★★★★★ 5 awesome stars!

When I first learned that Lucas Titan was going to have his story told, I was absolutely excited. For those who are new to the series, Lucas was first introduced in Beneath This Ink. He was as a jackass and I absolutely disliked his guts. Notice that I didn't use the word "hate", though. Even then, there was something magnetic and charming about him even though he acted selfishly and abominably. I don't know if Meghan March already planned to write his book as early as then, but he definitely came across as a potential hero in a next book. And now we have BENEATH THESE SCARS!

I love the chemistry between Lucas and Yve. At first I thought they were an unlikely pair. Lucas, as I've said, is kind of a selfish jerk, and Yve has a strong personality. I thought they'd clash, so I haven't imagined them together (Yve was also introduced in one of the earlier books). Meghan March really made their pairing work, though!

I love that Lucas wasn't transformed into a gentleman. He maintained that wealthy-jerk vibe. At the same time, you cannot doubt how intense he can be towards people he cares about. Yve being in trouble brings out the good guy in him, but without losing the antagonistic traits we saw the first time he appeared in this series. My descriptions may sound convoluted now, lol, but believe me. All the nuances of Lucas characteristics really fit the story perfectly.

With Yve, I like how Meghan was able to balance her strong, ball-buster personality with the vulnerability that lurks just beneath the surface. She doesn't come across as fake, as a trying hard "strong woman". She just is. She has a bad past that she'd rather forget. Unfortunately, that past is rearing its ugly head

Fortunately for Yve is that Lucas has made her his business before things start to go bad for her. I loooooove him as this arrogant knight in shining armor! In other books the "bad-boy" hero would often lose his edge. I love that Lucas doesn't lose his arrogance at all, even as he goes all-out in ensuring Yve's safety.

Oh, another thing for fans of this series should look forward to: every scene Lucas had with Con and Lord. Oh what FUN! (fyi for those who don't know or forgot, Lucas and Con are kind of sworn enemies. And since Lord is Con's stepbrother, so...) I just love it when old characters have important roles to play in sequels. Who doesn't, right?

Just like the other books in this series, BENEATH THESE SCARS is meaty. There's not just one plot to solve. There are several other subplots, other day-to-day issues that make these characters feel more realistic and relatable. Classic Meghan March, giving readers a lot more than what the synopsis tells.

So without a doubt and not an ounce of surprise from me, this one's another fave! This series continues to impress me and makes me wait (im)patiently for more. Keep them coming Ms. March!

★★★★ 4 stars

Here we go again! Sigh…

DIRTY PLEASURES immediately follows the final events of DIRTY BILLIONAIRE (read my review here!). Holly has just left her dirty-talking, billionaire husband, Creighton Karas. Normally I'd roll my eyes at dramatics over a single mistake, but in this instance I empathize with her. Creighton did not promise her love, but he did give his word that he will consider her career top priority, just as he does his own. Unfortunately, he forgot about Holly and that she had to make it to her scheduled tour—or else, her record label will drop her like a hot potato. Hurt and determined to succeed, she takes off on her own.

As the second book of this series, this was all about the growth of Creighton and Holly's relationship. They did things backwards if you recall in book 1: hookup first, a very public proposal driven by lust, and then a wedding very soon after. It's crazy. It's no wonder they are having trouble now.

There is one awesome thing here though: Creighton truly wants to make things work. I looooove it when the guys grovel. It's heart-melting, isn't it, when the heroes go out of their way to prove themselves to the heroine? Especially after a major screw-up? I was truly impressed with the lengths he had taken to make it up to Holly. He had to make major adjustments, from his lifestyle to the way he conducts business. However, since he is mostly on this mission throughout the book, his intensity was toned down by several notches. In book 1, he is an all-out tease king. He says such provocative things that had me blushing and looking over my shoulder. He's still like that in DIRTY PLEASURES, but... not so much anymore. Or I guess not the same intensity level. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something was just different.

I still like this second installment, but not as much as the first. Yes, I loved grovelling Creighton, but again I missed his intensity in book 1. The ending was another reason. SPOILER ALERT: Holly, yet again, leaves Creighton. If I was sympathetic the first time it happened, this time I'm just, "oh gosh, not again…" .

Tip? When you read this, make sure you also have the third book, DIRTY TOGETHER, because you'll want to just get on with what happens next. It is very obvious what the "next big fight" will be about, so I just wanted to know right away how the characters would handle it (crossing my fingers that no one will be running away yet again!).

I have a confession to make: I haven't read a book by Jojo Moyes yet.

Boy, do I regret it now! I kept seeing his books at Booksale since November last year. I should have taken that as a sign, LOL! So anyway, I saw the trailer for "Me Before You", and I think it's amazing. My sisters and I are definitely looking forward to the movie. The trailer just made me want to read the book, asap!

I can't tell you how much Penelope Douglas just blew my mind this evening! Trying to be the good employee that I should be, I did not open my FB at all and turned off all alerts this morning. So, at 8:30 tonight (it's 8:53 pm as I'm writing this) I finally checked out the FB world.... and was promptly blown away by the bonus scenes Penelope Douglas posted on her page!

Don't you just love it when authors write extra scenes for your favorite books? High-five if you agree!

For fans of the series, the scenes are to be posted on Penelope's website but they're not yet up as of now. You can check out all three scenes on her FB page:

• Scene 1: Madoc POV ➜ http://bit.ly/FallAwayBonus1
• Scene 2: Jared POV ➜ http://bit.ly/FallAwayBonus2
• Scene 3: Lucas POV ➜ http://bit.ly/FallAwayBonus3

★★★☆ 3.5 stars

★★★★☆ 4.5 steamy stars!

"My Christmas Eve one-night stand was supposed to be just that--one night. And now I'm married to him."

Meghan March promised us that this new series is going to be her steamiest yet, and guess what? She did deliver. =) I started reading DIRTY BILLIONAIRE at the gym. I almost fell over the treadmill and the elliptical a couple of times because I had to look over my shoulder and make sure there was no one standing behind me. Goodness, Creighton Karas has an incredibly filthy mouth! He lives up to the tone of the synopsis, really. Just a bit more... businessman-like, I should say. The synopsis made him sound like a reckless young man, almost like a manwhore rockstar.

So, we have Holly Wix, a country singer who aspires for a brighter spotlight. She's stuck in a PR stunt to revive the dying career of her record label's top male star. She's being driven to the wall with their latest demand: agree to a fake engagement with said top male star and endure the next several months as the joke of town. Sick and tired of her situation but knowing that she has no choice, she wanted to do one act of rebellion before the staged engagement. She decided to have a one night stand. It just so happens that the guy she picked is Creighton, a man who goes after what he wants and pulls out all the stops to get it. And after that one night together, Creighton decides he wants more of Holly. Exclusively. Yes, that means marriage. He's that intense!

I did not expect what followed next. Of course, there are a couple more sexy scenes (these two are married, after all), but the main conflict became Holly's career and how she ranks in Creighton's list of priorities. Creighton is a busy man, and that's a given because he's a billionaire. Meghan March proceeds to establish how much Holly values her career. This is her dream, and she's already very talented but she also works very hard for it. She may have married this man on a whim, and she may have done it for her career... but there's also a part of her that hopes the relationship will develop into something more meaningful. As they grow closer emotionally, and as they share more significant moments together, she began to hope that Creighton would value her life goals and dreams as much as he values his own businesses.

DIRTY BILLIONAIRE ends badly for these two, and I remember going, "Shucks, that's it?!" when I reached the last page. This is a shorter than Meghan March's Beneath Series, and I guess it's because she really meant to tell Holly and Creighton's story in three books. I was caught off guard by the ending though, and overall I felt wanting just a little bit more in terms of length and story. I wanted the next book asap because it felt like I need a little bit more...!

So, DIRTY BILLIONAIRE comes highly recommended if you are in the mood for smut *wink2* because this book is really smoking! It was a nice jolt for me because I was starting to descend to a slump, reading books of the same wavelength... it was like accidentally biting onto a tiny green jalopeno, haha! Oh, and you might want to read with your back to a wall, just saying! Unless you're in the company of fellow romance readers, it could be a tad embarrassing if someone reads one of Creighton's lines. =)