Title: Give Me Hell
Series: Give Me #4
Author: Kate McCarthy
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: July 6, 2017
Book Description:
Mackenzie Valentine is wilful, fiery, and determined to prove she doesn’t need anyone. Desperate to break free from the over-protective parents and three older brothers who dictate her every move, she runs away at the age of seventeen to hunt down the only boy who makes her feel alive.
Jake Romero has no choice but to leave the best thing that ever happened to him, taking him down a path that leads to notorious gang, the King Street Boys. When fate throws Mackenzie back in his life, he turns her away in her time of need, knowing he now lives a life in which she doesn’t belong. Except his decision has shattering consequences, leading to secrets, lies, and the ultimate betrayal.
Years later, their lives continue to entwine, and when his past returns demanding retribution, Mackenzie intervenes and gets caught in the crossfire, leaving behind a devastation that no one sees coming. Can their relationship withstand the hell it’s endured, or is it too late for love?
Buy Links:
Our Review:
Reviewed by Donna ~ 3.5 stars
***ARC received for an honest review***
“Don’t worry when I fight with
you. Worry when I stop, because it means there’s nothing left for us to fight
for.”
Kate McCarthy chucked everything at this book, humour,
angst, suspense, intrigue, first love, second chance love, action and swoon. In
fact, having just finished, my head is still spinning and I’m thinking, yes,
Kate McCarthy, you have Given Me Hell. How the hell am I supposed to review
this? My brain is running a mile minute to catch up and decompress, to digest
and ruminate, so this review is a straight shot from the hip. This is the
result of OMG, what the hell did I just read!!
This fourth book covers the previous three, however, this is
MacKenzie Valentine and Jake Romero’s story. Their story begins as little kids
and ends with them as adults, hard headed, tough, but we love each other
adults. This book nearly broke me, I will be honest and say I did come close to
a DNF. There was just so much going on, so many twists and turns that I just
began to get that feeling of incredulity. However, this is a long book, I was
at sixty something percent and I thought, nope, I will crack on, after all this
time invested in this couple I need to see if they got their shit together. I’m
glad I motored on, while Kate McCarthy was still not finished with her twists
and turns, I knew how the majority of the book had gone and so I expected a lot
more shocks along the way.
“You deserve better than whatever
I can give.”
This is a fast-paced book, it does jump around both with
point of views and time. There were a lot of years covered and a lot of drama.
It seems this couple just attract it from all sides. Mackenzie is one hard ass,
fiery, stubborn, obstinate woman and yet she has a vulnerable side that she
likes to keep hidden. MacKenzie has no filter whatsoever, so jumps in feet
first, both in speech and actions but at least you know what you are getting.
She is definitely an act now think later kind of gal and this just made her all
the more adorable. The mood swings and the constant push and pull and that
little bit of bitterness just made her all the more real, even if at times, it
was a little annoying.
“You held my heart in the palm of
your hand and you’ve just thrown it away.”
Jake Romero had to grow up quick, he made some stupid
decisions but made them for all the right reasons and at the end of the day, I
couldn’t fault him for it. This was definitely a case of live by the sword and
die by the sword. One thing never wavered though and that was his love for
Mackenzie Valentine. Jake got it hard and long for Mackenzie, even in times
when they were not together it was always her, always had and always would be.
Jake knew that she was meant for him and when their paths just kept on crossing
it seemed that fate agreed. This was one of those loves that was written from
the very beginning, it was just going to take one hell of a journey to get them
there.
“You don’t get it, do you?”
“Get what?”
“That in this one universe, there
are nine planets. Of those planets, there’s just one that holds two hundred and
four countries, seven seas, and seven billion people. Of those seven billion
people, I had the privilege of meeting just one girl. And that one girl not only
stole my heart, she set my world on fire.”
This was a tough read, it wasn’t always pretty and as I said
there is a lot of drama. This one group certainly attract it like moths to a
flame and while this is years’ worth, condensed, it just seemed a little over
the top at times. However, it made for interesting reading. This was an edge of
your seat read, you never knew what would come next when you turned the page.
“When I said I belonged to you,
Mackenzie Valentine, I didn’t mean in just that moment. I meant across time.
Across planets. Galaxies. Hell, the goddamn universe. Princess…I meant
forever.”
Jake stole this book for me, he was a fantastic character,
stayed true to himself and his beliefs. He had perseverance and the patience of
a saint when most would have given up the ghost. The chemistry between Jake and
Mackenzie was palpable, the sex scenes certainly made the pages sizzle and the
emotion between the two was consuming. The
push and pull and the on off relationship made this a lot more intense and you
were forever willing them to see the wood for the trees. But, bearing in mind
their age when most mistakes were made and meddling family members, not all
mistakes were theirs. Overall, this was a good read, I liked it.
Excerpt:
With a low
chuckle I roll over on my bed to eyeball the stolen file that I’d slapped on my
bedside table last night before crashing. I’m feeling rather pleased with
myself until my gaze encounters Jake. My gleeful chortle dies a quick death.
He’s
leaning against my bedroom wall, bare-chested, arms folded, and wearing nothing
but a pair of black boxer-briefs and a furious glare.
My gaze
drops to the bed where Jake has laid out the black beanie used to cover my pale
hair, and the black leather gloves that kept my fingerprints from any surface I
came in contact with.
Fuck. The sun is streaming in through the blinds and
I know it must be late morning already. Clearly I’d forgotten to set the
morning alarm. A rookie mistake. And now I need to get past the gauntlet that
is Jake and somehow get the file to Casey before he enacts his own plan to
retrieve it.
My eyes
flick up, meeting his. “Morning,” I say coolly.
His jaw
ticks. “Care to explain?”
Jake’s car
keys rest on top of the report file and I know he’s seen them. Not only had I
performed a break and enter last
night, I had also added car theft to
my criminal repertoire. Explaining that will
likely cause my untimely death. I pretend to consider his question for a
moment. “Not really.”
Jake pushes
off from the wall and moves toward the bed, bringing him closer. “Well you’re
going to.”
“No,” I
say, casually sliding across the mattress and away from Jake. “Not today. I
have things to—”
Putting one
knee on the bed, Jake leans across and grabs the back of my long-sleeved shirt
in his fist. He yanks and the distinct sound of a riiipppppp renders the air.
“My shirt,”
I gasp as I fly through the air, landing on my back on the mattress with a hard
bounce.
“I don’t
give a rat’s fucking ass about your shirt,” he growls, straddling my body.
His hard
thighs trap me in place and his hands pin mine to the bed. Moving will likely
end with a cracked rib.
Jake leans
his face down until I can’t look anywhere but in his eyes. “You can start with
why you’re dressed like a thieving little bandit.”
“Because I
stole your car.”
“Why did
you steal my car?”
“Because I
couldn’t get a cab.”
I actually
considered calling for a taxi but then my movements would be on public record,
easily placing me at the scene. I’d had to rule it out.
“Stop
leading me in circles, Princess, and spit it the fuck out. What did you do?”
I huff
deeply, letting my frustration out. Jake isn’t going to just let this go. It
leaves me with two choices. Lie or be honest. I chose door number two, because
while I sometimes keep things from Jake, he doesn’t deserve outright deceit.
I spill out
my early hours adventure, rethinking my choice of honesty as he sits back on
the bed, his fury a slow-building thunderstorm.
There’s
silence for a tense moment when I finish speaking.
“You
committed a felony,” he says in a soft voice. I’m not fooled by the tone. His
anger is a barely leashed lion. “And you used my car to do it.”
My lips
press in a thin line. I hadn’t thought that particular implication through, and
now I’m angry at myself. “I’m sorry.”
His
expression narrows to one of vengeful retribution. “Oh you’ll be sorry.”
“I will?”
“When I
paddle your fucking ass.”
“Jake—”
“Shut it,”
he growls, his voice rising. “You broke into a detective’s house. You stole her
property. You—”
“Casey’s
property,” I mutter.
“Don’t
interrupt me when I’m explaining your stupidity to you.”
Also Available:
FREE!!!
Kate McCarthy is an Australian, living in the pretty sunshine state of Queensland with her two kids and two dogs, Rufus and Pete.
She loves to bake sweet stuff and eat it too. With an exciting degree in business, she works as an accountant by day, and an author by night. In between family life, she is most often found in bed reading, or at the beach, still reading.
Author Links
No comments:
Post a Comment