{Review} Selling Scarlett & Taming Cross by Ella James

Selling Scarlett
by Ella James
Series: Love Inc.
Publisher: Barkley's Books
Pages: 336
Genre: New Adult Romantic Suspense
Available on: April 13, 2013
Read: September 2013
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Elizabeth DeVille doesn't belong at a party like this - one where the gowns cost more than her Camry and cigars run higher than her grad school utility bills. Dragged out of seclusion by her best friend Suri, Elizabeth is merely playing dress-up, rubbing elbows with a crowd that banished her troubled family years ago.

Hunter West is tired. Tired of parties, tired of pretending, and tired of trying to right a wrong that haunts him every day. Bourbon heir and professional poker player by day, by night Hunter is gambling with his life in a high-stakes game of crime and blackmail.

When Elizabeth stumbles into Hunter's den of vices, she's a light in the darkness, a flame in the void. And, just like everything he touches, Hunter mars her in a record time. To rectify the damage done, Elizabeth needs money she doesn't have, and she's come up with a foolproof way to get it.

Follow Elizabeth - code-named Scarlett - to the lush Nevada brothel where she'll auction her virginity and risk the only thing that's not for sale: her heart. The highest bidder is a familiar face, with wicked hands and the devil's mouth. And a secret so dark that it could cost her life.

I completely and utterly adored this story. While it took a few days to read due to life's distractions, I did have a hard time putting it down once I picked it up. I loved both Elizabeth and Hunter and didn't find their age difference or backgrounds troubling to their pull to one another. Their trials and tribulations made me love each of them more. Elizabeth, while young and educated, had this need to get rid of her v-card and her reasons made her way of going about it somewhat, although slightly troubling, understandable. Hunter, on the other hand, is really a giant mystery throughout the story which I enjoyed because I had to question his motives along the way. Selling Scarlett was and entertaining and captivating read told from two points of view that kept me up late. If you are a fan of more adult themed books, like Crossfire by Sylvia Day or Wallbanger by Alice Clayton, you'll be sure to get a kick out of this one. 

Taming Cross
by Ella James
Series: Love Inc.
Publisher: Barkley's Books
Pages: 336
Genre: New Adult Romantic Suspense
Available on: August 19, 2013
Read: September 2013
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

For twenty-three years, Cross Carlson was a playboy. You know the type. Tall, dark, and wealthy. Blue-eyed. Charming. He seemed to have it all so easy. But Cross was harboring a terrible secret - one that helped ruin the life of an innocent girl and almost ended his own.

Finally out of the hospital, Cross is flailing, scarred in both body and mind and stifled by the weight of the secret he still keeps. The only way to absolution lies in a Mexican convent, and going there could cost him everything.

If there's anyone who knows what it's like to screw up big time, it's Meredith Kinsey. Just a few years ago, Merri was an ordinary girl with a job at her college newspaper and white picket fence kind of dreams. Now she's holed up in a Mexican convent, hiding from a drug lord who thinks he owns her.

What happens when the only way out of hell is with the son of the man who put you there? They say love conquers all, but does it really?

I loved Selling Scarlett and my expectations were extremely high going into Taming Cross. While I enjoyed it all the same, it was definitely different. While Selling Scarlett was more focused on sex and Elizabeth's infatuation with Hunter, Taming Cross was more of a "lets get to know you" type of story. We see Cross through his recovery and watch him learn to deal with his new impairment on an extremely risky journey. This story is action packed and very hard to put down. I highly recommend this series and cannot wait for book three in November!

Ella James is a Colorado author who writes teen and adult romance. She is happily married to a man who knows how to wield a red pen, and together they are raising a feisty two-year-old who will probably grow up believing everyone's parents go to war over the placement of a comma.

Ella's books have been listed on numerous Amazon bestseller lists, including the Movers & Shakers list and the Amazon Top 100; two were listed among Amazon's Top 100 Young Adult Ebooks of 2012.

To find out more about Ella's projects and get dates on upcoming releases, find her on Facebook at facebook.com/ellajamesauthorpage and follow her blog, www.ellajamesbooks.com. Questions or comments? Tweet her at author_ellaj or e-mail her at ella_f_james@ymail.com.