3.5/5⭐

Helen Hardt has been on my radar for ages and Blush finally had that irresistible combination of tropes for me. Childhood best friends to lovers is one of my absolute favorites, and combine that with “teach me” and hidden identity –basically my catnip.

This was a fun, quick read and I pretty much finished it in one afternoon. I thought the friendship between Mandy and Jackson was really well done and I enjoyed them together. Mandy’s evolution and growth throughout the story as she came out of her shell and pushed herself out of her comfort zone was also so fun to watch. She made me want to go out and buy a corset! 😂

I do wish that the hidden identity part had played more of a role. It’s revealed really early so it doesn’t actually end up being much of a plot point, which was disappointing to me. I was also a bit surprised how mild the BDSM aspect was, especially given Jackson’s annoyingly insistent internal monologue about how Mandy was too innocent for him. Overall the book felt a bit repetitive; it was the same emotional back and forth without much progression or development until the end.

Like I said though, I had a lot of trouble putting this one down. I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a quick friends to lovers romance with some spice and a good bit of angst before the characters figure things out!

Thank you so much to Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC!

This is a great friends to lovers romance. Jackson and Mandy are very steamy together. I loved how their relationship developed. Helen Hardt’s words just flow off the pages. I was thoroughly entertained from the first page to the last. I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

Amanda has been in love with her best friend Jackson practically her entire life, but Jackson only sees her as his best friend and nothing more. He is entirely unprepared for her to set up a dating profile and begins to see her in a new light. Oh, and this ending was shocking. I can’t wait for book two.

Thank you #entangled and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Hardt's books are always excellent and the first of her new duology does not disappoint. The relationship between the two protagonists is loving and tension-filled. As they explore their sexuality and feelings, the book gains a lot of depth.

Blush was an extremely seductive friends to lovers romance. Amanda Thomas had been in love with her best friend Jackson Paris for forever. With her sister getting married, Amanda was ready to change her life around. I was so excited for Mandy's journey and for when Jackson would lead her into his world. Yet I never found a connection to Mandy, Jackson or their romance. The friends to lovers had all of the angst from Jackson, since he didn't want to corrupt what they had. Or what he perceived was her innocence, even though Mandy was completely ready to go all in! So while there was a lot of push and pull, it wrapped up nicely with a one month look down the road and a happily for now. While the sex was erotic and the embodiment of empowering woman and their sexuality was shown, the nickname Jackson gave Mandy didn't work for me at all. But so many other people fell head over heels in love with this book! So if you're looking for an erotica that is friends to lovers, Blush may just be the book for you!

She’s going to be the undoing of me.
And it dawns on me.
I’m not afraid that she won’t like my dark side.
I’m afraid that she will.

Mandy has been hiding her feelings for her best friend Jackson and is afraid to tell him as she worries about the impact it would have on their relationship. So instead she decides to join a dating site so that she can fulfill all her desires where she meets Mr. Dark.

Jackson believes that Mandy would never be interested in the lifestyle he craves so a little exposure will have her heading in the opposite direction but they are both about to learn things about each other and themselves.

Both Mandy and Jackson were worried about damaging the most important relationship that either has but with honesty they realize that they were always destined to be so much more.

Blush is the first book of the Black Rose Series following the story of Amanda and Jackson. Two opposites that have been Best Friends their entire lives. Two people who each complete each other. Amanda has loved Jackson since she was old enough to understand the true meaning of what she was feeling. More than just the love you give you friend. She's been his biggest fan their whole lives. Always there for him just never in the way she's desired. He was the High School all Star. Jackson isn't thrilled. He want to help but is not sure this particular app is the right way to go about it. He thinks he's done a good job of vetting her profile bio so creeps won't come near Amanda. He was sorely mistaken. His curiosity got the better of him. He created an account and sees she changed everything. She's looking for a teacher someone to teach her how to please a Man. Someone with experience to show her more. When they meet up, Jackson is disguised so Amanda can't possibly know who he is. He takes her to the private club the Black Rose. He shows her what inside. He's trying to scare her away from this lifestyle. Jackson's fears of losing her is overwhelming and cause a rift between them. I did enjoy this story.

I haven't read this author before so thought I'd try her writing. This is a friends to lovers trope romance, with a 'bad boy' hero who is into BDSM (he's a Dom), thinking his friend is too innocent to be let into his depraved world, but she surprises him by taking him up on his dare and joining him (while he is masked so she isn't supposed to know who he is, but she does). The story is okay; while the dungeon scenes are titillating they don't stand out from other BDSM stories I've read. It just felt somewhat superficial and I didn't really get attached to the characters.

'I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.'

It will really be hard to not put any spoilers in this review but I will try my best. I really enjoyed this book. Mandy and Jackson have been best friends literally their entire lives. Mandy quickly learns that those closest to you, the ones you thought you knew better than anyone can be the ones keeping the biggest secrets from you. She decides that she's done being alone and "innocent" and decides to join a dating app. She asks Jackson to help her. She's been in love with him forever but knows he will never return the feelings so she wants to move on and feels he's the best person to help her get herself out there.

Jackson has been fighting his feelings for Mandy for years. He doesn't feel him and his darker desires are right for her. She is too sweet and innocent. When she asks for his help creating a profile for this particular dating app he can't believe it. He doesn't feel like she will get the right type of guy on there. He helps her create a profile that he thinks is bare minimum ok but when he gets on later to keep an eye on things he discovers that she changed the whole thing. He feels she's just asking for trouble asking for someone to "teach" her how to please a man. So he decides to go undercover to scare her away from that idea. This plan quickly backfires.
Mandy would love to embrace her feelings for Jackson but he keeps fighting his feelings for her but her also can't seem to stay away from her either.

I did not read the previous series that this series is connected to so I don't know some of the characters from that however after reading this book I may read them. I definitely liked the book and the characters. I don't always like both main characters so this says something. The author has a great writing style and sucks you into the story. I didn't want to put the book down. I would definitely love to read the next book in the series. Especially with the way this one ended. It was a fun and sexy book that had lots steam. Honestly not as steamy as it could have been with it being a BSDM book. But I enjoyed it non the less.

4 Hearts
'Reviewed and recommended by LSK Sweetheart Reviews'

Thank you Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this wonderful book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I have not read a novel n a very long time that I have enjoyed as much as this one.
What a wonderful way to pass the time. Jackson and Mandy are best friends since before they were born. She knew that she was in love with him, he did not. This is their adventures leading up to its conclusion. I do not want to give anything away. READ THIS BOOK.

Jackson and Amanda have been best friends since they were kids.
Although she has been in love with him secretly all this time.
Amanda is sick and tired of waiting for Jackson to stop sleeping around and see her. So she decided to join a dating app to learn all the things she has been missing while waiting for him.
But things get complicated because Jackson is not comfortable with the idea of her sweet friend Mandy exploring and dating other men.
The story is ok although I got tired of the way Jackson talks to Mandy. She is not a child or as naive as he thinks.

Another excellent story by Helen Hardt! We have a friends to lovers story with an innocent adjacent heroine who gets quite the education. Her hero is her commitment phobic best friend who just so happens to belong to a BDSM club. Safe, kinky and consensual like any good relationship should be. I loved how they finally admit what they mean to each other.

4.5 stars - Blush is a pretty delicious, friends to lovers erotic romance. They’ve known each other since the cradle and that sort of bond is unbreakable. Or is it? The hero spends much of the book fighting, then giving in, and then fighting again not be engulfed by his attraction and lust for his best friend. It creates a limbo that almost grows tedious, hence the loss of .5 stars from me. Otherwise, this is a dream erotic romance. Enjoy!

BLUSH (Black Rose #1) by Helen Hardt
Helen Hardt has done it again! She has created another series that is going to be as steamy, intense, addictive, titillating, salacious and with chemistry that is as smoking hot as h***! I love that this is back in Braden Black's world and we get glimpses of Braden and Ben through out.
Jackson and Amanda are best friends from infancy. They are closer to each other than anyone else. There are a few things they don't know about each other however. He has been a player as he can't committ to any woman. He also loves his time at Black Rose as a dominant that Amanda knows nothing about. She has been in love with him quietly for years and has only had a couple of boyfriends in the past. She is willing to open up a dating app site to try and find someone and enlists Jackson's help to create a profile that will interest guys.
I am definitely looking forward to the next book. This is 5 blazing stars!

I loved this book. We also get to see the Black brothers as their club is featured in this book.
I liked Amanda and Jackson, even though he was so oblivious to his and her feelings for him.

Amanda has pined for her best friend Jackson for years. She's sure he'll never see her as anything other than his sweet best friend. She's ready to move on and sets up an online profile looking for someone to help her live out some of her fantasies.

Jackson has always kept his sexual desires and membership to The Black Rose Underground a secret. He believes Amanda is too innocent to understand what he likes. But when he learns about her online profile he joins anonymously to give her a taste of what she seeks and to keep her safe.

But she quickly discovers that Jackson is posing as Mr. Dark and that she's interested in what the club has to offer. Jackson still isn't sure but the prospect of losing her makes him realize how he truly feels for Amanda.

Thank you so much to the author, Entangled and NetGalley for this ARC to review.
Working on review

A great friends to lovers steamy romance with elements of BDSM. Jackson and Mandy have been best friends since they were in nappies, only for Mandy somewhere along the line it’s grown into something deeper. She’s been in love with Jackson since high school. Tired of wasting her life waiting for him to really see her, she joins an online dating app in an attempt to kick start her social life but when Jackson finds out about this he decides to sabotage her attempts by masquerading as ‘Mr Dark’ and giving her an education in just what he really looking for in a partner by taking her to his secret sex club, the Black Rose Underground and hopefully scaring her off but what happens when Mandy likes what she sees in the club and decides she wants more?

With some hot chemistry between the hero and heroine and an introduction to the milder BDSM spectrum and some familiar characters making an appearance this was an enjoyable read. I did get frustrated at times with Jackson as he seemed to want to keep his sweet, innocent ‘Mandy Cake’ in a box ready for him to pick up at his convenience. Then he didn’t know if he wanted to risk losing her friendship if he took the relationship to the next level and it didn’t work out. Their whole friendship just seemed a little one-sided to me and his indecision a bit repetitive. Personally if I’d been Mandy I’d have dumped his a$$ for Zorro in a heartbeat!

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for the eARC of this book!

Blush is a friends-to-lovers BDSM romance told in dual POV. Amanda, or Mandy, is a 29 year old almost virgin who has been in love with her best friend Jackson for as long as she can remember. She’s the curvy, glasses-wearing, book nerd and he’s the athletic, home-coming king, star football player. Even worse, he still calls her Mandy Cakes, much to her chagrin. She couldn’t be more in the friend zone if she tried.

So how does one get over a one-sided crush they’ve had for years on their best friend? They download a dating app and ask said best (and apparently only) friend to help set it up.

Jackson is a self assured ladies man who hasn’t had a relationship last longer than 3 months since he was a senior in high school. He knows what he likes, and he’s good at it. When his best friend asks him to help set up a dating profile, he’s panicked thinking about all the crazy, horn dog men in the world. She refuses to listen to reason when he tells her not to set up her profile. What’s a best friend to do when all he wants is to protect his sweet, innocent childhood bestie?

This book wasn’t bad, but it felt underwhelming to me. Very dialogue driven (inner and outer). Kinda repetitive. Our two main characters have the same exact argument over and over and over again. It all felt unrealistic to me. “Everyone knows but them” trope heavy. The BDSM always wasn’t BDSMing … if you catch my drift.

Overall, this was a very quick, easy, fluffy read. If you’re interested in friends to lovers, angst, and a little bit of flogging, well, this may just be the book for you.

This is the first book in the Black Rose series, we get Jackson and Mandy, best friends to lovers romance full of spicy scenes, the story was good, but dragged a bit much in the scenes, I like the idea and hopefully, this will pick up in the next books. I liked the characters, and I think a bit predictable, looking forward to reading the next one.

Jackson and Mandy are amazing in this story. They certainly made the book entertaining for me when they visited the club to partake in some kinky playfulness. I absolutely loved the plot of the story. Two best friends trying to figure out all these strange emotions that they have for one another and how can they expand upon them. The writer did a wonderful job of having the characters react upon those feelings separately. It did become a bit much when it became a constant back forth between the two main characters when they realized that they have strong feelings for each other. The sexual scenes were heated, but I believe that they could be more explosive. More explicit and sensual. I definitely loved how the story ended. I truly had high hopes for these two to find each other.

This was a sexy and at times frustrating best friend to lovers romance that had that typical will they or won't they, why don't they freaking communicate thing going on. It seems like the more she opens up, the more he closes down, and how sad is that? It's a good thing he has good friends to help out with talking and showing sense. I'm not sure how i feel over all about this couple, and about how BDSM was portrayed in the book. The sub chooses the safeword, I've never heard of a Dom telling a sub their safeword. It's supposed to be a word they easily recall and yet wouldn't randomly call out. To have a Dom choose it, and then change Doms, to have that Dom choose another safeword the sub would have to recall under duress (which is when a safeword is used), they could possibly call out the incorrect one and have it ignored by no fault of the Dom, and things could get ugly. So no, the sub chooses their safeword that is always their safeword no matter who they play with. It just so happens that she ends up with her first Dom.

Ok that really bugged me, a couple other things did too but I'm not going to make a list. I just think the author should do more research. Or not write about it.

#netgalley #Blush