Showing posts with label The Gilded Cage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Gilded Cage. Show all posts

Monday, June 22, 2015

Bad Boys Monday & Giveaway: Emery & Fenn Lockwood

Looks like I haven't written a Bad Boys Monday post for quite awhile. And you know how huge of a lover of bad boys with a heart of gold and tortured soul I am. So today I decided that I will give you a treat and introduce you to two incredibly hot and tortured heroes that love their other halves with all they have and are ready to give their lives to protect them :) I will give you few hints to who these hotties are :) So, they are twins, separated at the early age of 8 and reunited 25 years later. Both of them lived through hell and they started really living again once they met the women who won their hearts :)

If you haven't figured it out yet, I am talking about Emery and Fenn Lockwood. They are the main characters in the first two books in the Surrender Series by the awesome Lauren Smith. The brothers have a heartbreaking story that brought tears to my eyes. They were kidnapped together when they were only 8 years old and for 25 years it was believed that the only survivor of the kidnapping was Emery. So I will first introduce you to him as he is also the leading hottie in the first book in The Surrender Series, The Gilded Cuff.

So let me tell you who Emery Lockwood is :) He is the CEO of Lockwood Industries and a reclusive billionaire. Emery is also a delicious and broken alpha male. With his sandy blonde hair and mesmerizing hazelnut eyes, he can captivate you on the spot. But adding to that his dominant aura, his closed off personality and the broken soul that shows from his eyes, makes him one of the most desirable BBFs. I am usually more into the tall, dark and dangerous type but Emory is definitely the exception to the rule :) 

The chemistry between Emery and his other half, Sophie is simply off the charts. They simply click together from the first moment their eyes lock on each other at the Gilded Cuff Club. With every passing moment the connection between them becomes stronger and every time they touch they just become more obsessed to each other.

One of the things that really endeared Emory to me, was the way he started changing once he met Sophie. With the help of her loving personality, he begins healing without even realizing it in the beginning. The demons he carries from his childhood are definitely traumatic and would have destroyed many people but the strength he carries in himself helped him survive the nightmare he still relives every single night. And with Sophie by his side he is ready to fight the danger that follows him probably for the first time since the kidnapping. She is simply his other half and she gives him hope and strength when he needs it. And he is ready to give his life for her. So tell me, doesn't that make you swoon :)


As I promised, I will also introduce you to Emory's long lost brother, Fenn. The best way to describe Fenn is using Hayden's (the love of his life) words : "Think Emery but in jeans and boots, and a little more quiet." Well, that definitely makes him swoon worthy already :) But that's not all :) He has a rich laugh and cool, predatory, and sexy smile. He is simply "gorgeous in the way only a rough cowboy could be". But also has demons that torture his soul. He doesn't remember his childhood or anything that occurred during the time he was kidnapped or immediately after that. Everything he has left from who he really is are a sense of loss, pain and the occasional visions of a different life.


If you combine all that up, you cannot deny that Fenn is definitely one alpha dominant male that you will salivate after. Even though he is physically identical to his twin brother and they share some character traits (such as their dominant nature), they are also quite different. I was left with the feeling that he is a little bit wilder than Emory. Where Emory closed off himself from the world and the danger, Fenn, in a way, went seeking it (bull riding is not exactly a safe sport).


The moment Fenn meets Hayden, the connection between them is undeniable and both their lives change forever. The chemistry between them is explosive and the sparks fly from the first moment their eyes meet :) and I cannot say that I blame Hayden :) I will also want to lick that fine specimen of a man from top to bottom (although I am not really sure whether I will start with Fenn or with Emory :D).

With Hayden's help, Fenn starts to remember his past and regains the lost years from his childhood. She gives him the strength he needs to confront his demons and get over them. And that changes Fenn, helps him to open up to the world and meet his family. And it also helps him to recognize her as the woman of his heart, his other half. But with the recovery of his memory, Fenn is once again in the focus of danger and heartache. And he finds himself once again in the position to protect everyone he loves. But this time he has something even more precious to lose, his heart. But that's exactly what also gives him the strength to fight and save and protect the woman he loves.

So in the end let me summarize Emory and Fenn for you :) They have mouthwatering good looks, penetrating hazelnut eyes, sandy blonde hair and a body that will make you dream of tangled sheets and hot sweaty nights :D When you add to that also the twins' dominant aura, their closed off personalities and broken souls, they just become irresistible :) In addition to their dominating tendencies, Fenn and Emory have also heart of gold that they show only to the women who captured their hearts. They are loyal to a fault and will do everything in their power to protect those they love, no matter what the cost is. In a few words, they are just the perfect BBFs. And yeah, both Emery and Fenn, can burn the sheets with their bedroom talents :) So if you haven't met these delicious alphas, I definitely recommend you pick up the series and start reading :)






For your chance to win an e-book copy of The Gilded Cuff or The Gilded Cage,
comment with your current Bad Boy on our Facebook post :)

Friday, June 12, 2015

Blog Tour, Review & Giveaway: The Gilded Cage (The Surrender Series #2) by Lauren Smith





Title: The Gilded Cage
Series: The Surrender Series #2
Author: Lauren Smith
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: June 9th, 2015 

Synopsis:

Passion that takes no prisoners, and love that tests the limits of ecstasy . . .

Fenn Lockwood comes alive in the shadows. Though he might have physically survived the kidnapping that stole his childhood, the trauma and pain he lived through have marked him forever. Now the only place where Fenn can be himself is within the walls of his private BDSM world—a place of erotic obsession, where desire isn’t just captured . . . it’s bound.

Hayden Thorne knows that behind Fenn’s hardened exterior is a man worth fighting for. Yet to save him from the past that still haunts him, Hayden will have to abandon every inhibition she’s ever had and venture into Fenn’s intoxicatingly sensual world. Each tantalizing second she spends in Fenn’s searing embrace is more delicious than the last and soon Hayden begins to think that she may never want to leave such torturous bliss…

Purchase Links:

Amazon US | B&N | Kobo | iBooks


Excerpt:

Hayden Thorne’s heart was still pounding a little hard, her breath a little shallow, and her palms still hurt from scratches she’d received when she’d climbed over the rail to avoid death. Had she really jumped into an arena to challenge an angry bull? A little half-hysterical giggle escaped her as she collapsed onto the small twin bed in her cheap motel room in Walnut Springs, tugging her red dress down her thighs. Her hands still shook from the adrenaline.

Yeah, she had actually done it.

She’d saved Fenn Lockwood’s life. The missing boy in the pair of twins kidnapped at age eight, twenty –five years ago. Emery, the younger of the twins, had miraculously escaped, but never spoke of what might have befallen his brother Fenn. The world had assumed his silence meant Fenn was dead. How wrong they’d all been. He’d been here in Colorado all along, living as a rancher. He was alive. A fact that still shocked her and filled her with a sense of wonder and excitement. Bringing Fenn home could do so much—for him, for his family, for his brother. Fenn’s loss had devastated so many people, including her brother, Wes, who was Fenn and Emery’s childhood friend.

She reached down and tugged off her Jimmy Choo pumps. The black leather was badly scuffed. She’d have to get another pair soon. They were probably ruined by the crowd during the panic following the accident when the stupid bull had thrown Fenn like a sack of potatoes. Why couldn’t he just play polo like his twin? Why did he have to be a bull rider?

She let the shoes drop to the floor. She still couldn’t relax. She was too keyed up for anything else. What she wanted to do was find Fenn and tell him everything. She had tried to find him after she’d gotten out of the arena with the help of a couple of riders. They had enjoyed leering at her chest before she’d gone to find her heels. They’d even trailed after her, making all sorts of comments that would have made her blush if she hadn’t had other things on her mind.

Once she’d found her shoes, she’d asked around again for where Fenn had gone after he’d left the arena, and she’d been pointed toward the medical tent. By that point, it had been empty except for a polite middle-aged doctor who was busy packing up his supplies. A couple of giggles, a smile, and she’d earned decent directions to a place called The Broken Spur, a place where Fenn worked.

She slid her hand into the tiny, almost hidden pocket of her dress and touched the slip of paper she’d scribbled the directions to Fenn’s ranch on. Fenn’s residence at the ranch was not something she had shared with her older brother Wes. He could try to bully her into going home all he liked, or into staying out of the way, but she didn’t care. This was her mission and she wasn’t going to give up without a fight. She wanted everyone back home to take her seriously.

Being a daughter of one of the richest families on Long Island’s Gold Coast was not the perfect dream most people might think it would be. She was a bargaining tool, a pawn for her parents to gain political power and influence. She was marriage material, nothing more. She wanted to shake her parents up, get them to open their eyes and see that she wasn’t just a frilly dressed ninny, but a woman who could actually change the world. Bringing home the long-lost golden boy might just change their minds about her, and doing so would also make sure the people she cared about were finally safe. It wouldn’t be easy, either. Someone wanted to kill Fenn Lockwood and she would not only bring him home but save his life. Just like she’d done tonight—even though tonight she had not expected Fenn’s potential killer to be a damn bull.

Other Books In The Surrender Series:

The Gilded Cuff (The Surrender Series #1)

Purchase Links:

The Gilded Chain (The Surrender Series #3)

Pre-order Links:

About the Author:

Amazon Best-Selling Author Lauren Smith is an attorney by day, author by night, who pens adventurous and edgy romance stories by the light of her smart phone flashlight app. She’s a native Oklahoman who lives with her three pets: a feisty chinchilla, sophisticated cat and dapper little schnauzer. She’s won multiple awards in several romance subgenres including being an Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award Quarter-Finalist and a Semi-Finalist for the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award.

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon



My Review:

The first book I read by Lauren Smith was The Gilded Cuff and I completely fell in Love with her writing. The story of Emory and Sophie was so intriguing and heartbreaking that I simply couldn't put the book down. And I immediately knew that reading Fenn's story was simply a must. That's why I was so happy when I got the chance to review The Gilded Cage. True to the style I got to know with the first book in The Surrender Series, I was captivated by the first few words and I simply couldn't stop reading until I reached the last page. The writing is simply superb and in my opinion it cannot get much better than that. The characters are well developed, complex and very interesting. The story line in itself is quite captivating, full with a healthy dose of danger and suspense which are nicely balanced with the extremely hot, sometimes fun but always explosive interactions between Fenn and his other half Hayden.

Fenn is definitely one alpha dominant male that you will salivate after. Even though he is physically identical to his twin brother and they share some character traits (such as their dominant nature), they are also quite different. I was left with the feeling that he is a little bit wilder than Emory. Where Emory closed off himself from the world and the danger, Fenn, in a way, went seeking it (bull riding is not exactly a safe sport). I have to say that finally reading his story and what exactly happened all those years ago, broke my heart and brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. I cannot imagine how difficult it could be to have to live through all that.

Fenn's relationship with Hayden is the perfect addition to the suspenseful and dangerous story. The chemistry between them is explosive and the sparks fly from the first moment their eyes meet :) and I cannot say that I blame Hayden :) I will also want to lick that fine specimen of a man from top to bottom (although I am not really sure whether I will start with Fenn or with Emory :D). As you probably already figured out, I am definitely a fan of the Lockwood twins but I wasn't sure that I would like Hayden. In the first book I was left with the impression that she was a little bit too much of a drama queen in a way. So I was pleasantly surprised when I got to know her better in this story. It is true that she is a little bit reckless and sometimes she acts before she thinks but she is also strong, independent, smart and very loyal. She is also ready to do everything for the people she loves, and in specific on Fenn Lockwood :) In a way she is Fenn's perfect other half and exactly what he needed to help him through the nightmare he has to live through once again.

In addition to all that, I loved getting small snippets of Emory, Sophie and Wes (I can't wait to read his story :)) and also meeting Callie and her father :) These scenes made the whole book just perfect :) And I don't think there is much more I can say about the story :)

So in a few words if I have to summarize, I will just say that The Gilded Cage and The Surrender Series are phenomenal. The Gilded Cage is one of the best books I've read so far this year (together with The Gilded Cuff) and I definitely recommend them to everyone who enjoys their books with fast-paced action, healthy dose of suspense and danger and all that topped with off the charts chemistry between the main characters and scenes that will melt your panties and leave you breathless. I can guarantee that you won't regret reading this series and this author. I just hope that the next book in the series (Wes and Callie's) story will come out soon because otherwise I will be suffering from withdrawal issues :D
 





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