~*★BLOG TOUR★*~ The Hunted Series by Ivy Smoak

Title: The Hunted Series (Parts 1-3)

Author: Ivy Smoak

Published: April 8, 2015 

Synopsis

 Indulge in the temptation in the breakout series The Hunted by Ivy Smoak.

When Penny Taylor runs into a handsome stranger in a coffee shop, she believes her luck has finally changed. After having her confidence unwound by her ex, she falls hard for a true gentleman. But once she realizes that her crush is her communications professor, her world is turned upside down.

Haunted by dreams of the alluring Professor Hunter, Penny can't seem to dismiss her fantasies and the temptation to have him grows deeper. Will the excitement, danger, and mystery surrounding Professor Hunter bring her to her knees?

This book is intended for mature audiences.

About the Author

Ivy Smoak is an entrepreneur with very fickle tendencies. After much encouragement from her fiancé, she finally decided to dive into her true passion and began writing erotic novels. She lives with her fiancé in Philly.

Title: The Hunted: Temptation Parts 1-3

Author: Ivy Smoak

Genre: New Adult, Contemporary Romance, Erotica

Series or Standalone: Series (The Hunted Series)

Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Melyssa

Talk about a book coming out of nowhere and blowing you away!

Now I gotta say, I don’t normally reach out and read a lot of forbidden love/taboo reads. I’m a sheltered soul, I know. It just doesn’t normally jump out at me so I’m not as experienced as some in that arena. So this serial/series of books was definitely a step out of my comfort zone, but one that now that I’m finished was well worth it.

It needs to be stated right from the start that this is an ongoing serial/series read that does end with one hell of a cliff-hanger at the end of book three. It’s going to make you want the books that follow. And for this reader, I already went and bought book 4 because after what I just read in the three books previous, I need more and won’t be able to settle until I get it.

Temptation follows Penny as she starts her sophomore year of college, complete with a chance meeting with none other than the man that will become her Communications Professor, James Hunter.  A man that despite her attempts otherwise, she can’t help being drawn and attracted to.

What I enjoyed about this story and the couple as a whole is that what takes place between Penny and Professor Hunter didn’t just start right away. There was attraction, sure. It was there and it was simmering until it finally exploded, but I enjoyed the buildup to get to the explosive parts. The push and pull. The attraction they both seemed to be unable to fight.

And when we do finally get to the point where they give in, man, explosive was a pretty adequate description. I don’t actively search out steam in my books. I don’t need it in my romance reads (or any reads for that matter), but what was present in this story was off the damn charts. It was the complete opposite of the emotional and angsty books I’ve been reading of late and gave me everything I needed in the rough and raw category.

But past the steam, I was into this couple. I saw something in them besides the carnal desire they had in their private moments together that spoke of a deeper bond being created and I couldn’t help the deep seeded need in me to have it work out for them. After what Penny had been through with an ex, and with how Professor Hunter came across—the edginess that spoke of his own issues in the past—I wanted them to work. And they did work. Very well in fact.

Well, they did when they didn’t have outside forces splitting them apart. Making them doubt themselves, what they shared, or even themselves.

There were multiple instances throughout these three books that made me literally holy shit while I was reading. They’re all moments that I suppose could have been predictable or rather, expected, and they were for me, but the way in which they were delivered was done in such a way that I was just not ready for it. I wanted more of Penny and James first. The delivery in these cases was phenomenal.

I’m pretty sure I was hooked on Professor Hunter as Penny was come to think of it. I was greedy in how much more I wanted with him…and in the end, them.

What I didn’t expect with this after being so into the main characters was to like the other characters so much.

I enjoyed Penny’s best friend. I felt that she was portrayed very well (especially in the third book) and then Tyler. I wanted to hate Tyler after what happens in the first book but as time wore on, I sometimes found myself torn between him and Professor Hunter. He was just written that well.  I have to say that if I wasn’t already invested in Penny’s relationship with James, Tyler would have stolen my heart here. Hands down. I would have wanted the two of them together. He was the safer choice.

But this story is about safe. It’s about forbidden, and in the end, what the heart of the two people involved want. And in this case, it’s each other. Even if they have to leave trails of broken hearts in their wake. (Don’t worry Tyler, I’ll take you and keep you forever ;))

Pacing was great here. For a serial, it’s expected by me honestly and it was delivered well here. I didn’t have lulls in the story or moments where I felt that it moved to fast. It was steady all the way through and made what should have probably felt like a longer read, short. Before I knew it, I was reaching the last page and pulling my hair out over the way it ended and needing more.

I’ve never had the pleasure of reading this author before, but now that I have and I’ve seen her writing style, how she brings characters to life and even the serious level of steam in her work, it definitely won’t be the last time I experience her.

Ivy, you have outdone yourself with these stories. You’ve made a believer in the forbidden out of me (and maybe an addict too) and now I can’t wait to see what you come up with for Penny and James next.

My thanks to the author and all others involved in gifting me an ARC of this collection of books. It was truly a pleasure. A guilty pleasure to some, but one I’m definitely not feeling ANY guilt over. Loved it!