Explicitly Yours

Hands down the most infuriating series I have ever read. I read all 5 books including book 2.5 from Beau’s perspective. It was a rollercoaster. This author incorporated control, dominance, pride, insecurity, fear, hate, vengeance, rage, revenge, jealousy, superiority complexes, narcissism, forgiveness, self realization, love and a host of other emotions in this series. In my honest opinion the series doesn’t start to pick up until almost the very end of book 2- Domination. That is where you see crossroads, decisions and real emotion. Prior to that I spent my time battling whether or not I even wanted to finish the series. That was most because Beau, the male protagonist was easily the worst character I have ever read about (so unlikeable). He was the kind of guy that you’d warned your friend to stay away from and although it is a book, it was difficult to digest that anyone could be that deplorable. And he remained that way.. until he didn’t. I consider my strong reaction to him a testament to the authors depth in creating her characters and overall the author did an excellent job of allowing the reader to see the transformation he went through. I really loved that although this story carried a large power imbalance from the very beginning, at the end the female protagonist found herself. That’s refreshing for this genre of literature and while I did not at all feel like this was a romance series for the majority of my reading, (it felt like everything but love and romance in the traditional sense) and couldn’t see how the author would be able to spin it that way with very few chapters left - I ended the final book feeling like I’d read about a real love story with a true happy ending. One of my complaints is the constant use of certain words that I found to be offensive. The profanity was one thing but some of the other word choices were extreme to say the least. Overall, the series was good.

These characters has so much chemistry it exploded from the pages. The back story helped support the drama that continually unfolded and gave so much light into what was happening and why. All I can suggest for this book: it needs an EPILOGUE. The ending just happened and I felt like I was left hanging. A short epilogue that shot 9-10 months or even a couple years later would have been a good closure.

I waited to write a review over the Explicitly Yours Series because I wanted to read all 4 books. I couldn’t put this series down! I mean these books had it all for me! The emotional rollercoaster you go on with Lola and Beau is sweet torture! I honestly didn’t think I’d end up liking it but I LOVE it! It’s so angsty, provocative, and downright sexy! Would recommend anything by Jessica Hawkins any day!

Explicitly Yours was about Lola Winters struggling to escape her life as a waitress—until she received a shocking proposition from a sexy stranger. Wealthy businessman Beau Olivier wanted Lola for one night. Only one problem Lola belonged to Johnny. Lola wanted to move forward by providing Johnny with his dream. Lola was attracted to Beau and his proposition was generous, but Lola had her doubts. This collection included four full length novels: Possession, Domination, Provocation, and Obsession. Amazon listed it as a contemporary women's fictional romance. The series had some graphic sexual scenes. The story had three main characters: Lola, Johnny, and Beau. Several minor characters were added to enrich the main characters lives. Beau invested in tech startups, but before that, he built a website that sold for millions. Beau's character left me questioning his intentions every step of the way. He was a complex man yet a straight forward man. Johnny was manager and bartender of Hey Joes. Johnny was a sweet, tender, and loving character who wanted to provide for Lola even when opportunities seemed to fail him. Johnny felt like a failure with Lola living paycheck to paycheck unable to provide a comfortable lifestyle. Yet they survived off of love. Lola was the assistant manager and Johnny's girlfriend. Lola was a simple, independent, and easy to please woman who didn't need a lavish life. Lola loved Johnny not for what he could provide financially but what he gave her as a partner. “You’re a delicacy. I’ll eat you slowly with attention to every bite. I’ll drink you like fine wine, savoring your taste, inhaling your scent, letting you own me for as long as you’re in my mouth.” Lola exhaled an unintentional noise. “I’ll swallow all of you, but you won’t realize it until it’s too late. Until you’re a part of me,” he said. “That’s what you sold me. That’s what I paid for”. Beau's response to Lola for wanting her. Jessica has the ability to formulate words with effortless skill. Take this quote for example. "I have unfairly high expectations of people, yet somehow you continue to exceed them.” “And here I was trying to be less than expected”. It's as if a Jessica has these wondrous experiences herself. These aren't conversations you look up on google. These are conversations Jessica concocted herself. The entire story was filled with beautiful and colorful words such as the examples provided. Jessica's words made me realize how cultured she was with her choice of words. I pondered so many conversations between Beau and Lola. I wanted to highlight entire sections to remember the words and thoughts she evoked in me. Jessica put her characters thru precarious positions that drew out the emotions in me. Jessica created characters that sorted out the choices in wise minded ways. Jessica is wise beyond her years. I enjoyed the playfulness of the characters and the unexpected reactions both of them. The sex scenes were intoxicating. I'm not sure where Jessica gets her knowledge from for these intimate sensual scenes but they are erotically hot. I couldn't tell who was playing who. Jessica had me questioning motives from an array of characters. Jessica built these scenes where my mind created doubts and confusion with plenty of judgment. I never knew which direction she was taking me. My mind speculated the intentions of this proposition questioning every character and angle trying to determine the true purpose of this venture. It was thought provoking. I loved how it all came down to choices. Jessica surprised me with unexpected words, reactions, and behaviors. The way she guided the characters and storyline had me aching to read more. I took my time to embrace the words, the characters, and the storyline.

Seriously loved these books. Couldn't stop reading them.

One click this series NOW! It's Hawkins at her best! I loved this series! 5 stars!