Hooked Up: A Free Steamy Romance

Was super excited to hear about this series being released with both Pearl and Alexander's POV. I love getting into the male characters head. I knew from the first meeting that this book would be a winner for me. The encounter in the coffee shop where Pearl is all frazzled meeting Alexander and him thinking she was being standoffish wanting him to leave her alone was so charming. Seeing Alexander's vulnerability throughout the book makes you love him more, men in this genre always seem so macho and tough I love seeing the other side where they just want to be wanted.

My favorite quote from Alexander has to be "I remember thinking, in that second,how women really were the best invention. Ever. God must have been particularly inspired on that extremely creative day." How do you not want to read more after that. Arianne did an excellent job revamping this story, even though I have read the Pearl series multiple times this book still felt fresh and new. If you haven't read Arianne Richmonde's Pearl Series you should, getting to see the other side of that story in Hooked Up is a great surprise. Can't wait for Hooked Up 2 to come out. Warning: crazy cliff hanger that you love to hate. Given on ARC for an honest review.

In this rewrite of the original Pearl series, Arianne Richmonde brings us the love story of Pearl Robinson, a 40-year-old documentary producer, and Alexandre Chevallier, the 24-year-old billionaire creator of a social media site, Hooked Up, this time told from alternating points of view.

The attraction between the two characters is instantaneous. The chemistry off the charts hot. Alexandre, despite his young age, is worldly, suave and loveable. It’s a good story, with a familiar plot-line, and a good cliffhanger ending. I can’t wait to read Hooked Up 2 (which will be out soon) to find out what happens next.

If you’ve read the Pearl series, this is not a new story, but it is interesting getting inside the heads of both characters. If you haven’t read the Pearl series, I highly recommend you just read Hooked Up.

***Given an ARC for an honest review***

This book did NOT flow well whatsoever. I quite enjoy the back and forth POV's but when something would happen in one chapter, the same chapter would happen from a different POV. I found myself skipping pages it was so redundant. I breezed through the last 40% of the book not wanting to continue. Story plot was interesting and had potential which is what the 2 stars is for. Other than that, ick =P

This author has the weirdest style. Mixes past and present tense, sometimes in the same sentence. Typos everywhere. The dialogue was stilted - didn't get a feeling of reality. The characters did too much "telling" and not enough "showing." While at first I liked rehashing a scene from a different POV, it just began to make no sense.

Will not buy sequel. I just don't care about these characters.

This author has the weirdest style. Mixes past and present tense, sometimes in the same sentence. Typos everywhere. The dialogue was stilted - didn't get a feeling of reality. The characters did too much "telling" and not enough "showing." While at first I liked rehashing a scene from a different POV, it just began to make no sense.

Will not buy sequel. I just don't care about these characters.

This book did NOT flow well whatsoever. I quite enjoy the back and forth POV's but when something would happen in one chapter, the same chapter would happen from a different POV. I found myself skipping pages it was so redundant. I breezed through the last 40% of the book not wanting to continue. Story plot was interesting and had potential which is what the 2 stars is for. Other than that, ick =P

Ugh, juvenile, inconsistent several times.. Such as, Pearl was swimming, but when Alex called she had on work clothes. When they were in the coffee shop, she had on tennis shoes, but when she stood, she described her wobbly legs from having on stilettos. And most of the time I skimmed. Not that great.

Whoa! Hooked Up is scorchingly HOT!!
Never having read the Pearl series I am a newcomer to this tale of love between a ‘mature' woman and her younger male lover. And I have to admit, as much as the story appealed to me, I just wasn't sure if the author could really pull it off. In order to have a genuine love evolve from a physical lust between an older woman and a younger man, the author has to have the ability to make these two characters 'be so defined and well written that the reader not only understand how these two can work together but be able to make her readers (including those ‘mature’ women) believe it could exist for real. The characters must have be able to come together and relate in some absolute way even beyond that of a normal contemporary romance. And the author not only does it well with HookedUp, she does an exceptional job!
Sometimes I can be somewhat difficult to please but Arianne blew me away with this story. And I'm not afraid to say I loved every second of it! This was my first novel by this author but if this is any indication of what she can do, it will definitely not be my last!
So turn off your cell, tell hubby and the kiddos they'll be fending for themselves for a few days, put on your PJs and grab the snacks because once you hop on this fabulous roller coaster ride , you won't wanna get off!!
*Given an ARC for a honest review*

I absolutely HATE when authors do this, so be warned BEFORE you buy!!! The original release of the material came in two boxed sets -- the first PEARL TRILOGY was Pearl's POV, and the second box set PEARL and BELLE PEARL told their story from Alexandre's POV -- all complete in 5 separate books. I bought and devoured this series as one of my favorites. Then, I fell prey later on to buying HOOKED UP, thinking it was a continuation of their story. Silly me. In fact, this is one of those shameless, author attempts to repackage previously released material with a new cover and title without proper disclosure to forewarn customers. The ONLY difference between the original set and the Hooked Up re-release is that you get Alexandre's POV alternating with Pearl's in each book, instead of separate books. This is so not cool, as considerate authors warn their readers in advance, so they do not duplicate purchases of material they already own. I still love the story unconditionally, but this approach is entirely unnecessary and can only be construed as intentional manipulation to resell old material as new. If you have not previously bought both sets of the trilogy, by all means purchase this re-released, combined version as (again) my feelings about the material have not changed, only the author's methods of inducing fresh sales.

ARC given in exchange for an honest review

I loved this book, I really enjoyed reading it. The author has a way with the writing to get you hooked on the characters. I love how you can feel the connection between the two and you get so involved into the story that you must know more about each character. This book is hot and steamy - so blushing my happen while reading :) Now with this being part of a series, you won't have a HEA at the end - there is a cliffhanger.

Pearl is a recently divorced woman and at the age of 40 she doesn't believe that any man would want her. She doesn't go out much and she is always working. She doesn't have the best support of a family and really finds herself alone except for a best friend who she gets to see when she's not busy. Pearl meets Alexandre at the coffee shop and they instantly start talking. The more time Pearl spends with Alexandre, the more she falls for him. Everything was going well until one morning when everything comes crashing down.

Alexandre has had it with all the women and he just wants to find someone that he can start a life with and finally settle down. He is 25 years old and has his own company but he feels as he is missing something from his life. When he meets Pearl, he can't help but continue to talk with her and he wants to continue to see her. He has to clear some things up in his life but his main focus will be Pearl when he is done. The more time he spends with her, the more that he falls for her. When he gets a phone call, he never expected to hear what he did and now everything is crashing down and he feels so betrayed.

This book will keep you on your toes and you'll want to know what happens with the characters. You will feel different emotions within this book and some of them will hit close to you. The connection that the characters have is strong and you can feel the love form between the two but when secrets are hidden, it can destroy everything.

Great job to the author, I highly recommend.

Five Star Review

I received a copy of his book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Hooked Up is the retelling of the popular Pearl series from Arianne Richmonde. It will be a three book series with books releasing in December, January, and February. Therefore, do not expect the books to not end in cliffhangers.

Pearl Robinson is a divorced career driven woman living in New York City. She hasn't had a date in years and is so focused on her career it's basically her life. A film producer of documentaries, she's end to a IT Conference to meet Alexandre Chevalier and his sister Sophie, to try to get them to do a documentary film about there online success of a dating app named HookedUp. A task of epic proportion since they are very private people.

Alexandre Is a self proclaimed techie. He is also the French billionaire CEO of the social media dating app HookedUp that's taken the U.S. by storm. Together, he and his sister Sophie have created this empire. Good looking and charming Alexandre has women in every country he travels to. But, a chance meeting with Pearl has him thinking about a more serious long term normal relationship. Alexandre's life has been anything but a bed of roses from the get go. Can he and Pearl make their mutual attraction into something more or are the odds stacked against them? Can anyone have anything so perfectly wonderful or will it all come crashing down?

The Pearl Series is new to me. I have not read the first books that came out. The original ones. Now after reading Hooked Up I ask myself why? They are all on my kindle waiting for me I just hadn't had the time to dive into them. It is also my first read by Arianne Richmonde. I really enjoyed this book. Told in dual points of view switching between Alexandre and Pearl you get to see the conversations and meetings from each of the other perspective. We all hear conversations differently and I loved how each heard different things or took different things from their interactions. Pearl, is a mature older woman of forty. This was a nice change of pace as usually character are so much younger. I loved the fact that she was older, more settled and had life experiences. Alexandre on the other hand is twenty five, but wise beyond his years. Their chemistry is off the charts hot and Alexandre takes making Pearl happy very seriously. I don't want to give anything away especially for new readers to this series like me.

This may have been my first read by Arianne Richmonde but it won't be my last. If you've already read the Pearl series I don't see how you couldn't not like this version and the dual points of view. It's so unique as the conversations are told through what each hears of what the other says. I've never read a story like it and enjoyed it so much. I can not wait to get to read the second book as this one ended by taking my breathe away. I'm going to be a good girl and patiently wait. However, it is so tempting to open up the original series and read away since it is right here on my kindle, but NO I'm not going to cheat.

In this rewrite of the original Pearl series, Arianne Richmonde brings us the love story of Pearl Robinson, a 40-year-old documentary producer, and Alexandre Chevallier, the 24-year-old billionaire creator of a social media site, Hooked Up, this time told from alternating points of view.

The attraction between the two characters is instantaneous. The chemistry off the charts hot. Alexandre, despite his young age, is worldly, suave and loveable. It’s a good story, with a familiar plot-line, and a good cliffhanger ending. I can’t wait to read Hooked Up 2 (which will be out soon) to find out what happens next.

If you’ve read the Pearl series, this is not a new story, but it is interesting getting inside the heads of both characters. If you haven’t read the Pearl series, I highly recommend you just read Hooked Up.

***Given an ARC for an honest review***

I received an ARC in replace of honest reviews "Hooked Up" by Arianna Richmonde

This was a first time read for me by this author. I think this book was written well and had a great story line. It took me a little while to get into this book but once I did I really started to like it. Generally when a book does not catch my eye I will put it down. I wasn't sure what to expect in this story as I jumped into reading it with no knowledge of what it would be about. I would give this book 4 stars. This short, but oh so sweet and charming story. I liked the POV between the characters it was entertaining and enjoyable. The characters were believable and I found them easy to relate to and felt lots of emotions in me while I was reading this book.

This book was so hot and steamy and would defiantly recommend this book to all my friends who read the same types of books I do. I am addicted to reading and am glad received a chance to review this book in exchange for honest feed back.

I received this book in return for an honest review!!

I have to say this is the first time I have read a book by this author and let me just say oh my god thank you for letting me read for you!! I loved this book so much and I can't wait for more to come.

This book is hot and steamy and keeps you in it until the end and then leaves you hanging and wanting to know what's next!

I enjoyed the dual POV narration. This is a woman who just turned 40, divorced and pretty much given up on the romance and everything else. She doesn't have high self-esteem and doesnt think that anyone finds her sexy at all.

Alexandrea he is a sexy man. This story has so much to offer. We get the mystery, and two people who couldn't be more opposite finding themselves falling in love. I am so excited for the next book I can't wait.

This is just amazing you must read it.

****ARC Received For Review****

This was my first Arianne Richmonde book that I remember so didn't read the previous series...... but won't be my last!!! Dang this book was so good and so HOT!!! It is written in dual POV (I don't like writing "Spoilers" but it does contain a Cliffhanger. But other than that FLOVED this book!!! Can. Not. Wait for Book 2!!! Must read book!!!

*****Book Description****
I believed in sex, once upon a time. And passion. But now my life as a single, divorced career girl living alone in New York City was all about work. I hadn't had a date in years.

But then he came along . . . Alexandre Chevalier. The French CEO billionaire of HookedUp, the social media phenomenon that had taken the world by storm.
He was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen, and with eyes so green they seared into my soul.
Like a flash of lightning he struck me down . . . his touch was electric, and I knew my life was irrevocably changed. I'd never be the same again.

He awakened every fiber of my being, ignited every cell in my body.
And just when I thought things couldn't be more perfect . . .
It all came crashing down.
*

I'd had it with all the crazy women in my life: the models, the movie stars, even my power-hungry sister and business partner. If you'd had a past like mine, you'd understand.
I just wanted a normal relationship with a normal woman . . .

And then I met her . . . Pearl Robinson.
She was perfect for me.
Or so I thought.
But I was in for a shocking surprise when I found out the truth . . .
Of who she really was.

This is a retelling of another series by this author that provides a duel point of view. I have not read the original series. I enjoyed this story but I have a feeling I will enjoy the original a lot more.

I liked the concept behind this story. Older woman and a younger man. I enjoyed seeing their interactions and how their relationship evolved. The duel point of view allowed the reader to have insight into both of their heads/thoughts.

That being said, the reason I say that I think I would enjoy the original better is because I had a difficult time reading the same scenes twice (but with a different POV.) I spent a lot of time matching the two POVs together to see it as all one big scene.

One thing that bothered me by the change now POV is how drastically different some of the scenes were. One POV is was a sweet intimate moment and then you read from the other POV and it was very vulgar. It was almost like the characters experiencing the same thing.

Overall it was a good story. I gave a 4 star review because I like the underlying story that is being told (hence why I said I would probably enjoy the original more)

* please note that I received an ARC for and honest review