4.5 STARS
Alex Sebastian wasn’t just being mean for the kink of it—the guy is legitimately a fucking asshole.
Look, if you know me, then you know I love the mean MMCs. super mean. I want to hate them for a solid part of the book, mean. What? I have kinks too, mkay? Fictional ones anyhow *smirks*

If you've read any book by Laurelin, then you know she's a master of the mean ones. She has written some of favorite alphaholes to date. But Alex Sebastian? May have just taken my number one spot of her heroes to date. Well, at least until she gives us the redemption arc of the biggest a-hole Sebastian, Alex's brother Hunter. But I digress.
Alex grabs both sides of my head and holds me in place. “Breathe,” he says softly. “Breathe. Through your nose.” Then he calls out. “She needs five minutes.”
“She has three.” The sound of heels clicking down the hallway follows, and I practically melt in relief.
“We better hurry then because the only way you’re singing that song the way it needs to be sung is with my cum coating your throat.”
Got your attention now, don't I. Now the premise of this book is deliciously forbidden because Mariah is dating Alex's older brother. But that relationship is not all as it seems so if you're thinking it's a cheating trope, it's not really. I don't want to ruin it for you, but trust me when I say you won't be rooting for Hunter in this book.

Mariah is a rising pop star who is trying to find her image that isn't cookie cutter and decided on by her team. Desperate to break through, she's willing to take risks she's never taken before, including a vixen image that she most definitely connects with. Alex is her boyfriend's brother and a man that gets under her skin no other. And when he's put in charge of her re-launch, it's not long before the chemistry they're both trying to suppress bubbles over. And OMG the sexual chemistry between these two is out of this world.

Alex is deliciously mean for the majority of the book. I loved to hate him and boy did I hate him in parts. But then you get a peak into the layers that he hides, and you can't help but fall for him as hard as Mariah does.

This had so much heat! Alex is bossy, there's a degradation kink, and all sorts of sexiness. Trust me when I tell you, you probably don't want to read this book in public. It was a sizzler of a read that I binge read in one sitting and still find myself thinking about. Highly recommend!


ARC courtesy of author in exchange for an honest review

Find me on:

alphahole enemies-to-lovers28 s Wobilba652 92

Meh!!! Boring characters and shallow connections. I think I’m done with this series and LP in general for a while.
Story: 2.5 stars
Narration: 3.5 stars2-stars audiobook contemporary ...more19 s MELISSA *Mel Reader*1,400 1,468

4.5 Stars!
(ARC provided by author)

Riah Watson aka Zyah to the music world was a successful artist until she had to take a four year break from being a pop star to raise her little sister. Now she's lost her audience and needs an image overhaul before the release of her next album. She knows she has the talent and drive to take over the music world again. Being on the arm of the gorgeous billionaire she was dating brought her instant attention from the media, and great connections, but she needed to form a plan to propel her back into the spotlight and win back her fans. When her boyfriend's younger brother Alex seems to be the only person who knows just how to relaunch her career things turn complicaed. He was always around and knew just how to push her buttons and get under her skin. He doesn't really know her, yet he loves to give his opinion on everything. He's an annoying jerk and she hates that he is usually right about what is best for her. As they clash at every turn lines get blurred as they can no longer fight the spark between them.

Brutal Arrangement (Brutal Billionaires #3) by Laurelin Paige is an all new standalone, age gap, musician, billionaire, brother's girl, alphahole, forbidden, enemies to lovers romance full of passion, emotion, sizzling chemistry and love/hate at its best. It's a super steamy story that will captivate you from start to finish. I just adore thse delicious Sebastians, and can't wait for more of this world! <333



***NOW AVAILABLE***
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVZ18WYB?...arcs12 s SAuthor 1 book408

*audiobook

We collectively need to take a stand against mediocrity.

Romance is regressing, I fear.

I was looking forward to listening to this trilogy/series.

But alas it was frustrating to witness the severe lack of chemistry between all these couples, 3 of the most annoying heroines I've ever encountered with the most bizarre takes on "feminism" and moral standings, and critical lack of self-respect, also while making the weirdest choices.

I want more for us as Romance readers.

I truly do.

So yes, I demand we take a stand.

We MUST ask more from Romance authors.

Ugh.i-had-a-bad-time weak-heroines zero-reread-relisten-potential11 s1 comment Jean481 45

THAT WAS DELICIOUS!!! No notes.

Leave it to Laurelin Paige to invent the fake cheating trope, wrap it all up in a commentary on society's expectations of women and that marketing mainstay, the madonna- whor3 complex, and give us yet another flavor of smoking hot, sullen Sebastian alphahole.

Riah and Alex's chemistry is smouldering. Between all the sneaking around and dirty talking, a gal can't catch her breath.6 s1 comment Carol (bookish_notes)1,466 114

Full Review (March 2024): This book was so good!!! Laurelin Paige has a way with writing where even if I think I don’t a trope, I still wind up loving the book regardless. Fake dating usually doesn’t work for me. But this book asks the question, “what if the heroine is fake dating the guy who ISN’T the hero and we throw in an imagined love triangle?” I WAS HERE FOR ALL OF IT.

I don’t think readers necessarily have to read this series in order to understand who’s who. The connecting thread through all these books are the Sebastian family. And on the other side are the people they fall in love with. This book is about 26-year-old singer/songwriter Mariah “Riah” Watson (who also goes by Zyah as her stage name) and 35-year-old Alex Sebastian, a middle child in a really messed up billionaire family.

The only problem with Alex falling for Riah is that she’s currently dating his older brother, Hunter.

Content notes from the author's website: child abuse (off page), death of parent (off page), parent abandonment (off page), debasement, humiliation, feels cheating, misogynistic environment, and toxic relationships.

This book was delectable and the sexual tension between Riah and Alex was off the charts. I initially started this book in Kindle Vella and I was obsessed with reading each new chapter as they came out and finding out how this whole relationship between them would work.

Riah is indebted to Hunter because he’s the one funding and promoting her comeback. What he gets out of this is that he needs to clean up his rakish ways by appearing to date a clean cut, goodie two shoes type of girl. Public perception is one thing, but what Hunter really needs is a way to convince the board that he supports traditional values and whatnot if he ever wants to gain control of the family company, Sebastian News Corp (SNC), and become CEO. It’s been drilled into him that he needs to be the best and achieve the highest there is to achieve in that family and he’ll do anything to get it.

So where does that leave Alex? Alex had always been his shadow and they’ve always been close. Alex has never stepped out of Hunter’s shadow because that’s what he’s used to and you’d think no one could be more loyal than these two brothers are for each other. However, Alex realizes that if he truly wants his brother’s girl, he’s going to have to leave Hunter behind and claim Riah as his own.

I love the dynamic between Riah and Alex. It’s very bully romance even though they’re older (bully romance might only apply to high school age books), so maybe this is just Alex being an alpha asshole. Riah has spent a lot of her formative years growing up way too fast, but she’s also done this away from the limelight. She’s had to raise her younger sister, Whitney, ever since their parents died and that’s meant giving up her singing career until Whitney was grown.

I really enjoyed seeing the transformation from Riah in this book. I loved seeing how she goes from being a little naive and innocent in the music industry to really flourishing and coming into her own by the end. I typically avoid books centered around musicians but the author handles this part of Riah’s character so well that I actually found myself loving this book BECAUSE of Riah’s musical talents and being able to go on this journey with her.

Something the books in this series have in common is strong female characters and I that there’s periods of time in the story to give the female characters a chance to breathe and get a sense of who they are and what they want for themselves, without having to rely on a man. And even though Alex does wind up doing a grand gesture for her, Riah is still her own person.

I guess the elephant in the room is Hunter. He’s been enemy #1 in the Sebastian clan amongst all the cousins. It’s hard to get a sense if he’s truly just that much of an asshole or if he’s built so many walls around himself because of how his father’s treated him that this is just a defense mechanism for him to keep the world at arm’s length.

The next book is not Hunter though but about Adly Sebastian (Hunter, Alex, and Reid’s cousin. We got Reid’s HEA in book 2 with Brutal Secret. Adly is Holt’s younger sister and we saw Holt in book 1 with Brutal Billionaires). We do find out a little more about who she ends up with here and I can’t wait to get her book because I am baffled how she winds up with him. The guy is already working at SNC and Hunter’s best friend. Only complaint I would say I had with this book is that this best friend has a too similar name to Alex and it got confusing reading it at times. But that’s just me.

Hunter is book five and I CANNOT wait. Who could possibly put up with him or make him vulnerable enough to break down his walls to actually fall in love and get him out of the toxic relationship he has with his father? I don’t think his love interest was any of the passing mentions of women in this book but who knows? Maybe it is or maybe it’ll be someone totally new.

All I hope for by the end of the series is that Hunter and Alex wind up on better terms. There’s also their youngest brother Reid but they were never that close with Reid so it’s just different I guess. Also, they’re getting another half sibling so whatever is going on there we’ll find out in a future book? I have so many questions and the next books aren’t out yet so I guess I’ll just be here suffering for the next few months.

I can’t wait to listen to this on audio! I’m not the biggest fan of duet narrations (where the female narrator reads for all the female parts and the male narrator for all the male roles) but I’m still excited because Elena Wolfe is one of my favorite narrators and I’ll listen to anything she narrates.

This book is very sexy and I love that the male model cover correctly conveys that with his smoldering and intense gaze. I collect the discreet covers too but this cover is very *chef’s kiss*.

Overall, I really loved this book and getting to see how Riah and Alex wind up getting together, and seeing how Alex gets out from his brother’s shadow. There’s fun cameos from the main characters from previous books but nothing that takes away from Riah and Alex’s story. This entire series has been a hit for me so far, and I can’t wait to read more books about the Sebastian’s!

***Thanks to Valentine PR for giving me an e-ARC to read and review!***




Original Review (January 2024): The full book will be out in the spring (around March 2024?) but currently coming out piecemeal in Kindle Vella now for those who can’t wait for more of the Sebastians. I’m caught up through chapter 11. I’m not usually a fan of musician romances but this is heart stabby angst without involving a death or some sort of terminal illness, so I’m into it.

I can’t wait for Hunter’s book because he’s an absolute dick and I’m having trouble imagining what his book will be or even who he’d wind up with and can he stick to monogamy?? Do we want him to?? I’m guessing Adly will get a book with Hunter’s BFF Ax?

And Riah and Alex is *chef’s kiss* this might not TECHNICALLY be a bully romance since those are usually high school/college romances (Riah is 26 and Alex is 36), but that’s the vibe at the moment and I am here for it (but also hoping things get cleared up between them soon). Their chemistry is off the charts
Autor del comentario:
=================================