Not sure how i feel about this book. Sort of dark feel to it. Not sure i like Levi, I assume that is how I’m supposed to feel. In the end Levi and Rachel’s book is about re-evaluating your life, letting go of anger.

I couldn't get into Levi. He seemed to have too much attitude and resentment. I had to make myself finish the book. I couldn't get into how he treated her, just not the typical hero I want to read about.

WRONG FOR ME - Jackie Ashenden

#2 in the Motor City Royals romance series

HOT! - 4 stars

Plot - 4 stars - Levi has just gotten out of jail and come back to the old neighborhood, wanting to make some changes. But first he wants revenge. He'll use his desire for Rachel and her tattoo parlor as tools to exact revenge on her for causing him to go to prison for 8 years.

Writing - 4 stars - Ashenden is one of my go-to authors for hot and steamy romances. She creates strong and well-built characters. They're not necessarily likable, but they are always compelling. In this case Levi and Rachel have been kicked around by their circumstances, and their actions (even the negative ones) make sense. And, boy, Ashenden sure knows how to write erotic scenes!

Characters - 4.5 stars - This is where the story shone for me. Levi is scary and tough and totally irresistible. He feels justified in his need to hurt, and he's not totally wrong. But, of course, he goes a little over-the-top, but in a good way. He's appealing and desirable despite his bad attitude. Rachel is the girl who was involved with Levi and his best friend, then it all went downhill after the incident that killed a man. She has struggled her whole life, and now she feels guilty and unhappy, allowing Levi to manipulate her into yet another situation beyond her control. But despite their tough outer shells, we can see beneath their armor and like the friends they used to be. Most of the book is focused on them, in their own little world, although revisiting with Zee and Tamara, as well as Zoe and Gideon, connects us with the first book of this series.

Title - 3.5 stars - Well, they don't really seem wrong for each other at all, but I suppose the twists and turns and mistakes of their lives have gotten them to this point, so their relationship does seem a little uneven. At least at first.

Cover - 4.5 stars - Although the face on the cover doesn't have exactly the attributes that are described in the book, this man totally sends the message of Levi's personality. He's handsome, sexy, and definitely dangerous. Excellent choice.

Overview - 4 stars - What an extremely hot book! Although there was a lot of revenge and emotional punishment in this book, it didn't seem dark at all. Levi is struggling with his feelings after suffering through 8 years of prison, all because he was protecting Rachel. His anger makes a lot of sense, especially because of where he's been for so long, with nothing to do but think about the situation and regret it. When Rachel doesn't visit him, his revengeful feelings only get stronger. She, for her part, is so very vulnerable. Her actions also make sense, and since we've learned her back story, we understand her thoughts and motives. Although the romance today is based on anger and manipulation, it's originally based in love and friendship, and this shows through. I found both characters appealing despite their current actions and recognized their underlying caring and concern for each other. Although this book could not really be considered sweet, it was definitely hot and loving and powerful.

I'm not a huge fan of people that feel the world owes them something and from the beginning that's the vibe that Levi exudes. Yes, he did time for standing up for his best friend Rachel (I'm not giving anything up, it's in the blurb). Yes, he has the right to be pissed at her for how she reacted afterwards, but he's a complete douche to her and he does things that take her out of her comfort zone and are manipulative. Nothing about his machinations scream love to me. It's literal and emotional blackmail. If she really hurt him, he could've just walked away and moved on when he got out. The plot and what caused the rift between them is just plain sad. While that is not atypical in a story, it doesn't seem to recover or progress into something redeeming. It has this dark cloud over it and even the purported HFN doesn't win me back. I see some potential here, but I will have to agree with the book title and say this is "Wrong for Me". Safety: No others while they are together. There is an attempted rape. No physical abuse but what he does to her sure as hell feels like emotional abuse to me.

Not my cuppa, but overall a pretty good read. I found it a bit slow at the start, but then it picked up.

The continuation of this series was a dark read. The characters Levi and Rachael were troubled characters with a past together. The pair have chemistry and were well written making them an intense pair up. The story moved along well and kept me interested from the start. I enjoyed this book from beginning to end and would recommend it to others.

Great book! Not my cup of tea, but the plot was awesome and the characters were very developed. I always love a story that I can picture in my head as I read, and this was one of them. Great job!

I really had trouble getting into the book initially and getting caught up in the emotions of the characters. The storyline was good, but it just didn’t stand out in my mind amongst other books in the genre. The blurb was great, but overall the book just fell flat for me.

I really liked this storyline. Levi goes to jail for Rachel, but still harbors feelings for her many years later. My only complaint is if he still loves her, then why not make their reunion easier on both of them and if he is still so angry - then why not just avoid her when he got out. This conflict kept me spinning the entire story.

Wow, Levi sure does push Rachel away, whilst at the same time, wanting her badly. She is tough, rough and emotionally hurting.
Secrets galore, passion, pain, friendship, so many feels that Jackie is just so darn good at writing.
Really enjoyed this book, like all in this series, a must read

This is a very powerful story about a man Levi Rush, coming back to the neighborhood he left eight years ago to do a prison sentence. His goal is to change the neighborhood form the way he remembered it from when he was living there. His second goal is to make the life for Rachel Hamilton as painful as much as it was for the last eight years. He was protecting her the night he killed a man and when it came time for court she never showed up. Her reasons are explained along with why she was never able to bring herself to visit him in prison. He wants to blame her and other people around him for the problems that he had, and is still having. When she takes responsibility for her part he is still carrying around a lot of anger that is actually destroying him, and all of the good he thinks he is wanting to do. The love he profess for her is destroyed by his anger towards himself and the neighborhood that he has been gone from for eight years. For him to see this it takes the love of Rachel to walk away from him this time because he is blinded by hate, and anger. He must overcome and accept his roll for his part in his own actions for going to prison. The author brings this out towards the end which really makes for a very powerful story about forgiveness of self, and then moving on to the people close to him. A very good and powerful story, with excellent characters.

Not what I was expecting but once I started reading the book I couldn't put it down.

I felt that Levi's character was little way too strong for my liking. The badass females was an plus to the story.

Wow! I was not expecting to like this one as much as I did but it was so good! Levi and Rachel have a kind of twisted relationship. At the same time, they have really great chemistry. These characters were a bit complex and at times I wasn't sure how I felt about them but I ended up really loving this couple and this book! I can't wait to read more by this author!

Levi is out of jail after serving 8 years for manslaughter. Okay, it was an accident because he was protecting his best friend, Rachel, who was being attacked by a drug dealer. His focus and his goal when he gets out is to seek out Rachel. She never contacted him while he was in prison and he intends to make her pay for that and he knows just how he'll do that. Put her tattoo studio on the line and he'll have her eating out of his hands! Geez, is he angry or what!?

Guilt has eaten Rachel about Levi being in jail. She pushes him to the back of her brain and goes on with her life opening a tattoo studio. But, what happens when Levi gets out of jail and shows up threatening her business?

Great story!

Thanks to Kensington Books via NetGalley for a copy of this book!

Wrong for me. Never has a title been more apt. I picked this through NetGalley after reading a sampler in Buzz books and thinking that I ought to try something different, but this did nothing for me. Too alpha, too many unresolvable (for me anyway) problems. I read to the end to see if it was fixable (for me) but it wasn't. Probably will work for lots of other people, just not my sort of thing.

Wrong for Me is the second novel in the Motor City Royals series, but it's the first one of the series I've read and I give it 4.5 stars.

Levi Rush has just been released after serving 8 years in prison for manslaughter. He's returning to the place he knew well, Royal, a seedy, run-down neighborhood in Detroit. To say that he has a chip on his shoulder is akin to saying that there's some coal in Pennsylvania. How did it happen? He tried to rescue his best friend, Rachel Hamilton (whom he used to call Sunshine or Sunny) from what appeared to be an attempted rape by a drug dealer in a dark alley. Although he only punched the guy, he fell, hit his head on the pavement and died. Rachel never showed up to testify that he was defending her from a rapist, nor has she written him, emailed or visited him once in the past eight years. Levi's first stop when he gets out is to Black's Vintage Repair and Restoration, a motorcycle shop owned and operated by Gideon Black, who seems to be the hub around which the cast of characters revolves. Gideon visited Levi over the years, and he's going there hoping to see Rachel, with whom he's royally (no pun intended) ticked off, as well as see the other lost neighborhood kids he met at the local outreach center, kids he used to hang out with, all of whom are now adults, but Levi still considers them his family.

When we meet Rachel, she's also on her way to the repair shop. She knows she's going to have to face Levi's wrath at her betrayal of him. She's a tough cookie, smart, strong and snarky, but underneath her armor, she fears Levi's wrath. Levi is no longer the best friend she remembered--he's huge, tough, tattooed, scarred and angry, but she's as beautiful to Levi as she always was, and the two are still attracted to one another, an attraction they never pursued because Rachel was under the age of consent before Levi ended up in prison. Now, Levi wants justice for all he suffered, and he intends to exact that justice from Rachel. But Rachel isn't the same girl she used to be either. Over the years, she's moved on with her life, and she now owns and operates a tattoo parlor in what was once an abandoned factory in Royal. She's a gifted artist, and while she's not making big bucks or pursuing the career in fine arts that Levi once encouraged and envisioned for her, she doing all right for herself. She also feels ashamed and guilty for what happened to Levi and knows she's going to have to make amends to him, but she hasn't a clue at what that is going to entail, although she's blamed herself for being in that alley for years and is carrying a deep, dark secret of her own.

Levi has big plans now that's he's out, and he's had plenty of time to make them. He wants Rachel and is not adverse to controlling her to get what he wants. Rachel feels that she owes Levi and deserves the pain of whatever he wants from her. What she doesn't know is that Levi has spent his time in prison acquiring properties in Royal, getting his MBA, and investing wisely. Aside from his anger, he wants the life with Rachel that he dreamed of during his incarceration. He wants to use his power and money to revitalize the run-down neighborhood, to make it a better place to live, to attract new businesses, new residents, and he doesn't care that neither Rachel, nor Gideon approve of his vision for the neighborhood.

This is a dark and gritty novel, full of angst, guilt, betrayal, secrets and lies. The sex scenes are incendiary and intended for mature readers. Ms. Ashenden pulled this reader into the intense drama from the very first page and kept me deeply involved in the plot and characters throughout. The only reason for not giving this book a 5-star rating was some repetitive phrasing in the early chapters. All in all, this was an excellent read, so engrossing that I found it almost impossible to not read from beginning to end in one sitting, even though it would have meant reading straight through the night until morning. Kudos to Ms. Ashenden for a sexy, emotional, tear-your-heart-out read.

this is such an intense story from the beginning. This author has a fab way of writing which will keep your heart pumping till the very last page. This is definitely an emotional and moving story. This book has fantastic characters, you'll be rooting for as you read. The more I read from this author the better they get. I cant wait to read more from them in the future.

Highly recommended
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book

Well, I gave it a shot. Maybe I'm just not cut out for stories set in the world created by Ashenden. I found myself wondering why anyone would want either character.

N/A Did not get a chance to review this title as originally planned