Blurb
Forensic accountant Annie Griffin has always suspected she’s a bit jinxed, so when she finds herself 35, single, temporarily homeless, and pregnant on a technicality by a gigolo, her fears are confirmed.
Adrenaline junkie and professional stuntman Max Bowen needs a house-sitter to watch after his pets while he’s out of town. Annie needs a place to stay. Standard quid pro quo. No biggie. She can handle that, whatever hellhounds he owns. Until Max, the most sought-after bachelor in the county, comes back ahead of schedule and suddenly she’s roommates with a 27-year old sex God who turns out to be so much more than what she expected.
Max might have had the attention span of a humming bird on crack when it comes to women, but that was before Annie. Her quirkiness and sweet contradictions soon captivate him, not that she’s inclined to give him the time of the day. With his reputation preceding him, he knows the odds are badly stacked against him, but he will do his best to prove her that he’s what she needs, stuck-up socialite grandmothers, doomsday preppers, groupies, pregnancy hormones, and repentant biological dads be damned.
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1zSQoJ6
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1AgchDW
BN: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-the-max-elle-aycart/1121201147?ean=9781623007676
Review
There’s just something about these Bowen brothers that draws me in from the first page; it may be their dashing good looks, their filthy mouths, or their ability to woo and seduce with every single aspect of their bodies and their words. In all honesty, it’s the whole package that makes me a Bowen groupie, and while both James and Cole definitely had me sighing and aching all through their books, there’s just something about Max Bowen that puts him as my favorite Bowen brother.
Max Bowen is the ultimate ladies’ man…the last of the brothers on the market and boy does he take advantage of the bevy of beauties who throw themselves at him on a daily basis. But Max is so much more than a groupie magnet and a thrill seeker and that shines through in every interaction that he has with Annie Griffin from the start of the text. Max has always felt comfortable with Annie and the easy going relationship that they’ve had, but when she needs a place to stay while her apartment is being renovated, Max offers up his house, selflessly helping a friend but also creating a relationship that turns into something Max wants desperately despite how much Annie doubts anything romantic can happen between them.
Annie Griffin is a 35 year old woman pregnant by a one night stand with a gigolo. If that doesn’t make her life complicated enough, her family tree is beyond complicated and a bit crazy, leaving this serial dater to wonder if she’ll ever find the man of her dreams. Max Bowen was never a guy on her radar because he’s eight years younger, a total player, and at a completely different phase in his life, but when they end up becoming roommates, an amazing friendship develops, which then turns into something that Max can’t get enough of but also something that Annie’s too afraid to fully give into because she doesn’t see how two people who couldn’t be more different can have something together that lasts.
I absolutely loved To the Max. The storyline flows seamlessly, taking Max and Annie from friends to lovers gradually. Their relationship develops and expands through the first 50% of the book, which leaves no doubt in readers’ minds that they know what they’re getting into as they give into their true feelings for one another.
Max and Annie are extremely well developed characters. Max is an amazing hero who proves to Annie that he’s worth the risk. He doesn’t instantly change who he is or what he wants in life; that transformation progresses the more time he spends with Annie and finds himself thinking about her constantly and wanting to be no other place than by her side.
Elle Aycart illustrates Annie’s fears and hesitancies to start anything with Max honestly, and she also shows the type of man Max is by his efforts to assuage Annie’s insecurities and prove to her that he can be everything she needs.
I loved watching Max with his Ace. The progression of their relationship was perfect, especially due to the circumstances, and the steam, suspense, and drama added to the storyline kept me invested until the very end. The epilogue was absolutely perfect, showing the Bowens clan in all their glory and making me fall in love with them even more.
A complimentary copy was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
5 poison apples
Bowen Series Reading Order
More than Meets the Ink (Bowen, #1)
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1BHLGvQ
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1AddDA2
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1DjeSLD
iTunes: http://bit.ly/1BLgSg5
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1yVS0xC
Heavy Issues (Bowen #2)
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1ymbIUo
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1yZFYrN
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1vn91q6
iTunes: http://bit.ly/1tN4oEo
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1DjiFbW
Inked Ever After (Bowen, #2.5)
Amazon US: http://amzn.to/1yVIYkq
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1AddNYq
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/1DshXJJ
iTunes: http://bit.ly/1HB27mj
Kobo: http://bit.ly/16duB52
About the Author
After a colorful array of jobs all over Europe ranging from translator to chocolatier to travel agent to sushi chef to flight dispatcher, Elle Aycart is certain of one thing and one thing only: aside from writing romances, she has abso-frigging-lutely no clue what she wants to do when she grows up. Not that it stops her from trying all sorts of crazy stuff.
While she is probably now thinking of a new profession, her head never stops churning new plots for her romances. She lives currently in Barcelona, Spain, with her husband and two daughters, although who knows, in no time she could be living at the Arctic Circle in Finland, breeding reindeer.
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