Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Bad Boy 
SERIES: Masters of Romance
AUTHOR: Emma Alcott
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 408 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 29, 2021
BLURB:
Russ
They call me a bad boy, and thirteen years ago they would have been right.
I’ve done things I’m not proud of.
Served time.
Broken hearts and bones alike.
But I’m a changed man now. I don’t break the law for a living anymore; I write books about guys like me who fall in love with other guys. It’s as close to a happily ever after as I think I’ll get…
Until Colton shows up in my remote cabin in the middle of a snowstorm, so timid and young and sweet.
I’ve given up my wicked ways, but damn if he doesn’t make me want to do bad, bad things…
Colton
I didn’t mean to get lost on my way to the big New Year’s Eve party, and I definitely didn’t mean to drive my car into a snowbank, but here I am in the middle of nowhere, stranded in front of a creepy cabin, about to freeze to death.
The only way I’ll make it through the night is if I go inside, but there’s no telling who might be in there. It very well could be a serial killer, or a horror movie monster…
Or a bearded, tattooed bad boy with a big secret who’ll steal my heart and make me never want to leave.
Bad Boy is the first book in the Masters of Romance series, where romance authors don’t just write about happily ever afters—they live them. Get ready for love, laughter, and some serious steam. No cheating and no love triangles, guaranteed. Bad Boy can be read as a stand-alone, but it’s way more fun to binge them all. Which author are you most excited to see get his HEA?
REVIEW:
It was a dark and stormy night . . . LOL! Well it was. Colton is on his way to a New Year’s Eve party with really bad directions 🙂 He ends up at an isolated cabin in the “murder woods” and then he gets stuck in a snowbank. While he tries to get himself unstuck, he gets soaked to the bones by the blizzard conditions and has no choice to but seek shelter in said cabin. But when no one comes to the door after much knocking, he finds it unlocked, so lets himself in where he finds a very happy doggo and a fire. He’s freezing so he moves in front of the fire and proceeds to try to warm himself while chatting to the dog.
Russ has just settled in to a much needed soak in his top of the line bathroom when he hears his dog barking. Eventually he stops though, so he continues his bath 🙂 But then it starts again and as he’s getting out of the tub, he hears the front door close. Huh? Someone just literally walked into his house? But then he finds his wet dream in front of the fire and he’s immediately smitten! Aside from being beautiful and just his type, this boy is so sweetly submissive and also very obviously attracted to him as well. He wastes no time in making his desire known and it seems like Colton is on the same page. And off we go!
Russ and Colton can’t get enough of each other. Russ is on a deadline and should be working on his latest book, but he’s 100% distracted by Colton. But worse, the local sheriff, Colton’s BFF Gavin’s father bangs on the door ruining a perfectly good New Year’s morning. Gavin has alerted his dad that Colton is missing and so he follows the direction and seeing Colton’s car assumes the worst. Russ has a past – one that he’s mostly already shared with Colton, but the sheriff is not convinced he can leave Colton with this guy! He is still trying to blame Russ for something that he has no proof of, but once a bad guy, always a bad guy. Colton has to stand up for himself and convince both the sheriff and his father that he is fine – and as a nearly 21 year old man, he can make his own decisions. This goes over like a lead balloon and becomes the sort of the most conflict in this story. While Russ and Colton want to build a relationship, Russ feels like Colton will be giving up his entire support system because none of his family or friends will give Russ a chance and see him as only bad for Colton. Of course Colton disagrees.
Russ’s support comes form his author friends. Their chats bolster Russ’s confidence in how he can overcome this obstacle. They all see how happy Russ is – after years of really nothing but work, he’s found someone who fits him. Colton’s father has treated him with a lot of control and Colton is ready to make his own decisions. He’s also had an abusively manipulative boyfriend who has further undermined his confidence. Russ does his best to point out the gaslighting and also give Colton the love and support he so richly deserves. It’s going to be a bit of an uphill fight, but as a team, they are ready to face it.
Well I just loved this kick-off to a new series. It starts off with a bang (literally 😉 ) and it hits a few tropes that are some of my favorites, including forced proximity, opposites attract, age gap, reformed bad boys looking for love. The one hurdle that some readers may need to get past is the insta-lust/insta-lust at the beginning. I was a little surprised at first given Colton’s timidity and lack of confidence that he somehow became brave immediately with Russ, but once I got over that shock, it was full speed ahead. In this story both Russ and Colton grow a lot in different ways. Colton has been kind of walked on a bit and doesn’t have much confidence in himself. But with Russ’s love and support, he grows into himself – stands up for himself in ways that astound him but also those around him 😀 I was cheering for him the whole way. Russ has paid his debt to society, but in what I think is a lesson that we can all take away from the story and is so appropriate right now, he continues to be dogged by his past mistakes. The rest of the folks in town are not ready to cut him a break – despite him being a quiet and rather isolated productive member of society and tax payer and home owner. Only when Colton and his dad express their support for Russ do things even show a sign of changing. I loved how Colton grows into his own power. Gavin, his BFF is a hoot! He is there to support him all the way 🙂 Russ’s group of author friends are hilarious. I am dying to read their stories – especially Will and Dash! I loved the overcoming perceptions angle of this story for both MCs. They were just a perfect pair and I adored them together. Bravo! Highly recommended.
RATING: 
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