Review: Axel by Harper Sloan

Axel by Harper Sloan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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Note from the author--This book is intended for a mature reading audience and isn't suitable for younger readers. Brash language, sexual hotness, delectable alpha males, some violence and adult situations are all over this book--you have been warned. 

Fate hasn’t always been friends with Isabelle West. In fact, fate has been a downright bitch.

Isabelle has learned the hard way how hard life can be when fate isn’t by your side. It can hand you dreams on silver platters, but it can snatch them right back and hand you nightmares. One thing Isabelle knew for sure fate was consistent with was taking away everything she ever loved.

For the last two years Isabelle has been slowly clearing the clouds of her past. Happiness is finally on the horizon. She has a thriving business, great friends, and her life back. All she has to do is jump over the last hurdle…her ex-husband.

When problems start causing her to fear her new life, and memories that are better left forgotten start rushing to the surface the last thing she needs is a ghost from her past to come knocking on her door. 

Axel never thought he would look into the eyes of Isabelle West again, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to now. He’s carried his anger for so long he isn’t sure he can just turn it off, but when he is faced with protecting her and an unexpected desire to have her again, life gets a little more complicated.

How will Axel and Isabelle deal when all their cards are put on the table and everything they thought was true blows up in their faces?

My Review

4~Stars

This is exactly what I wanted!

After reading Unbeautifully by Madeline Sheehan and re-reading some greatest hits by Kristen Ashley (I love you Luke Stark), I was looking for something very specific. My mood was set. I was on a mission!

Well hello Axel...and Greg...and Maddox...and Beck...and Coop! Mission accomplished!

What is it about hard men with soft hearts? Men that possess...protect. Men that control. There's definitely a fine line here, but men who toe that line in order to keep what belongs to them safe, to keep each other safe...*sigh* My heart melts right between the pages. My heart melts right between my legs!

What I love about a book like this, isn't just about the romance. It's the friendships. I adored Izzy's relationship with Maddox, and of course, Greg. Now I've read several reviews about readers being bothered by how Greg was treated. Their hearts went out to him. My heart went out to him, and yes...Izzy was wrong. However, at the same time I feel experiencing that as a reader, me, seeing Greg go through that, and his reaction to it (which was definitely heartbreaking), made me love him even more. It showed what a truly amazing man he was; it showed his heart. I fell for him even harder because of it.

Axel is definitely reminiscent of Kristen Ashley, but that's exactly what I wanted. Was it a knock off, a rip off, did Lee Nightingale make a cameo? No. Similarities? Yes, but I can't expect Kristen Ashley to be my only source of bad ass alpha male action and romance. So what the hell am I suppose to do in the meantime? I can't lock her in a basement so she does nothing but write me books. In my experience, she is definitely one of the best sources of all things alpha, but there's more than one place to buy a margarita. She's paved the way, created a hunger, and I need more than what one woman can provide. I can't get enough. Axel satisfied that hunger!

The writing is not perfect by any means, but in a weird way the technical imperfections almost made the characters seem more real. I could actually hear them talking. I also wasn't a huge fan of the cover, but you can't judge a pair of boobs by it's lacy VS padded push up bra. You also can't judge a book by it's cover. It's what's on the inside that counts.

I think I may have been addicted to this series before I even opened the book. I'm painfully hooked and can't wait for the next one. I needed my next fix and this was it!

READ ON!

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