Title: Devil’s Kiss (Sunset Cove Series #2)
Author: Ella Frank
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Release Date: MAY 24, 2016
What do you do when the one you least expect to matter…
Ends up mattering the most?
Derek Pearson likes to think he’s an easygoing guy. Uncomplicated, upfront, and unapologetic with what he wants. His what you see is what you get attitude is on prominent display for anyone who cares to look, and his foul mouth is right there to back it up should you miss the point.
However, what you see isn’t always what you get, and only a select few have ever glimpsed the real man under the brash exterior.
Among them? Professor Jordan Devaney. Complicated, high-maintenance, and vibrant, he’s Derek’s opposite in every way. From the moment they saw each other, a love-hate relationship began.
But what happens when one person wants more?
AMAZON US – http://amzn.to/1U7lseW
AMAZON Universal – myBook.to/devilskiss
* * * *
Review
Derek Pearson and Jordan Devaney are opposites in every sense of the word.
Derek is dark, brooding, troubled and was raised by a man who only helped him see the kind of man he didn’t want to be.
Jordan is carefree, exuberant, playful and comes from a family of wealth and prestige as well as warmth and love.
But regardless of their differences and the fact that one is a college professor and the other a college student when they first meet, their bodies and soon after, their hearts call to one another and long to be together even though there always seems to be an obstacle preventing that from happening.
Derek and Jordan’s story is one that spans over a decade, and Ella Frank takes her readers through all of the men’s highs and lows as teacher/student, friends, and eventually, lovers. For most of that time, there’s a clear line that divides them, and they do their best to stand behind or just straddle the line because there’s too much to lose for both of them.
Derek and Jordan challenge one another, call each other on their shit, and throw sarcastic barbs any chance they can get, but when it really matters…when Derek feels like he has nothing and no one, he can say with confidence that Jordan will always be there because, to Derek, Jordan is what he needs more than anything, and while that might piss Derek off to know how much he relies on someone else to help heal him and talk things through, it also shows the trust and faith he has in the man who owns his heart even if Jordan doesn’t know what to do with it at times.
I love that Ella Frank takes readers back to Derek and Jordan’s first meeting and then shows the complexity and depth of their relationship as the years go by. I’ll admit, at times, the book frustrated the hell out of me because it was obvious from the beginning that Derek and Jordan were perfect for each other despite their differences. But I also understood their decisions and I give them both credit for holding steadfast to their agreement until the right time came about and they were both ready.
What intrigued me the most was how well Frank wove Derek and Jordan’s story with Finley and Brantley’s story while still keeping them separate and giving each relationship its own spotlight. After reading Finley and then heading into Devil’s Kiss and remembering the interactions that Derek and Jordan had while Finn and Brantley’s story was told put a lot of things in perspective and helped enlighten those moments to illustrate what was truly going on then and why it happened the way that it did.
Both Derek and Jordan construct a bit of a facade about who they are, but when they allow someone to get close to them and see what’s beneath the mask, it’s rather interesting to see how their demeanors change and how they allow themselves to give up control as well as exude it.
Ella Frank has truly found her writing niche in the M/M genre. She absolutely knows who her alpha males are and creates carefully constructed personalities that fit who they are and showcase the traits that make them interesting, entertaining, and swoon worthy. I absolutely adored Jordan in Finley, but I was a little unsure about Derek. In Devil’s Kiss, I was able to get to know Derek and understand how much his past has shaped his present, and once I had that knowledge, it allowed me to respect and appreciate the man that Derek is despite his upbringing and struggles.
Jordan’s old college professor told him to “find what makes you work the hardest, and dare yourself to make a difference,” and he definitely took that advice to heart and even though he struggled at times to know exactly how to accomplish that feat, being there for Derek every time he called and stepping up in every way definitely made all the difference.
A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 Poison Apples
Excerpt
THE CALL
Present Day
DEREK PEARSON PUSHED open the door of Leighton, Finley & Associates, and stepped out on the paved sidewalk. It was the first day of August, and if the sweltering Floridian sun was any indication, today was going to be hotter than hell’s waiting room.
As he strolled toward the curb, he pulled a pack of Marlboros from the pocket of his shorts and flipped open the top. He needed a fucking cigarette after watching Daniel Finley and his damn professor get all sappy and shit. That was gonna get old real quick if he had to stomach their nauseating displays of I love yous longer than the fifteen minutes he’d been in there. But he’d known he had to make an appearance sooner or later; otherwise Danny boy would’ve shown up asking questions. Questions he wasn’t ready to answer.
There’d been a reason he hadn’t come around to see Finn when he first moved back from Chicago two months ago, but it wasn’t something he was in the mood to talk about yet, even if he was one of the two people on the planet who would get all the shit he’d been dealing with.
Yeah… He just wasn’t ready to go there.
With a smoke between his lips, he lit up, then shoved the pack back in his shorts. He was so damn antsy lately, and for that he could thank his brother, Alan.
He walked around to the side of his Jeep and pulled open the door. After climbing inside, he grabbed his cell phone and stared at the dark screen, contemplating his next move.
Am I really planning to do this?
Fuck, it seemed that he was, even when he knew better.
If he did this, it would be nothing more than a Band-Aid over the real problem. A shot to numb the more painful issues he was dealing with right now. He would be slipping back into a pattern he had pulled himself out of. An addiction he’d broken free from. But he was also aware that if he didn’t do it, the alternative would be to spiral out of control, and solitude was no longer helping his fucked-up nerves.
He brought the phone to his ear and waited. The phone rang and rang, and fucking rang, until he was close to hanging up—and then it connected.
“You free?” were the only two words out of his mouth. He waited, not caring to pursue small talk. That wasn’t what this was about. All he cared about in that moment was getting what he needed.
When an affirmative came through the phone, he hung up, tossed it on the dashboard, and brought the Jeep to life. As he sped across town, he white-knuckled the steering wheel and didn’t allow himself to think about the consequences of what he was about to do.
It took him less than ten minutes to pull into the underground parking garage of The Palisades and take the elevator up to where his drug of choice waited for him. He glanced up into the camera in the corner of his metallic confines and stared boldly into the face of the one who was waiting at the other end of this ride.
Yeah, he was about to fall off the fucking wagon big time. Was about to slide back into the one place he promised himself he wouldn’t go again. Yet as the elevator came to a halt and the doors opened, there was no denying this was exactly what he wanted.
“I have thirty minutes,” were the words that greeted him.
Derek walked off the elevator and over to the naked man waiting for him. He took the haughty chin between his thumb and forefinger and promised in a voice thick with arousal, “I only need ten. Take me to your room, Jordan. Time’s a wasting.”
Finley (Sunset Cove Series #1)
It’s time to come home, Finn.
It’s been seven years since Daniel Finley left his hometown in Florida for the hustle and bustle of Chicago’s city life.
Since then, he’s worked hard for his position at the prestigious law firm Leighton & Associates, even when it’s caused distance and isolation from his family and friends. But that’s all about to change.
On his thirtieth birthday, he receives the one thing he never dared hope for. Something that was promised to him years earlier—a note. One simple sentence from the man he’s never been able to forget.
Six words will forever change the course of their lives.
Brantley Hayes has it all. Or so he thinks. When he first made the decision to take a job down in Florida, his family thought he was crazy. But, after years of living in the quiet beach town, he finally feels a sense of community. He’s surrounded himself with friends who are like family, has a job he loves, and owns a spectacular beachfront property that is his sanctuary.
Yet he still feels unfulfilled, as if a piece of the puzzle is missing, and he knows exactly which piece it is. On an impulse, he follows through with a promise he made years earlier. A promise to call home the one he sent away.
Nothing is as simple as it seems.
After years of separation, the former lovers are reunited, but Brantley wasn’t expecting to encounter the high walls now guarding Daniel’s heart.
Daniel may not be the same person he was when he left, but he knows that the first step to healing is the note in his hand.
About Ella Frank
Ella Frank is the author of the #1 Bestselling Temptation series, including Try, Take, and Trust. Her Exquisite series has been praised as “scorching hot!” and “enticingly sexy!”
A life-long fan of the romance genre, Ella writes contemporary and erotic fiction and lives with her husband in Portland, OR. You can reach her on the web at http://www.ellafrank.com and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ella.frank.author
Some of her favorite authors include Tiffany Reisz, Kresley Cole, Riley Hart, J.R. Ward, Erika Wilde, Gena Showalter, and Carly Philips.
Connect with Ella Frank
Ella Frank’s Newsletter | Website | Twitter | Facebook
FB Street Team | Instagram | Email
Books by Ella Frank
Sunset Cove Series
Temptation Series
The Exquisite Series
Masters Among Monsters
Standalones
Giveaway
Fairest Of All Book Reviews 