ARC received for an honest review

It has been a while since Phenomenal X, so I did have to go back and read the last couple of chapters of it before starting Xavier Cold, just to get my head back in the game. And I am glad I did go back and read that little bit.

Starting right up where X finished, we are given no reprieve from what has happened. We head straight into the aftermath of X losing his cool on stage.

It was hard to see Xavier and Anna go through what they have to. People from their past, people from their present - all trying their best to break our lovelies up, causing nothing but trouble.

Xavier goes to some deep, dark places during the course of this book. It was heartbreaking but beautiful to see him confront his past but come through it a better, more focused man than he was before. It was like watching a boy - a big, brutish looking boy - turn into a man.

Anna has her fair share of crap to deal with, but through it all she is Xavier's strength. She believes in him when he doesn't believe in himself. She forces him to face his vulnerabilities, loving him even when it is killing her inside.

I felt there was a lot of growth in Anna's character since book one, and she really came into herself in Xavier Cold.

I really enjoyed the conclusion to the Hard Knocks series, and though I am sad to see it ending, I am looking forward to what Ms Valentine brings us next.