aschae's review against another edition
5.0
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Yet another FABULOUS book by Elisabeth Grace!! Warning.. Major cliffhanger that will leave you dying for the next book! Emily (aka Brandi) is not only a high end escort, she's also a highly intelligent woman with a life and a vision that's totally separate from her work. Until she meets Marco that is....as this hot, sweet a$$ man will change her world forever and make her rethink everything she's thought she had figured out until now... This book was sweet, passionate and sexy as hell which characters that you can't help but fall totally in love with <3 HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommended and now I CAN'T WAIT to get my hands on the next book in the series!!
mandy_pandy's review
5.0
Wow! I am totally blown away by how good this book was! I was hooked from the first page and couldn't put this book down. I'm a little hesitant to read books about escorts but this was so well done. The heroine was easy to relate to, which shouldn't have been easy given her profession, but I understood why she chose her line of work and even admired her for it. There was mystery, suspense and super HOT sexy times. This author writes some of the best steamy scenes ever and the ones in this book were amazing! This book ends with a massive cliffhanger and I can't wait to read the next book.
rockchick's review
3.0
Hook is the first book in the Duplicity Duet.
It tells the story single mom Brandi.
Brandi has a son with special needs. She raises him alone and does everything in her power to be a good mother and provide all his medical needs.
In order to do that, Brandi works as a call girl.
I admired Brandi's character.
She is never apologetic about her profession. She does what needs to be done to ensure her son ,Daniel gets the best care possible.
Hook also stars Marco, a mysterious client who is attracted to Brandi, keeps coming back for her services but also gets her mixed up with the wrong people, putting her and her sons safety at risk.
I loved Brandi's character, I enjoyed reading about her and Marco's sexual relationship, but didn't feel the emotional connection between them.
The sex scenes were hot, but the depth, that turns lust into love, was missing.
Another thing that bothered me was Marco's use of Italian as various points in the book. It didnt "read" natural to me.
It tells the story single mom Brandi.
Brandi has a son with special needs. She raises him alone and does everything in her power to be a good mother and provide all his medical needs.
In order to do that, Brandi works as a call girl.
I admired Brandi's character.
She is never apologetic about her profession. She does what needs to be done to ensure her son ,Daniel gets the best care possible.
Hook also stars Marco, a mysterious client who is attracted to Brandi, keeps coming back for her services but also gets her mixed up with the wrong people, putting her and her sons safety at risk.
I loved Brandi's character, I enjoyed reading about her and Marco's sexual relationship, but didn't feel the emotional connection between them.
The sex scenes were hot, but the depth, that turns lust into love, was missing.
Another thing that bothered me was Marco's use of Italian as various points in the book. It didnt "read" natural to me.
darianstarr13's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
whatcha_listening_to's review
5.0
** ARC PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR FOR AN HONEST REVIEW **
** Reviewed Previously for Books n Boys Book Blog **
5 Hooker-tastic Stars!
Yeah I just said Hooker-tastic. Never thought I would come up with such a word. But wow this book. I finished it minutes ago and I can still feel the urge to press next page next page and nothing is happening I want MORE!
Question:
What would you do for your children?
Answer:
Anything…
I loved how we meet Emily aka Brandi, she is a strong fighting women who has more gumption in her pinky then most people will ever have. She is fierce and loyal and most of all a mother to an incredible little boy who needs more than most. And so that she can provide it for him she does anything necessary for that to happen. So what if she gets paid to sleep with men. It’s a job just like any other only she gets paid a heck of a lot more than just the regular old Joe who owns a bar. Just because someone uses their body to make money does not make them weak or uneducated.
Emily is a character I have a lot of respect for maybe because I am a mother with a son who needs more than most, not the same as hers but it’s a common understanding. You would do and say anything to put your children first. I have no judgement for how she takes care of her son.
Marco comes in to the picture this hot Italian man you just want to get down and dirty with. But no, no you don’t expect him to be so patient. I love this about him, just because he pays for a women’s time and body doesn’t mean he gets to be a bastardo as he calls it.
He’s a formidable business man and knows what he wants and will get it at any cost. Even at the expense of others but he is sly about it you don’t really see it so much as feel it.
Watching how Brandi gets under his skin was fun and funny he wants more from her but to her he is a pay cheque and she has to keep it separate.
These two together is explosive. And when her life is in danger and Marco comes to her aid. I love how lines get blurred it’s an incredible story of finding what you didn’t expect.
Also Daniel steals the show as most 9 year old boys do.
Watching him show his mom that it’s okay to be a kid and to not worry so much is sweet and makes you smile more than once.
Here are some of my favorite quotes you had to know they were coming!
“It should matter not what you do for a living. You are still a woman, are you not?” – Marco
“You’re mine. Do you understand? I don’t care what your ------- job is. You. Are. Mine.” – Marco
“Baby girl, you are looking F-I-N-E this evening.” – Leroy bodyguard
“Even the angel has a devil that sits on his shoulder.” – Marco
And can I just say that was sooo mean that Cliffy!! I want more!
If I get down on my hands and knees and beg really, really nicely?
** Reviewed Previously for Books n Boys Book Blog **
5 Hooker-tastic Stars!
Yeah I just said Hooker-tastic. Never thought I would come up with such a word. But wow this book. I finished it minutes ago and I can still feel the urge to press next page next page and nothing is happening I want MORE!
Question:
What would you do for your children?
Answer:
Anything…
I loved how we meet Emily aka Brandi, she is a strong fighting women who has more gumption in her pinky then most people will ever have. She is fierce and loyal and most of all a mother to an incredible little boy who needs more than most. And so that she can provide it for him she does anything necessary for that to happen. So what if she gets paid to sleep with men. It’s a job just like any other only she gets paid a heck of a lot more than just the regular old Joe who owns a bar. Just because someone uses their body to make money does not make them weak or uneducated.
Emily is a character I have a lot of respect for maybe because I am a mother with a son who needs more than most, not the same as hers but it’s a common understanding. You would do and say anything to put your children first. I have no judgement for how she takes care of her son.
Marco comes in to the picture this hot Italian man you just want to get down and dirty with. But no, no you don’t expect him to be so patient. I love this about him, just because he pays for a women’s time and body doesn’t mean he gets to be a bastardo as he calls it.
He’s a formidable business man and knows what he wants and will get it at any cost. Even at the expense of others but he is sly about it you don’t really see it so much as feel it.
Watching how Brandi gets under his skin was fun and funny he wants more from her but to her he is a pay cheque and she has to keep it separate.
These two together is explosive. And when her life is in danger and Marco comes to her aid. I love how lines get blurred it’s an incredible story of finding what you didn’t expect.
Also Daniel steals the show as most 9 year old boys do.
Watching him show his mom that it’s okay to be a kid and to not worry so much is sweet and makes you smile more than once.
Here are some of my favorite quotes you had to know they were coming!
“It should matter not what you do for a living. You are still a woman, are you not?” – Marco
“You’re mine. Do you understand? I don’t care what your ------- job is. You. Are. Mine.” – Marco
“Baby girl, you are looking F-I-N-E this evening.” – Leroy bodyguard
“Even the angel has a devil that sits on his shoulder.” – Marco
And can I just say that was sooo mean that Cliffy!! I want more!
If I get down on my hands and knees and beg really, really nicely?
shelovestoread81's review
3.0
Holy Crap! The ending of this book was way to crazy for me. I did not see him refusing to do that. Is the son really dead? Not sure I want to keep going.
jackielizn's review
5.0
I finished this book in less than 24 hours. It had me from the very beginning. Think twice before you judge someone. You never know what is going on in their life that led them to make the decisions that they do. My heart ached for Emily. I couldn't imagine being in that position. This book had the perfect build-up, creating a literal spine-tingling, skin crawling suspense leading to an ending that you never saw coming.
lenoreo's review against another edition
4.0
https://celebrityreaders.com/2017/05/18/hook-by-elisabeth-grace/
3.5 stars -- OK, so I will admit that I tend to shy away from mob/mafia feeling books, and with a name like Marco Valenti and a guy with secrets, I had a hunch something like that would appear. It's the same as I shy away from Motorcycle Club books, I just have a hard time falling in love with a hero who does questionable things. But the hooker part intrigued me. And since the author is going to be at a signing event I'm attending, and gave away this book for free, I figured I'd give it a shot. And I must say, I was actually pleasantly surprised for the first more than half!!
For one, it was nice to have a woman in a questionable profession who isn't some virginal girl, but who owns the choices she's made to get where she's at. And who doesn't regret them. And when you learn why she's chosen this path for her life, I could buy it. A son with MD can NOT be an easy financial burden, especially as a young single mother. And I think that's particularly where our heroine shines, in her love for her son Daniel. I really felt her love for him, her worry, and you could see the different choices she was making to truly give him the best life possible. And I LOVED that she had goals outside of that too. Like, with the amount of money she was making, she could have just coasted, but she was going to school, and she had dreams of something more. It really made her a more interesting and 3 dimensional character. That caught me by surprise, and I was impressed with that.
Marco was a bit harder to love, but I also didn't hate him. He had some spectacular moments (such as how he handles Daniel), and I loved how forceful he was about reminding our heroine that she is not just her profession. I thought the balance was good. He could be a bit...emotionally volatile? Or something. That wasn't really a turn on for me. But he had lots of sweet moments as well.
Honestly, I almost rated this one a full 4 stars because I really enjoyed the first part, even despite some reservations... But I started to get a bit impatient/bored near the end of the book, b/c I had forgotten that it was a duet, and so I was wondering when we were going to get some resolution. Answer? We weren't. Cliffhanger. Which is fine. It was my fault for forgetting. And so it just lost a bit of the good steam it had going.
So what were my reservations? Well, what exactly drew Marco to her in the first place? He was quite infatuated. That was mitigated in that at least we got to see them get to know each other, so I could accept the development of the relationship past that point. The name thing was a bit weird too...it went on longer than I was anticipating. And it did pull a few things directly from Pretty Woman, which I didn't feel like it had to be so close (the kissing thing, the opera).
And then we get to the ending. Well, I'm a bit of a skeptical girl, so I don't buy it all. It felt a bit like a cheap play on emotions. And I REALLY don't like where that takes our heroine and hero. In fact, the ending didn't make me super keen on continuing on (despite the fact that having a cliffhanger is supposed to do the exact opposite). So I read a few bad reviews for the next book, and I know darned well that my personal tastes are going to run towards that end of the spectrum, so I think I'll just leave it at this. Once that decision was made, I read some spoilers so I could at least have a question answered. No regrets. Enjoyable book, just not quite in my wheelhouse enough to continue on.
3.5 stars -- OK, so I will admit that I tend to shy away from mob/mafia feeling books, and with a name like Marco Valenti and a guy with secrets, I had a hunch something like that would appear. It's the same as I shy away from Motorcycle Club books, I just have a hard time falling in love with a hero who does questionable things. But the hooker part intrigued me. And since the author is going to be at a signing event I'm attending, and gave away this book for free, I figured I'd give it a shot. And I must say, I was actually pleasantly surprised for the first more than half!!
For one, it was nice to have a woman in a questionable profession who isn't some virginal girl, but who owns the choices she's made to get where she's at. And who doesn't regret them. And when you learn why she's chosen this path for her life, I could buy it. A son with MD can NOT be an easy financial burden, especially as a young single mother. And I think that's particularly where our heroine shines, in her love for her son Daniel. I really felt her love for him, her worry, and you could see the different choices she was making to truly give him the best life possible. And I LOVED that she had goals outside of that too. Like, with the amount of money she was making, she could have just coasted, but she was going to school, and she had dreams of something more. It really made her a more interesting and 3 dimensional character. That caught me by surprise, and I was impressed with that.
Marco was a bit harder to love, but I also didn't hate him. He had some spectacular moments (such as how he handles Daniel), and I loved how forceful he was about reminding our heroine that she is not just her profession. I thought the balance was good. He could be a bit...emotionally volatile? Or something. That wasn't really a turn on for me. But he had lots of sweet moments as well.
Honestly, I almost rated this one a full 4 stars because I really enjoyed the first part, even despite some reservations... But I started to get a bit impatient/bored near the end of the book, b/c I had forgotten that it was a duet, and so I was wondering when we were going to get some resolution. Answer? We weren't. Cliffhanger. Which is fine. It was my fault for forgetting. And so it just lost a bit of the good steam it had going.
So what were my reservations? Well, what exactly drew Marco to her in the first place? He was quite infatuated. That was mitigated in that at least we got to see them get to know each other, so I could accept the development of the relationship past that point. The name thing was a bit weird too...it went on longer than I was anticipating. And it did pull a few things directly from Pretty Woman, which I didn't feel like it had to be so close (the kissing thing, the opera).
And then we get to the ending. Well, I'm a bit of a skeptical girl, so I don't buy it all. It felt a bit like a cheap play on emotions. And I REALLY don't like where that takes our heroine and hero. In fact, the ending didn't make me super keen on continuing on (despite the fact that having a cliffhanger is supposed to do the exact opposite). So I read a few bad reviews for the next book, and I know darned well that my personal tastes are going to run towards that end of the spectrum, so I think I'll just leave it at this. Once that decision was made, I read some spoilers so I could at least have a question answered. No regrets. Enjoyable book, just not quite in my wheelhouse enough to continue on.
mells_view's review against another edition
4.0
Ack! This story has a cliffhanger, but so far it was worth the cliffhanger.
Great writing! Even though this story is pretty short it had enough content and description to actually seem believe able. I really did feel the characters were in love. Not quite sure what is going on towards the end but I do have a few guesses. I love it when there is just enough of a mystery to keep it interesting but it isn't overwhelming to the story line.
I loved the character of Daniel too. Although he wasn't a main character he added great depth to the story and made all of the characters who interacted with him so much more lovable.
Great read!
Great writing! Even though this story is pretty short it had enough content and description to actually seem believe able. I really did feel the characters were in love. Not quite sure what is going on towards the end but I do have a few guesses. I love it when there is just enough of a mystery to keep it interesting but it isn't overwhelming to the story line.
I loved the character of Daniel too. Although he wasn't a main character he added great depth to the story and made all of the characters who interacted with him so much more lovable.
Great read!