Cooper

Bad Boys After Dark: Carson is the third book in Bad Boys After Dark series. It is a stand-alone read and due to its sexual content is suitable for mature readers.What The Story Is AboutThe focus of this story in on Carson Bad and Tawny Bishop. Carson is the third eldest of the Bad brothers. He is the owner and CEO of an International security firm. His job is to expose secrets, which is ironic since he has kept one for the last ten years. This secret haunts him and he avoids dating and long-term relationships as a result. Tawny Bishop is the one woman he has ever loved and now she is back in his life, he does not intend to let her go.Tawny Bishop has only ever loved only one man, but a misunderstanding ten years ago led to her walking away from him. She chose a life she considered safe, but ten years later, she has not forgotten the love of her life. She needs to move forward with her life, but the only way to do that was to confront her past. However, what she never counted on was that her feelings would burn hotter than it did a decade ago.As I am familiar with the author’s work and the series, I went into this story with high expectations. Now if I were to rate this book based on the premise, the writing, the characters and the scorching love scenes, then this would be a five-star read. Unfortunately, some issues prevented me from giving it such a high rating. It was not a bad story, but I believe it could have better executed.I thought Carson and Tawny were great together. They cared for each other. I enjoyed their banter and the manner in which they related to each other.I liked that the story provided me with flashbacks to their past as it provided insight into their lives while in college. It helped me to understand what led to their separation, not only as friends but as lovers too.Now I am a firm believer in true love and its ability to endure the passage of time, so I had no doubts about Carson and Tawny’s love for each other. What I had problems with was how their relationship picked up as if nothing had happened. The pace at which their relationship rekindled it would make it seem they were separated for one week instead of ten years.Based on their history, I expected drama and a little angst, but none of this occurred. I am still trying to figure out the purpose of featuring Tawny’s ex-husband. I don't think his character added any value to the story. In addition, I thought the issues that led to their separations were not adequately resolved. It is my belief that this time around the author’s focus was on the sexy times between the characters and the rekindling of the relationship, without giving much thought to the underlying issues.The story highlighted the impact that lack of communication has on any relationship. This is a major problem for relationships since the dawn of time.Conclusion/RecommendationIn spite of the issues I had, I still found the story to be an enjoyable read and one that I would recommend to readers who love steamy contemporary romance. I am looking forward to reading Brett Bad’s story as soon it is released.

This is the third book in the 'Wild Boys after Dark' series. The title gives an indication that this is Jackson's story. He is a photographer and co-owner of a prestigious photo studio.  He is what would classify as a man whore. He enjoyed women and had a special appreciation for leggy blondes. He did not believe in being monogamous. It was, for this reason, he failed to acknowledge his true feelings for his best friend Erica Lane aka Laney. Laney and Jackson have been best friends for most of their lives. They had a friend with benefits arrangement which appeared to be going well. However, things began to unravel when Laney received a marriage proposal from her current boyfriend.  Will Jackson finally acknowledge his feelings and fight for Laney or will he let her go? I was looking forward to reading Jackson's story.  I enjoyed it, however, there were certain aspects of the story that I could not wrap my head around.  First of all, I could not fathom how Laney's boyfriend was so accepting of her's and Jackson's relationship.  His actions indicated that he did not care for Laney, as there is no well-thinking man, who would be accepting of the woman he loves and wants to spend the rest of his life with sleeping with another man. I found this aspect of the story unrealistic.  It was evident that Jackson and Laney were more than friends. They behaved like two people involved in a relationship. It was more than sex between them as such I could not fathom why it was difficult for them to make it official. Their actions were frustrating to the point that I wanted to shake them both.  It is for these reasons that I was unable to give this story a higher rating. The relationship between Laney and Jackson reeked of complications. Here we have two people who obviously love each other, but one did not wish to give his womanizing ways.  Jackson is the epitome of the adage wanting his cake and eating it.  He wanted to continue his arrangement with Laney but was not willing to commit to having a monogamous relationship.  I considered his actions selfish.  Why did it take a proposal from another man to make him see what was in front him all this while?  Of all the books in the series, I found this one to be more sensual. The sex scenes were explicit and did not leave anything to the imagination. Their chemistry was off the charts. To conclude, this was an ok read. I have to admit that this is my least favourite of the series.