Series Recommendation #10: Innocence by Alessandra Torre

I will not go against anyone who thinks that this is a bit 50 Shades-ish. But then again that is not uncommon these days. The difference is how well authors can make it their own. And it isn't a bad thing to be compared to 50 Shades when we all know that series was also based on another one, yeah?

Anyway, this series was an enjoyable read. There were ups and downs on my opinion as to the things that took place in the pages of these books. But the ups overwhelmed the downs so I will not hesitate to recommend these books.

The connection between Brad and Julia are scorching hot. Like, tssssss! Have I mentioned there's lots of steamy sex here? Hmmm, thank you, AT. Okay, while this series may not be perfect, I still had a good time spending time with the characters--very interesting ones, if I have my say, and a storyline with a bit more twist. I suggest you get your copies and read for yourself.

Blindfolded Innocence

The Diary Of Brad De Luca

Masked Innocence

End Of The Innocence

 

End Of The Innocence by Alessandra Torre

He thought I owned him. He thought he loved me, that I was enough. But this animal, this sex god who could drive me crazy and steal my heart in the same breath, he would never fully be mine. It was impossible. No one ever owned a God...

One year. I have one year to find out more about this man I am marrying. More about his family. More about our sex, and all of the dirty, delicious places it will take me.

I thought I’d spend this year making a decision. I never thought the decision would be taken from me, snatched right from my naive little hands.


So I finally had my hands on the last book of this trilogy. The last book of my Brad de Luca adventure.

Okay, so I had massive loads of fun reading the first two and a half parts of this series that my expectations for this third installment is naturally sky high. Unfortunately, this read was a bit bumpy at best for me. There were some good points and then there were also some not-so-very good points. Although AT's prose is still the kind that makes it no hardship to read this in one sitting.

But we can't alway have perfection. I wasn't exactly thrilled about the climax of the story. I mean, I was okay with it and I really wanted it to be this big explosive confrontation. But my balloon kind of got deflated in this department just at this most important part of the story. And it kind of got of downhill from there because the confrontation I was waiting for never did happen and I felt cheated. 

Then there was an extended epilogue available online. And it battered some more of my expectations of Julia becoming a kick-ass lawyer. Why? The whole trilogy got ruined right at the end. I just don't get it. 


Final verdict: 6/10. Good read.


Innocence series reviews:
Blinfolded Innocence
The Diary Of Brad De Luca
Masked Innocence

The Diary Of Brad De Luca by Alessandra Torre

I was happy with my life. And who wouldn’t be? Beautiful women, money, a job that I could sleep through and still make bank. But I was bored. And I never could walk away from a challenge.

This challenge turned out to be brunette. Feisty. Just the way I like them. But innocent. Too innocent for me. Too innocent to do anything other than sample and then toss back. Anything more would be too risky, too much work.

I was unprepared for Julia Campbell. I should have done my homework, should have looked before jumping off that cliff. Ditching her proved to be problematic, my sexual needs greater than my common sense.

She was different. She became more than a challenge.

She may just bring my world crashing down.


I did not notice that this novella existed before I started reading the second book hence I read this after it. As much as I have loved the second book, there might have a been a doubt or two at the back of my head. Thank God I found this novella then.

This short story helped ease any doubts that I may have had about how genuine Brad's feelings were for Julia. It validated just how the crazy the man was for her. It was hard to clearly see that in the other two books because Brad's POVs were few and far in between.

It was good to know how caught off guard Brad really was with his attraction to Julia. I'm on Team Julia and it was good reading about what was really going on Brad's head while he started to get to know her. A hero's POV is always welcome and this was no different.


Final verdict: 8/10. Good read.


Innocence series reviews:
Blindfolded Innocence
Masked Innocence

Masked Innocence by Alessandra Torre

The man was sinful. It wasn't just the looks that made him dangerous, it was the cocky confidence that dominated every move, every touch. And the frustrating yet ecstatic fact about the whole package was that he could back it all up… 

Julia Campbell never knows what to expect with win-at-all-costs Brad De Luca. And she's starting to like it that way. She gave up safe, conventional relationships when she let the elite divorce attorney seduce her into his world. Now that he's determined to strip her naked of every inhibition, she's in danger of falling too deep and too fast. 

But their affair begins to feel even more dangerous when a murder leaves a trail of suspicion that points straight to the mob…and Brad. Trusting a man with a bad reputation and a past full of secrets seems like a mistake. But when she's forced to make a choice, the consequences will take her further than she could ever have imagined.


This book picked up right we left off in the first book. I am still impressed by how AT really got me with her writing style. I didn't even notice that this book was more than 200 pages long becase it was that easy to read.

I am not a fan of Brad and Julia's type of kink but once again, it was downplayed enough in the book that I didn't have to read about it most of the time. That meant that there was more space to read about the rest of their story and the complexities it brought with it. That one surprise twist about Brad I did not see coming because I had it all pegged for another thing. AT got me there, too.

But my most favorite part of the book was ***SPOILER*** was the proposal. I mean who would have thought that the kind of asshole-y and douchy Brad I first started reading about would have such a romantic streak in him? Involving Julia's best friends in the event totally scored him major points in my book. Just sayin'.


Final verdict: 8/10. Great read.


Innocence series reviews:
Blindfolded Innocence

Blindfolded Innocence by Alessandra Torre

Brad De Luca is incorrigible. The premier divorce attorney in town, he is a forty-year old walking hunk of sex, bedding half the town, including his own clients. Brad is used to getting whatever, and whomever, he wants, and when the newest intern arrives - Julia Campbell, a pre-law student fresh off a failed engagement - he embraces the challenge. Only, happy in her new independence, the last thing Julia wants, or needs, is an older man who could destroy her job prospects, and possibly her innocence.

Julia is confident in her sexuality, and her effect on men. But she is far out of her league. Before she knows it, Brad is stretching her boundaries and opening up a forbidden world of sensual and sexual exploration.


There are so many adult books out there that seemingly have the same premise that I sometimes feel resigned to picking up something and not expecting to be surprised anymore. It's always a relief to be proven otherwise.

And I was really surprised in a very good way about this book. I know reading about threesomes is still something that I have yet to get used to--although I honestly would rather do without them. Two's enough for my senses, thank you very much. But when I said surprised, I meant that this was my very first Alessandra Torre and I loved her writing style--straight-forward, fast paced, and relateably simple. It didn't take long before I finished this book a few hours.

I also loved Brad and Julia's chemistry. Their story was as straight-forward as AT's writing style. I am not a fan of the lifestyle that they practiced--or Brad did and convinced Julia to do it, too--but it was somehow downplayed enough in the story despite it still being a significant part of their story.

Bottom line is that I am glad I started reading this series. Although it's always hard to refuse a read when the blurb starts with saying that the hero is incorrible. Ha! I can't wait to get my hands on the rest.


Final verdict: 8/10. Good read.