Tag: Opposites Attract

Love Redesigned by Lauren Asher Book Review

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Love Redesigned by Lauren Asher

Blurb

Julian

If I ever caught on fire, Dahlia Muñoz would fan the flames with a smile.
So, when she returns to Lake Wisteria, I fully intend to avoid the interior designer.
At least until my meddling mother exploits my savior complex.
The faster I help Dahlia find her creative spark, the sooner she will leave town.
But while I was busy getting rid of Dahlia, I overlooked one potential issue.
What happens if I want her to stay?

Dahlia

People say the devil has many faces, but I know only one.
Julian Lopez―my childhood rival and family frenemy.
I vow to steer clear of him while recovering from my broken engagement, but then the billionaire makes an irresistible offer.
Renovate a historic house together and triple our profits.
Our temporary truce becomes compromised as we face years’ worth of denied attraction and mixed emotions.
Giving into our desire is inevitable…but falling in love?
That isn’t part of the plan.

Sensitive Content

Here is the potentially sensitive content I observed while reading this book:

  • Alcohol
  • Death of a parent
  • Depression
  • Emotional Abuse
  • Infertility
  • Injury
  • Profanity
  • Sexually explicit scenes

Ratings

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There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

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Twisted Obsession by S. Massery Book Review

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Twisted Obsession by S. Massery

Blurb

My name is Melody Cameron…
Or so I’ve been told.


When I wake up in the hospital with no memories, I’m shipped off to Denver to live with a distant cousin who knows nothing about me.
If family can’t help me remember my past, who will?

I don’t expect it to be a gorgeous hockey player ten years younger than me. He knows things about me he has no right to know.

Yet, he still keeps secrets.
He makes me work for every answer while he unlocks my desire—and fear.

Still. I’m blind. Naive.

And when his twisted obsession becomes apparent, it’s too late. For both of us.

Sensitive Content

Here is the potentially sensitive content I observed while reading this book:

  • Alcohol
  • Blood
  • Degradation
  • Divorce
  • Domestic Violence (not Main Characters)
  • Drug Use
  • Dubious Consent
  • Gun violence
  • Manipulation
  • Murder
  • Non-consent
  • Other woman
  • Profanity
  • Sexually Explicit Scenes
  • Somnophilia
  • Violence

Ratings

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There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

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The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the Disclosure here.

Blurb

Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why—or even who Tobias Hawthorne is.

To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man’s touch—and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a conwoman, and he’s determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather’s last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.

Sensitive Content

Here is the potentially sensitive content I observed while reading this book:

  • Blood
  • Car Accident
  • Death of a loved one
  • Grief
  • Injury
  • Life-threatening Disease
  • Profanity

Ratings

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There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

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Reckless by Elsie Silver Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the Disclosure here.

Reckless by Elsie Silver

Blurb

Theo Silva. Rowdy bull rider. Notorious ladies’ man. Scorching hot trouble wrapped up in a drool-worthy package.

And he’s looking at me like I might be his next meal.

But I’m almost free of my toxic marriage and have sworn off men entirely. So all I see when I look back is temptation served up with a heaping side of heartbreak.


The man is hard to trust—and even harder to resist.

Make that impossible. Because Theo is persistent. And no matter how hard I try to freeze him out, he melts my icy exterior and pulls apart all my defenses.

Over a drink in a small town bar, I blurt out my deepest, darkest secrets. Then I spend the singular hottest night of my life with him.

He worships my body. He makes me blush. I come alive beneath his hands.

Then I tell him to forget it ever happened. I want simple, and with him it all feels complicated.

It was supposed to be a one-time thing.

A secret.

But that little plus sign is going to make this secret impossible to keep.

Sensitive Content

Here is the potentially sensitive content I observed while reading this book:

  • Abandonment
  • Alcohol
  • Death of a parent
  • Divorce
  • Emotional Abuse
  • Infertility
  • Injury
  • Miscarriage (off-page)
  • Pregnancy
  • Profanity
  • Stalking
  • Toxic Relationship
  • Vomit

Ratings

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There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

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Madame by Sara Cate Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the Disclosure here.

Madame by Sara Cate

Blurb

They think they know me, but they have no idea.
As a professional Domme, I see men and women come and go. But no one ever sticks around, and I like it that way.
I have a secret to protect—at all costs.
So when the cocky, handsome, and submissive Clay Bradley weasels his way into my heart, I do the one thing I’ve always excelled at. I push him away—forever. And like a good boy, he listens.
But a few months later, during a chance encounter, he shows up again, but this time he isn’t alone. He has the stunning Jade on his arm. And she has a request of her own.
She wants me to teach her.
I should say no. Training a woman who makes my knees weak is bad enough. But this particular woman is dating the man who still has my heart. It’s a recipe for disaster.
Made worse by one simple fact—they know my secret.
And they won’t let go.
But how can I protect what’s mine if I’m holding onto them too?
Jade and Clay are the only ones who truly see me and the only ones who know… I’m so much more than Madame.

Sensitive Content

Here is the potentially sensitive content I observed while reading this book:

  • Alcohol
  • BDSM
  • Cheating
  • Death
  • Domestic Violence
  • Pregnancy
  • Profanity
  • Sexually Explicit Scenes
  • Violence

Ratings

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There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

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Between Love and Loathing by Shain Rose Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the Disclosure here.

Between Love and Loathing by Shain Rose

Blurb

Fake dating my enemy so I can design my dream bakery should be easy … as long as I don’t fall in love with him.

Dominic Hardy might be an award-winning architectural engineer with fancy degrees and considerable accolades, but he doesn’t know a thing about baking.
He doesn’t even like sugar.
So when my late stepfather’s will states that Dominic Hardy is set to inherit the Pacific Coast Resort he’d painstakingly designed, as long as my bakery can be plopped in the middle of it, it’s no surprise he balks.
And my jaw drops when another stipulation requires us to mutually approve plans for my bakery’s design.
His stuffy taste will never mix with my whimsical vibe.

But then Dominic comes to me with a proposal I can’t refuse. He’ll give me everything I want in my bakery as long as I agree to one thing:

Fake date him for five months.
Keep his ex away by pretending we’re in love.
Smile and stare into his piercing green eyes at a gala or two.
Maybe share a kiss.
Nothing extreme.
Five months of acting in love when I really loathe him and his filthy mouth.
Even when he’s using it on me.


This should be a cakewalk.
Except there’s a fine line between love and loathing, and I think I’ve made the colossal mistake of blurring it.

Sensitive Content

Here is the potentially sensitive content that I observe, while reading this book:

  • Abusive Relationship (not main characters)
  • Alcohol
  • Child Abuse (off page)
  • Chronic illness/disease
  • Profanity
  • Sexually Explicit Scenes
  • Violence

Ratings

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There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

Keep Reading!

Sneak Peek: Don’t Forget Me Tomorrow by A.L. Jackson 💙

Don't Forget Me Tomorrow by A.L. Jackson Sneak Peek

Sneak Peek — First Chapters Free!

NYT Bestselling Author A.L. Jackson has the prologue AND first chapter of her upcoming brother’s best friend, single mom, small town romance, Don’t Forget Me Tomorrow, available to read now before release day on October 5th!

Prologue

I stared at her from across the room.

I could feel the walls closing in, and the need I’d had for her for my entire life growing stronger than it ever had. As if the two of us were hinged on this moment.

“Tell me I’m not too late. Tell me you still love me.” There was no stopping the plea.

Pain and desperation twisted through her expression. “Do you think I could ever stop loving you?”

The second she said it, I snapped, and I was across the room.

I crashed into her in a landslide of greed.

One hand dove into her hair and the other curled around the side of her neck as I crushed my mouth against hers.

Really kissing her for the first time.

Nothing had ever felt quite like kissing Dakota Cooper.

It was flames and heat and pure relief.

I sucked it in, imbibing the feeling as I devoured her mouth.

My chest nearly blew with the power of it. With the way my heart thrashed violently at my ribs. With the devotion that surged from the sacred place that had always been meant for her.

Except I’d always known why I couldn’t touch her. The reasons I’d built the walls between us.

Why she was only supposed to be my best friend’s little sister.

I’d crossed a line I wasn’t supposed to cross.

And I should have known I’d have to pay the penalty…

 

Chapter One – Ryder

What the fuck was she doing out here?

I slowed my motorcycle as I came upon a small white Volvo SUV pulled off to the side of the road, its hazards flashing through the dusky light as the summer day faded into grays.

My guts tangled in a knot of worry.

We were twenty miles outside of town, and the two-lane road was basically desolate except for a random car that whizzed by.

There was no mistaking that car. The rear window was a fucking billboard for the country market and café Dakota Cooper owned. It wasn’t like I blamed her for wanting to advertise, but I didn’t love that every fucking person in this town knew her name, either.

Where she worked and where she lived.

Not that there was a ton of privacy in a small town the size of Time River.

Everyone knew everyone.

And even if she lived in the middle of a bustling city, I was pretty sure she would have made a name for herself, anyway.

Hell, I figured every time she smiled at some unknowing fool, she carved herself into their memory.

Made her mark.

Unforgettable.

Protectiveness lined my insides in a sheet of steel.

It was nearing dark, and she was out here in the middle of nowhere.

By herself.

Any monster could roll up and catch her unaware.

Just like me.

My bike came to a rumbling stop ten feet behind her, and I killed the engine, tossed the kickstand, and swung off as I took stock of the situation.

Dakota was more than capable, but it still made me itch that she was on her knees in front of the back-passenger side tire, cranking at a handle on the jack to lift the rear-end of her car.

Looking like a goddamn vision beneath the rays of the setting sun.

I tamped the bolt of lust that stirred my dick, something I’d gotten really fucking good at over the years, and I edged toward her, my boots crunching on the loose gravel.

Awareness rippled through the twilight with my approach.

A flash of tension before it settled into something familiar and right.

“Funny, I didn’t see a call or text from you,” I said, words rough and carrying over a big truck that blew by, sending a flurry of debris scattering through the air.

Dakota glanced my way. The hint of a smile played through the shiny gloss coating her lush lips.

“That’s because I didn’t call you.” Her voice was a tease as she continued to crank the handle, though her breaths were coming hard with her exertion as the back-end of her Volvo slowly hoisted.

At least she had a blanket spread on the ground to protect her bare knees since she had on one of those sundresses she always chose to wear. Black fabric dotted with pink flowers that hugged every lush curve of her body.

I thought she might have been prescribed specific attire with the sole purpose of driving me out of my mind.

“You should have.”

“What, you think I’m not capable of fixing a flat tire?” Eyes the color of cinnamon and fire glinted back. “I seem to remember someone who insisted on making sure I knew where the jack and spare were when I bought this car.”

She arched a brow. Her cheeks were full and high, and the threat of that tiny dimple on the left side of her chin flickered and danced like temptation.

“Yeah, that was so you would know how to do it for when I’m not around, and here I am.” I lifted my tatted arms out to the sides.

Except if she had called an hour before, I wouldn’t have answered. I’d have been too wrapped up in the bullshit dragging me under. A millstone around my neck.

One day it would be the reason I drowned.

The thousand shades of brown in her eyes danced as she peered up at me, and she chuckled a low, throaty sound that shivered over my skin. “Of course, you are. Tell me you’re not stalking me?”

Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I let a smirk ride to my face. “You know it. It’s my job to know where you are at all times.”

“Is that so?” Her expression twisted in playful disbelief.

“Isn’t that what friends are for?”

“Friends? Hardly. It sounds to me you’re acting more like my overbearing brother. I swear, if it was up to the two of you, I’d never step foot outside by myself.”

Sounded like a solid plan.

“What are you doing out here, anyway?” I asked.

“I had to pop over to Costco in Poplar to grab some things for the café. What are you doing out here?” She tossed it back at me like she figured I’d been up to no good.

I had been, but I doubted it was what she was thinking.

Shame locked down my throat. As close as I was to Dakota, there would always be a wall. A place I couldn’t let her see. The fucking last thing in the world I wanted her to know about me.

My jaw clenched as I forced out the lie. “Just felt like feeling the wind on my face. My bike was calling to me.”

“A little hot for that, isn’t it?”

“Never too hot for me.” The smirk was back in full force.

With the history around us, I was thankful we’d gotten to this place.

Where we could be easy together.

Friends, even though it was fucking painful being this close to her most of the time.

But I would take her any way I could have her.

She scoffed and turned her attention back to the jack, clearly picking up on the innuendo I couldn’t help but slide into the conversation. Before I could let my brain spiral into depravity, I strode the rest of the way up to her.

It cast her in my shadow where I towered over her.

“Are you going to get up off your knees and let me help you, or are you just going to leave me standing here staring at you like a lazy prick?”

Leaning back, she swiped a bead of sweat that trickled from her hairline with her bare shoulder.

My fingers itched with the urge to reach out and trace the spot. But touching her was the last thing I could do. I wouldn’t taint her goodness with the sickness of me.

“Haven’t you learned yet that you don’t need to ride in like the cavalry, Ryder?”

“I already rode in, Cookie, so you might as well let me.”

I’d started calling her that years ago.

Now there was no way I could stop.

Pushing to standing, she waved at the flat tire. “Fine, if it makes you feel more like a man, then go for it.”

I shook my head at her. “Are you trying to bust my balls?”

“Someone needs to.” She punted me a grin.

I started to move to take her place, but she bent over to straighten the skirt of her dress.

It speared me to the spot.

Her tits were heavy and spilling out of the scooped neckline.

Her hips full and wide and perfectly hugged by the fabric.

Hair a warm brown that was streaked with honey, and she wore it in a high ponytail, the same way as she did most days, the lush locks wavy and draping over one shoulder.

I couldn’t help but envision wrapping my hand around it, tugging her head back, and devouring that lush mouth.

I swallowed hard, doing my best not to ogle my best friend’s baby sister.

Dude would fucking gut me if he had an inkling of an idea about the thoughts I had of her.

Too bad he was the least of my worries.

She moved a foot to the side, and I took her spot, reining that bullshit in.

I knew better.

Dakota was a friend. Like a sister to me. And I’d do well to remember it. Because I would never fucking drag her into the mess that was my life.

I cranked through the lug bolts, removed the tire, then was quick to replace it with the spare.

The whole time, I could feel her attention on me. Eyes tracing.

“You enjoying yourself, Cookie?” I canted a glance up at her. The last of the light caught her in its hazy rays.

Brown hair and mesmerizing eyes.

So goddamn pretty my stomach clutched.

Raking her teeth over her bottom lip, she tried to contain her laughter. “Guess I like you on your knees for me.”

A snort left my nose. I’d been for years, and she didn’t have a clue.

Giving a final tug at the lug nuts to make sure they were tight, I shifted to fully look up at her. “You need to make sure you’re not driving on this for long and take it in to get the original tire repaired or replaced.”

The cock of her head was nothing but a razzing challenge. “I am a capable adult, Ryder. I even own my own business.”

“Know that, Dakota.” The words were low.

“Then you can stop treating me like a little girl.” The barest flash of annoyance hit her expression.

If only that was the way I saw her.

“Go ahead and tell my brother while you’re at it,” she tacked on, rolling her eyes though there was affection woven through. “The two of you are ridiculous.”

“I just care about you, Dakota. About Kayden.” The admission came rough, and the sweat that suddenly slicked my skin didn’t have anything to do with the summer heat.

Thinking of Dakota’s son always got me that way. He was two, and the cutest fucking thing I’d ever seen.

I didn’t know if it was loyalty or jealousy that hit me hardest, not that I had any right to the last.

Softness radiated from her as she gazed down at me, that sweetness that was always lingering beneath the surface riding from her tongue. “You know I can’t call you every time some little thing goes wrong in my life and expect you to come running, Ryder. You’ve already done enough for me. Too much.”

Gratitude tinged with unease infiltrated her tone, her eyes dropping for a beat. I knew exactly where her mind had gone.

The money I’d given her to help start her business.

I released the jack and stood. There was nothing I could do but take her by the chin. More tender than I should. I towered over her, searching her face like there was a way I could get her to understand.

“That’s where you have it wrong, Dakota. You can. I expect you to call me. Whatever you need. And there is no such thing as too much when it comes to you. Do you understand?” The words left me like a tumble of stones. A plea and a demand.

Because I’d wanted to give her everything I had, but the only thing I had been able to do was give her the one gift that I could.

She viewed it as a debt. Like something she needed to repay.

She could never understand that what I’d given her was my heart.

Those pink lips parted, and fuck, greed twisted through me like a hurricane, cock pushing at my jeans like I might be able to possess the one woman I could never have.

“I don’t want you to waste your time on me,” she whispered. “I know you have your own life. Things you need to take care of.”

A puff of disbelief escaped between my lips. “You could never be a waste, Dakota Cooper.”

The air thickened. Growing dense and pushing in. Heavy and hot. A dragging pull between us.

My phone pinged in my pocket, and both of us jumped back like it was a warning going off that we were about to cross a line we couldn’t cross.

Blowing out a steadying sigh, I dug into my pocket and thumbed into my phone like it was the most important thing in the world, then my chest clutched with the reminder of why I could never get too close to Dakota.

Why she’d hate me if she knew.

 

Dare: Where the fuck are you? You’re late.

 

Swallowing around the barbs in my throat, I looked up at the woman who stood three feet away shifting on her feet.

Innocent and right and every good thing in this life.

I roughed a hand over the back of my neck, attention on my boots when I said, “I need to get going.”

I felt the weight of her nod. “Yeah, I need to get to my mom’s and pick up Kayden before they get worried.”

I hoisted up her flat tire, opened her trunk, and tossed it in. Dakota came to my side, her presence close to overwhelming as she placed the blanket she’d had on the ground on top of it.

For a second, we hovered in each other’s space. So close but where we could never belong.

Lost to a beat of greed.

The kind I could never give into.

I pushed the button to close the hatch then took a step toward my bike. “Be safe, Dakota.”

Cinnamon eyes watched me like they could see through to my sins. “You, too.”

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A.L. Jackson is the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. She writes emotional, sexy, heart-filled stories about boys who usually like to be a little bit bad.

Her bestselling series include THE REGRET SERIES, CLOSER TO YOU, BLEEDING STARS, FIGHT FOR ME, CONFESSIONS OF THE HEART, FALLING STARS, and REDEMPTION HILLS novels. Watch out for her upcoming stand-alone,DON’T FORGET ME TOMORROW, releasing October 5th!

If she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the pool with her family, sipping cocktails with her friends, or of course with her nose buried in a book.

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Don’t Forget Me Tomorrow by A.L. Jackson Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the Disclosure here.

Don't Forget Me Tomorrow by A.L. Jackson

Blurb

When my best friend’s little sister walks in on me moaning her name, it’s all over. All restraints are shattered, and every boundary demolished. Nothing will be the same…

For years, I’ve tried to keep my distance from Dakota Cooper. She’s everything I’ve ever wanted and the one thing I can’t have.

But when she calls me in the middle of the night after someone tries to break into her house, I can no longer handle that distance, and I convince her to stay with me, along with her young son.


I should have known having her living under my roof would push me to the edge. Ignite the need that has simmered for so long.


The problem is, she’s forbidden. Off-limits. And I know better than crossing that line.
I can’t drag her into the dark secrets of my life.


But I can’t stay away from her either, so I do the one thing I shouldn’t—I take.
And now that I’ve had her, I’m not sure I can save her from who I am…

Sensitive Content

Here is the potentially sensitive content that I observed while reading this book:

  • Alcohol
  • Blood
  • Body Shaming
  • Death of a Loved One
  • Drug Abuse/Addiction
  • Fatphobia
  • Grief
  • Murder
  • Profanity
  • Sexually Explicit Scenes
  • Violence

Ratings

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There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

Keep Reading!

The Villain by Nana Malone Book Review

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the Disclosure here.

The Villain by Nana Malone

Blurb

Guess who’s having the craziest week EVER?

That would be me.

Sunday: I get dumped by my boyfriend—right before a couple’s bungee jump.

Monday: My little sister informs me that she’s invited our evil, estranged mom to the wedding I’ve spent months helping her plan.

Wednesday: In an effort to escape Massimo Igno, this creepy friend of my future brother-in-law, I somehow end up making out with a tall, dark stranger who looks like Superman’s twin.

Thursday: Tall-dark-and Superman’s-Twin turns out to be my new high-profile client, and my now totally off-limits thinks-he’s-the-boss-of-me client is demanding I drop everything to come with him to Rome. Seriously, did I hunt baby polar bears in a past life or something? What did I do to deserve this? Of course, with my sister’s wedding to plan, I tell him no.

Friday: As it turns out, no isn’t an option. My sexy new “client” is actually a ruthless, dangerous criminal. Apparently, he and the creepy guy I was trying to dodge are arch-enemies. He’s been watching me for weeks, and he wants to use me to get to Massimo.

Unfortunately, I don’t discover any of this until after he steals me from my hotel room in the dead of night and deposits me at his remote British countryside estate.

Saturday: I decide to fight like hell to escape my gorgeous British country estate prison.

Now, the question going into next week is, will I be able to get away from stupid-hot-villain a-hole whose stare makes my tummy do things it shouldn’t, considering he’s kidnapped me?

And what will he do to me if he catches me?

Sensitive Content

Here is the potentially sensitive content I observed while reading:

  • Alcohol
  • Blood
  • Childhood Trauma
  • Gun Violence
  • Injury
  • Kidnapping
  • Murder
  • Profanity
  • Sexually Explicit Scenes
  • Stalking
  • Violence

Ratings

Add me as a friend on Goodreads! Click here.

There are possible **SPOILERS** beyond this point!

Keep Reading!