Down and Dirty by Rhenna Morgan

​CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

​Publication date: 03/11/2019
Kindle Unlimited: No
Cliffhanger: No

Audiobook narrator: John Lane
Length: 8 hours 30 minutes

​Guest Review by mom, romance fanatic, and (someday) published author Summer Raines!

Lizzy no longer gives trust easily. Understandable. All her life, she’s been chewed up and spit out by people who were supposed to be there for her. The only people she can trust are her bandmates. With their support and faith in her, she has the courage to strut out on that stage and wow any audience.
Axel is no exception. The fierce, powerful Scot is captured by Lizzy’s mesmerizing stage presence. He needs to give her what he gave up all those years ago—a music career. He wants to collaborate with her. He wants to make her dreams come true. He wants her.

Earning the right to make her his woman won’t be easy after everything Lizzy has been through. Axel utilizes the unyielding loyalty of his Haven brothers and family to show her that letting her guard down won’t be a mistake this time. He wants the chance to be the one who provides everything that a powerhouse like her deserves—including a level of passion she never knew existed.

This book isn’t just Axel and Lizzy. It’s overflowing with the most awesome cast of characters. Smart, sassy, funny people you’ll fall in love with. I’m itching to buy the first five books in the series so I can spend some more time with Axel McKee’s clan.

Things I didn’t care for:
His pet name for her. A) I just hate that nickname so it’s a bit of an “ew” moment for me personally. B) She said she didn’t like it, but he called her that through the rest of the story. That’s a bit disrespectful in my opinion. If somebody I meet calls me a nickname and I say I hate it… they best not call me that again if they’re hoping to spend any more time with me. Just saying.

I’m gonna break my rule and yell SPOILER ALERT!
Yup. I feel the need to spill some details, so if you don’t want to hear about an integral part of the relationship building that isn’t revealed until around chapter fourteen, please don’t read past this point.
For those of you still with me, this book isn’t extreme kink or BDSM, but it is a Dom/sub. I need to be warned about that kind of thing simply because I hate people telling me what to do so I need to prepare myself to be fair about someone else enjoying the lifestyle. When I read a man being bossy with a woman it gets my hackles up and I start growling. I wish this detail had been included in the blurb or at least the genre category.

Still, it was so well-written, I absolutely loved reading it. And the author did a great job of explaining why Elizabeth was drawn to the submissive role that Axel wanted her to play. It’s just, for me, a turn off to be bossed around all the time so I wish I wasn’t blindsided by that part of the story.

Full disclosure: We received an ARC from the publisher free of charge.

Does this book contribute to or help crush the romance stigma?
It’s stigma-free. No rehab needed.  

Other reading suggestions
Check out the Rhenna Morgan backlist. It’s full of awesomeness.
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