Brighton Walsh

"In this sexy, suspenseful New Adult novel, a young woman escaping her criminal past is snatched away and taken into hiding by her ex-boyfriend, the ultimate bad boy. Evie is about to embark on the perfect life. Beautiful, poised, and engaged to the son of a Senator and a rising lawyer, she fits the part of trophy wife perfectly, except for one thing: her entire identity is a lie. Five years ago she created a new identity for herself, but it all crashes back when something she witnessed years ago comes back to haunt her. Now she's in danger of losing more than her social status. Determined to protect the careful life she's built for herself, Evie doesn't want anything to do with Riley, the criminal for hire who stole her heart years ago. But Riley has other ideas. He's never forgotten Evie, and to protect her, he steals her away. Hidden from the world, sparks begin to fly as old memories resurface and their passion reignites"--

Exposed

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After reading and falling in love with Brighton Walsh's Captive a couple months ago, I couldn't help but want Riley's story. He caught my interest. I was thrilled to get my hands on Exposed early. I really enjoyed this one. 

Exposed doesn't waste any time in getting started. Right off the bat, Riley learns that his former girlfriend is not, in fact, dead and is in serious danger. He rushes in to save her and the story hits the ground running. I found this book a bit darker than Captive, but I was ok with that, even if some things made me uncomfortable. 

I'm always a sucker for a second chance love story, and this one was no different. Granted, the situation here was a little more complicated than usual since Riley was convinced Evie was dead and, you know, she's engaged to another man. She's changed a lot from the girl who used to run jobs with him. One thing hasn't changed though and that's the chemistry they have. The feelings are definitely still there. 

I really liked these two together. They just fit. Now, for those worried about her having a fiancé and fear this will turn into a love triangle, I can tell you that's not an issue. I won't say more because I don't want to spoil the story, but don't fret. It's not the big deal you might think it would be. The air around these two pretty much crackled with energy when they were together. The sex scenes were HOT. Riley's a dirty talker and you know how much I love that. Evie holds her own and that makes it even better.

The action and suspense part of the story was as good as the romance. It kept me guessing and there were a couple scenes that absolutely kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what would happen next. There were definitely some twists and turns along the way that took me by surprise. I really got sucked into this story and was anxious to see how it would all be resolved. I don't read a lot of romantic suspense, but I really enjoy this series. I don't know if there are plans to continue to a third book, but I'll totally read another book if there is one.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

3.5 stars!

My first introduction to the amazing writing talent that is Brighton Walsh was when I read Captive in April. I was floored. I don’t very often find books that have my attention to the point that I’m unable to put it down. It was intense, suspenseful, gripping… it was simply amazing. And I knew that I HAD to read more of Brighton Walsh’s books.

Evie and Riley are childhood sweethearts that separated years ago due to a unforeseen circumstance. Riley was told Evie had died, and spent many years grieving her death. He now finds out that she is, in fact, alive, and that her death was a lie. The two are brought back together when Riley discovers Evie’s life is now in danger again due to the risky business they are both associated with.

Evie’s character in general wasn’t a favorite of mine. I struggled to understand her motives, and even to like and respect her. Even after finding out the reasons for her actions and thought pattern, I still wasn’t a fan. I don’t want to talk much about her and her current situation because of spoilers, but I just didn’t connect with her as I did with Maggie in Captive. This didn’t make me like the story less, however. I was connecting to the story, despite not really liking Evie’s character.

Riley, who is Ghost’s brother, came off very different than I thought he would as well. We only get a little glimpse of him in Captive, but here he was much more angry and bitter than I had expected. And I shouldn’t be surprised… he had been lied to regarding the love of his life’s death, taking it extremely hard and grieving for a very long time. I think I’d be pretty mad myself. But the anger he had in his heart seemed to go a lot further than just Evie and the lie. He definitely is holding in quite a bit of frustration and contempt from his younger years. He was also entirely too controlling and bossy. Yes, he was protective, but protective shouldn’t reach to that level of control that he was showing.

Aside from my personal opinions on both characters, I did really enjoy the romance between the two. I was honestly surprised by the amount of romance this book contained and the lack of extreme suspense or drama that was present in the first book. Due to the intensity of Captive, I was sure this book would be similar. And honestly, it was entirely different. I’m surprised these two books are considered in the same series, except for the obvious family connection between the characters.

As you can tell, I can’t help but compare Exposed to Captive. Maybe that’s not the best idea, and not entirely fair when rating Exposed on its own, but since they are in the same series I just can’t help myself. It is next to impossible to meet my love level for Maddie and Ghost. I fell hard for them and their story in Captive. I’ve tried my best to rate this book based solely on its story and characters, not compared to Captive. Honestly, I do think if I hadn’t read Captive, I may have enjoyed this one a bit more. I went into this story with such high expectations, and I ended up just a bit disappointed. Yes, I really enjoyed this story. It was really great. Just not what I had expected entirely.

I will stop this rambling now. :)

Another book from Brighton that I’m happy to recommend to others. It was hot, sexy and filled to the top with steamy scenes and sexual tension. This is a series worth looking into for sure. I was also lucky enough to receive a copy of Caged in Winter off my wishlist last week for my birthday… so yay! I’m definitely looking forward to starting that one soon. A new fantastic author to add to my favorite authors list.

(Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin for the review copy!)

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Lacey

Originally posted at Booklovers For Life

3.5 STARS

This is the first book I’ve read from Brighton Walsh, but I know it won’t be my last. Although I didn’t particularly LOVE the story, the beginning was super intriguing and overall I still really enjoyed it – what made the book for me was the author’s fantastic writing, which is spot-on for a suspenseful novel. I seriously fell in love with it – the writing was what had me hooked in the beginning and what kept me reading even when towards the end of the book things started to fall flat.

The premise of the book was seriously calling to me. A heroine who’s living a lie, on the run from a dangerous man, PLUS a second chance romance? Hell yeah, I was all in. And for the majority of the book, I dug it. I was intrigued by Evie, wondering what the hell was going on with her and why she was living as a different identity for the past five years. And when her cover is blown, Riley enters the story, enters back into Evie’s life. I was hooked onto their second chance romance. If I had to rate this book solely on the romance, it would get a perfect 5. I LOVED Riley and Evie together, because it’s clear that they’re meant to be together. They had such a sweet yet powerful relationship all those years ago, and they’re still connected even after five years.

“Anything can happen, except when you’re with me. No one is getting to you when I’m here. No one is getting through me. I’d have to be dead first.”

I fell so hard for Riley. I loved that we get his POV along with Evie’s, so we can see his inner turmoil at seeing the girl he loved as a teenager, the girl he thought died five years ago, back in his life again. He’s definitely my second favorite part about Exposed, right below the writing. Riley is protective, loyal, and sexy as hell in his determination to make sure Evie is safe – and the best part is that he can protect her, with the skills he learned during the five years he sought vengeance for Evie’s supposed death. Riley and Evie have some great chemistry and I loved the two of them together.

He was my past, the tiny flicker of light in a sea of darkness. He was my present, when everything was jumbled and uncertain, but where I’d be able to figure it out if I was with him. And I knew, with utter certainty, he was my future.

Evie was an intriguing heroine. She’s fierce, independent, and very cautious about starting anything with Riley again since she’s not sure she’ll be able to make it out alive after all is done. There’s also an aspect about her character that was heartbreaking that the author handled very well. I predicted what it was, but it wasn’t something I really wanted to be able predict. Evie is a strong heroine, though sometimes too independent, but I really liked her character up until a certain part near the end of the novel.

There are many layers to the story, what with someone after Evie, but I felt like the suspense, the action, was underwhelming. Evie and Riley spend the majority of the book holed up, hiding in an apartment, so not much happens in action-wise, though this is where their relationship regrows. So while I loved the romance, I didn’t get the amount of suspense that I wanted.

This book should’ve been perfect for me – it’s a second chance romance, my absolutely favorite trope, and the story was super intriguing, but the climax of the book was a bit disappointing, mainly because of how utterly annoyed at the heroine I was. She’s not stupid, but she does make a stupid decision at the end all in the name of ‘independence’ that had me rolling my eyes. At that point of the book, I was just not interested in the story anymore.

So would I recommend this book? Yes, because I still loved about 80% of the novel. The writing is flawless, and the characters were well-developed. Even with the couple problems I had with Exposed, I still really enjoyed reading it, and would definitely recommend it for the writing and second chance romance.

Quotes are taken from the ARC and are subject to change in the final version.

Thanks to the publisher for generously providing me an ARC to review.

Amazon Ebook: http://amzn.to/1JBWKhZ
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/1RWm8c0

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Exposed

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