Dirty English (English #1)

It\’s difficult for me to know where to even begin. It took all of my strength to get a third of the way through the book before I decided I couldn\’t waste my time on this anymore. Here are some key reasons I couldn\’t finish this book. 1. One Dimensional Characters *Offensively Inaccurate Representation of Mental Health Disorders The author attempts to give the protagonist a backstory that if written properly, could have created an emotional connection between the reader and the protagonist. My main issue is the hints the author gives to the reader suggesting the protagonist has PTSD. What GREATLY frustrates me is that the author did not put any time or effort into writing this debilitating struggle accurately. The use of triggers was casually glanced over. The way the main character can essentially \”turn off\” her disorder at times it would be inconvenient is not how trauma works. It\’s offensive how easily she writes the inaccurate cliches as cold hard fact. *Every Character is Negative I searched so hard to find someone to root for, someone who gave me that little spark of optimism, and turned up with nothing. No one made me laugh. No one even made me smile. It was a constant stream of hopeless people with no one or nothing to pull them out of it. This made the book feel one-note, as nothing offered a true opportunity or even the hope of opportunity for any character or situation to change. 2. Terrible Plot Line *Give Me a Character with Goals, PLEASE. Though I understand the protagonist is struggling with the traumas of her past (rape), she has no goals other than to have basic and casual sex with men every now and then. The way it\’s gone about is completely void of inner confliction. There are no signs of her panicking, no signs of her remembering the supposed trauma that had taken over her life, nothing. She sets rules for when she has sex and that seems to 100% cure any possibility of a flashback. If her goal is to heal sexually, give me EMOTIONS. Give me confusion, guilt, passion, grief. I experienced none of this and wonder why the author bothered giving the protagonist a backstory if it wasn\’t even going to be used to drive the plot from page one. I love books. What I don\’t love is when authors don\’t do their research on sensitive subjects and I waste my money giving them a chance. Don\’t buy this book. I could have afforded 5 tacos with the money I wasted on this. That\’s 5 tacos I\’ll never have back.

Wow I loveeeed this book! This book is about surviving and moving forward and finding love no matter what life throws at you. Im venturing out of my usual paranormal romances and looking for something with some spice to it and found this book. One because Im a fan of MMA fighting and two, because Im a sucker for romance and thank goodness I did. Elizabeth Bennett survived a traumatic event on her prom night and finally years later at a new collage wanted to start over again but with her in control, that is until she meets Declan Blay a sexy British underground street fighter. Elizabeth is a survivor and although I wasnt too keen on her doing that with the whole sleeping around business, in a sense I get it. It took her a bit to finally open her heart but I guess you would expect that with her crappy parents and even crappier upbringing. I like that even though she did have a crappy upbringing, she is getting and education and doing something about herself. I like her strength in this book and enjoyed the character. Declan is sexy and British and the guy that played him in the audio book did an amazing job accent wise. He is beautifully broken in his own way and uses fighting as an outlet for that. I love how he didnt give up on Elizabeth and was there for her when she needed it. I felt that it wasnt just sex in the book but more about a connection between two characters understanding each other. It was an enjoyable read and would recommend the book if youre looking for a sexy British male and a survivor of a female.

How to begin, simply put I loved this story. Ilsa wrote a beautifully constructed love story that you wont be able to put down. Both characters are flawed and closed off to love. Their connection is instant, you can feel it come through the pages. I loved Declan and Elizabeth they were perfectly broken together. Love is a knife that cuts out your heart piece by piece, feeding it to the boy you love. Ah Declan, hes magnificent and determined. I love the way he cares for Elizabeth and is there for her even when she doesnt know it. He is utter perfection and sexy as all hell. His accent alone is enough to make you explode. His possessive tendencies are enough to make any girl swoon. Declan is strength personified he takes Elizabeths heart and cherishes it. He never pushes her more than she wants and lets her make the pace in their relationship. I could not get enough of him or Dax. I think everyone needs a little British in their lives. A passion to remind me that I was real, not just some sad excuse of a girl who chose to exist on scraps of love. Elizabeth is a strong character she goes through some crappy things and has grown up in a bad situation. She closes herself off to love and only gives herself when shes in complete control. All that changes when she meets Declan. She can tell from the beginning that he may be a massive beast of a man, but he has a gentle soul. She lets herself lose control with him and be more of the person she used to be. She grows as the story goes on and Declans soft heart and gentle presence helps heal her. She was my queen and I wanted to be her king. I wanted to sit on the throne of her body and love her forever.\” I loved this story and the deep connection that Elizabeth and Declan create. They are perfect together all their broken pieces line up and fill each other to completion. I could not get enough of their story and their love. Ilsa hit one out of the park with this. I highly recommend this story; you will not be disappointed.

This was my first book by Ilsa Madden-Mills but cant wait to read more from her. being British myself I was instantly hitting the one click button just for the cover alone it was gorgeous who doesnt love the Union Jacknothing to do with the hot half naked man *cough cough* ok it might have had something to do with itokay a lot! I love, loved, loved this book! The simplicity of the story yet uniqueness made me love it from the very first page and didnt let me go until the very last page and left me wanting more! It was well written, pulled off the English slang than many non-British authors try to do but somehow dont quite manage it and flowed. Not to mention a pair of hot twins. It had all the feels you get with a great book. My heart broke, I sat reading with a big fat grin on my face and then I thought I would drown in all the swoon worthiness that was just the right mix completed by having my heart handed back to me in one piece. I connected instantly to the characters and loved the banter between them I found myself laughing out loud quite a few times. This started out as a five plus read for me however, due to the story finishing at 80% I had to knock a star off as its one of my pet hates but I couldnt quite knock a full star off so knocked it down to 4.5 stars. I would definitely recommend and hope this isnt the last we hear from Declan and Elizabeth and dare I say it Dax maybe he also needs his own bookpretty please!

This was a beautiful story. Elizabeth is a damaged soul. A trauma in her past made her vow to never fall in love. She uses guys for one night stands, so that she can tell herself that shes moved past her history. Shes tough on the outside but pretty vulnerable inside. Declan is a little bit broken himself. He lost his English mother when he was young and his American father ripped him and his twin brother, Dax, from everything they knew, and transplanted them to the US. Declan cant stand his father and misses his mother every day. He recently got out of a relationship after finding his manipulative girlfriend with another guy. The minute he sees Elizabeth at a frat party, hes completely drawn to her and can see straight through her faade to her fragile soul. Told in dual POV, the chemistry between Elizabeth and Declan is electrifying from the start. Both realise early on the effect that the other has on them. Elizabeth recognises the potential power for Declan to own and break their heart. Can Declan tear down Elizabeths protective walls and persuade her to give their love a chance? Between a jealous male friend, her flaky mother and sleazy new boyfriend, and the resurfacing of her past, Elizabeth starts to realise whats important in her life and has to decide if she is going to fight for it. Gosh, this story was fab. I got really into it and felt fully invested in the characters. It was angsty and hot. Loved it!

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