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mina_reads_30's review
5.0
Can I say... when is Ace and Judy´s book coming out?
Levi and Shelly, whats not to love about those two.
Levi and Shelly, whats not to love about those two.
paddlefoot55's review
4.0
Copy received via Netgalley for an honest review
This book again follows the same timeline as the first two books, so if you haven't read them you will be fine.
This is the brother's story that I have really been wanting. With the glimpses of Levi and Shelly's relationship through his brothers eyes, I just knew that this was going to be the one that got me in the feels.
I loved that how through everything, they never lost contact - sure they might not have seen each other in years, but still there was that connection that only best friend have, that only those you truly care for can keep.
This really was a summer of first for Shelly,and at times I laughed out loud, at other times my heart ached for her as we saw what she had been missing. Her story is like a butterfly coming out of it's cocoon.
There really was so much more to Levi's story than one would think, and I felt for him as we learn more of his childhood (which if you have read the other books you know about)
Heart of a Bad Boy was definitely my favourite book in this series, and even though I am sad to see the series come to an end, I am looking forward to seeing what Ms Jamison brings us next.
This book again follows the same timeline as the first two books, so if you haven't read them you will be fine.
This is the brother's story that I have really been wanting. With the glimpses of Levi and Shelly's relationship through his brothers eyes, I just knew that this was going to be the one that got me in the feels.
I loved that how through everything, they never lost contact - sure they might not have seen each other in years, but still there was that connection that only best friend have, that only those you truly care for can keep.
This really was a summer of first for Shelly,and at times I laughed out loud, at other times my heart ached for her as we saw what she had been missing. Her story is like a butterfly coming out of it's cocoon.
There really was so much more to Levi's story than one would think, and I felt for him as we learn more of his childhood (which if you have read the other books you know about)
Heart of a Bad Boy was definitely my favourite book in this series, and even though I am sad to see the series come to an end, I am looking forward to seeing what Ms Jamison brings us next.
bananatricky's review
5.0
Four and a half amazeballs stars!
I think that this is my favourite of the three Destiny books.
The three King boys were once considered trash in the small town of Destiny, Nevada where they grew up. Son of the town drunk they grew up dirt poor, the eldest Duke once got arrested as a teenager for stealing food to feed his brothers. Then Duke got put in prison for ten years for beating up the Police Chief's son and the town turned against them. One way and another the King boys left Destiny and made new lives for themselves, creating a reality TV show centred on Duke's custom car renovations and featuring the youngest boy, Levi a former racing driver, as the host. Together the King empire has made each of the men very wealthy under the direction of the middle son, Colt. When their aunt Lolly goes into hospital the boys are forced to return and face their demons.
If you haven't read the first two books in the series you can easily read this one as a stand-alone - just don't read the epilogue! The USP of this series is that each book is set in the same time period, so each starts with a different King brother reacting to the news of Lolly's illness and how they react to returning to Destiny.
This book features the youngest, Levi King. Living the life of a playboy from his base in Vegas, Levi is vaguely dissatisfied. The cars and the girls and the international travel are starting to become a bit same-same and he is contemplating going back to racing, even though he nearly died in a crash. When he returns to Destiny his first visit is to see his childhood best friend Shelly. Shelly is Levi's opposite; her father is a prison guard and deacon of the local church, she is an elementary school teacher, never drunk alcohol, never had sex, never even gone dancing, a woman who wears her hair in a tight bun and dresses like a nun. Yet the two of them had been best friends since they were eight years old and a little girl in a pretty pink dress and a pink hair ribbon decided to befriend a little boy with ripped jeans and a T-shirt that was too small. All the time that Levi has been away from Destiny Shelly has been writing to him and sending him little gifts, telling him the minutiae of her life - she doesn't realise how much those letters meant to Levi.
Maybe the way I've described this Shelly comes across as a prudish, bible-bashing, kill-joy but she isn't at all. In her letters to Levi she lets out all the things she thinks and feels (her 'confession' about her dreams involving peanut cookies and milk made me laugh out loud), in return Levi validates her feelings. Shelly is kind of a Pollyanna (in a nice way), she is always happy and helpful to others, she volunteers for the local church and helps the elderly 'just because'. What she really wants to do is live a little, see the world, have adventures.
Now I've read 100s of friends-to-lovers novels, and novels where the heroine has been in love with the hero since they were children, and lots of variations on the themes but I don't think I've ever enjoyed one as much as this. Both Levi and Shelly were just great characters. It was blindingly obvious to the reader that they were in love with each other, as one character says near the end, what twenty-something man writes letters like a little old lady to a girl unless he is in love? I just enjoyed the ride and the sassy comments that Shelly comes out with. She might be innocent but she is one heck of a fun girl, the sort of friend everyone wants. If only she liked red wine!
I honestly worry that part of the reason I stopped work wasn't because I was suffering from a head-cold today but because I just couldn't wait to finish this book. Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! I think Sugar Jamison has just got better with each book. Please tell me that Judy gets a book.
I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Bumped for release week (and spelling the author's name wrong!).
I think that this is my favourite of the three Destiny books.
The three King boys were once considered trash in the small town of Destiny, Nevada where they grew up. Son of the town drunk they grew up dirt poor, the eldest Duke once got arrested as a teenager for stealing food to feed his brothers. Then Duke got put in prison for ten years for beating up the Police Chief's son and the town turned against them. One way and another the King boys left Destiny and made new lives for themselves, creating a reality TV show centred on Duke's custom car renovations and featuring the youngest boy, Levi a former racing driver, as the host. Together the King empire has made each of the men very wealthy under the direction of the middle son, Colt. When their aunt Lolly goes into hospital the boys are forced to return and face their demons.
If you haven't read the first two books in the series you can easily read this one as a stand-alone - just don't read the epilogue! The USP of this series is that each book is set in the same time period, so each starts with a different King brother reacting to the news of Lolly's illness and how they react to returning to Destiny.
This book features the youngest, Levi King. Living the life of a playboy from his base in Vegas, Levi is vaguely dissatisfied. The cars and the girls and the international travel are starting to become a bit same-same and he is contemplating going back to racing, even though he nearly died in a crash. When he returns to Destiny his first visit is to see his childhood best friend Shelly. Shelly is Levi's opposite; her father is a prison guard and deacon of the local church, she is an elementary school teacher, never drunk alcohol, never had sex, never even gone dancing, a woman who wears her hair in a tight bun and dresses like a nun. Yet the two of them had been best friends since they were eight years old and a little girl in a pretty pink dress and a pink hair ribbon decided to befriend a little boy with ripped jeans and a T-shirt that was too small. All the time that Levi has been away from Destiny Shelly has been writing to him and sending him little gifts, telling him the minutiae of her life - she doesn't realise how much those letters meant to Levi.
Maybe the way I've described this Shelly comes across as a prudish, bible-bashing, kill-joy but she isn't at all. In her letters to Levi she lets out all the things she thinks and feels (her 'confession' about her dreams involving peanut cookies and milk made me laugh out loud), in return Levi validates her feelings. Shelly is kind of a Pollyanna (in a nice way), she is always happy and helpful to others, she volunteers for the local church and helps the elderly 'just because'. What she really wants to do is live a little, see the world, have adventures.
Now I've read 100s of friends-to-lovers novels, and novels where the heroine has been in love with the hero since they were children, and lots of variations on the themes but I don't think I've ever enjoyed one as much as this. Both Levi and Shelly were just great characters. It was blindingly obvious to the reader that they were in love with each other, as one character says near the end, what twenty-something man writes letters like a little old lady to a girl unless he is in love? I just enjoyed the ride and the sassy comments that Shelly comes out with. She might be innocent but she is one heck of a fun girl, the sort of friend everyone wants. If only she liked red wine!
I honestly worry that part of the reason I stopped work wasn't because I was suffering from a head-cold today but because I just couldn't wait to finish this book. Loved it! Loved it! Loved it! I think Sugar Jamison has just got better with each book. Please tell me that Judy gets a book.
I received a free copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Bumped for release week (and spelling the author's name wrong!).
theladyinreds's review
4.0
Just achingly sweet at times. My favorite in the series. I did think their years of separation didn't make a whole lot of sense and the reasoning for it was thin as hell. This is addressed later in the book but it felt rushed.
amym84's review
5.0
Heart of a Bad Boy concludes the King brothers' stories started in [b:The Bad Boy CEO|25857753|The Bad Boy CEO (Destiny, #1)|Sugar Jamison|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1438014055s/25857753.jpg|45727755]. This time it's Levi in the spotlight. We've seen things play out between him and his best friend Shelly in the background for two books now, and I'd have to say their conclusion to the story is probably the most satisfying.
I think I liked the build up and the little glimpses we got of their relationship in the other books, and when we finally get to see the way things play out, it was pretty much perfection. Their relationship was a really good showcase of the friends-to-lovers trope. I really liked Levi and Shelly's established friendship. Until Levi's return to Destiny, they have seen each other in thirteen years. They've only corresponded via letters, email, text, etc. but even without any physical contact in all that time, they're connection just jumps off the page. The progression to love just felt so natural.
Levi and Shelly's story really rounds out the series quite nicely. I liked, again, how Heart of a Bad Boy takes place concurrently with the other two books, kind of filling in the rest of the blanks, yet each one would work perfectly as a standalone. However, with that said, I think one of the things that makes Levi and Shelly's story so good is the fact that it gets a little bit more build up when the other two books are read before this one (in either order). In that regard I think it's good that this one came last. The stories compliment each other so nicely that if you pick up one you'll most assuredly want to pick up the other two.
Overall, I've really enjoyed this series of three bad boy brothers navigating through issues in their past in order to find love.
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I think I liked the build up and the little glimpses we got of their relationship in the other books, and when we finally get to see the way things play out, it was pretty much perfection. Their relationship was a really good showcase of the friends-to-lovers trope. I really liked Levi and Shelly's established friendship. Until Levi's return to Destiny, they have seen each other in thirteen years. They've only corresponded via letters, email, text, etc. but even without any physical contact in all that time, they're connection just jumps off the page. The progression to love just felt so natural.
Levi and Shelly's story really rounds out the series quite nicely. I liked, again, how Heart of a Bad Boy takes place concurrently with the other two books, kind of filling in the rest of the blanks, yet each one would work perfectly as a standalone. However, with that said, I think one of the things that makes Levi and Shelly's story so good is the fact that it gets a little bit more build up when the other two books are read before this one (in either order). In that regard I think it's good that this one came last. The stories compliment each other so nicely that if you pick up one you'll most assuredly want to pick up the other two.
Overall, I've really enjoyed this series of three bad boy brothers navigating through issues in their past in order to find love.
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
poisonivy70's review
3.0
-Sweet best friends to lovers romance. Levi King is part of a trio of brother who grew up in Destiny but moved away to become high powered millionaires who own and operate a major auto business. It’s been thirteen years since Levi came back to Destiny, but he’s always kept in touch with his best friend, Shelly, through letters and gifts through the years. There’s never a doubt that they love each other, but it takes them a long time to admit that they’re in love too. Along the way, romance happens.
-Idealized heroine. Shelly is a twenty nine year old schoolmarm who dresses in too-big clothes, and still sees herself as that awkward teenager she used to be, instead of the gorgeous woman she is today. Shelly’s very likeable, even when she tips into Mary Sue territory. Her complete innocence kind of pushed the boundaries (that kind of innocence without being cloistered in a nunnery was um, surprising), but I liked her and I liked her relationship with Levi.
-Loving protective, slightly dense hero. Levi’s the youngest King and he’s tired of being treated like the baby, even if he doesn’t see how he ran away from the girl he loved was a dumb bunny move (they never had a romantic relationship when they were younger because Levi didn’t feel good enough for Shelly).
-Third book in series, but standalone. I wasn’t aware that it’s the third book in this series, but all three books take place at the same time, so it didn’t affect my enjoyment at all. I will say that I don’t feel the need to read the other books to feel this book was complete, so that was definitely a plus for me.
-Perhaps too sweet at times. Shelly’s complete standstill of a life waiting for Levi, even if not intended to seem that way, was a bit irksome. There’s no real tension except at the end, and it was an easy read, though I would have loved to have seen Shelly have a bit more fire in her, instead of basically treading water before Levi shows up. Emotionally, it’s very lovely but I would have loved a bit of kick to the overall tale.
An enjoyable read if you’re in the mood for small town best friends to lovers romance.
**ARC provided by publisher via netgalley for review**
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