REVIEW: Cousins by Lisa Lang Blakeney

Cousins: An Alpha Bad Boy Romance by Lisa Lang Blakeney
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Book Description:

Our passion is incredibly intense.
The connection between us borders on the possessive.
Our feelings are absolutely forbidden. We're cousins…
The question now is…what the fuck are we going to do about it?

After Elizabeth Hill is brutally attacked in her apartment by an intruder and then unceremoniously dumped by her ex-boyfriend, she moves in with her wealthy aunt and uncle who assign her older cousin the task of keeping an eye out for her. All she remembers about her cousin Roman is that he was the moody mean boy who played a cruel trick on her when she was just six years old; but soon learns that he is now a complex and multi-layered man who has the ability to protect her, ignite her, and challenge her like no one ever has before.

Roman Masterson makes his fortune by fixing celebrity problems for big money and by any means necessary. He is a foul-mouthed, bad-tempered, manwhore who doesn't have the time or inclination to babysit a gullible little brat from the suburbs…until he unknowingly spots her in the middle of a crowded dance floor and decides right then and there to claim every one of her orgasms from that moment on. Little does he know that the woman he's laid claim to is his…cousin.

Genre: New Adult Romance
Book one of a two book series.
Dual point of view.

Warning: Contains adult themes, explicit love scenes, and harsh language. It is only appropriate for adult readers age 18+. 

Disclaimer: Please note that all characters in the book are 18+ years of age, non-blood related, and all sexual acts are consensual.

This book…I’m not sure what to say. I’ve been addicted to stepbrother books this year, so when I saw this, and had the opportunity to review it, I jumped at it. Step-Cousins…sold! The premise was definitely an interesting twist on the genre.

While the book started out decent, it quickly went downhill for me. First of all, I had questions. The synopsis talks about a “violent attack”…now, I’m not saying it wasn’t, but it was never fully explained as to what happened besides her being knocked out. Second, during said attack, she was robbed…ok, I can believe that. However, what I can’t believe is that someone would keep as much cash in their apartment as she did. She had thousands (17 to be exact) hidden in empty tampon boxes…and yet she didn’t go to the police. Now granted, even if she had gone to the police, they mostly likely wouldn’t have recovered her money…it was cash, but still…who doesn’t go to the police after being attacked and robbed!?

So, after she meets Roman at the club, he can’t stop thinking about her and she can’t stop thinking about him. Here’s something I found interesting…when she went to her aunt’s house, she said she’s the spitting image of her aunt. So…if that’s the case, why didn’t Roman recognize her since her aunt is Roman’s stepmother? It’s not like he hasn’t seen his stepmom in forever. He sees her quite often. So how would he not look at Elizabeth and think “She looks like Juliette”…but they were shocked to find out they were cousins.

Another issue I had…Roman’s nickname of Duchess for Elizabeth. I’m not sure where it came from but it came off sounding douchey and creepy to me. It just didn’t fit. And when he said “I give all my friend’s nicknames.” It just didn’t jive for me. He knew her name, he should use it. It was only the second time they’d met…don’t just presume to give her a smarmy nickname that comes off as if you don’t remember her name and you don’t want to call her by the wrong name so you call her a generic nickname.

One of the things that I thought would be most interesting was their connection as step-cousins. I expected them to know each other, having seen each other over the years at family functions. But that wasn’t the case. They met once as children, he played a horrible prank on her and they never saw each other again…flash forward 20-some years and they meet as strangers. The premise could have worked, with some tweaking but as it was, the book was just ok for me.


Book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

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