Every Which Way & Breaking the Wrong by Calia Read

"You should never show your emotions. Someone will steal them away, and you’ll be left with nothing, Severine...”

Severine Blake has one rule when it comes to relationships - never let anyone get too close. She is a serial dater whose relationships never last beyond a few dates and that's how she likes it. No one gets hurt that way and no one gets under her skin. She has learned from her own mother and father's relationship that love only leads to heartbreak and she is determined to remain in control.

All that changes when she meets the Sloan brothers - Thayer and Macsen. Thayer and Macsen couldn't be any more different from each other. Thayer is the star athlete who is cocky, confident, and used to getting what he wants. Macsen is studious, calm, and has a personality that instantly puts Severine at ease. She is instantly drawn to Macsen, but can't seem to get Thayer out of her mind. Thayer seems to get Severine in a way that no one else ever has, but they are too similar and find themselves in a seemingly never ending battle of wills. Adding to the mix is the mystery of the Sloan brothers' pasts and the source of the animosity between the two and their older brother, Mathias. From the minute they meet, Severine believes she has the Sloan brothers pegged. She knows which brother she needs to stay away from and which one is the "good" brother. Or so she thinks...

Despite her attraction to Thayer, Severine finds that Macsen is the balm to her wild and damaged soul and finds herself breaking her own rule. She wants to let Macsen in and hopes that he has been everything she has been looking for. However when Macsen makes an unforgivable mistake, Severine learns that she doesn't have everything figured out and what she thought she knew was completely wrong. Heartbroken and lost, she finds herself turning to Thayer for comfort. The attraction between the two of them intensifies, but Severine is hesitant to start anything and have her heart broken again. As the clash between the brothers over Severine comes to a head, she must make a decision between the two and finally learn to trust herself and her heart.

"She was discovering that it was okay to be wrong. Because when you’re wrong, you discover all the things you should’ve done."

I really liked this book. The brothers were interesting characters and even I was fooled by my initial impression of the Sloan brothers. My one qualm with the book was that it took too long for the reasons behind the character's baggage to come out. It was clear from the beginning that they were all damaged, but it took a little to long for the reasons behind this damage to come out and I found myself somewhat frustrated. This left me unsympathetic towards the characters at times because I didn't have the necessary background to understand their motives. I found this to be particularly true with Severine at several points throughout the story and the constant indecision had me feel like I was watching a tennis match. However when more came out about the relationship Severine had with her parents (and they with each other), her behavior made more sense to me and I was able to better relation and sympathize with her. I do wish more details about the Sloan brothers' history had been revealed. At times their story(ies) felt brushed over, like they were being saved for later, and I am hoping that the subsequent novels give us a much fuller picture. Nevertheless, Every Which Way was a solid 3 star read for me.

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"If everyone knew the truth, no one would really ask for love. But when it drops into your life, you can only hope that you have enough strength to hang on."

Emilia Wentworth will do anything to avenge her sister, including creating a burn list of all the people who wronged her family and her sister and seeking revenge for their transgressions. Over the past 3 years, Emilia has worked her way through the list and now there is only one name left, the worst of the transgressors - Macsen Sloan. Determined to make him pay, Emilia transfers to the same college as Macsen and begins plotting how to make him pay. But the more and more Emilia gets to know Macsen, the more she begins to doubt whether he is truly capable of hurting her sister in the way that he is accused. She even finds herself falling for him. Macsen, completely unaware of Emilia's intentions, finds himself opening up to Emilia in a way that he never has before. When the truth is finally revealed, Emilia and Macsen find their worlds turned upside down and their relationship teetering on the point of destruction. In order to save their relationship, both will need to move past the lies and the betrayal and embrace the truth...and each other.

While I liked Every Which Way, I LOVED Breaking the Wrong! It was by far the better book of the two. I love Macsen and there were plenty of steamy scenes in this book. The characters were much better developed in this book and it was full of plot twists and turns, most of which I did not see coming. This was definitely a page turner for me and I didn't want to stop until I reached the end, only to find myself wanting to start over and read it again. Breaking the Wrong gets 4 stars from me!

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If you want more Sloan Brothers...

Make sure to check out Calia Read's blog after you have finished Breaking the Wrong for the Epilogue. Warning - it does contain some potential spoilers, so do not read it before finishing Breaking the Wrong!

Book three: Ruin You Completely is scheduled to be released this summer and will focus on Mathias, the most damaged of the three Sloan brothers. According to Read's blog, we can also expect a fourth book to focus on Thayer's story sometime in late 2013.

I, of course, will be picking these bad boys (pun intended) up as soon as they are released! ;)