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Eyes Wide Open by Raine Miller Review and Giveaway

05/23/2013

16122643“My kinky, foul-mouthed romantic gentleman lover.”

eye-candy-david-gandy-15

The hot, kinky, posessive, over-the-top-in-love, dominant, alpha, Ethan Blackstone, is back in the third book of the Blackstone Affair Series. While the first book, Naked was from Brynne’s point of view, and the second, All In, was completely from Ethan’s, the third, (out of four) Eyes Wide Open, was told from alternating points of view, and I thought it was brilliant. Yes, did you catch that? FOUR books total. But don’t you worry, this book has a great happy ending, and book 4 will just delve further into Ethan and Brynne’s relationship. I, for one, am thrilled. I can never get enough of Ethan’s sexy dirty talk, alpha possessiveness, and all-consuming love for Brynne.

“Are you real?” He whispered, brushing up my face with the back of his fingers in a cherishing caress. “Because I’ll want you forever.”

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Eyes Wide Open begins where All In ends, so you may want to quickly look over the end of All In before reading. Ethan is getting really close to the Olympics and working around the clock. They are settling into their relationship, and Brynne is falling more in love, and becoming more dependent on Ethan, much to her dismay. But she is working on it in therapy, and her growth in this book was a beautiful thing to see.

“Yeah,” I sobbed, taking a moment to get the next part out, “I need him so badly…and it makes me utterly vulnerable…and what will I do if some day he decides he doesn’t want me anymore?”
“It’s called trust, Brynne, and it is by far the hardest gift to give away.”
She was right about that.

Though they are settling in, the sex between Ethan and Brynne is still so fucking hot. The connection between them is so strong, their passion for eachother is so deep, it leaps off the page. And it’s still dirty, kinky and HOT. Here are some of the highlights from one shower scene:

“How badly do you want to be touched?”
“No touching me, baby. This is all for you. Put your hands out and press back against the tile, and stay like that for me.”
“Oh, fuck, you’re so slippery, baby. Let me hear you!”
“But you were a bad girl and took your hands off the wall”
“Put your arms around my neck and hold on”
“Ethan…”
“Yes, my beauty?” She panted at me. “You look so beautiful waiting for me to fuck you up against this shower wall. You love to be fucked on walls, don’t you?
“I love fucking you on walls”

Brynne, though, is still in danger, and Ethan can’t stand the idea of leaving her alone and unprotected for a second.

I had fear inside of me. Batshit, crazy-as-fuck, have-me-committed, I’m-petrified-out-of-my-bloody-skull fear. 

Ethan is also still dealing with nightmares and finding solace in Brynne, who never turns him down. He forces Brynne to open up to him so much, yet he really doesn’t share what is going on. He does eventually, but never fully, something I’d like to see more of in book four.

“Brynne was my heaven. I’d seek out my heaven endlessly.”

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Brynne and Ethan go to the country to meet Ethan’s sister and her adorable daughter, Zara. This is where the intense, broody possessive alpha turns into the adorable playful hottie, and totally turned me into mush. Between this scene and a few others, this book had a few more light, fun moments that I really adored.

“Holy shit… I might just die from so much sex.”
She shrugged… “Yeah, but it’d be a fun way to go, wouldn’t it?”

Though Ethan was eager to cement their relationship, Brynne was still hesitant, until a twist happens causing her to finally come to terms with her feelings for Ethan. Once she gives into him, the connection between them became an unbreakable force.

“He brought me out from the dark and into the light. Ethan had given me back my life.”

And as always, Ethan’s love for Brynne was unbreakable:

“It always amazed me at how easy it was to carry her. I knew why. It was because she carried my heart with her wherever she went. My heart was in her hands, and carrying her was some form of self-preservation, maybe. Holding her, holding me up. I couldn’t explain it, but I understood it. Made perfect sense to me.”

Sidenote here, one of my favorite things Ethan says is something my husband says, and I fucking loved it.

“Eyes on me, baby”
“You know I have to have your eyes when I take you!”

To me, this story was always about Ethan and Brynne, two badly broken souls who find the perfect person to make them whole again. It was never really about the danger that Brynne was in, but after three books and a lot of build-up, the culmination of that story was just kind of ‘meh’ to me.

Likes:

  • Ethan fucking Blackstone.
  • Brynne’s Character growth.
  • Brynne was never really stupid enough to run away put herself in danger.
  • Ethan’s light funny side.
  • Holy hot wall sex, shower sex, any sex!
  • Ethan, for me, got his dominant, alpha side back much more in this book, something I kind of missed in All In.
  • The little easter eggs from The Undoing of a Libertine and His Perfect Passion, Raine’s Historicals.
  • Brynne finally realizing she loves and needs Ethan as much as he does her.

Dislikes:

  • Ethan still keeps too much of himself away from Brynne, and he expects her to be so open with him.
  • The whole bad-guy situation was wrapped up too quickly and left me wanting more details.
  • ***This may be because I have an ARC version, but I had a lot of confusion when switching POV, there was no division and I would read a paragraph or two then realize and have to go back and re-read.

Rating: 4.5 stars 4.5 heat

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Flame_FOURHalf copy

Raine Miller writes the male point of view better than any other writer. I definitely felt like I connected with Ethan’s character more than Brynne’s in this series. I have also never read a series where the hero, the dirty-talking, possessive, alpha hero loved the heroine quite as much as Ethan loves Brynne. But I must say, I loved the way Brynne finally came around and gave her trust and love wholeheartedly to Ethan.

“….my eyes have really only been opened since you came into my world. You gave me everything. You made me really want to see what was around me, for the first time in my adult life. You made me want you. You made me want….. a life. You were my greatest gift of all, Ethan James Blackstone.”

The Blackstone Affair Series Order
(with links to my reviews)

Purchase Eyes Wide Open (The Blackstone Affair 3)

Amazon | BN.com | iBooks

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5 signed paperback copies of Naked plus swags (5 winners)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Related posts:

  • Whispers of You by Catherine Cowles | Audiobook ReviewWhispers of You by Catherine Cowles | Audiobook Review
  • The Rom-Com Agenda by Jayne DenkerThe Rom-Com Agenda by Jayne Denker
  • The Back Nine by Rachel BlaufeldThe Back Nine by Rachel Blaufeld
  • The RSVP by Lauren Blakely | Audiobook ReviewThe RSVP by Lauren Blakely | Audiobook Review
  • A Long Time Coming by Meghan Quinn | Audiobook ReviewA Long Time Coming by Meghan Quinn | Audiobook Review
«
»

4-5 Heat H's, 4-5 stars, All About Books, BDSM Romance, Giveaways, Raine Miller, Reviews 3

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Comments

  1. Sue says

    05/23/2013 at 7:30 pm

    Foul-mouthed and funny as hell, what more could you want. Loved the book and agree with you, I thought the bad guy situation wrapped up way to fast. I read that page twice to see if I missed something. I thought if somebody else knew what was going on, why didn’t they stop the little shit before he made his play at Brynne. In some areas of the book I had problems with the alternating POV, too. Ethan’s POV was more enjoyable that’s how I usually knew it was him. But at least Brynne got her act together by the end of the book and I hope the next book deals with his PTSD more. Thank you for reminding us to read her two historicals, she tied them in nicely with this book and they were great reads.

    Reply
  2. Megan says

    05/24/2013 at 10:01 am

    I have yet to read this series….I was waiting for the series to be complete. But now there is going to be a book 4?!? Can’t decide if I should wait until then before getting a piece of Ethan and Brynne or if I should just dive in now! Suggestion?

    Reply
    • Ana's Attic says

      05/25/2013 at 12:47 am

      Absolutely read it now. The series ends here. The 4th is more of a follow up, I think you may even want to wait in between the first 3 and the 4th.

      Reply

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Another 2022 Top Favorite Book! @authortarasivec h Another 2022 Top Favorite Book!
@authortarasivec has been a top favorite author for 11 years. Her books have been on all 11 Best of lists, and Stop Ghosting Me was another fall favorite I will be rereading. 
📖: https://amzn.to/3HhHAFv
My review: https://anasattic.com/stop-ghosting-me/
See all of my 2022 Favorites: https://anasattic.com/top-books-audiobooks-of-2022/
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📚Read it: https://amzn.to/3D9wDEI
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They also have the most beautiful covers!

—>See the whole Tattered and Torn Series here: https://anasattic.com/catherine-cowles-tattered-and-torn-series-order/
—> See my Best of 2022 List: https://anasattic.com/top-books-audiobooks-of-2022/
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#Bookseries #favoritebooks #Catherinecowles #Favoriteauthor #bookcoverlove #romanticsuspense #audiblebooks #audiobooklover #spicybooks #bookstagram #spicybookstagram #bookish #bestof2022 #bestbooksof2022
My 11th annual Best of the year list includes some My 11th annual Best of the year list includes some old favorites and some new authors. Do you agree with any of these choices? What were some of your favorites? See the whole list at anasattic.com (link in bio) 
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#bestof2022 #bestbooksof2022 #favoritebooksof2022 #audiobooks #bookstagram #audiobookstagram #booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #favoritebooks @authortarasivec @catherinecowlesauthor @jessicaanyablau @colleenhoover @alihazelwood @carabastone @jtgeissingerauthor @kennedyryan1 @jfrostauthor @kristenashleybooks
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🎧Listen: https://amzn.to/3PzGOXY (included in #audibleplus )
💻My review: https://anasattic.com/seatmate-by-cara-bastone/

#Bestof2022 #favoriteaudiobook #audiobookreview #carabastone #audiblebooks #audibleoriginal #madeforaudio #5stars #audibleromance #audible #zacharywebber #audiobooks
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To see the rest of my review, Its right on the homepage of my site, or go to https://anasattic.com/the-back-nine/
Grab it from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3QK35mU

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💻My review: https://anasattic.com/taking-the-leap/
📚Read it: https://amzn.to/3H4sL7r
🎧Listen: https://amzn.to/3uSHX54
See my Complete Guide to Kristen Ashley: https://anasattic.com/the-complete-guide-to-kristen-ashley/
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🎧Listen: https://amzn.to/3XAXt0f
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💻My review: https://anasattic.com/pen-pal-jt-geissinger/

See all my Best of 2022 choices: https://anasattic.com/top-books-audiobooks-of-2022/ (link in bio) 
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https://anasattic.com/the-rsvp-lauren-blakely/

📚Read it: https://amzn.to/3Xzskua
🎧Listen: https://amzn.to/3XdQWsO

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📚Read it: https://amzn.to/3u6cpq8
🎧Listen: https://amzn.to/3Ih6iEF
💻My review: https://anasattic.com/the-love-hypothesis/

See all of my Top Picks for 2022: https://anasattic.com/top-books-audiobooks-of-2022/
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The duet narration from @mallonerin and @j.f.harding made it even better.
📚Read it: https://amzn.to/3iJ6iX7
🎧Listen: https://amzn.to/3X9yZvz
💻My review: https://anasattic.com/a-long-time-coming-meghan-quinn/
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I read the first book of the Night Huntress Series, Halfway to the Grave in 2009, and I can honestly say it’s still in my top 3 series ever, so when I saw she was writing the first book again from the male POV this time, I was a little nervous but also excited. Thankfully I had nothing to be nervous about! I absolutely LOVED it and I am so glad to hear she is continuing to do Bone’s POV for the 2nd book as well!

The Other Half of the Grave:
📚Read it: https://amzn.to/3IOtIFd
🎧Listen: https://amzn.to/3Zyrpfj
💻My review: https://anasattic.com/the-other-half-of-the-grave/

The Night Huntress Series order:  https://anasattic.com/nighthuntress/
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📚Read it: https://amzn.to/3iEZoSH
🎧Listen: https://amzn.to/3H2MqI7
💻My review: https://anasattic.com/beauty-and-the-baller/
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Another 2022 Top Favorite is Carrie Soto is Back b Another 2022 Top Favorite is Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid.  I am still blown away by the fact that this non-tennis fan loved this all-tennis book so much. I loved that Carrie Soto is Back tackled so many issues women in sports face, especially women of color. This powerful story really illustrated the costs of greatness, and the sacrifices one needs to make in order to make it to the top. The narration made it even better, and the tennis had me on the edge of my seat! (I don’t even like tennis!)

Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
📚Read it: https://amzn.to/3LjdlzX
🎧Listen: https://amzn.to/3L60gJP
See how all the TJR books cross over: https://anasattic.com/taylor-jenkins-reid-book-crossovers/
See all my ’22 Favorites: https://anasattic.com/top-books-audiobooks-of-2022/
—
#Bestof2022 #bestbooksof2022 #favoritebooks #audible #bookstagram #audiobookstagram #taylorjenkinsreid tjenkinsreid #audiobooklover #carriesotoisback #tennis #topbooksof2022
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