Last Kiss

De: Laurelin Paige

Narrado por: Ava Erickson

A Game of Cat and Mouse Filled with Dark Desires and Dangerous Secrets....

Emily Wayborn has made a decision.

She might not fully trust handsome and deadly Reeve Sallis, but he is the one person that gives her what she needs. With Reeve she can finally be herself. Submitting to him is the only thing keeping her grounded as the rest of her life falls apart. But the hotelier is a master at keeping secrets and as she continues her quest for answers, someone is making sure she doesn't find them.

Time is running out, and she is questioning everything she thought she knew about friendship and love. She must now make an impossible choice that will determine if she will survive with her heart...or her life.

©2016 Laurelin Paige (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Manipulation !!

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the strength in love this book had. Friendship should never need to be so manipulative. This was a great 2 book listen.

Have you listened to any of Ava Erickson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Ava did a wonderful job in narrating this book. It was easy to know the change in time and characters.

Perfect Ending!

Last Kiss is the perfect ending to Reeve and Emily's story.

This was a re-read for me and was as good as the book. I love the narrator and she added intensity to the story.

Reece is the perfect mix of dangerous alpha man and sensitive, passionate lover. Emily was extremely submissive and frustrating, not just to the reader but also to Reeve. She finds her way but takes a long time to do so. This made the ending even sweeter.

Captivating

I love Laurelin Page. But I thought Emily was too submissive for a main character.

Absolutely Amazing!!

From beginning to end I loved this book and the first one! The twists, the turns, the breathtaking moments, the hot moments, just everything! I do believe this is my new favorite author. Also Ava, the voice reading this book is by far my favorite to listen to. She portrayed the characters so brilliantly! I wait for more!!

I may need to find a support group

I am almost ashamed to admit that I listened to these two books, completely, in the last 24 hours. If you do the Math, you'll realize that means I did not have time to sleep or anything else, for that matter. This story was powerful, frustrating and audible crack, for me. I had to finish the story. Was the writing perfect? no, it could have better, but as with everything, perfect wouldn't be genuine, either. However, in hopes of helping me feel like the last day hasn't been lost without leaving something tangible behind, I am going to list my thoughts on how the books could be improved.
1. I love Lauralin Page's ability to create unique stories and I love her concern with giving her characters depth but, sometimes less is more. Most of the protagonists and antagonists in her books waaaaayyyyyy over think. They think so much and Sooooo looonnnnggg, it ruins the rhythm of the story; it's distracting, confusing and down right agrivating. More than once, I have actually yelled, out loud, to them to " Get to the damn point!" I honestly have had to back tract, more than once, in the dialog to remind myself what the hell the question was that the character was pondering. I've even fast forwarded, in an attempt to avoid the agrivation; something I have never done before. Look. I love long novels, the longer the better. Kristen Ashley and Diana Gabledon are two of my favorite authors so I love long and in depth but it always strengthens the plot not confuses it.

Fantastic series!

I absolutely LOVE, LOVE this author! Great characters as well as plots! She's wonderful in this genre.

NO HEARTS & FLOWERS HERE... YET I WAS LEFT BREATHLESS

Wow.. Laurelin Paige really outdid herself with this epic conclusion to Emily and Reeve's turbulent, electric and erotic story. First I had to go back and listen to book 1 (First Touch) all over again so I could immerse myself in the dangerous world that Emily is now in while desperately looking for ways to get answers, and help, her ex-best friend Amber. This book isn't a standalone because you'll be completely lost. However, if (like me) you've listened to book 1 but can't quite remember all the finite details to the storyline and the complex relationship between Reeve and Emily then I implore you to go back and refresh yourselves.... as it's even better the second time round because when the WTF cliffhanger hits you're overjoyed when you can now flip to book 2 immediately.

As the dust settles after the major cliffhanger there's one mystery after another as threats are made and carried out, secrets pile up and remain unanswered, jealousy rears its ugly head and the Greek Mafia make their move. Emily and Reeve's relationship continues to be explosive as Reeve's sexually dominant side has found its perfect match with the submissive Emily totally, and willingly, giving up control of her body and her desires. She's a co-dependent, damaged, lost, insecure and an emotionally confused woman who's found the perfect man in the overpowering, controlling, possessive, mysterious, dark and sexually wicked Reeve who crackles power when he enters a room. But, as they very slowly learn to actually trust as well as love, they both eventually undergo major character development. There are chapters that go back in time to explain and highlight the relationship between Emily and Amber - which, in hindsight, was always dysfunctional and abnormal.

Suspense and intrigue oozes from every Chapter along with twists and turmoil, things you think are going to happen don't and things you never suspected are dropped into the mix as you drown in the angst, drama and erotic adventure. So it's not until the end that LP finally discloses her intricate and flawless masterplan as she skilfully reveals all the answers, reveals the bad guy, reveals the truth, reveals the deep love and concludes this emotional roller-coaster with a HEA ending. The chemistry was sizzling, passionate, hot and needy yet Reeve was more compassionate, understanding, loyal and tender in this second book... but never fear - he continued to be the rich, dirty talking, controlling, arrogant Alpha bastard that we've grown to love so much.

Worth a credit? Yes, and I'm in awe of Laurelin Paige's creative and talented mind because in this her flawed characters have so much depth, her storyline is an intricately spun tangled web which I happily snagged myself in for hours and I knew her HEA would be worth the wait. Told from Emily's POV by a brilliant narrator who turned this awesome book into such a memorable listen.

Oh my goodness

Wow I was truly captivated with This book the narration the plot the lies the mystery the one sided story was amazing I was truly hooked on the book the 1st and the 2nd there awsome and I recommended a 100% The mystery between Silas and Amber and Emily was fascinating

Kept me on my toes!

This book was MESSY. But, like, in an entertaining kind of way. I wouldn't recommend this duology for someone new to reading dark romance, but if you've been around dark romance or erotic thrillers awhile, definitely check this book out. It still amazes me this book was traditionally published since I don't find the author's other self-published dark romance books to be quite as dark as this series. This book is a continuation of the first book, so you can't just jump into this one. Start with book one.

Obviously, this review will contain major spoilers for what happened at the end of book one, so only read on if you're curious or don't mind a few spoilers.

Content notes include underage sex, drug addiction, mentions of suicidal ideation, suicide, murder, abuse (domestic abuse, manipulation, grooming), mentions of a violent and graphic rape that happened in the past, mentions of miscarriages and abortions, animal death (dog and fish), mentions of infertility, mother has dementia, homomisia, bimisia, love triangle, slavery/human trafficking, misogyny, and mentions of incest and rape of a child.

I loved the unpredictability of this story, and how this book kept me guessing for a majority of the time. Not only about how the story was going to resolve the love triangle (yes, there's love triangle, or maybe more of an imagined one technically) but we are left wondering whether or not the hero (Reeve Sallis) is someone who can be trusted. Because that's the crux of a dark romance book, isn't it? You just don't know if you're dealing with a love interest who is legitimately terrible even to the MC, or something worth loving by the end. Our main character here is Emily Waybourne and this book picks up immediately after the events of the first book.

The kick-off point in this series of books is that Emily is looking for her once best (and only) friend, Amber. Emily had received a voicemail from Amber saying a code word that meant she needed help out of a bad situation, and being the amazing friend that she is, Emily dropped everything to find Amber even if it winds up costing Emily her life. Because this search involves getting close to the last possible person to have seen Amber alive, and the man already has a reputation that he might have killed one of his previous girlfriends.

At the end of the first book, guess who shows up?? THAT'S RIGHT. AMBER. Who is very much not dead, and has been in a very abusive relationship with a man who is known to have Greek mob ties. This book does contain a threat of the mob coming after Amber and possibly even Emily because of their continued association with Reeve. We know that Reeve's uncle, known as Michelis Vilanakis, is not a man to be trifled with. But the question is, who is the more dangerous man? Vilanakis or Reeve?

I generally like romance books with dual POV so we get a sense of the characters, but this is one of those books where I think it works from only getting the story from one character’s POV. This story is told in Emily’s first-person POV and we never get the story from Reeve’s perspective. I think that works because it heightens the tension and has you second guessing whether or not Reeve can even be trusted. I really loved the mystery and intensity surrounding that, even though technically I knew this was a romance and Emily and Reeve are endgame. A bit of a side note, but I do really like that they’re in their 30s and not, like, in their early 20s. I think I prefer dark romance characters to at least be in their 30s and have lived life a little and have figured themselves out.

Although this is a romance where we know who will end up together, there is still a very prominent love triangle happening here. This could be a hit or miss with some readers, depending on how much you like reading love triangles. Reeve was in love with Amber at one point, and even tried to marry her before that caused her to run away to Vilanakis. And there’s Emily who loves (present tense!) Amber, even though she insists she’s only attracted to men.

I think the biggest miss for me in these books is not acknowledging that Emily (and even Amber) might be bisexual and instead push back so hard on the idea it seems a bit biphobic. Emily talks about how much she loves Amber, and I don’t think it’s only because of the Dom/sub relationship they unintentionally had in their daily life. Do I think a possible ending could have been a polyam romance with Emily/Amber/Reeve? Maybe. But the way this story goes, it makes it very clear that the most toxic relationship in this book isn’t Emily/Reeve, but Emily/Amber. So it’s probably a good thing we didn’t even try to go the polyam route.

Amber is older than Emily and we see it more in this book that Amber sought out Emily and Amber groomed Emily to have sex with much older men as a teenager and to come to rely on Amber for everything. If Amber hadn’t pushed Emily away and broken off their so-called “friendship”, Emily would still be with Amber. The way Amber treats Emily is very destructive to Emily’s health and well-being, and I do appreciate that Reeve sees and recognizes this. He even tries telling Emily that what Amber has with her isn’t healthy. I think Emily KNOWS, but the crux of the problem is that she doens’t know what to do about it. Emily mentions time and time again that she doesn’t know how to remove herself from abusive situations and relationships, when all she wants is to be cared for and doesn’t know her limits. That’s what makes her relationship with Reeve so dangerous, but I do like that Reeve at least respects her and pushes her to still make her own decisions and be her own person despite their Dom/sub roles.

The ending is a bit shocking. I wouldn’t say necessarily unexpected, but I’m still somehow surprised? I can see how that’s the only possible ending we could be left with to resolve the love triangle and address the ongoing toxic relationship between Emily and Amber all things considered, but you’re either going to be okay with that or hate the ending.

And there’s also a third act breakup (I think you can call it a breakup) that occurs between Emily and Reeve which could also be a hit or miss for readers. It happens LATE. It’s very late in the book. Like, maybe it was around the 95% mark? It almost feels kind of silly. There’s also no epilogue in this book and I wouldn’t say I NEED an epilogue, but I would like a short or something at least from the author just to show Emily and Reeve some time after the events in this book to know how they’re doing with some time after the events in this duology. I just want to see them together without all the baggage between them, you know?

And while I’m asking for things, there is a character called Joe, who Emily hired to initially find Amber. He sticks around in this book and is just overall a good guy. If there was ever a spin-off, I wouldn’t mind Joe getting his own book and getting his own HEA. I mean, there’s a whole subplot that is mentioned (it’s the human trafficking part with Vilanakis) that does not get resolved, so you know, you COULD get a book with Joe. I’m just throwing out ideas. I’m just saying, I wouldn’t mind a Joe book.

This book is a very sexy book, and kinkier than any other book the author has written in my opinion. I LOVE the scenes between Emily and Reeve. It is weird to not see traditionally published books go this route anymore (see the illustrated romance cover trend). But I’m glad I found these books and gave the books a chance! This series is messy and dark, but totally my vibe.

There was one part of the story where I thought a randomly introduced character would be more problem than he really was. I wonder if Reeve took care of him in the end (if you know what I mean). He was a suspicious character, but I thought he would’ve been more of a direct threat to Emily. I was almost expecting a kidnapping, not going to lie. But thankfully, Emily is physically unharmed in this book.

I want to say the events in these two books happens over the course of a month? It wasn’t very long at all. But it does explain why Emily’s agent isn’t really looking for her and she can be away from working for so long if she’s still on hiatus until the show starts back up. But the whole deal with Emily and her job is more like background fluff becuase we never actually see her working or auditioning for anything new here. This book primarily takes place on a hidden away ranch in Wyoming and a private island in the South Pacific. I hope in her future, she gets to be the actress she obviously wants to be and it sounds like Reeve will be a good influence and encourage her to do just that.

I’m not sure where Reeve falls in my ranking of Laurelin Paige heroes from all the books I’ve read (which, admittedly, isn’t that many yet). I think he’s in my top 3, but Edward from the Slay series might still be at the top. I think his relationship with Celia really just sealed the deal for me there. But Reeve and Holt from the Brutal Billionaires series is fighting for the number 2 and 3 spots. I do love them both. Maybe Reeve wins out by a hair just because he’s a bit more domineering and dangerous than Holt. But he’s only winning out by a little bit.

I loved the audiobooks for this series. Ava Erickson was a new-to-me narrator and I think she did a fabulous job capturing the vibes and voices for all the characters. She did an excellent job as Emily, and the silky, sweet tone she gives Amber is kind of unnerving once you realize how manipulative Amber is and the voice just FITS. I loved her voice for Reeve too of course. I would love to listen to more of her audiobook narrations, and I think she has quite a backlist too choose from.

This series kept me on my toes and I loved the sense of danger in the books. I feel like Laurelin Paige doesn’t write many books like this, but she SHOULD. These are older books (if you can say 2015/2016 books are older), but if she wrote more books like this I would read them all. Yes, this book is MESSY and weirdly gruesome at times (and maybe we didn’t need all the abusive situations from Emily’s past detailed like that), but I think overall the series was addicting to read and kept me up way too late at night becuase I was trying to read them all in one sitting. I love reading stories that make it so hard to put down and stop for the night. If you want a kinky dark romance, check this duology out!

Power, Attraction, Manipulation and Suspense!

Amazing story of old friends, family, power, attraction, manipulation, suspense, and plot twists.

Emily is looking for her missing best friend and will do anything to find her. She uses deception to get close to the person she believes had something to do with it. Reeve is the powerful and dangerous rich guy that allows Emily to get close to him. They end up having real attraction for one another. They don’t see the plot twist coming.

This is a duet and you need to read/listen to both to finish the story. There is a HEA with a sweet ending.