Review, Excerpt & Giveaway: Ruled by Elle Kennedy

Ruled (Outlaws #3) by Elle Kennedy

Publication Date: November 1st 2016 by Berkley

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

About the book:

The latest novel in the series with the “sexiest, baddest, hottest”* outlaws around, from the New York Times bestselling author of Claimed.
 
In the latest novel in the series with the “sexiest, baddest, hottest”* outlaws around, one woman must choose between the two men who want to claim her...
 
...Or does she?

Despite his magnetic personality, Rylan can’t seem to seduce Reese, the deadly leader of their town of outlaws. Winning her over is a welcome challenge, but her indifference isn’t the only thing standing in his way. If he wants Reese, Rylan must also win over Sloan, her stoic protector...

Sloan has always loved Reese, but their painful past has stolen his chances of a future with her. Rylan’s interest in Reese only intensifies the tension—until Sloan begins to wonder if the reckless man might be the one person who can bridge the distance...

The last time Reese fell for the wrong man, she had no choice but to kill him. Now, she desperately wants to take what both Rylan and Sloan are offering. But if she makes the wrong call again, she risks losing them both.

My Thoughts:

Rylan has had it bad for Foxworth’s leader, Reese, but she keeps rejecting his offers.  Things change when her trusted friend and perpetual companion, Sloan, pushes her toward Rylan.  The three of them tangle together, heated bodies and hearts!  They must navigate this new dynamic while keeping one step ahead of the Global Council and the Enforcers that constantly threaten their survival.  Reese’s new plans could wipe them out or take the outlaws a step closer to living free of GC’s oppressive dominance. 

Ruled was wickedly hot! If you’ve read my reviews here, you know I usually don’t like multiples in a romance, but Elle Kennedy sold me on this threesome.  Rylan, Sloan, and Reese were magnetic together! Rylan has been hot for Reese for a while, and they definitely threw out sparks with every encounter in the last book.  I knew we’d get their romance, but the surprise came from the powerful attraction and chemistry between Sloan and Rylan! Add in Reese and their encounters were off the charts intense and combustible!  Ms. Kennedy made their connection feel real by making their relationship more than just sex, each provided comfort, understanding and support. 

Ruled was another exciting installment in the Outlaws series! A perfect combination of action, danger, and an intensely hot romance!

4 Suns

Excerpt:

It wasn’t a lover’s kiss. It wasn’t sweet or gentle or at all romantic. It was a feral attack by the animal Sloan kept caged. The one Reese had seen with Rylan. The one that prowled at the edges of what seemed to be his endless control.

He forced her mouth open, ravaging her with his tongue. She stood still for a moment, stunned by the power of his kiss, and then all of her inhibitions crumpled under the heat and pressure of his lust. With a strangled moan, she dug her nails into his shoulder and climbed him like a tree until her legs could wrap around his waist.

Sloan used his lower body strength to pin her to the wall. A commanding palm angled her jaw until he could plunder her mouth mercilessly. She dug her boot heels into his lower back and leveraged his own body against him, while her hands moved to claw his neck, score his scalp, marking him with everything she had.

“Fucking hell,” he groaned against her mouth. Then he grabbed her ass and held her while grinding his hips into hers. His cock was hard enough that it felt like iron between her legs.

She’d always worried about losing him. Always relied on his control whenever hers was weak. Except now he’d lost his, and if they were going to survive this, she had to find the will to break away.

But any semblance of rational thought was being pulverized with each invasion of his tongue, each pulse of his steel shaft against her core. The fervid attraction that had simmered between them for so long, that had been pushed back to the dim recesses of their minds, was coming to life. And it would devour them if one of them didn’t slam on the brakes.

As always, it was Sloan who found the strength. His lips gentled and the hand on her ass dropped away. He broke contact with her mouth and rested his forehead against hers, his chest bellowing like a thoroughbred’s. His heart beat wildly against her chest until he finally straightened and stepped away.

The loss was so acute, she nearly snatched him back. But if he could find his control, so could she.

“Go then and be careful,” he said gruffly.

Dry-mouthed and aching at the loss of his touch, she whispered, “Always.”

He drew a shaky hand through his hair before spinning on his heel. When he threw open the door, Rylan was behind it, his hand raised and a smile on his face.

One look at Sloan’s thunderous face and Rylan’s grin faded. “Did I interrupt something?”

Sloan didn’t look back at Reese, but she didn’t miss the slight slump of his shoulders. He thought he was being replaced, she realized.

But why? Why now? Sloan had never cared whom she slept with in the past. He’d always known that she relied on him more than anyone alive, but in that dip of his broad back, Reese now read fear. Fear that he was being replaced by the man in her bed.

She wasn’t sure if she should correct that assumption. If she did, she’d be risking a repeat of what had just happened. Sloan was her heart, even more than this town, and she refused to let her own selfish desires cost her the very last thing in her life that she cared about.

So she licked her lips and said, “No, Rylan, I need you.”

The words were like a shot to Sloan’s spine—or maybe a knife. He didn’t take Rylan by the throat, but he might as well have.

“She comes back with so much as a scratch and I’m peeling the skin from your bones, one painful inch at a time,” he hissed at Rylan. “If she dies, you better run, because when I catch you—and I will—you’ll wish you’d bled out beside her.”

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The wonderful people of Berkley generously provided a Paperback Copy of Ruled to giveaway to one reader!  Fill out the rafflecopter below for a chance to win.  The giveaway is open to US or CA residents only.

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