BOOK REVIEW ---- 5+ Stars --- Fool's Paradise by Lilliana Anderson

Fool's Paradise 

(Cartwright Brothers Book 5)

by Lilliana Anderson

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5+ stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book had me crying.  It had me crying at the sheer emotional intensity between Toby and Blair and also because it means farewell to the sexy Cartwright brothers and their amazing wives

Where to start with this review?  How can I ever put into words the journey this book, this series has taken us on?  I started the year with an amazing book and it looks like I'm finishing the year with one that is equally as amazing.  So amazing I almost feel lost for words.

Fool's Paradise is the fifth book in the Cartwright Brother's series.  Whilst it could be read as a stand alone, there is plenty of explanation dropped in to 'catch you up' on the story but not too many spoilers, for two reasons I would instead recommend reading the rest of the series first.  Reason 1 is that in order to truly enjoy and get the most out of this book you need the full background story that has run through the other books.  The second reason is that every single book is fantastic and each brother is swoon-worthy, smouldering hot and wondrous in their own way.  You'd be missing out on what, to me, has been the best contemporary romance series of 2018.

I've been a little in love with Toby since we first saw his hidden heartache in Fool Me Twice, Book #1 of the series.  In each successive book we've caught glimpses of a man who constantly puts his family before his own happiness.  So this book was going to go one of two ways......... I was going to be broken in the best possible way, or I was going to be hugely disappointed. 

Toby was quickly becoming my everything. I didn't want to let go.

I couldn't.

I'm still mopping up the tears from my ugly crying over how beautifully broken Toby and Briar are, so we can safely say there was no disappointment anywhere!

No longer able to face a life he never wanted to live, Toby has disappeared.  Blair has been sent to find him and bring him home.  The haunted look that was ever present in his eyes is no longer there, can Blair be the one to drag it back?  With secrets and demons of her own, she knows just how soul destroying life can be.

"I want my soul back."There was such utter desolation in his expression that it took every morsel of strength within me not to cry. 

This man bleeds goodness. Alongside his misery.

I've already admitted that Toby has been lodged in my heart for what seems like forever.  He is and always will be one of my favourite book boyfriends and I have been desperately waiting for his story.  I knew Lilliana Anderson would need to write the heroine of all heroines, along with one pretty amazing plot, in order to meet the expectations I held for this book.  Well let me tell you now that she did even better than I anticipated and this story literally blew me out of the water.

Dread rolled of his body as he donned his old skin, the one we'd shed together. 

I could see my Toby slipping further and further away. 

My Toby......

Toby is a damaged hero, one whose pain you feel and who will steal your heart before you know it. Blair is a broken heroine, and I'm stunned that I ended up loving her as much as, if not even more than, Toby.  It needed someone special for me to hand my Toby over to, and Blair was just the perfect most imperfect heroine to do the job.  I loved at the end how all her problems weren't solved by love alone. 

He wanted me to get my head straight, to quite drinking, to quit using sex as a bandaid to my mental anguish. Love myself first? I didn't know if I could do that. Didn't know how.......

Love gave her the strength to tackle them, but professional help was still required.... just one of the many small touches that make this book feel real. Mad cap plot aside. I even forgave her for saying this about us maths teachers

"You've got to choose boring occupations that no one wants to talk about - accountants, indurance brokers, maths teachers."

I lost count of how many times this book made me cry.  Now I just want to be left alone to wallow in the glory of it, to mourn the passing of this series, to basque in the 'sunshine' of the story and to soak up the love that flowed from it's very soul.

I don't just recommend this book to ALL of you, I recommend the entire series.  These are the books that are so special you buy the paperback version too, so that you can fall in love with them all over again.

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Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Fools-Paradise-Cartwright-Brothers-Book-ebook/dp/B07J2TVBYH

✯ ¸.•*¨)✮ (¸.•´✶ (¸.♡

Synopsis

My job had a very specific goal: I found people who didn’t want to be found and delivered them to whoever employed me. 

After that, well, I tried not to think about what happened while I spent my money on things that made me happy. Resorts, men…I lived life by the seat of my pants because I never knew where I’d be the next week, or who I’d be looking for. 

When the head of a lesser-known criminal family hired me to find her son, I wasn’t sure what I was walking into. I had his photo, so I knew the man was hot with a capital H. But I expected the usual agitated scumbag I normally went after. Not some guy running a fishing charter and looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. 

I might have been curious. 

I might have gotten a little too close. 

I might have done a lot of things I shouldn’t have. 

Things that could get me killed this time. 

But hey, life wasn’t always about making the right choices. It was about making good ones. 

And Toby Cartwright was a great choice. 

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Ratings

5 stars - This is a book I will not forget and would definitely read again.

4 stars - I really enjoyed this book, I might not read it again but I would definitely recommend it to others.

3 stars - This story was good but either forgettable or just very typical of its genre.

2 stars - Whilst the book was readable I either didn't enjoy parts of the plot or just could not connect to the main characters.

1 star - This is a book I simply could not finish for reasons listed in the review.

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FOOL'S ERRAND

by Lilliana Anderson

5 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

An absolute corker of a book, that made me both laugh and cry

Move over Nate, Abbot is now my favourite Cartwright brother (though I'm still betting on Toby totally taking and breaking my heart in the final book). This book gave me ALL the feels, Sloane and Abbot are wonderful characters. I totally believed in Sloane (especially since she was an older heroine) and fell absolutely, utterly, totally in love with Abbot. He was so sexy, hot and gorgeous.

I may have started drooling. Hell, my eyes might have bugged out of my head and made that hubba-hubba sound like a cartoon character.

If I was a gif I'd be Adam Sandler going 'So. Hot'.

When a face from her childhood shows up unexpectedly, Sloane is thrown into a world she was no longer sure she fitted into. But the job offer would solve her financial woes and allow her to move on from her sad and lonely existence.

I knew for a fact that Pop did the odd 'questionable' job over the years - I didn't want to do anything so risky I could get caught. Orange is the New Black was a great show and all, but I didn't want to be a cast member.

Sloane didn't count on the intense chemistry that would exist between her and Abbot, boy it was explosively hot and, along with a bet, kept them both on their toes. Their sexual teasing and games really drove the story along and was great fun... until suddenly it wasn't.

We were back to being just friends. Just like that. 

No more sex games... which was for the best. Obviously. 

Really it was. 

It was.....

This tale enthralled me, I couldn't put it down. In fact, despite it being a week night and having an alarm set for 6.10am the next day, I read until almost midnight. Thankfully the story reached a point where I could leave it until the next day, not that I wanted to! The writing is fantastic, the pace engaging and the plot captivating.

Refreshingly this story doesn't just end at the HEA point, it carried on past that point, mainly with the ongoing back ground story from previous books. Whilst reading those would add extra understanding, the author does a really good job of filling in enough details so that this can be read as a stand alone.

There are some books where you want to read the story, without ever reaching the end. This was definitely in that rare and select group for me. I could read about the sexy, fun Abbot and the natural, sassy Sloane forever.

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SYNOPSIS

I’m a tomboy through and through. But when the man of my dreams walks through my door, I want to be all woman. But that’s not how I roll…. 

Skirts and dresses, makeup and perfume. Things I knew nothing about. With my red hair and lanky body, I was just one of the guys. The ‘cool’ girl they hung out with but rarely dated seriously. Not that I had time for relationships anymore. Ever since my grandad passed, I’d been working day and night to try and salvage the failing locksmith business he’d spent his lifetime building. 

Then he walked in. Abbot Cartwright. Childhood friend. Collector of many women. I hadn’t seen him since he was thirteen. 

He grew up good. 

He also liked to play games. Games I was willing to be a part of, at first. Then things started getting serious—and illegal...

I had feelings and morals. 
Abbot didn’t have either. 
He needed my expertise, and I needed his commitment. 

Seemed neither of us was going to get one without the other. And I was getting too old to play games.

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PURCHASE LINK

AMAZON - https://www.amazon.com/Fools-Errand-Cartwright-Brothers-Book-ebook/dp/B07FL5MDYW

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~~~~BOOK REVIEW~~~~ FOOLS RUSH IN by Lillana Anderson

FOOLS RUSH IN by Lilliana Anderson

My Review - I really enjoyed this story

When the choice is marry or die, just what exactly is a girl meant to do?

This is the story of a socially awkward woman and the sexy thief she is forced to marry.  Whilst this can be read as a standalone, it runs concurrently with Fool Me Twice.  There are events in that book that I feel would both improve enjoyment of this book, and provide a much richer back story.  We first met Alesha in Fool Me Twice and I was really curious to understand her change in attitude towards Holland, her best friend.  I enjoyed that book so much that I didn't even read the blurb for this, I just jumped straight in.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but I most certainly wasn't disappointed by this book.

Holland was robbed not once but twice, by Nate.  Determined to get revenge, or at least her things back, she tracks down where the thieves live, dragging along her BFF Alesha to help.  Things don't go according to plan and the girls find themselves with a simple ultimatum.  Marry into the family or wear a pair of concrete boots.  This book picks up at the wedding ceremony and follows Alesha as she tries to navigate her way through the intricacies of being a wife and daughter in this new family. Abandoned as a child by her drug-addict mother and suffocated by her overbearing father, Alesha has become a chameleon, adapting herself to fit seamlessly and quietly into her surroundings.  However her new family help open her eyes to life and Alesha begins to question who she is and who she wants to be.

For me this authors work just gets better and better.  Alesha and Sam's story sent a tsunami of emotions washing through me, but instead of leaving damage in it's wake it left me desperate for both the next book AND FOR TOBY'S STORY!!!!!! (I just know that Ms A is going to be evil and make his the last book.)

Whilst on the surface Alesha isn't the strong heroine I tend to prefer, she actually had amazing depths of character and an inner strength even she eventually couldn't ignore.  I sort of didn't like her at one point during Holland's story, but our ever talented author put an interesting new spin on Alesha and Holland's actions, casting both characters in a totally new light.

"Was Nate insane dragging her into this? How selfish could one person be? I closed me eyes as the revelation hit me, Holland had dragged me into this without giving my safety a second thought."

The book is written just from Holland's POV, normally I'm not a fan of this BUT it really worked for this story as so much hinged on Alesha's constant doubts and lack of self-worth.  Not 'hearing' Sam allowed me to understand her fears, doubt and confusion.  However I still grew to love Sam both through Alesha's eyes and the very touching and wonderful things he said.

He pressed his lips into a sad-looking smile.

"Appearances are often deceiving. In this house, family comes first, our 

individual dreams a distant second."

I was literally glued to this, I started reading it in the early evening and didn't put it down until I had completely finished the story.  It made me laugh, cry, despair and hope.  It's pretty steamy and Sam's influence brings out Alesha's potty mouth at times.  It is such a wonderful read that I really do recommend it to you, just as I'm happy to recommend it to my family and friends.

Synopsis

I was a good girl. But I wanted him, knowing he was a thief. Did that make me bad?

Before Sam, I was the most boring, awkward and level-headed person you’d ever met. I was my best friend's side-kick, the supporting actress to another person's life. 

And I was OK like that. 

I was lonely. 

But I was OK. 

Then he came along. Our eyes locked and BANG my heart started beating. As my blood warmed and pumped around my body, everything changed. Before that moment, I had been as dead inside as my mortuary ‘clients’. 

Now I was alive, experiencing things for the first time, enamoured with a man I knew to be a criminal. 

Instead of running and remaining the good Christian girl I was, I married him.

Now, I had to live with the consequences of that decision.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2I1W2Ta

Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/2r3IGhQ

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2JzN0wl

iTunes: https://apple.co/2Kigvny

📚Excerpt📚
He went straight for the shower and turned it on, holding his hand under the spray for a second to check the temperature. “You planning on watching?” he asked, pulling his worn out T-shirt over his head and baring that beautifully defined chest of his.
I didn’t look away, but I did blush. “You left the door open.”
He grinned. “That’s because you’re standing right against it.” Hooking his fingers in the waistband of his board shorts, he met my eyes with a quirked brow. I had to swallow a lump in my throat, but I still didn’t look away. “OK then.” He shrugged then pushed his shorts and anything he had on underneath to the floor and stood there in all his glory, hands on his hips.
“Holy mother of god,” I gasped, my eyes no doubt wide with shock. “You have a small child’s arm for a penis.”

Also in the series - 

Fool Me Twice 

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2CvMMlQ

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2EDrwN7

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2EDQPTf

iTunes: https://apple.co/2C8sa7J

Universal: https://books2read.com/u/mBMy6M

A Beautiful Danger

My Review

For me this is a 4 star read. It may be that I read this on the back of reading a HUGELY emotional book by D. Kelly but I just didn't always get the 'feels' for the relationship between the hero and heroine. There were glimpses of the passion they invoked in each other but sometimes I felt like I was being told they had amazing chemistry, rather than seeing/feeling it. I actually felt the connection between Ruby and Coral more than between Ruby and Flynn for a chunk of the book.

However I did think the book was well written, the writing style is very easy to read, the narrative flows well and there were both deep and funny moments. The characters were interesting and believable and despite Ruby's attitude I liked them all. The plot moved at a good pace, fast enough to keep me engaged but not so fast it left me reeling. I haven't read any of the other 'Beautiful' books and whilst this left me seeing names of people that I was unable to connect together, it didn't impact on me being able to follow and enjoy the plot.

I do agree that Ruby was quite rude to Flynn at times but in reality we all can be when we feel scared, threatened or uncomfortable - and this is how he made her feel. Whilst her fears were a little irrational, to me they were understandable. That said Flynn must be a saint to have kept trying, although following the drunk scene he definitely had a better understanding of Ruby's problems. I'm hoping we were meant to guess Flynn's 'job' (since it was very obvious) and that the author was showing us how Ruby's mindset made her very narrow minded to him and presumptive of who he was as a person.

From the blurb I thought that the two-week deal would be the main feature of the book, but it almost drifts by unnoticed. It also doesn't take place until quite late in the book! I felt that there was a missed opportunity here for us to see Ruby starting to change (or perhaps that should be accept) her feelings for Flynn.

Despite what I've written this IS a positive review. I actually read this book over the course of one day as it did have me hooked and I will be catching up with more books by this author.

Title: A Beautiful Danger

Series: Beautiful #7

Author: Lilliana Anderson

Genre: New Adult Romance

Release Date: June 21, 2017

Blurb

Bad boys. They’ve been Ruby Garvan’s weakness since she started dating. But, when one of them took the ‘bad’ in the ‘boy’ too far, her bones broke… along with her spirit.

She swore she’d never go down that road again. Her next boyfriend would be a ‘nice guy’—a man with integrity, goals and a heart of gold.

Armed with a stack of inspirational quotes and a list of traits her new man must have, Ruby goes in search of her happily ever after.

She’s convinced she’s found it with her self-defence instructor—a kind hearted man named Joel, who cares for her deeply. But when Flynn Trotsky literally slams into her life with the force of a steam train, he quickly derails her plans with his unwavering interest and refusal to take no for an answer.

After a drunken night of far too much honesty, the two strike a deal—two weeks for Flynn to show Ruby that he’s not the bad boy she thinks he is. If he can’t convince her, he’ll go away for good this time.

Ruby doesn’t think he stands a chance against her resolve to turn her life around, and agrees to get the pesky dare-devil out of her way and hopefully out of her mind.

But, when your friends are all on his side, the chemistry just might be too palpable for even the most stubborn red-head to ignore…. 

Standalone New Adult Romance featuring mature scenes.

ADD TO GOODREADS

Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

BOOKS2READ

Also Available

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Author Bio

Bestselling Author of the Beautiful Series, Drawn, and 47 Things, Lilliana has always loved to read and write, considering it the best form of escapism that the world has to offer.

Australian born and bred, she writes New Adult Romance revolving around her authentically Aussie characters with all the quirks you’d expect from those born Down Under.

Lilliana believes the world should know Australia for more than just its beaches and outback. Book after book, she successfully brings to life city and suburban characters much to her readers’ delight.

When she isn't writing, she wears the hat of 'wife and mother' to her husband and four children.

Before Lilliana turned to writing, she worked in a variety of industries and studied humanities and communications before transferring to commerce/law at university.

Originally from Sydney's Western suburbs, she currently lives a fairly quiet life in suburban Melbourne.

Author Links

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BLOG

FACEBOOK
GOODREADS
TWITTER
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❣✰♡*•˛ ❤˛•*☆♡*•˛ ❤ Cover Reveal A BEAUTIFUL DANGER ❤˛•*✰❣✰♡*•˛ ❤˛•*☆❣

Title: A Beautiful Danger

Series: Beautiful #7

Author: Lilliana Anderson

Genre: New Adult Romance

Release Date: June 21, 2017

Blurb

Bad boys. They’ve been Ruby Garvan’s weakness since she started dating. But, when one of them took the ‘bad’ in the ‘boy’ too far, her bones broke… along with her spirit.

She swore she’d never go down that road again. Her next boyfriend would be a ‘nice guy’—a man with integrity, goals and a heart of gold.

Armed with a stack of inspirational quotes and a list of traits her new man must have, Ruby goes in search of her happily ever after.

She’s convinced she’s found it with her self-defence instructor—a kind hearted man named Joel, who cares for her deeply. But when Flynn Trotsky literally slams into her life with the force of a steam train, he quickly derails her plans with his unwavering interest and refusal to take no for an answer.

After a drunken night of far too much honesty, the two strike a deal—two weeks for Flynn to show Ruby that he’s not the bad boy she thinks he is. If he can’t convince her, he’ll go away for good this time.

Ruby doesn’t think he stands a chance against her resolve to turn her life around, and agrees to get the pesky dare-devil out of her way and hopefully out of her mind.

But, when your friends are all on his side, the chemistry just might be too palpable for even the most stubborn red-head to ignore…. 

Standalone New Adult Romance featuring mature scenes.

ADD TO GOODREADS

Pre-order Links

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

BOOKS2READ

Also Available

READING ORDER

PURCHASE LINKS

Author Bio

Bestselling Author of the Beautiful Series, Drawn, and 47 Things, Lilliana has always loved to read and write, considering it the best form of escapism that the world has to offer.

Australian born and bred, she writes New Adult Romance revolving around her authentically Aussie characters with all the quirks you’d expect from those born Down Under.

Lilliana believes the world should know Australia for more than just its beaches and outback. Book after book, she successfully brings to life city and suburban characters much to her readers’ delight.

When she isn't writing, she wears the hat of 'wife and mother' to her husband and four children.

Before Lilliana turned to writing, she worked in a variety of industries and studied humanities and communications before transferring to commerce/law at university.

Originally from Sydney's Western suburbs, she currently lives a fairly quiet life in suburban Melbourne.

Author Links

WEBSITE

BLOG

FACEBOOK
GOODREADS
TWITTER
NEWSLETTER