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bookish_notes's review against another edition
4.0
This book is a great conclusion to a fun and sexy series. I loved how happy the characters made each other, even when the story was heartbreaking. Coming into this story, we met Ethan in book two. He places a heavy burden on himself and blames himself for his sister's death. It's one of the main reasons his family broke apart after the accident. His other sister, Chloe, has Grant now, but Ethan would hide out in his house if it wasn't for the fact he's a partner and co-owner in their gaming magazine company. Ethan and Grant have decided their next step is to promote their brand and company on YouTube, by first having an article featuring them.
Grant wants Ethan to be the new face of the company since Ethan was in the public eye for a long time. Ethan was a YouTuber who got very rich, fairly quickly by loading videos of him playing and reviewing games under the name of E-Rad before the car accident. But he doesn't want to see his scars, and definitely doesn't want them photographed by a woman by the name of Lissa Kingsman.
Lissa has her own photography studio and lives with her brother. Ethan's not the only one who has been struck by tragedy, but in this we see the ways families deal with loss. Ethan's family fractured, while Lissa's learned to cherish what they still have left. I adore Lissa. She doesn't put up with Ethan's broodiness and knows what she wants. The chemistry between these is electric from their first meeting and only grows from there.
I love that we finally get a black woman as the romantic lead and she's ON THE COVER. Lissa is sassy and fierce and is so unapologetic for dumping glitter on Ethan and then they proceed to have glitter sex. I guess those who glitter together stay together.
This book is wonderfully heartbreaking, but manages to not only tug at the heartstrings, but has characters who know how to laugh. I think Lissa and Ethan are definitely the couple of the series who manage to hold each other up despite the dark days of their pasts, and still find reasons to laugh with one another. I love Lissa's relationship with her family, and the glimpses at all the characters from the previous books. We do see a lot of Grant, just because he works with Ethan a lot and we get to see Grant in a different light, I guess? Ethan needs a tough business partner who knows how to cut right to the heart of the problem, and Grant is that person. Marley and Austin are absolutely darling. I also loved their small cameo subplot and the moments between Chad and Owen (I'm still screaming at the name of their dog omg).
For everyone who wants a romantic and sexy series starring suit-wearing, endearing nerds, this series is one to read!
Grant wants Ethan to be the new face of the company since Ethan was in the public eye for a long time. Ethan was a YouTuber who got very rich, fairly quickly by loading videos of him playing and reviewing games under the name of E-Rad before the car accident. But he doesn't want to see his scars, and definitely doesn't want them photographed by a woman by the name of Lissa Kingsman.
Lissa has her own photography studio and lives with her brother. Ethan's not the only one who has been struck by tragedy, but in this we see the ways families deal with loss. Ethan's family fractured, while Lissa's learned to cherish what they still have left. I adore Lissa. She doesn't put up with Ethan's broodiness and knows what she wants. The chemistry between these is electric from their first meeting and only grows from there.
...she'd lie awake at night, dreaming about being a famous wildlife photographer. At least she'd gotten one half of that dream. Although attempting to photograph Ethan Talley was a little like dealing with a pissed-off lion.
I love that we finally get a black woman as the romantic lead and she's ON THE COVER. Lissa is sassy and fierce and is so unapologetic for dumping glitter on Ethan and then they proceed to have glitter sex. I guess those who glitter together stay together.
This book is wonderfully heartbreaking, but manages to not only tug at the heartstrings, but has characters who know how to laugh. I think Lissa and Ethan are definitely the couple of the series who manage to hold each other up despite the dark days of their pasts, and still find reasons to laugh with one another. I love Lissa's relationship with her family, and the glimpses at all the characters from the previous books. We do see a lot of Grant, just because he works with Ethan a lot and we get to see Grant in a different light, I guess? Ethan needs a tough business partner who knows how to cut right to the heart of the problem, and Grant is that person. Marley and Austin are absolutely darling. I also loved their small cameo subplot and the moments between Chad and Owen (I'm still screaming at the name of their dog omg).
He wasn't going to tell Grant that, because Grant was a gossiping old biddy. And as soon as Ethan confessed he couldn't get a woman out of his head, Grant would investigate like he was in the fucking CIA, and in a demented whisper-down-the-lane, Lissa would probably hear about it.
For everyone who wants a romantic and sexy series starring suit-wearing, endearing nerds, this series is one to read!
chroniclesofabookreader's review against another edition
Megan Erickson writes hot, hot books, but unfortunately LEVELING THE FIELD did not connect with me. I couldn't relate to the heroine and she tended to rub me the wrong way at times (often). Because of this, I wasn't able to complete the book. I hope to be able to try again with it and give it another chance in the near future because I really loved the hero and his resilient character. If I'm able to get into it on the next try, I'll redo my review.
**Received an early copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
**Received an early copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
lenoreo's review against another edition
4.0
https://celebrityreaders.com/2016/05/04/leveling-the-field-by-megan-erickson/
3.5 stars -- I received a free copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion from NetGalley.
Well this was a complete context switch from my previous book -- I completely forgot how racy Entangled Brazen books tend to be, and this one caught me off guard! It's definitely not a bad thing, I do read erotica after all (not that this is erotica). But I think that the immediate one night stand and initial beginning of Lissa and Ethan's relationship kind of threw me off my game b/c I wasn't expecting something that was so "sex only", if that makes sense. So I wasn't sure if I was going to get my emotional impact, but I definitely did!!
These characters were actually quite deep for such a short novel. I really appreciated the different ways that Lissa and Ethan dealt with loss in their lives, and the guilt that they each felt. I really believed the development of both their relationship with each other, and Ethan's emotional development. And the sexy times were definitely hot and delicious!! (though I was only so-so on the strange playfulness in the photography studio...but that could be just me)
This is actually the 4th (and last) book in this series, but it was the first one I've read. I didn't have any problems with that, and in fact it just made me curious about the other books (particularly Chloe and Grant's story). I have the first book (Austin and Marley) and will definitely be checking it out soon!!
So basically it was a sexy book with an emotional impact. My only real complaint is that I saw the conflict coming from a mile away, and it was one of those times where the heroine should have known better and you end up saying "NO!!!" :)
3.5 stars -- I received a free copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion from NetGalley.
Well this was a complete context switch from my previous book -- I completely forgot how racy Entangled Brazen books tend to be, and this one caught me off guard! It's definitely not a bad thing, I do read erotica after all (not that this is erotica). But I think that the immediate one night stand and initial beginning of Lissa and Ethan's relationship kind of threw me off my game b/c I wasn't expecting something that was so "sex only", if that makes sense. So I wasn't sure if I was going to get my emotional impact, but I definitely did!!
These characters were actually quite deep for such a short novel. I really appreciated the different ways that Lissa and Ethan dealt with loss in their lives, and the guilt that they each felt. I really believed the development of both their relationship with each other, and Ethan's emotional development. And the sexy times were definitely hot and delicious!! (though I was only so-so on the strange playfulness in the photography studio...but that could be just me)
This is actually the 4th (and last) book in this series, but it was the first one I've read. I didn't have any problems with that, and in fact it just made me curious about the other books (particularly Chloe and Grant's story). I have the first book (Austin and Marley) and will definitely be checking it out soon!!
So basically it was a sexy book with an emotional impact. My only real complaint is that I saw the conflict coming from a mile away, and it was one of those times where the heroine should have known better and you end up saying "NO!!!" :)
kindlelovingmom's review
5.0
Since this is the 4th and final book in this series, we all knew Ethan's story would be hard fought. He's been such an emotional wreck throughout this series due to his past, and any woman who took him on would have to be fierce. Well, Lissa is all that and more. She has a similar history but her family handled it so differently, and she's so much more put together than he is. She recognizes him right away as a former gamer who used to post commentator videos online for different games. She and her brother used to watch his stuff all the time. She had a crush on him back then, but he just disappeared from the world and she always wondered what happened to him. Meanwhile, Lissa is working on a project for the foundation she started in her sister's honor, and she really wants Ethan to be a part of it. However, once they get involved, she decides against asking him to participate.
Ethan really started to come alive as soon as Lissa shows up, and it was awesome to see. Their chemistry was off the charts, and Lissa has quite the filthy mouth on her! They are both very close to their respective siblings, and I really liked seeing those relationships as well. Additionally, Lissa pushes Ethan to get back in touch with his family after a long separation, something even his sister hadn't been able to convince him to do in the prior books.
The conflict came throughout, as Ethan struggled to open himself up again, not just to Lissa, but to the world. He'd been hiding so long, he wasn't sure if he deserved, or could handle, more. Then, of course, the big conflict you can see coming from the beginning blows up, and it's awful. My only real complaint here is that I didn't feel there was nearly enough groveling on Ethan's part afterward. He did make a few gestures to help her, before they actually speak again in person after the blow-up. But, I felt she forgave him too easily. He said some truly horrible, hateful things to her, including basically calling her a wh*re. Regardless of his misapprehensions about what she had done, she didn't deserve to be the recipient of such vitriol. Not to mention such an easy apology acceptance. I hope Ethan knows how lucky he is!
The epilogue was very satisfying, and overall this was a great read and a nice close to the Gamers Series. Can't wait to see what Megan has for us next!!
Ethan really started to come alive as soon as Lissa shows up, and it was awesome to see. Their chemistry was off the charts, and Lissa has quite the filthy mouth on her! They are both very close to their respective siblings, and I really liked seeing those relationships as well. Additionally, Lissa pushes Ethan to get back in touch with his family after a long separation, something even his sister hadn't been able to convince him to do in the prior books.
The conflict came throughout, as Ethan struggled to open himself up again, not just to Lissa, but to the world. He'd been hiding so long, he wasn't sure if he deserved, or could handle, more. Then, of course, the big conflict you can see coming from the beginning blows up, and it's awful. My only real complaint here is that I didn't feel there was nearly enough groveling on Ethan's part afterward. He did make a few gestures to help her, before they actually speak again in person after the blow-up. But, I felt she forgave him too easily. He said some truly horrible, hateful things to her, including basically calling her a wh*re. Regardless of his misapprehensions about what she had done, she didn't deserve to be the recipient of such vitriol. Not to mention such an easy apology acceptance. I hope Ethan knows how lucky he is!
The epilogue was very satisfying, and overall this was a great read and a nice close to the Gamers Series. Can't wait to see what Megan has for us next!!
lauraanne9's review against another edition
4.5 Stars, even though such a thing doesn't exist on Goodreads.
I enjoyed Ethan and Lissa. I appreciated that while this was the continuation of a series, it would also work as a standalone.
The writing was solid. As was the dialog. I appreciated the choice Megan Erickson made to let the reader be privy to Lissa's reaction to Ethan when she first sees him, so you know that there was an attraction there before she knew who he was. I think it was also important to Ethan that she was able to find him physically attractive.
There was a lot of depth to Ethan, and the similar shared experience of Lissa was an amazing commonality for them. The scene where he leaps down his stairs to stop her from leaving but then all he can do is stare at her silently was so poignant.
Your heart breaks for both of them, but especially Ethan...and you want him to find his happy ending.
I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
***ARC Provided by the publisher and NetGalley***
I enjoyed Ethan and Lissa. I appreciated that while this was the continuation of a series, it would also work as a standalone.
The writing was solid. As was the dialog. I appreciated the choice Megan Erickson made to let the reader be privy to Lissa's reaction to Ethan when she first sees him, so you know that there was an attraction there before she knew who he was. I think it was also important to Ethan that she was able to find him physically attractive.
There was a lot of depth to Ethan, and the similar shared experience of Lissa was an amazing commonality for them. The scene where he leaps down his stairs to stop her from leaving but then all he can do is stare at her silently was so poignant.
Your heart breaks for both of them, but especially Ethan...and you want him to find his happy ending.
I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.
***ARC Provided by the publisher and NetGalley***
jefrang's review against another edition
3.0
[3.5 stars] I haven't read any of the other books in this series but I might go back to them at some point. This was one of those that was good. Short and sweet, but a little too hard to buy the inevitable rapid-fire breakup/hea 180 that kicked in at the end. Overall I liked these characters and I liked them together but one thing about their relationship bugged me a little. He was the only one with a problem, with an arc to travel, so it was really unbalanced.
Anyway, it was entertaining and written fairly well. I also think Erickson did really well with her black mc and the story's focus on physical disfigurement. I'm a white lady with limited experiebce with both subjects, so I can totally miss things but there's a person first mentality throughout that seems healthy and not so exploitative that I appreciated.
I have plans to pick up the other books in the series now...and this one is definitely worth an evening's read.
Anyway, it was entertaining and written fairly well. I also think Erickson did really well with her black mc and the story's focus on physical disfigurement. I'm a white lady with limited experiebce with both subjects, so I can totally miss things but there's a person first mentality throughout that seems healthy and not so exploitative that I appreciated.
I have plans to pick up the other books in the series now...and this one is definitely worth an evening's read.
alexalovesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
3.5-3.75 stars. Once again, Megan Erickson has successfully written a romance novel that I absolutely devoured! I loved Lissa, her spunky bright personality and her story. I loved Ethan (have loved Ethan) and his story of healing. So cute, and so fun!