Before I Ever Met You by Karina Halle

Publication: April 25, 2017

Publisher: Metal Blonde Books

Source: Bought/Own

I first met William McAlister when I was just a teenager. He was handsome, had a beautiful wife and was on the verge of success, having just joined my father as his business partner. Mr. McAlister was full of smooth charm, but back then he was barely a blip on my radar. Just a family friend. Fast forward ten years: I’m 25 years old and a single mom trying to make things right for her seven-year old son. I’ve made some mistakes, grappled with my demons and now I’m back in the city of Vancouver, getting a second chance at a better life. I’ve started by working for my father’s production company as an executive assistant. My first day on the job and I already know I could have a promising career there. That is until I see Will McAlister for the first time in a decade. Now recently divorced and as sophisticated as always, Will has gone from being my father’s friend and business partner to something so much more. We’re both older, for one thing, and he just oozes this worldly confidence and stark sexuality. Combined with his tall, muscular build and sharp suits, strong jaw and bedroom eyes, Will has turned into one hell of a distraction. A distraction I’m having a hard time staying away from, considering his office is right across from my desk and I work with him in such close proximity. But it’s just a harmless crush, right? It’s just an innocent fantasy of screwing him on his desk, right? It can’t ever be more because he’s my father’s best friend, business partner, and my boss. Right? Wrong. Before I Ever Met You is a contemporary standalone romance, a light-hearted swoony read that will make you believe in love again

I absolutely loved Will.  He was a great character. And even though he had been hurt pretty badly in his marriage, he was so open to trying again with the right person. He didn’t let his experience make him a bitter person. Once he meets Jackie who is now a young woman, he is immediately attracted to her. But she is his assistant. And worse still, she is his close friend’s daughter.  The situation practically screams trouble. But staying away may be harder than either one of them had anticipated.

I loved Jackie at first, but as the story progressed, she began to wear on my nerves a little bit. It frustrated me that she was in her head way too much. She overthought everything. It took her too long to realize how much of a great guy Will was for her and her son. Even though she recognized how different her feelings were for Will compared to her bad ex, she still didn’t trust herself to make the right decision.

Before I Ever Met You was a nice slow burn romance that I ending up enjoying quite a bit. There wasn’t a bunch of unnecessary drama or over the top antics or humor, which I appreciated. It was a sweet romance with interesting characters that I couldn’t help but cheer for. This is the first light hearted romance that I’ve read from Karina Halle (I’m used to more of her darker/heavier stuff).

She is a great writer and I hope that she continues to write more stories similar to this one.

RATING: 4½ out of 5

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Dirty Angels (Dirty Angels #1) by Karina Halle

Publication: June 15, 2014

Publisher: Metal Blonde Books

Source:  Bought

From the USA Today Bestselling author of Love, in English and The Artists Trilogy, comes a dark romance about a good girl and a very, very bad man. It’s a deliciously twisted take on forbidden love, set among the drug cartels of hot, steamy Mexico and is not for the faint of heart. It contains explicit sex, violence, abuse, drug use, bad language and sexy Mexicans. You have been warned… For Luisa Chavez, a twenty-three year old former beauty queen, a better life has always been just out of her reach. Sure, she’s had men at her feet since she was a young teenager but she’s never had the one thing she’s craved – security. Having grown up in near poverty, her waitressing job in Cabo San Lucas can barely let her take care of herself, let alone her ailing parents. Every day is another unwanted advance, every day is a struggle to survive. When Salvador Reyes, the depraved leader of a major Mexican cartel, takes an interest in her, Luisa is presented with an opportunity she can’t afford to pass up. She’ll become Salvador’s wife and exchange her freedom and body for a life of riches – riches she can bestow upon her deserving parents. But Luisa quickly finds out that even the finest wines and jewels can’t undo the ugliness in her marriage, nor the never-ending violence that threatens her every move. Soon, Luisa is looking for an escape, a way out of the carefully controlled life she’s leading. She finally gets her wish in the worst way possible. As it is, being the wife of Salvador makes her an ideal target for rival cartels and there’s one particular man who needs Luisa as part of his cartel’s expansion. One particular man whose quest for power has destroyed lives, slit throats and gotten him out of an American   prison. One particular man who will stop at nothing until he gets what he wants. That man is Javier Bernal. And he wants Luisa. He wants to take her, keep her, ruin her. Unless she ruins him first. Some men were born to create empires, some women were meant to be queen. **Dirty Angels is the first standalone novel in the Dirty Angels Trilogy, in which all books feature or involve different characters. The character of Javier Bernal is from The Artists Trilogy, and while reading TAT is recommended if you want additional insight into this twisted character, it is not required.**

This story is not one of those sugary sweet romances. It is dark and gritty. It's not afraid to grab you by the shoulders and refuse to let go. And I loved every single minute of it.

“It was better to be dirty. It was better to take what you could. It was better to embrace your lustful, needful, animalistic side because that was the side that lived.”

So what did I not like? Pretty much nothing. Well nothing except that Luisa's selflessness was a little frustrating at times. I agree with Javier when he said no one likes a martyr. But she's a strong and very tough woman. Javier is one bad-ass dude.

Separately these two are fine. But together...together they are one great team. She is the ying to his yang. I could not see either one of them with anyone else. Their relationship began under abnormal circumstances, but their feelings for each other turned into something intoxicating and addictive.

This is the first book I've read by Karina Halle, but it for sure will not be the last. This is a darker read than I am normally used to, but one I am glad I took a chance on. It was one of those reads that when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about. It's dark, disturbing, yet beautiful.  Like I said earlier, I loved it.

RATING: 5 out of 5.

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