📚📚📚My Review 📚📚📚
I was drawn to this book when I saw the first teasers then read the blurb. I love dark romances and this one didn't disappoint. Unfortunately for some there are several situations depicted that could be a trigger, violence, sexual and physical abuse, so please avoid if these things are an issue for you. For the rest of you, Tessa and Gracin are so freaking intense and just argh! I found myself hurting for Tessa and the situation she is in with her marriage. I've seen several comments about why didn't she just leave, nothing really keeps her there. For those who think that way: I am super happy that you have lived a life free from domestic abuse, because directly or indirectly it destroys you. There are many reasons that victims stay in these types of situations and the fact that the author kept Tessa in that marriage shows an understanding of that reality. I absolutely loved this book and I highly recommend for those who love dark romances that push boundaries.
Toxic
by Nicole Blanchard Publication Date: August 22, 2017 Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Dark Romance
About Nicole Blanchard
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Nicole Blanchard lives in Mississippi with her family and their menagerie of animals. She chooses each day to chase her own fairy tale even if they contain their fair share of dragons. She is married to her best friend and owns her own business.
Nicole survives on a diet of too many books and substantial amounts of root beer and slim jims. When not reading, she’s lavishing attention on her family or inhaling every episode of The Walking Dead and The Big Bang Theory.
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About Gena Showalter:
Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the spellbinding 
Title: Battered & Bruised, but not broken
Release Date: August 18th, 2017
Publisher: Encompass Ink
Genres: Erotic male/male romance
Goodreads: 
Battered & Bruised, but not broken, is an erotic, male/male, gay romance novel. It's the culmination of two lost souls finding what they didn't know they were looking for.
Hunter's an ex-con, always in the wrong place at the wrong times, which is how he landed up in prison. He's looking to start anew, when in walks Elliott.
Timid , sheltered, Elliott, has his life in order. Or so he thinks. That is until, Hunter, introduces him to a whole new world.
Both are battling demons from the past, but what happens when their two worlds collide?
Where in the hell did I get that prissy, little take charge, bitch attitude from? That’s so not like me, I’m actually quite the opposite. Yet every time I’m around Hunter I turn into a fucking queen. But the way he freaked when I told him I was a virgin sent me into fight or flight mode and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let him or his ‘my shit don’t stink’ attitude get the best of me. Tell me I can come and go as I please, it’s like ‘no fucking shit I can’, but right now, all I want to do is lose my virginity to this cocky man. Why him? I honestly don’t know, but twenty-three years of waiting can make a guy do crazy shit.
I know he wants me, it’s written all over his smug face. I see him grin when he thinks I’m looking the other direction. There’s a reason our paths keep crossing, call it karma, call it kismet, hell, call it whatever the fuck you want, but I know damn good and well there’s a reason for it. But last night, I saw a glimpse of his gentle side— the side that calls me to him when I shivered while he was undressing me.
As I lay here watching him sleep, I see so much more in him than he does. I see the gentler, need to be loved side that he desperately tries to hide behind his tattooed bad boy façade. But what makes him tick? Baggage he claims, fuck dude, we all have baggage. Try getting past a homophobic father who damn near beats you to death when he finds out you’re gay. Talk about baggage, I never let anyone in after that. Fuck, it’d been years before I even tried to so much as kiss anyone after that. Hook-ups were my chosen vice in college, but I never let anyone in. And lo and behold what happens the first time I do? I get my dick sucked by the most amazing man I’ve ever met. The same man laying here beside me sleeping. The same man who’s quickly winning my heart.
I was so nervous last night when he undressed me, so afraid he’d reject me in my vulnerable state of nakedness. My body still bears the physical scars from my father’s abuse which I thought would turn him off. But he looked right past them as though they didn’t exist. And when he called me baby, I lost it. A term of endearment from a self-proclaimed bad boy. That alone shows the depths of his humanity. I know the real Hunter’s in there, now all I need to do is prove to him that I won’t hurt him because clearly, something in his past has seriously fucked him up.
Piper Kay is your average cup of tea with a splash of southern sass. She was born & raised in Houston, Texas-USA and her skills include pitching a fit and throwing a hissy. She also happens to be an author….with a bi-polar muse…who may or may not have sarcastic tendencies….and/or a potty mouth. Together, they share head space w/the men living in there… her boys with baditude. Piper is an Amazon #1 International Best Selling author of LGBT Erotica, and an Amazon International Bestselling author of LGBT Erotica romance, specifically in the M/M Erotica genre, and LGBT drama. She has been known to genre hop a time or two into YA/NA stories, also M/M. Piper brings her passion of storytelling straight to the pages, most times served with a super-sized sprinkle of sexy, a slice of sarcasm and a carafe of crazy.
Piper can be reached at
Amazon author page: 
About Gena Showalter:
Gena Showalter is the New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of the spellbinding 
