Release Date: April 22, 2014
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Book #1 in the Hard Knocks Series
Synopsis
Good Girl. Notorious Bad-Boy. One Phenomenal Love.
From the mean streets of Detroit rises the newest superstar of professional wrestling, Xavier Cold, better known as Phenomenal X. His muscular physique makes men cower before him and woman lose their minds with desire.
Anna Cortez is fresh out of college and naive to the harsh realities of the real world. Tired of living under the thumb of her conservative family, she defies them when she accepts a job as the assistant to wrestling’s most notorious bad-boy. Phenomenal X has an animalistic nature that even good girl Anna finds hard to resist. One night forced to share a bed in a sold-out hotel, lines blur between them and they quickly learn that one lustful night changes everything and neither one of them will ever be the same.
Excerpt
Quinn gasps, making a big show of being shocked before nudging Aunt Dee’s arm again. “He’s hot, isn’t he? I know that look.”
I raise my eyebrows. “What look?”
She smirks. “The one that says I-just-met-a-really-hot-rich-man-that-totally-wants-to-jump-my-bones-and-I-just-might-let-him. Trust me, Anna, I’ve had that look a few times myself.” She laughs. “So tell me all about him.”
“Quinn, I don’t really know him,” I say.
“You spent four hours next to the man chatting. That’s longer than most first dates, so spill, sister.”
I laugh at her forwardness. “I hate to disappoint you, but I slept most of the way.”
She twists her lips. “You must be one hell of a sleeper to get a man that sprung without much conversation. Come on, Anna. At least tell me his name.”
I lick my lips as his face pops into my mind. “Xavier.”
“Oh, rawr. That’s a definite hot guy name. Tell me more. What’s he look like? Details, girl. De-tails.”
I chew on my bottom lip. “He’s really tall, has really broad shoulders, tattoos and he’s sort of…”
“Oh my God, what? The suspense is killing me,” Quinn whines.
“He’s famous,” I blurt out.
Quinn’s eyes widen. “Who is he? If you say Xavier is Ryan Reynolds’ real name I will wrestle you for his phone number.”
I chuckle. “No, it’s not Ryan Reynolds. I would’ve probably freaked if I sat by a celebrity I actually recognized.”
She frowns. “So he’s not super famous, just a little famous?”
I shake my head. “Oh no, he’s popular. I’m just not sure what for. He signed autographs the entire flight.”
She tilts her head to the side and her eyes drift up toward the ceiling. “Hmm. I don’t know anyone famous by the name Xavier and I study the tabloids proficiently, so he must be known by something else.”
“Does Phenomenal X ring a bell?”
“Ring it? It fucking smashes it! I can’t believe you didn’t know who he was! He’s only the hottest man in wrestling, and the newest playboy to grace the cover of all the magazines.” She tsks. “You really are the most sheltered human on the planet. This needs to be rectified immediately.”
“And how do you plan on making me worldlier?” I tease.
“Easy.” She grins and the wicked twinkle in her eye scares me a bit. “You’re going to start by sleeping with a known bad-boy.”
I shake my head. “Oh, no. No way, Quinn. I don’t do things like that.”
Kota's Review
This is the first in Ms Valentine’s ‘Hard Knocks Series’. This story ends in a cliff hanger so be warned.
We meet Anna, the young naïve woman who has decided it is time to take life by the balls and try and live it.
We meet X who is a tough as nails Alpha who loves to use easy women, and takes no shit. But we also meet Xavier, the man underneath X’s tough exterior, who is a man that you cant help but empathise with, and his affection for Anna is ever present.
In a very short time, Anna gets exposed to some of the not so nice elements of free living, and it’s a good thing Xavier takes her under his wing.
I really enjoyed this story, Ms Valentine is a very engaging writer, who provides just enough context to get inside the head of her characters. Both Anna and Xavier have character traits that are endearing, and frustrating as all hell. Their journey to the end of this book, albeit brief sucks you in and has you hoping for that happy ever after.
The secondary characters are developed enough to entice you to either love or hate them even though you don’t really know them. All of the pieces work – even if they are a little unrealistic. I was disappointed in the cliff hanger ending, with the sense that as soon as I started to feel with and for these characters, I was stopped in my tracks… the build was too long and the climax too short for where the book ending fell.
Will that stop me from seeing where this story goes? Hell No! I definitely need to see if Xavier can survive his path, and can Anna sustain him?
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About the Author
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Michelle A. Valentine is a Central Ohio nurse turned New York Times & USA Today bestselling author of erotic and New Adult romance. Her love of hard-rock music, tattoos, and sexy musicians inspired her erotic BLACK FALCON series.
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