Crowne Brothers
Will you manage to untangle from the spiderweb of lies to your own self?
1. IRON CROWNE by C.D. Reiss
SYNOPSIS
Byron Crowne is a gentleman on the outside, and a pure savage on the inside. I’m suing him, and the minute I see him across the negotiating table, I detest him. And I can’t resist him. He’s awakened desires I didn’t know I had. When he touches me, I need to fight him… and I need him to win. Our one night stand bruises my skin and leaves dents in the walls, but the sheets aren’t the only thing we shred that night. And suddenly, the stakes are higher than ever.
Olivia Monroe lights a fire in me that died a long time ago. I’m a different man when I’m with her. I need to own her, take her, mark her as mine. Everything changes when she might be pregnant and for the first time in my life… I’m powerless against this stubborn, untamable woman. She’s the one in control and I have an impossible job: Prove I’m worthy to be a father.
2. CROWNE OF LIES by C.D. Reiss
SYNOPSIS
Logan Crowne needs one year from Ella. Twelve months living in his house, holding his hand, wearing his ring on her finger, and in exchange, she’ll get her father’s company in the divorce settlement.
They have one year to convince his skeptical parents that they’re happily in love, and he’s settled enough to run Crowne Industries.
Ella wants the company badly enough to live with a man who will never love her. She’ll sleep in his room and kiss him for show. Her heart may melt whenever he’s around, and his touch may ignite a fire inside her, but surrender will break her heart. She’s sure she can last a year without giving him her body. She’s wrong.
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BOOK REVIEW
A marriage of convenience trope seriously never gets old. And although outcomes are most of the time predictable, circumstances vary significantly while the journey towards the HEA is fascinating and keeps readers on the edge of the seat (if the said story is actually good). That’s precisely what got me into having a chance with Crowne of Lies while skipping Iron Crowne (which I’m definitely going to rectify a little bit later, promise).
It was thoughtless, reckless, uncontrolled. It was a cyclone of desire I was already caught in, spinning upward, limp-willed with the force of it, because it was my whirlwind too.
I absolutely loved reading about the very development of Ella and Logan both within the framework of their arrangement and as separate characters who existed within their own realm of being. I enjoyed their transition from business partners and daily allies with perks of having mind-blowing sex in the process to self-discovering adults with those pesky feelings and uncontrolled emotions creeping in and to matching pieces of one beautiful but tricky mechanism.
“I wanted to fuck her. Tame her. Touch the explosive heat inside her.”
Ella Papillion was such a unique character to be pursued in an arranged marriage, in all honesty, I was pleasantly surprised. She was so free-spirited but caged at the same time. A tattoed and pierced up artist with tendencies to cross the loosely set boundaries of the law and a lost girl chained by those she held dear (her desperate and really stupid determination to fulfill a promise made to her dying father to protect the family name… I found myself constantly rolling my eyes). Ella was kind of empty but full of passion and tenderness at the same time, making my heart ache for her extremely fragile nature and pureness of the soul.
His voice was liquid and solid at the same time. Forceful, impenetrable, and mutable enough to fit into the shape of my desire. His kiss was fullness, heat, the taste of what we could have had without the deals and contracts.
Logan was all business and no play. He was one selfish and nonfeeling (well, obviously, outside of bed) alpha whose sole purpose in life was maintaining dominating control over Crowne Industries. He frustrated me greatly with his inability to at least partly give up some power in order to see what truly mattered in life and show even a sliver of vulnerability to those he claimed the closest to his cold heart. And he also annoyed me with his stubbornness to not admit to actually feel. Those tiny things aside, I was obsessed with Logan Crowne (I was a goner for Logan’s charm and his unforgiving dirty mouth).
No need to say, the chemistry was through the roof. The sex scenes… OMG. They were filthy (especially the public but not exactly public ones). With each one, I strayed farther and farther from God’s light sigh. I couldn’t get enough, and my time with the two could only be measured in stars while Logan kissed Ella with so much passion and possession, hunger and frustration, love and appreciation…
Crowne of Lies was my very first encounter with C.D. Reiss, and I must say, her lyrical prose knocked me out. It was beautiful and captivating! I felt deeply invested in the story, and I was rooting for the main characters non-stop (I seriously couldn’t make myself put my phone down even for a short tea break). I wanted to see how Ella and Logan managed to untangle themselves from the complicated spiderweb of lies to their friends and families as well as themselves. Highly recommend!
Happiness didn’t come neatly packaged. It found you in the moments between tears and laughter, in the fights and brokenness, in the support and in the bond with someone who loved you as broken as you were and as whole as you’d be.
3. CROWNE RULES by C.D. Reiss
SYNOPSIS
Years ago we spent seven minutes in heaven, locked in a closet. Now Dante Crowne and I are hidden away in his remote cottage. And he wants much more than seven minutes. He wants everything.
All I needed was a place to hide from the paparazzi. My best friend has just the place. No Internet. No phone. A deep bathtub I’m soaking in when HE shows up. My best friend’s brother—broody, solitary Dante Crowne. Rich as a cardinal sin and handsome enough to piss off the devil. A man with a reputation for unforgettable bedroom games. And after those seven minutes in a closet, I can tell you they’re all true.
His first instinct is to kick me out, but the memory of those seven minutes inspires him to make me an offer. If I want to stay, I have to work. If I make a mistake, I’ll be corrected with pink handprints on my backside. That’s the deal. I can beg for it or leave it.
I’m not sure which of us is more surprised when I get on my knees. Even more shocking? How much I like his punishment. But we can’t stay in paradise forever. Los Angeles awaits. And when an old nemesis sets his sights on tearing us apart, Dante may be the one left begging.
4. FAKE CROWNE by C.D. Reiss
SYNOPSIS
Colton Crowne is famous for two things: being one of the music industry’s most talented producers and partying away his massive inheritance.
I’m a singer with stage fright who’s famous for… well… nothing yet. And I promised my family if I didn’t make it big by the end of this year, I’d go back to med school.
My agent thinks Colton and I would be a great team both in the studio, and outside of it—especially if label executives think we’re dating. The rules? We can kiss in public, but not in private. We can act like we’re doing the deed, as long as we’re not. And as far as having actual feelings for each other goes… that’s obviously out of the question.
But after so many late nights in the studio and a bunch of stolen kisses, I start to see beyond his party boy facade to something real underneath. And he believes in me–with his coaching and encouragement, I’m finally overcoming my anxiety and giving the best performances of my life. If only time wasn’t running out so fast.
Then Colton has an idea to keep us together. It’s terrible, but it’s the only way. How can I let him destroy everything he’s worked for just to make me happy?
5. CROWNE JEWEL by C.D. Reiss
SYNOPSIS
Protect me at all costs. That’s the mission my father placed on Anton Markov—my new bodyguard. Shield me from a ruthless, faceless stalker. The menace hijacked my online presence, levied chilling threats my way, and promised to unleash a barrage of damage to me personally and professionally.
There’s one problem with Anton. It’s simple. I despise him. He stole everything years ago—my heart, dreams, and dignity. With a four-line farewell note stuck to my kitchen table, he broke my heart and almost my spirit. But it seems Anton has his own collection of grievances over what happened in New York, and he’s not willing to let them go. It’s complicated. He hates me.
As my stalker escalates his threats, Anton and I are thrust closer together. His smoldering good looks, irresistible charm, and unwavering dedication to my safety blur the line between lovers and enemies. He claims that he can’t protect me if he falls in love with me. With the danger closing in, we’re about to put that theory to the test.