Jennifer Dawson

Meet Jackson McKay... There's only one thing you need to know about me. I'm a cold hearted bastard that will never love you the way you deserve. And I'm sorry to say, bastard beats nice guy, every time. I never lie. Never deceive. I lay out exactly what will happen. My only promise is that I'm a one-night stand. That this is will be our first and last time together. Then I stand back and let them walk. But they never do. Because they all want to believe they will be the one to change me. And, Gwen Johnson, the woman that will be his demise... There's only one thing you need to know about me. What I want, I get. End of story. I didn't come to own one of the best restaurants in the city of Chicago before the age of thirty by taking no for an answer. And what I want is for this cold hearted bastard, and culinary genius, to work for me. I don't care how difficult he is. I'm going to figure out what makes him tick, what he needs most, and then I'm going to go in for the kill. The way I see it, you either own it, or it owns you...

Cold Hearted Bastard

Sheena

This was soooooo good until the story reaches day five and then bang! The heroine admitted she's falling for our brooding hero. Like nooooo! Why would you add this instant love bullshit into the mixed and ruin a perfectly fine story?!
 
The banter, sexy ass chemistry, oozing tension that could be cut with a knife and the overall direction the story was going was perfect until we hit that mark. It was so disappointing because I was hoping for built-up, more heart to heart conversations and as much I hate to say it, I was let down by how quickly their feelings developed.
 
Now I know I sound absurd but I have never been a fan of instant love romances and am immediately turned off when I come across it in any book, popular or not. This unfavorable trope can easily make or break a novel, hinder reading experience and general thoughts on the characters and their relationships for me 
 
Nonetheless, after that instant love shit hit the fan, it just felt like I was just going through the motions. I was no longer invested in Jackson and Gwen's story and the secret out hero was hiding but would still recommend this novel because if you ignore that particular trope that makes me stir crazy, it has all the elements that make a good romance contemporary read.

Batool Zainab Suleman

Another Enjoyable Mafia Romance

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this! It's a bit of a slow-burn, more than I'm used to with mafia romances, but the payoff was EXCELLENT.

The chemistry between the characters was beautifully written. I really fell for these two. Galina and Arlo are great characters. 

I loved how Arlo didn't push her for sex. I loved how Arlo put her safety first. I loved how Arlo pushed her to take self-defense classes. I loved how Galina was not a pathetic, naive girl. I loved how Galina was strong and smart. 

WELL-WRITTEN SPICE! Jenika Snow, I am impressed at how much I loved the spice in this. The perfect way to reward us readers after the slow burn.

The plot could have been a bit more complex/layered, but I don't expect that from standalone mafia romances. It's a nice to have, not a must.

My only issue with this book is the ever-pervasive issue of "pale" FMCs. Why? Why couldn't Galina be a woman of colour? Or even ethnically ambiguous? Why describe her as "pale" at all? I'm so sick of "pale" FMCs. 


Nice book, but could have easily been a five star one if this issue wasn't there.

Totally Addicted to Reading

Cold-Hearted Bastard by Jennifer Dawson turned out better than I expected. This was my first foray into her world, and it will not be my last. It was a wonderful story. I loved every moment spent in Jackson and Gwen’s world.

Jackson was a famous chef, but he walked away from it all, his reasons unknown to the world. Gwen is a chef and a restauranteur and she needed Jackson to come work for her and she came with all the ammunition she thought she needed to convince him to return to the world he had abandoned. However, she never counted on the sparks that ignited between them.

Jackson is a one-night stand guy. A charmer and had women falling all over him. No intention of accepting Gwen’s offer. His only interest is to bed her and get her out of his system. Easier said than done.

Some may consider Jackson to be a jerk, but I loved him. Never once did he hide his true nature. He was brutally honest with the women who he slept with, so they know what to expect. Not his fault if they broke the rules. Jackson was a complex character. There was a lot more to him than just being a man whore as the story unfolded readers learn the reason, he doesn’t allow himself to get attached.

I loved Gwen who was determined, smart, beautiful, funny and the perfect match for Jackson. It wasn’t difficult to see why Jackson fell so hard for her, despite him fighting his feelings and pushing her away every chance he got.

I was elated to see Jackson grovelling to win Gwen’s heart. I understood why he behaved the way he did, but Gwen did not deserve to be treated that way. Besides, he needed to pull his head out of his ass and cease getting in the way of his own happiness.

The secondary characters added their special flavour to the story. I am curious to learn what drives them and can’t wait to read their stories.

There was lots of sex, but it did not overshadow the story. I loved how the author struck the perfect balance. Note of warning, their relationship developed rather quickly and in no time, they were burning up the sheets and more. Despite the insta love, I enjoyed how their romance unfolded.

The ending had me smiling and tearing up at the same time. I had a fun time watching Jackson trying to win Gwen over with romantic gestures. What made appealing was the fact this did not come naturally to him, but the fact he was willing to do it scored major points in my book.

Conclusion/Recommendation

To reiterate, I found this to an enjoyable read and would definitely recommend it to fans of steamy romance.This review was originally posted on Totally Addicted to Reading

Cold Hearted Bastard

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