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Jake: A Southern Crime Family Novel

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Member Reviews

The book was written well but the story was weird. You have two people from two different crime families that all of a sudden are thrown together and have to get married to keep the peace. Then there are other people that are trying to climb the ladder because of these two and want the power more. There is a lot of lust that finally turn into love but it was a lot of explicit sex to get there.

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Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC . I did let this book sit for quite some time and I now regret that. This was a very good book. I did like the dynamic between the main characters and how they played off each other. It did keep me guessing and i like that about a book. Thumbs up from me

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The intrigues, twists and turns will have you glued to the pages as they try to figure out who killed his old man and her grandfather. The romance between Angel and Jake is steamy, with a touch of consensual kink, mostly in the form of spanking. So, if you are looking for a different kind of crime family, one with a little southern flair, a steamy yet sweet romance, intrigue, danger and mystery then get your hands on JAKE: A SOUTHERN CRIME FAMILY NOVEL. I highly recommend this book.

Annetta Sweetko, reviewer for Fresh Fiction

Complete review may be found at: http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=69642

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Thank you netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
For an erotic, mafia romance this wasn't too bad but I cringed every time Jake said or did someone machista. He's controlling and demanding and uses Angel to that extend although she attempts to defy. Not crazy about this genre even more so when the language is basic and the storyline unoriginal.

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I have mixed feelings on this story, I really wanted to like Angel/ Sally but I felt there was part of her background missing, the white makeup weirded me out, I kinda of pictured her looking like the joker. Her appearance and the description of it made we doubt whether Jake could take her seriously or not. As the story progressed I forgot at times, that she was painted up and it made the story flow better for me. Jake was a great character, totally an alpha with a softer middle but I would have liked a bit more of his back story. Overall it was an interesting story, with some very hot bedroom scenes.

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***I received this book from NetGalley***

I really enjoyed this book. It keep you on your toes-wondering who was behind everything happening.

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Jake and his brothers lost their mean and uncaring father in a fire along with Rival crime boss, Mac. Jakes Dad and Mac put clauses in their wills stating that Jake and Macs granddaughter, Angel, must get married and merge the families.

Angel has been Macs enforcer for years and is no shrinking violet. She is a strong and fierce and won’t let anybody mess with her or her little brother. She wants to keep him on the straight and narrow. When she finds out that Jake has secretly been meeting with an FBI agent to get his company on the right side of the law she is impressed, but she has been impressed with Jake since they were young.

Angel and Jake are now in danger and need to put everything aside to work together. There are some fun sexy scenes and the characters are well written. I can’t wait to read about Sen and Ethan!!

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This is Jake and Angel book, both of them have strong ties to the criminal organizations of the small southern town they live in. In a suspicious fire both of their fathers die in they find out they changed their wills and they want them to get married or loose their inheritance!! The only problem with this is these two families hate each other with a passion !! Jake is secretly working with the FBI to bring his family in the up and up and Angel is trying to keep her brother out of the criminal underworld! Maybe together they can make this thing work?! This book was very enjoyable, I definitely liked this one it’s not my all time top favorite but well worth the read! Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for sharing this book with me!!

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First time reading this author. Loved how she made you think one thing and how everything is not always as it seems in the end.

Characters are well developed. Story was refreshing. Love a strong female lead and a man who can handle her.

I highly recommend this book and will be checking out the rest of her collection.

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Jake and his brothers just lost their dad in a fire and are happy about it, but when somebody is shooting at them during the funeral, they think it’s not over yet and somebody else wants them dead too.

They think it’s the man in the black van...except when confronted it turns out to be Sally “Angel” Tally, the rival families granddaughter....

This book started out with lots of information and it took a while for me to get through some backstory to understand the connections. The main story sounds like it is about finding the murderers, but the constant sex between shootings, lust and sudden love between Angel and Jake didn’t do it for me.
I didn’t feel growth between the two characters, it was all just bossy alpha male Jake and Angel, who gave up most of her control and bada**ness.

I received this ebook copy from the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review.

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Jake and his brothers should be happy now that their father has died, but there is a part of them that wants to find the person who killed him. Not that he was a good father he wasn’t. Now after the funeral, someone is shooting at him and his brothers and he believes that someone is Angel Talley who is part of the other crime family of the town. What Jake doesn’t know and will find out shortly is that in order to keep all of the holdings he must marry Angel if not everything goes to their cousins. Now both Angel and Jake must overcome something that happened in the past and maybe if they can she will marry him. They have a lot to work out because neither one trusts the other one nor Angel does not like to be told what to do since she was the one who ran a lot of her grandfather’s pick-up’s and was an enforcer. She is willing to the marriage to save her younger brother though. Just when you think everything is good between them she bails for she does not think Jake married her for love and did it just for the businesses. Now he must find her. There are some twists and turns and to who is the one who killed the two men and who are still trying to kill them. There are also some steamy scenes between Jake and Angel that includes some spanking. Overall I that this to be a very different crime book than other ones that I have read but for a story and a fun read it was good.

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I liked the characters individually, but I didn't care for them together half the time. The who dunnit mystery kept my interest but ended predictably. There are some steamy scenes that were good but the romance portion lacked a bit. I also felt like more could have come from Jake's mom and Angel's interactions. However, I was intrigued by the brothers and want to read their stories.

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Unfortunately, this book was not my cup of tea. I found the hero and heroine a bit unlikeable, and the way the book started was just confusing for me. A lot happening and it seemed hard to follow. As the story progressed, I felt like Sally went from being this wannabe bada** to someone who would do anything to please Jake. I would have rather had her be much stronger. While I typically like alpha males in romance novels, Jake rubbed me the wrong way.

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Jake is my first read by Carla Swafford, and definitely not your typical crime family story. There is certainly some aspects that lead to what you’d expect, like arrange marriage, a father figure who was brutal and unyielding, and a man bristling against the expectations placed upon his life. I did have trouble warming to Angel, as she had no backbone and relented to Jake’s every wish far too easily. This was just an OK read in my opinion, but it intrigued me enough to want to know more about Jake’s brothers, so I’ll definitely read the next in the series.

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This is an awesome story, It flows nicely, Jake is one of 3 sons of a family whose dad was a tyrant. Jake managed to maintain his humanity through many years of abuse. Angel is the granddaughter of another tyrant. She has been trained to be the collector for her family. Jake and Angel have a history. From him spanking her at age 14 to now. This book has lots of hot sex, spankings and the author managed to mix in some murder and intrigue. Can Jake and Angel catch the person trying to kill them? Read and find out.

I read this book as an arc from NetGalley. I gave it a hot 5 stars

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This is the first time that I had read from this author. These were not your ordinary crime family. So we meet Jake whose father had died and for him and his brothers it was good riddance since his father treated them horribly and they were pretty much abused. He finds out that he has to marry Sally Tally in order for him to get money and now is also in charge of Tally's family crime family and be the guardian of Sally's who goes by Angel now, younger brother. Angel claims that she hates Jake but has had a crush on him forever so even though she claims she does not want to marry him jumps straight into bed with him and pretty much stays there, she was supposed to be this badass girl, but the way she was with Jake refuted that, she turned into a weak woman doing everything he says and wants. However even though that part bugged the heck out of me since I like strong heroines I still want to know what happens with Jake's brothers.

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I received a copy of Jake: A Southern Crime Family Novel by Carla Swafford from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, this novel missed the mark for me. I felt that the plot should have been interesting given the story's summary, but the plot wasn't evenly paced and the main characters' chemistry was just not believable; nor was their banter witty or engrossing. Just struck me as a flat novel altogether.

I'd give Jake: A Southern Crime Family Novel by Carla Swafford 2 stars.

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3 1\2 stars

The story is very much all about romance but less Hatfield and McCoys as they suggest. The story is fast paced and while it is predictable and when not trying to solve the murders romance and sex takes over the story.
While the cat and mouse romance is interesting and worth needing a cold dip in the pool the story has moments that will have readers scratching there heads wondering why the character are either in the story at all other than to have a body or why they are acting the way they are.
Readers will be able to see where the series is going and the predictable in the stories and simplistic writing style.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of Carla Swafford Jake.

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I absolutely love crime novels and this one definitely satisfied my need for crime. Will read more from this author in the future. Highly recommend.

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Great!

Full of action and twists plus an unlikely couple who find their way regardless of a crazy beginning.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy.

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