one person who sees who you really are and believes in you, yet to be kept apart by obligation?
The depths to which this character Eddie is down and out are eye opening and completely believable. Mia Hopkins was inspired by her real life experiences and writes this at the end of the book:
“In 2014 and 2015, I volunteered at a gang intervention and reentry program. During my time there, I spent many hours conducting in-person interviews with trainees. Their stories of trauma and transformation inspired the characters in Trashed.”
I’ve read other series about ‘bad boys’. Some were vigilantes, some were mafia, etc., but none were as believable as these characters. And none were so completely lovable.
I waited patiently and with much anticipation for this book to come out, and it was worth the wait. Now I must be patient once again for the next book Tanked to come out. I love this series. 100% recommend it.
This second book in the Eastside Brewery series is a very sexy and moving romance, told from the point of view of Eddie, who’s out of prison after serving five years and ready to be done with gang life. He encounters a woman in his garden who seems unsteady and lost and they have totally hot sex, without exchanging names. Soon, he discovers that she’s his boss at a restaurant where he’s washing dishes, but she’s got her family secrets and traumas, just as he has his.
The closer they get, the more their pasts and family issues start to pull them apart. Eddie is a powerful character, a romantic but also a realist who struggles to leave his past behind but who also has to resolve his issues with his gangster father he’s been searching for. There are some VERY hot sex scenes in this book, made all the more so by the tensions that simmer between Eddie and Carmen, including a business venture that could bring financial success for Eddie’s brother and Carmen’s parents. Hopkins has written a hero who feels real, who’s heroic not because he always makes the right decisions, but because he can own up to his mistakes, grapple with them, and be vulnerable, even though everything he’s been taught is about being tough and powerful. Carmen is also powerful, a chef in a male-dominated industry who’s trying to branch out from her parents’ control.
This is a memorable, page-turning, hot book and I look forward to the next one in the series.
Raw, dirty, and hot.
Trashed by Mia Hopkins is book Two in the Eastside Brewery Series. This is the story of Carmen Centeno and Eddie Rosas. I haven’t yet read the previous book, so for me this was a standalone book.
Eddie has been in prison for about 5 years when he is finally released. Now he wants to find information about his father while still trying to stay in the club for answers. Just a short time since leaving prison he happens to hook up with a women who he didn’t know but wants to learn to know but she does a vanishing act. Eddie knows there is something about her that calls to him so now while looking for information about his father he looks for this women. When he takes a job at a restaurant he finds the women he hasn’t been about to forget…Carmen.
Loved their hot story…hope to read more from this author.
Trashed by Mia Hopkins
Eastside Brewery #2
What a treat to spend the day with Eddie and Carmen today! Everything flowed and was perfect and absolutely made my day!
Eddie is just out of prison and sees a woman in the garden…a woman he has hot passionate anonymous s*x with and then she disappears. He runs into her months later at his new job washing dishes in the restaurant she chefs in and the chemistry is still there and they soon act upon that chemistry in delightful and wonderful and steamy ways. I really enjoyed this couple together because they brought the best out in one another and neither was a pushover.
In addition to the romance there were threads in the story that dealt with the gang Eddie and his brother Sal were members of, family issues Eddie wanted resolved, Sal’s desire to open a business showcasing the craft beer he produces, trying to determine what future there was for all of the main characters, friendships and family and a whole lot more.
Did I enjoy this book? Definitely!
Would I like to read the next book in the series? Without a doubt!
Thank you to NetGalley and Little Stone Press for the ARC – This is my honest review.
5 Stars
This is the first book I have read by Mia Hopkins and I really enjoyed it. I love meeting new authors!
It’s the 2nd in a series but I didn’t feel like I should have read the first book first.
A fabulous quick read with strong characters who I loved. It was well written with a believable storyline. I will have to go back and read the first one now!!