Lydia Montgomery is a Tramp.
After fleeing a tragic past, Lydia’s determined never to go back to the life she left behind at any price. She lands in Grand Haven, California—a city booming with billion-dollar corporations and tech money—and everything changes.
Armed with the only lesson she learned from her mother, Lydia builds a life of routine, solitude, and success.
Nothing is out of reach when you’re beautiful.
Nearly a decade after her arrival, Lydia's the highest paid escort in the city, and only the most influential people in Grand Haven can get near her. She's a goddess among her clients, and out of reach to everyone else. Lydia's created the perfect illusion, and no one will take it from her again.
Until a misunderstanding lands her in the office of the city’s most eligible bachelor.
Talent Ridge is Grand Haven royalty. Despite running in the same circles as Lydia’s clients, he’s scandal-free and on his way to being the most powerful man in the area.
Their chemistry is undeniable, but a relationship has the potential to destroy everything they’ve worked for. Especially when Lydia is running from her past, and Talent is running toward a future she can never be a part of.
Beauty and money can’t save them this time.
Are Lydia and Talent willing to give it all up for each other, or will their differences cost too much?
Their chemistry is undeniable, but a relationship has the potential to destroy everything they’ve worked for. Especially when Lydia is running from her past, and Talent is running toward a future she can never be a part of.
Beauty and money can’t save them this time.
Are Lydia and Talent willing to give it all up for each other, or will their differences cost too much?
REVIEW: 4.5 STARS
"Talent Ridge is pure, unadulterated masculinity."
It's always fun being able to jump back into an old favorite. I have read many of Mary Elizabeth's books but she hasn't released in over two years, but if this is her comeback book, then watch out!! I will say, given the content of this book and the subject, it may turn off a few readers. If you are one of those readers, please understand that this book is more about the love between two people that is forbidden and very difficult to navigate given the circumstances. But with a strong willed man who is soooo good at being the alpha he is, and a very determined young lady that is very independent - almost stubbornly so, this was a story that I will happily and heartily recommend.
Mary Elizabeth has always been a go-to for me for a very welcome dose of heavy angst. She can tear my heart out, mishandle it, but she gives it back forever altered because I'm not sure I ever leave her characters. I love that she not only tells a story, but she has a flow with her words that many don't have. She has an amazing ability to manipulate words and add more visual and depth to the storyline.
"His enjoyment is my favorite sound."
These characters I was introduced to have definitely left a mark. Talent always paid attention to the little things, the almost unsaid truths that Lydia liked to hide and that is my favorite thing to see in a man. I also feel he had an unabused position of power, so he was strong in his own self and convictions - even though he may have had something to hide. I liked that he was who he was, because watching him saunter with serious swagger throughout this book was definitely a treat. Between his confidence, an attractive mind and serious sex appeal, he was delicious!!
Lydia, on the other hand; I wanted to hold her and love her, but knowing her - she would push me away. She was so strong and stubborn, so determined to take care of herself and not need anyone, but I also saw there was a little girl inside screaming to get out. I felt for her, but I admired her strength and her ability to maneuver life, given the hand she was dealt.
"Turning my gaze to him, my lips part and I exhale. He stops time."
I'm smiling just thinking about the dynamic between these two. While they both exude their own version of confidence, my favorite part was their chemistry. I know one of my favorite things to do is fall in love with the characters as they are falling in love....sounds trivial in the whole scheme of things being a romance novel and all, I know - but when I can FEEL the allure, the fascination these characters have with each other, and the fact that they can't stay away from each other no matter the odds stacked against them, that tells me all I need to know. This whole book was amazing. I loved every part of it.
This will easily go down as one of my favorite books of the year. I loved the headiness and the desire that coursed through the characters. Lydia and Talent had my heart in a chokehold while watching them fight for what was one reality versus what was conceivable to the other. I loved that push and pull because going back and forth and grappling with a truth neither wanted to accept made this book go entirely too fast. I was completely swallowed up in their world. I was able to follow their emotions as everything was happening, so that certainly allowed me to connect on a more intimate level with them as well. I just loved their story.
And surprise!!! This is a standalone. I thought it was the first book in a trilogy - when in fact it is the first standalone in the series. So now, the next book in this series has me super excited to read it because the mystery alone is tantalizing!!! Gimme more, Mary Elizabeth!!
And surprise!!! This is a standalone. I thought it was the first book in a trilogy - when in fact it is the first standalone in the series. So now, the next book in this series has me super excited to read it because the mystery alone is tantalizing!!! Gimme more, Mary Elizabeth!!
"You're the fucking devil."
~BEE
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~MEET MARY ELIZABETH~
Mary Elizabeth was born and raised in Southern California. She is a wife, mother of four beautiful children, and dog tamer to one enthusiastic Pit Bull and a prissy Chihuahua. She's a hairstylist by day but contemporary fiction, new adult author by night.
Mary can often be found finger twirling her hair and chewing on a stick of licorice while writing and rewriting a sentence over and over until it's perfect. She discovered her talent for tale-telling accidentally, but literature is in her chokehold. And she's not letting go until every story is told.
~CONNECT WITH MARY~
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