Hyde and Seek (Hyde, #1)

by Layla Frost

[stacey_is_sassy]

Oh, how the times change...

I enjoyed the audio version of Hyde and Seek but admit that with my first re-read/listen of the story, I've had to adjust my rating by a smidge. I've kept my original review (below in a spoiler), which I admit is pretty long-winded and a bit dodgy. I guess that my reads have changed through the years, and my lusty love for alpha-holes has diminished a wee bit. What once appealed and made me shiver with excitement, now makes my head explode. Pushy and bossy with the intent to take control, now seems wrong. I like a strong hero but when the heroine has to fight for her opinion to be heard, and more times than not it's not listened to, it makes me a little stabby.

It was kind of weird that there were two narrators but the bloke is only in it for a couple of chapters (if that) right at the end. Why bother? The female narrator's voice was a little nasally and annoyed me a bit. She was far from the worst, but definitely not the best I've heard.

I think I forgot how young the heroine was and the age gap between herself and the hero. Age doesn't really matter to me, I just think that there can be a wee bit of frustration when two people are at different stages of life.

I was again entertained with the story and found myself engaged from beginning to end. I'm a fan of Layla Frost's writing and I can definitely see the improvement and change from Hyde and Seek to her current work. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more audio releases by this author.

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Wow…and this was her first release

I really enjoyed this story about a Rock and Roll chick who likes to bake, meeting a VERY hot mechanic who’s good with his hands. Piper is trying to make a living out of her passion for baking and part of the set up is getting her van up to scratch for deliveries. Jake is the owner of Hyde where her van is getting fixed. Their initial meetings weren’t smooth because Jake has trust issues, but he also has a real desire to get to know Piper better…while fighting off all the men who want Piper too.

Piper has led a very sheltered life with slight shows of rebellion in the forms of her music tastes, ink and style. Her mother wants her to make a good match, but unfortunately, Piper thinks the men her mother picks are boring and dull. She tries to placate her mother but eventually realises it doesn’t make her happy.

Jake’s business is doing very well for itself. He has some very cool mates he works with who also happened to be appealing to the female eye. A lot of women throw themselves at them hoping to become the girlfriend of Jake or very happily settle for one of the other guys. This makes Jake distrustful. He doesn’t mind the sex, but it’s generally once only and never anything more.

When Piper and Jake finally get together there is fireworks and possessiveness from Jake that surprised both of them. It doesn’t take either of them long to realise that they are happy together. A few issues develop with past relationships and some long-lasting resentments due to family expectations. I’m not a huge fan of angst-driven plots which makes this story perfect for me. I also loved that Piper has so much faith in their relationship that when there are problems she doesn’t give up, she asks questions.

I’m going to be brutally honest, Ms Frost has some serious potential. I loved the character development, setting and dialogue. I didn’t love the back and forth in time sequence, their first sex scene made me roll my eyes and the almost instant possessiveness from someone who hasn’t had a “relationship” for eight years was slightly unbelievable. For fans of Kristen Ashley’s work, you will see a similar style in her writing…and I mean the good parts. This author had me laughing, snorting and crying through the whole book and it left me with a huge smile on my face.

I thoroughly enjoyed Hyde and Seek and will definitely be following Layla Frost’s career. If she keeps to a similar formula with more stories about these lovable characters I will definitely become a fan.

Thank you, Ms Frost, for giving me the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Hyde and Seek.