Hello there, bookworms and happy Sunday! Well, as happy as we can be in these crazy crazy times. My state is still on lockdown with this virus and I have a laundry list of things to do to keep me busy, but I’m working from home so that’s taking up most of my time and leaving me feeling pretty dang tired in my free time. Still, it’s been a bit since I’ve been on here with a book review, and I have PLENTY to bring you. Today, I’ll make my absence up to you by bringing you not one, but two book reviews. So let’s get to it and talk about Hush, Hush and Say Yes, a sexy duo by Lucia Franco.
A new, seductive forbidden romance that caters to Manhattan’s elite…
I knew the rules:
Never reveal my true identity.
Play the game, give the illusion.
Don’t get close to the clients.
The dark and glamorous lifestyle of the rich and shameless open my eyes to a lavish world of sin and wealth, and a man I can’t have.
A man I desperately want—James Riviera.
We’re treading a fine line as we live the ultimate double life until we make a startling discovery that tests both our loyalties.
I only had to follow the rules, but rules are meant to be broken.
Let me start off by saying that this series is a forbidden romance that deals with some darker themes and a big age gap between characters. If those things are not your gig, stay away from this pair. If you’re all about reading something saucy that pushes the boundaries a bit and could be considered slightly taboo in some way, then dive right in! Also, this review will contain some spoilers. I will do my best to discuss without revealing too much, but since I’m discussing both stories, some things will be mentioned. You have been warned!
Hush, Hush is the first installment of this story. When Aubrey finds herself on hard times financially, is trying to go to school, and take care of her grandmother, she resorts to a job she never thought she’d take. When her best friend, Natalie, introduces her to an underground scene of high-end escorts, Aubrey’s life changes entirely. Not only are her money troubles over, but she gets to take her love of casual sex to a new level, and even meets the man of her dreams.
James Riveria is a disgustingly rich man she has an appointment with one night that turns into something far more than either of them had ever thought possible. Their chemistry is sizzling and their adoration for fantasy and role play bonds them in a way neither of them has ever connected with another partner before. Aubrey has her secrets, and James has his. The closer they become, the more what’s hidden threatens to come to light and risks destroying them all together.
This book is a rollercoaster of emotion. The encounters James and Aubrey have are so explosive that they’ll leave you fanning yourself, and when secrets are revealed and the truth comes out from both of them, it will leave you in a tangle of knots. For beginning as such a casual entanglement, James and Aubrey take their attraction to new levels that leave them and everyone in their lives either swooning or absolutely destroyed.
Say Yes is everything that happens after. James and Aubrey have been put through the ringer, as they have also done to everyone around them with their relationship, and now it’s time for the next chapter.
I broke all the rules.
He knows my true self.
Our relationship is far from a game.
I’ve never felt this close to a man.
James Riviera is everything I never knew I wanted. Powerful, sexy, alluring, and completely mine.
Now he wants to make me his wife.
I only have to say yes and I’ll have forever, but forever isn’t as lasting as people believe.
James and Aubrey have their happily ever after, or so they think. Aubrey has quit the escorting business, she’s rebuilt her relationship with Natalie, she’s started a new business endeavor, and she has the man of her dreams. There may be a thirty year age gap between them, but no one has understood or loved her the way James does, and he worships the ground she walks on. With these two, if there’s not at least a little drama, what fun would that be?
When James thinks he’s taking Aubrey away to one of their favorite secluded vacation spots to give her the most romantic dream proposal he can think of, it doesn’t go quite according to plan. If they love each other so completely and fully, it should be easy as pie for her to say yes, right?
What results is a novella full of more melodrama and heartache from both of them. She thinks things are perfect as they are and she doesn’t want to ruin such a wonderful thing. He won’t rest until he puts a ring on her finger and makes her his wife.
The sex is still off the charts and their connection has deepened over the years since they first met, but they continue to learn new things about one another which means we the readers still have so much to learn as well.
This novella felt like the perfect ending to James and Aubrey’s story. There is plenty of chemistry for them to work through and the hard times they go through only seem to bond them more. Spending time with them in Say Yes felt like icing on the cake to the entire Hush, Hush saga. While I feel like their story is over now, I wouldn’t complain if I got some more of these two because despite their flaws (and I swear, they both have PLENTY of them) I could always do with more of their intense love story.
That’s all I got for you for now. Until next time, stay safe, stay healthy, and happy reading! xx
