Reckless Lies (Rebels of Sandland 1-4) by Nikki J Summers-tour

RECKLESS LIES
Rebels of Sandland #4
by Nikki J Summers
Genre: contemporary, new adult, dark, romance

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 28, 2023

They say when you die, your whole life plays over in your mind like a Hallmark movie. A rose-tinted reflection to remind you what a great life you’ve led.

But for me, that wasn’t the case.

There was no romantic, nostalgic ending for me.

All I had was pain, darkness, and despair on the day I died, dragged by fire into the depths of hell. That’s where I live now. A shadow of the man I used to be. A ghost living in my former life.

Life goes on, but not for me.

She burst into my world with her smiles and her sledgehammer, ready to smash down my walls. She thinks she can save me, but she won’t. I don’t want to be saved. But I’ll play along. After all, that’s all I have left now, a life of pretend and a world of lies, where I play the role they want me to play.

Zak Atwood.Son.Brother.Friend.But boyfriend?

That’s never going to happen.How can I live that life when all I feel is dead inside?

••••••••

REVIEW: I’ll admit, Zak was never my favourite character, all through the books he came across as an a$$, selfish and a total player. But the way Nikki wrote this book….. I’d forgotten and forgiven him his past discretions.

This character went through sooooo much, his fight to reach the top of his hill was just jaw dropping.

After a fire that left him fighting for his life Zak withdrew from the world. For five long years he thinks himself a monster and a burden to family and friends, he lives away from his “Rebels of Sandland” gang, he lives in shadows. But his boys have never given up on him. They know the old Zak is under there somewhere, he just needs time.

A wedding is just the excuse they need, they badger Zak until he relents and agrees to the wedding. Where he meets Morgan. She hits him like a bolt of lightning, but he’s not going to give her what she wants, oh no sir, it’s his way all the way….

Morgan for me was the perfect foil for Zak, bright and cheery to his dark and bitter. But Morgan also has issues that she’s trying hard to constantly work on.

Both need each other, both balance one another, but convincing Zak of that, yeah good luck. He’s happy to dominate and control Morgan in the bedroom (and man some of those scenes need to come with a glass of cold water) but he’s not boyfriend material, and he never will be….

But as I’ve said, Morgan won’t give up. She just keeps turning up, being there, lending Zak an ear…But there is always a twist in these books, and the twist came out of nowhere snd walloped me a good one. I didn’t not expect that!!!!

–>There are triggers in this book that will upset some people, please read the advisement before grabbing this book.

I personally loved it. I cried whilst reading it, I’m crying now as I write the final review in the “Rebels of Sandland” series.

It’s full of ups/downs/twists and turns. Plenty of laughter and banter, but it also shows the resilience, the determination that the soul has to rise out of the ashes and live once again in the light.

A highly recommended read. Grab the book, grab the series, then grab the spin off ? you really won’t be disappointed.

Copies supplied for review

Reviews by Julie B.?

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RENEGADE HEARTS
Rebels of Sandland #1
by Nikki J Summers
Genre: contemporary, new adult, dark, romance

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date: July 28, 2020

They are the boys your mother always warned you about. They’re every parent’s worst nightmare. Arrogant, cocky and self-assured.

They used the town of Sandland like it was their own personal playground. They didn’t follow the rules. They made their own. Most girls were drawn to them like a moth to a flame, but Emily Winters wasn’t like most girls.

A politician’s daughter. A good girl with morals and principles. She represented everything they despised. The only problem was she lived her life in a perfectly orchestrated smokescreen; and where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire.

They wanted to expose her for what she was; a pretty little liar hiding the ugliest truths.

But when the truth comes out and lies are exposed, who will be the one to eventually crash and burn?

Renegade Hearts is a New Adult Romance from Nikki J Summers, suitable for readers 18 years+. Please read the trigger warnings.

••••••

REVIEW: Boy meets girl…. Both can’t stand one another…. Enemies become lovers…..The same trope ….BUT….. the way it’s delivered….. OH LORD!!!

It’s full of betrayal/mystery and angst, oh and don’t forget the off the chart chemistry.

It is a slow burn, but that’s ok, we need time to get our heads around the mind games Ryan tries use with Emily, to determine if Dave’s as dirty as her father is!!

I’ve read this author before (her Soldiers of anarchy series, which is totally AMAZING) and technically this series should be read before that one (only because you’ll know who gets their happy ever after)

So I’m aware of the “Renaissance Men” as I’d met them in the soldiers of anarchy series. I’d been curious about the team from Sandland they had come off as real a$$holes, but maybe that’s the perspective of the characters from the previous books??

Ryan is the rebel your mother warned you about, rough, tough and smug. Illegal fights and secret parties are his way of making money. But scratch under the surface and you’ll find a boy who loves his father (his mother died) and will defend both family and close friends to the death.

Emily is the complete opposite, the world sees her as a good girl, devoted daughter to a politician father and a socialite mother. But Emily is sick of the false facade her family present to the world, to her parents Emily is just a face to parade in front of the press and their affluent friends! It’s a lonely life, made only bearable because of her brother, but sadly he died, so Emily is alone, thank goodness for her friends. Emily wants to change her life, but not sure how to go about it.

The list of supporting characters were a fascinating bunch of people. Emily’s gang of two (Liv and Effy) who were just great characters (especially Liv) and Ryan’s gang which consisted of Brandon (not a huge fan of that guy) Zak and Finn began to grow on me. I was not a fan of Emily’s parents!! But I loved Ryan’s dad (and his older brother Connor)

Their story will have your head and heart in a war…. Head saying let this dude go and move on, too much baggage. And the heart wanting to hang in there and it will all work itself out. It’s a push and pull, a war of words, of one up man ship

–> There are triggers warning, so please read them if you’re not sure,<–

So can Ryan let go of his anger, and thirst for revenge? Can Emily step out from her families shadow and become her own person? Will the betrayal that Emily feels when she’s exposed to the truth about their relationship be gotten over?

I loved this book and I’ll be hot footing it over to read the next bad boy (Brandon and Harper) In their story Tortured Souls.

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TORTURED SOULS
Rebels of Sandland #2
by Nikki J Summers
Genre: contemporary, new adult, dark, romance

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ABOUT THE BOOK: RELEASE DATE: November 7, 2020

They say the devil appears in many different forms. To the town of Sandland, his face was one of them.

He was a rebel. A brawler. A bare-knuckle boxer that you’d cross the road to avoid if you saw him coming the other way. When he left our town, no one shed a tear, because Brandon Mathers was trouble and trouble followed him wherever he went.

The night he disappeared, he left behind a lifetime of devastation for the rest of us to bear. He didn’t care. He enjoyed creating chaos and leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.

But he was never going to stay hidden for long. He had too much bravado; too much ego. He couldn’t cope with being ignored. So, in the dead of night, when the darkness welcomes all the dirty, filthy creatures to come out to play, so does he. He thinks nobody sees him or the wicked things he does. But I do. He thinks I don’t know that he watches. But I see him. I watch him too.

He thinks he’s coming for me, but I’m already lying in wait. When the time is right, I’m going to destroy his blackened soul just like he’s tortured mine. He’ll never see it coming, but when it does, I’ll be there to remind him that Karma is real… And her name is Harper Yates.

•••••

REVIEW: Brandon….. Brandon …. Brandon….

I wasn’t too sure about you when I was reading Emily and Ryan’s book (Renegade Hearts) you came off as such a jerk in the beginning!! I wanted to wait, to process you and see you grow in other books. But I didn’t get my wish!! And you know what I’m glad you were the second book.

Brandon is a fighter through and through. He lives to fight and for his mates. But when an incident in book one alienates him from his pack, Brandon sees it as a betrayal! And he’s hold one person responsible……

Harper is out for revenge, her family is hurting because of one guy Brandon! She’s going to make him pay, prison would be too good for him, she wants him dead!

We see Brandon in a whole different light in this book. I don’t want to give too much away from the first book, but Brandon really was a loose cannon, he didn’t really care who he upset and that included his crew! And now in his mind, there are a lot of people he needs to repay for abandoning him, for making him a scapegoat and for ruining his life! He’s all alone and it’s making him crazy!

Harper and Brandon play cat and mouse, neither will give an inch in this game. Both want their lives back, but their lives will never be the same again.

So when does hate turn to love? When do they lean on each other instead of trying to kill one another? And when an unexpected announcement turns into something more, it rocks Brandon’s world!

We catch up with the same characters in the first book, which I love, I like seeing how the characters continue to evolve, and to get insights into the next story.

So can Brandon and Harper really get past all their issues?

Book one is still my favourite in the series, but Brandon definitely knocks on the door of my emotions. You can’t help but feel sorry for his situation and his upbringing. Harper had me in tears, I literally felt the sorrow she went through ?

This book has all the feels, has tons of emotion, and although a slow burn, it delivers on the steam when we finally get there.

–> Please read the triggers before opening this book.<–

It’s a great second book in a series that is becoming a firm favourite.

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FRACTURED MINDS
Rebels of Sandland #3
by Nikki J Summers
Genre: contemporary, new adult, dark, romance

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 2, 2021

The rebel without a voice, that’s me. But just because I choose to keep quiet, doesn’t mean there isn’t a raging fire burning inside. Still waters run deep, after all, and there’s a lot of secrets I’ve kept hidden from the world.

Art has always been my escape from the evil that’s tried to drag me down. It was all I had.

Until her.

Effy Spencer is like nobody I’ve ever met, but everything I’ve ever wanted. In my dreams, I’m her whole world. In reality, I’m her worst nightmare. I can’t let my darkness drown her. That’s why I stay away. That, and the fact that he’s back now, and he’s going to destroy my life if it’s the last thing he does.

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REVIEW: Boy meets girl…Boy has loved girl forever…But boy doesn’t think he’s good enough for girl!

Finn is the quiet one in the Sandland group, in fact he says very little to outsiders, so people look at him as weird! He also had a habit of retreating into his own world…..

Effy has loved Finn for ages, but he’s never really noticed her, and when he does notice her, it’s always a quick glance or a word then he’s back into his own space. But it doesn’t deter her, it cracks her heart a little every time, but she doesn’t want to give up on Finn, but if he doesn’t let her in soon, her heart won’t stand much more!

Something needs to give and give soon…..

This book I was both anxious and looking forward to reading. I’d read books one and two “Renegade Hearts” and “Tortured Souls “, and loved them. But they did hint at a side of Finn we hadn’t seen yet. Did I really want to know his dark past?

–>There are triggers in this book, and I would advise you to read the warnings. It is heartbreaking, it does make you see Finn as a survivor never a victim.

Effy is just a wonderful soul, the peacemaker, the caregiver, the shining star in Finn’s dark and soulless world. She does back down a lot in the previous books, and it did make her look like a doormat. But she does have a backbone, and for the people she lives, she will roar like the lioness she is.

Finn gets himself into a little bit of trouble with the “Soldiers of Anarchy” (this series is a spin off, and FYI it’s freaking brilliant) and they in turn blackmail him into doing things he would never usually do. (And the last task has dire consequences)

The push and pull between Effy and Finn really did a tap dance on my emotions, I’m left shouting at my kindle “for goodness sake kiss her” or “enough is enough Effy, walk the f@&k away!”

He doesn’t think he’s good enough, or that his darkness will taint her. She knows she can weather anything he throws at her.

With the darkness we also have light moments, we have scenes that will make you chuckle. And we catch up with the main characters from books one and two. And we also have the ending that will set the scene for book four “Reckless Lies” and that scene….. had me bawling like a baby…..

About Nikki J. Summers:

Nikki J. Summers is a romance addict who loves to write about strong, feisty heroines and dark, brooding alphas.

When she isn’t locked away in her writing cave, she’s teaching primary school children, or lost in her kindle. She currently lives in Staffordshire in the U.K with her husband and two children.

Connect with Nikki:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikkijsummersauthor
Facebook group: https://bit.ly/2J1Hbwy
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TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMeJ7DdMQ/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BooksSummers
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/nikki-j-summers