The story of Nairne and Zed really kep me captivated throughout. The tale of how they met, their back story and their steamy relationship kept me reading! I enjoyed how the chapters were split between each of the characters, telling the tale from their perspective. I enjoyed it so much I went straight on to book 2 and look forward to reading book 3.

Nairne used to be a professional football player until an injury changed her life, now she is in a wheelchair and has retrained as a Biomedical engineer at MIT also specialising in public health. As a result of this, she has made it to the board of a charity as a consultant

Zed is a bad boy, an English football player in Boston, unable to leave the city due to his mob connections and the subsequent retaliation to his family if he goes

Zed is horrified that Nairne is on his board as she hasn't even graduated, although she is very smart. He is also unaware of her disability until a way into the story

Attraction blooms between them and they decide to give a relationship a go

However will his mob ties, her disability and the spectre of her leaving the states at the end of the school year due to rising medical bills prevent them from being together?

I enjoyed this book and it has a sexy side to it, however this played to its strengths and worked to bring the reader closer to the characters as well as the characters closer together

This book is fun to read and the fighting between Zed and Nairne drew me in and made me connect with them more. I also enjoyed the split between the characters voices being heard and telling the story

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a sexy story with fight and bite!

Wow! This book was steeeeeeeeamy! it was a nice and quick read. I appreciate what Liese was trying to do, but I feel like there were just too many topics covered in one book, which made it a tad too unrealistic for me, but I don't want to give any spoilers. It just felt like the main characters were dealing with one life problem after the other. I would still recommend for a fun and steamy read. Definitely adults only.

I really enjoyed this one. It's a quick read, and the characters are multi-faceted and interesting. The romance is steamy, and they have a lot of chemistry between them. I'm looking forward to reading the second book.

Wow I need me a hot mafia dude.
But this book was amazing, seeing the charaters work together and build chemistry is not something all books do.

I want to thank NetGalley, Chloe Liese, and the publisher for an Arc copy of this book. I am not usually super into books with a dom/submissive relationship but the cover and reading the blurb about this story made me realize I had to read this book.
Can you say wowza? Zed and Nairne are on fire. They have a lot of chemistry in this book and it is very steamy. This book was different and that is what I think I liked so much about it. Nairne was a soccer player before an injury ended her athletic career. She is now a bioengineer and the boss at her new job ends up being Zed. Zed is also part of the mafia. They have instant chemistry when they meet in a meeting and end up starting a dominant and submissive relationship in the bedroom. There was a lot going on in this book and it really had my attention. I was sad to finish it before realizing I also had the second book to read and review. If you are looking for something exciting and a little bit different check this book out. Great debut.

Love, love, love He's a Brute (and She's a Spitfire, too) by Chloe Liese. This book is reminiscent of another dirty (famous) read but has a much better story line and is written with more experience and poise.

I have to say, I thought I knew what to expect with this book, but it was not at all what I expected in so many different ways. Thanks to Netgalley for the ecopy of the book in exchange for a review!
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So, I was not quite prepared for the 50 shades of Gray level of steam in this one. I knew it was steamy, but not quite mentally prepared for this next level. That aside, I did enjoy this debut novel. I find I have trouble in general with romances whose male protagonist is dominating and controlling, but Zed is very caring toward Nairne and I eventually grew to like him.
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My favorite part of this story is that there are multiple levels and layers to it, and that Nairne is such a strong willed character. I love that both characters play my favorite sport (soccer), the Italian mafia plot line and Nairne’s past adds a mystery dynamic that’s refreshing to read in a romance. Finally, I loved that it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger.
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This one did take a bit to get into, but if you’re prepared for 50 shades level of steam and a bit of mystery mixed with your romance, you’ll definitely enjoy this one!
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This was 3.5 stars for me!

He's a Brute is a steamy romance with great character development, a feisty heroine, and an irresistible bad boy.

I was shocked when I realized that this was Chloe Liese's debut. Her writing style was great and she was able to leave me wanting more.

When I began reading this book, I was excited because the blurb was very intriguing. The beginning was a little slow for me. The characters, Nairne and Zed, did have chemistry but I didn't feel like the story would progress as it did. A few pages before the midway point was when I started getting more hooked to the story.

We started seeing more of the challenges they each had. Nairne was smart, sassy, and confident. When we find out that she has a handicap/disability it brought me a sense of sadness and empowerment. Here is this confident woman who had her dreams taken away from her, but she didn't give up. She found something else she could be great at.

Zed is the bad boy women can't help but fall for. He is a mafia prince and is a gifted footballer. He continues to have a chip on his shoulders. He is living a life that is deeply influenced by those around him. He is dominant and yet he can be so soft and vulnerable.

Zed and Nairne turned from enemies to lovers and it's filled with passion and fire. The STEAMY scenes are steamy AF! This book will definitely leave you wanting more!

I give He's a Brute 4.5 stars. This was a great debut novel from Chloe Liese. I loved the chemistry between Zed and Nairne. This book did end in a cliffhanger that left me WANTING book 2. I highly recommend this book to lovers of the Fifty Shades series. If you are looking for a dominant/submissive romance with depth and exploration then this book is for you!

This is my first experience reading this author's work and I'm so grateful to NetGalley to have been able to read the first 2 books in this series back-to-back. He's a Brute, Book #1, ends in a huge cliffhanger so I was relieved to be able to get right into Book #2 which was just as good, if not more so, than this one. I loved everything about this book -- the characters and their building relationship were well developed and the plot and storyline kept me riveted to the pages. I couldn't put it down once I started reading! Yes, Zed is domineering but I just knew he had a heart of gold underneath that controlling alpha male. And I loved that Nairne was a strong, crazy intelligent woman in her own right -- so refreshing. What I really enjoyed was how a certain aspect of Nairne is introduced to the reader -- not going to spoil it for others, but suffice it to say, that it was so well done! And such a surprise to this reader! I adored the witty banter between these two, the steamy chemistry and the secondary characters that really brought this whole book to life. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I'm really sorry, but I tried. After reading 25% of the novel I could no longer continue. This story, and writing style was not working for me.

Okay so I really ended up liking this one! It started off a little slow for me and I honestly thought it was a bit stiff at first. But, I thought the characters developed really nicely in the second half of the book and their chemistry really started to come alive. This is a really great debut from an author I’m sure we will end up seeing a lot of great stuff from! I love that the characters were both intellects and scholars and while they did come off a bit stiff at first, they became easy to love once their stories became a bit more clear. The author is sending me an arc of the second book in the series and I’m really excited to see where this story goes!

He’s a Brute was a thoroughly enjoyable, well-written, sexy and sassy debut by Chloe Liese that sets an intriguing intro into the lives of a spoilt rich boy, and a intensely intellectual woman. I liked the characters and the dynamic between them was fiery and never boring. I’m looking forward discovering how their adventurous liaison will ultimately conclude. 3 1/2 Stars for me.

am tickled to have found a new author who’s writing style gels with my reading habits in Chloe Liese. I am so ready to recommend this series because these characters, Nairne and Zed, develop as the story progresses and unfolds fluidly. This is a fictional story that teems with slightly over-the-top dramatic moments of absurdity, but I was so involved with the characters and the story that it just read like a well-developed soap in kindle format. I’m into it, but I felt there were so many factors to each character to have happened at such a young age, that it was hard for me to process all of the facts (such as Zed being a full-time professional soccer player and mafia boss??? I think not!).

Liese managed to put soccer, the mafia, physical disabilities, heated sex and multi-national humans in one novel and make it work. I immensely enjoyed how intense and independent Nairne was— she was capable and massively intelligent and I admired the stuffing out of her regardless of her disability— because who do you honestly know in real life that doesn’t have a disability and is that efficient?? This debut from Chloe Liese was entertaining and heartfelt and I cannot wait for book two!

I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The blurb of He’s a Brute intrigued me so I decided to give it a go. I generally like to try books that sound like they have a strong female lead and I was intrigued by her being a scientist. Nairne doesn’t disappoint as a character, she’s strong, independent and is bravely overcoming emotional and physical trauma. This may be a bit of a spoiler (it’s revealed slowly) but Nairne is actually disabled from an injury 3 years previously. I think it’s wonderful that we get a diverse female character, I don’t think I’ve read a romance book before that has a disabled main character, especially one that doesn’t let it stop her from living her life. I think this inclusion is a particularly good aspect of the novel and I’m surprised it’s not mentioned in the blurb. I was however, no a big fan of Zed he seemed a bit too much, overbearing and possessive, for my taste anyway, I get he’s supposed to be like that being the whole dominant alpha male type but I just wasn’t a fan. Another thing that I thought was a bit too much was Zed’s multiple full time careers, how can one 26 year old guy be a professional soccer player, top mafia man and the head of a medical board? While also seeming to have ample free time, how does he manage it, does he have a time turner? By the was I appreciated the Harry Potter references! I didn’t really feel like this was a kind of hate to love romance situation, it felt more like insta love or lust but with two strong willed grouchy character, I think that it just all felt a bit too easy and predictable. Lastly I was definitely shocked that towards the end when it’s mentioned that the book is supposed to be set in 2006, I read the whole thing thinking it was contemporary, I’m not sure if that’s because I missed something at the start though. Overall this was a pretty quick entertaining read but just not my favourite. But I think I’ll definitely read more of the series to see where it goes! (2.5 stars)
Thank you to Net Galley and the author Chloe Liese for this review copy.

You know when within the first 3 pages a line of a book says “My breast’s tingled in heat” it’s gonna be a nice steamyyy romance.

I absolutely loved this book. It was like 50 Shades but with an even stronger independent (and we can’t forget with a physical handicap) female that KICKS ASS and knows her worth.

The romance scenes were STEAMY and I loved that it showed someone with a physical handicap that is able to be a sexual powerhouse.

I also fell in love with Zed because he had a bad streak to him but he was also so kind and thoughtful.

Absolutely a five star read for me and I cannot wait to get my hands on book two!

Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was an intense, erotica romance. I liked that the heroine was super smart and independent. when she meets the hero she doesn't put up with his crap. Unfortunately for me this is one of those sexually dominant and submissive romance which is a bit uncomfortable to read since she's wheelchair bound and he likes to get rough. Despite that a decent romance with a mob crime twist.

What’s it about- Nairne is studying biomedical engineering and public heath in MIT and she is chosen to be on the board of a non profit led by Zed who is a famous football player (⚽️).

Rating- 9/10
POV- dual first person
HEA/HFN- NO, MAJOR CLIFFHANGER
Funny parts- yes
Sad parts- yes, a lot
Love triangle- no
Insta-love- no
Cheating- no
Super insecure character- not really
Trigger warning- none
Realistic scale- 1/5 (how many soccer players, who is also in the mafia, do you know?)
Pick this up if- you want a super steamy book with a possessive, controlling hero. You want to read about a disabled heroine. You like the ‘lust in first sight’ trope. You want a good family dynamic in your romance books. You like plot twists. You want an enemies to lovers book. You want an independent, self reliant heroine. You like banter in books.
Don’t pick this up if- you don’t like 3 books about the same couple or cliffhangers. You don’t like BDSM in books.
This is the first book in the trilogy.
It’s not like the new trend of one book split into three tiny books but it’s actually a decent sized book.
This book was given to me by the author but all opinions are my own.
This was the writer’s first book but it didn’t feel clumsy or awkward and the relationship developed very smoothly.
It’s on available on Kindle Unlimited.
Pages- 263

Nah, not for me!!!

I don't even know how to explain all the problems I had with this book... there were so many Fifty Shades of Grey things here that irritated me so much.
And I kind of had high hopes for this book with the soccer and mafia scenarios and I also appreciated the fact that the author decided to write a main character with a disability. All these nice parts could've been developed so much better and they would've make the story so much more interesting.

However, the "dom and sub" thing was not my cup of tea in here, it lacked content, it lacked story.

Sorry to say, but not good enough.

Nairne's bff tends to not help matters, "she shrugged. “What’s so bad about that? He likes your t**s. They’re nice **ts.” Zed likes to have a plan mapped out, “okay then, it’s decided. We’ll take our time, eat, and I’ll make you come.” There are some lines you just don't cross, "her hand slammed on her push rims. “Don’t throw Harry Potter at me right now.” I liked this book, I fell in love with Zed.