Title: Filthy English Author: Ilsa Madden-Mills
Series: English #2
Release date: July 11, 2016
(Sub)genres: College, Contemporary Romance
Pages: -
Buy: Amazon US ~ Amazon UK
Rating:
A smokin’ hot British player…
A jilted girl…
One night of mistaken identity…Two weeks before her wedding, Remi Montague’s fiancé drops her faster than a drunken sorority girl in stilettos. Armed with her best friend and a bottle of tequila, she hops a plane to London to drown her sorrows before fall semester begins at Whitman University.
She didn't plan on attending a masquerade party.
She sure didn’t plan on waking up next to the British bad boy who broke her heart three years ago—the devastatingly handsome and naked Dax Blay. Furthermore, she has no clue how they acquired matching tattoos.
Once back at Whitman together, they endeavor to pretend they never had their night of unbridled passion in London.
But that’s damn hard to do when you live in the same house…
One night. Two damaged hearts. The passion of a lifetime.
*A modern love story inspired by Romeo and Juliet*
One of my favorite reads of 2015 was Dirty English by Ilsa Madden-Mills. It was my first book by her, but I loved her writing, and the way she portrays her characters. Besides the main couple Declan and Elizabeth, Dax – Declan’s twin brother – really caught my attention. You could feel there was more to him than just the happy man whore he appeared to be. Dirty English should have been a standalone book, but luckily the author has listened to her readers’ pleas to write Filthy English, which gives us Dax’s story. I love it.
“Me. Him. Us. Seventy-two hours in a small bedroom. Kisses. Beautiful, wonderful, endless kisses. Love. Lust. And then—devastation. Darkness.”
Remi lives her life by plans and lists; going to the right school, study hard and fall for the right guy and marry him. And she’s ticking of her boxes one by one, until her fiancé does the unthinkable; two weeks before their wedding he asks for a break, to rethink his future. A hurt and angry Remi goes on her already paid-for honeymoon with her best friend Lulu – to London, England – to lick her wounds. There she meets a masked, very attractive man, and to her shock it turns out to be Dax, the guy who broke her heart three years ago. And although she knows exactly who Dax is and how he is with women, she can’t stay away from him.
“His heart was locked away, enclosed in an impenetrable castle. I had to protect myself from him. The thing is, Dax is a temporary guy and I’m a forever girl, and the two didn’t go together. Ever.”
Dax – just like his brother Declan – is scarred by his past, the way his father treated their mother and how their whole life turned around after her death. To this day he thinks he isn’t worthy of love. And even though Declan has a happy life with Elizabeth, Dax believes a real relationship isn’t in the cards for him. Three years ago he had spent an amazing weekend with Remi, and while he had some feelings for her, he let her walk away, never to look back. Seeing her again in London makes him wonder if it wasn’t a mistake to let her walk way, wonder if they could have had something real. Learning her fiancé dumped Remi right before their wedding day makes Dax think there might be a chance.
“This is the real her. The real you. Talking. Sharing. Having a moment when she’s peeking into your soul. Will you let her in? Absolutely not. I wasn’t good enough for her, and I didn’t need her in my life, jacking with my emotions and making me want something I could never have.”
As already said, Dax and Remi have some history together. Three years ago they have spent three days filled with passion, but it didn’t end well; Remi ran away with a broken heart, while Dax couldn’t understand why she just left, without giving him the opportunity to explain. Nowadays Remi and Dax are older, wiser, and both are changing their lives; Dax because of a dare, Remi because her ex-fiancé forced her. There still is an undeniable chemistry between the couple, even after what has happened in the past. While Dax and Remi try to be friends (which isn’t working of course), slowly they realize they have a shot at something beautiful and lasting.
Dax and Remi were a bit frustrating at times, there were moments I just wanted to step into my kindle and shake some sense into both of them. I understand where they are coming from, and I get their reasoning, but still it was frustrating at times. Knowing Dax from Dirty English, I knew he was a player, but I like it how the author hasn’t written that fact into all conversations. Remi is a sweet girl who learns the important lesson that not all can be planned, I just wish she talked more to Dax instead of assuming things. Just as with Dirty English, I hope Filthy English leads to another book with a rockstar as the leading man.
“I’m sorry I’m terrified of losing you. But I want to try. I want to be yours and you be mine. I want to wake up next to you, put my nose at your throat and just… breathe.”
I love Filthy English, it’s a well written, angst-y book, just how I like it. I give this story 4.5 stars.
~~ Filthy English was provided in exchange for an honest review ~~
Excerpt
Without much thought except for comfort, instinctively I pressed myself against him, fitting into his arms as easy as breathing. He leaned against the brick wall of the neighboring building and wrapped me up, sensing my need to be grounded.
I don’t know how long we stood like that—maybe a minute, maybe five—but soon our breaths were in sync; the rise and fall of his chest in perfect accord with mine.
One of his hands traced down my spine and then up. He outlined my shoulder blades with his fingertips. His hands drifted to my hips then caressed back up to my hair, massaging my scalp.
But what had started as an innocent hug changed.
Fire licked my skin everywhere he touched. Of their own accord, my hands slid down to his waist and teased the line where his jeans rested on his hips. I went further, my fingers toying with the V at his hip until I felt him harden against me.
Lips brushed the top of my hair. “Remi . . . look at me,” he said, his voice raspy.
If you look up, you’re going to kiss him . . .
I tilted my head up and his mouth fused with mine in an instant.
Insistent. Wild. Hot. Yes! This is what I needed.
I groaned, and my hands rushed to his shoulders and dug in.
He was wrong—terribly wrong—for me, but it felt so right.
I felt wonderfully alive, revved up, as if I could crush a car with my bare hands, or push Dax against the wall and fuck him senseless. I recognized the feeling for what it was—an I almost-died-and-now-I-want-to-experience-life feeling.
“Wait,” he breathed as I ran my hand under his shirt. “It’s adrenaline. You’ve been through a trauma. You don’t really want this—”
“Shhh.” I lifted his shirt and kissed his chest, my tongue flicking over his nipple. “You taste like every good thing I’ve ever wanted.”
His taut restraint snapped, and he swayed into me. “God, I can’t tell you no.”
Leave a Reply