From New York Times and #1 International bestselling author J. Kenner…
But when he’s photographed in a compromising position by an over-eager reporter, the only way to save his career is to say that the woman he was with is his fiancée. And now Lyle has to play a very public game with the only woman who’s ever managed to get under his skin.
Struggling waitress Sugar Laine agrees to spend one night with Lyle—but only because she’s desperate to save her family home. She never expects that a night of passion will turn into a pretend engagement … or that the heat between them will blossom into love.
But sometimes love has a price.
And now the only question is—can Lyle and Sugar afford to pay it?
All Wicked novels stand alone with a guaranteed HEA!
Other books in the Wicked Nights (Stark World) series:
Wicked Grind
Wicked Torture
While the Wicked books stand alone, each are set in the sexy, high-powered world of billionaire Damien Stark’s multi-national company, Stark International.
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Hollywood is the stuff that dreams are made off. It’s also fickle, shallow and thrives on scandal. Lyle Tarpin has been hard at work trying to make his dreams a reality but it’s under false pretenses. Sugar Laine is just trying to keep her head above water, make enough money to pay off a looming debt and keep her childhood home. A last minute secret rendezvous puts Sugar squarely on Lyle’s radar. She see his tortured soul and holds it up to a mirror for him. Their faux relationship turns real but the truth comes out. Facing the truth and confessing it may be the only way their love can survive.
4 stars
I received a free copy of novel Wicked Dirty by J. Kenner and this review was given freely.
A steamy story of lust, love, loss and hidden tendencies which includes many of the characters from The Man of The Month series. Thirteen years after the death of his best friend Jennifer, rising A-list Actor Lyle hires tattoo artist/waitress/bar server and first time call girl Sugar as his fake fiancee when Sugar makes a desperate attempt to keep her family home. Paparazzi, a jealous co-star, and good friends lead to continued “dates” and a possible career change for Lyle. Contains hints of BDSM and violence. A best if 18+ novel with a happy ending.
This book is well-written – excellent, engaging characters and good dialogue with a story that struck me as believable. I liked that we didn’t know everything about Lyle right off the bat and in my opinion, being on that journey of discovery with Sugar is exactly how I like my books. I love when the good guys find each other and when the book is well-written and well edited – that just makes everything better. Highly recommend and will looking for more from this author.
Book 2 in new series centering around the ambitious, wealthy and powerful men who work in the glamorous world of Stark International conglomerate and the women they fall for …..
Lyle Tarpin is Hollywoods latest heartthrob,a rising star who everybody loves, what you don’t know is he spends his nights having meaningless sex with women who are only needed for the night, all he wants to do is erase the memories, guilt and pain he feels and he believes losing himself in a woman for a few hours helps. It was working until he met Sugar Laine who thought she could do what was needed for some fast cash to save her family home. Sugar needs cash and Lyle needs a fake girlfriend, you might say it’s a win win but then feelings come into the mix what starts off as an instant attraction soon becomes love but will love be enough for Lyle stop hiding from his past and move forward with the women he can’t get out of his mind and will Sugar be prepared to wait for him to come to his senses.
Mention the Stark name and I’m dropping what ever else I’m reading and this book did not disappoint, this looks like it’s shaping up to be yet another fantastic series from J Kenner as always the characters are strong and you fall in love with them instantly. The chemistry is sizzling but it’s not just a hot story it’s a love story with some twists and turns, it’s sweet and hot all rolled into one and I can’t wait for the next book which I hope is Noah’s story.
Wow.. something different from J Kenner..its sexy even without so much of steamy romance… Lyle Tarpin is a successful actor with fame and many admires… from a complicated past to his commitment with career… can this man found love within his success? Famous can be lonely.. fake smile
Sugar is a simple girl who worked so hard to save her family home..having to made a difficult choice..she slowly opening herself to Lyle.. They slowly falling for each other… Reality can hurt..
This book is an emotional challenge… its a romance that will keep you enchanted… From Stark series, JKenner never let me down… 🙂
It was a great story. It was sexy and entertaining. I would read it again!
Loved the characters of Sugar and Lyle. Very hot!
Absolutely LOVED this book! Both Lyle and Sugar have lived with tragedy and loss in their lives, but they’ve both managed to learn how to live with their new realities, albeit in very different ways. There’s a reason why Lyle pays for sexy times, and there’s a reason why Sugar makes the decision to become an escort. Their first meeting doesn’t go according to any sort of plan, although Sugar can tell immediately that Lyle is only participating because of the demons he’s living with; an impromptu kiss snapped by a paparazzo has forced Lyle and Sugar into the facade of being in a relationship.
The more time they spend together, the more lines start to blur and feelings become involved. I loved both Sugar and Lyle, both on their own and together; Sugar is doing what she can to hang on the home she grew up in. I liked that she’s working so hard to maintain her one last link to her family, who unfortunately passed away suddenly five years prior. As for Lyle, the image he presents to the world is merely an illusion; the demons and guilt he’s been living with for 13 years are threatening to consume him. I appreciated when we finally learned what happened all those years ago, and Lyle’s role in what happened and how it’s been affecting him ever since. He’s the definition of broken, but the more he’s with Sugar the more he begins to heal.
This was an unexpectedly great time. I put it that was because after I started it I wasn’t quite digging where it was going but it quickly grabbed me and kept me intrigued and invested in page turning and I couldn’t turn those pages fast enough to find out what was going to happen next. Does that mean I will tell you what happened? Not a chance. I really recommend you read this one and you don’t need to read the first in the series to know where you are because it is completely standalone even if the characters from the previous books make a showing. Sugar Laine is dire straights and working too many jobs and not getting anywhere and her friend has an idea to help her out. A date. Well, a contract date with Mr. Z who turns out to be Lyle Tarpin, only the hottest movie star around. Great chemistry, hot secrets, fake engagement that turns into a real relationship and you have a twisty good story!
I definitely recommend this one.
**Received this ARC for review**
Another wonderfully written story by the talented J. Kenner. I have been obsessed with this series books since I was introduced to the original Stark Series and haven’t been able to pass one up since. I loved how in each we get to see the past characters and catch up with them now. Not only that but the stories of the new characters are always one that you can’t put down. You can’t help but to fall in love with each new character J. Kenner introduces us to. This story is different than many other of her books and that just made me fall even more for this story.
This story is about Lyle and Laine. They start a relationship as a cover to keep Lyle’s reputation in tact but things get complicated of course. He is full of secrets and she knows the facade he shows everyone isn’t real. There is so much more to this story but I hate giving things away. I can say that you better prepare for a roller coaster because things aren’t going to be easy. I highly recommend this book!!!
WICKED DIRTY is the second installment in J. Kenner’s contemporary, adult STARK WORLD erotic, romance series-a spin off set in the world of the author’s Stark Trilogy. This is Hollywood actor Lyle Tarpin, and waitress Sugar Laine’s story line. You do not have to have read the previous installment or the original series to follow Wicked Grind. Some of the characters including Damien and Nikki Stark cross-over or are mentioned for cohesion and familiarity.
Told from first person point of view (Sugar) and third person (Lyle) WICKED DIRTY follows the fake relationship between Hollywood actor Lyle Tarpin, and struggling waitress Sugar Laine. Lyle is desperate to keep the wolves away from his door including a sexually aggressive co-star who has the ability to make or break his rising Hollywood star. But Lyle’s history with women is colored by a past shrouded in secrets, lies and discretionary payment for $ex. Enter Sugar Laine, a down on her luck waitress who is financially struggling to pay her bills, and the woman with whom Lyle will fall in love. What ensues is the fake to real relationship between Sugar and Lyle, and the fall out when the truth is revealed.
The relationship between Lyle and Sugar begins as a paid encounter. Sugar is about to lose the only home she has ever known, and a quick influx of cash presents itself in the guise of a paid escort for a Hollywood star. Lyle is our hero; a man who knows all about the struggle to keep clothes on his back and food in his stomach, and he is determined to help Sugar pay off her loans never considering that his fake relationship would turn into something real. The $ex scenes are limited but intimate and passionate without the over the top, sexually graphic language and text. Unlike most of J. Kenner’s story lines, WICKED DIRTY presents a softer side to the $ex, love and romance trope but that’s not to say there isn’t a definite palpable sexual energy between our leading couple.
WICKED DIRTY is a heartbreaking story between two people whose pasts are awash in struggle and loss. The premise is emotional and engaging; the characters are broken, colorful and inspiring- our heroine battles her feelings for a man she believes is playing the role of his life; the romance is captivating and sensual.