Today I’m talking about a popular New Adult romance series by S.C. Stephens. Picked up by Gallery, this originally self-pubbed romance has found a wide audience. The last in the trilogy, Reckless, is also available now. I received these books in exchange for my honest review.
If you’d like to learn more about my romance rating system, go here.
 Thoughtless |
The premise of this book was interesting because it presented Kiera as a sweet girl that cheats on her boyfriend. It’s pretty clear from the start where the story is going, but Kiera remains pretty likable, which surprised me. Kellan is predictably damaged, although not the usual alpha male type that’s typical in the NA romance genre. My biggest problem was the repetitive nature of the story. Over and over again there was gnashing of teeth and tearing of hair over the Bad Thing that Kiera and Kellan did together. I would have liked to see more plot development and less rehashing. However, this was a fun read that was sexy and sweet. I can see why so many have liked it.
 Effortless |
In the follow-up to Thoughtless, I felt that we finally get to see the relationship development that I wanted in book one. Kiera is still not my favorite heroine, but she is not so unappealing that it makes the series hard to read. We get glimpses into both of their lives and a lot more background into Kellan and his terrible childhood. I felt that Effortless was a better written and more engaging story than Thoughtless and it made me want to follow this with the third book, which was released in March.
It’s always nice to see a writer’s writing progress from one book to the next. I haven’t read these but I do like that you mentioned Kellan to not be the typical alpha male you find in these type books. I may have to check these out at some point. 🙂
Seeing these books around lately but I’m not sure if I should read it. Thanks for the review 🙂
I’ve been reading a lot of really good New Adult books lately and I have yet to add those books to the list! They sound really great. Thanks for the insightful reviews!
– Ellie at The Selkie Reads Stories
The relationship development sounds great in the 2nd one. The covers are a bit of a turn off for me, but I do think I would like K and K.
Ah, new adult! I’m never really sure how I feel about the genre. I haven’t read too many books that fall under it though, so I have to reserve judgment till then. This sounds interesting, though I don’t like that it takes until book two to experience some character development.
I was like ooh mayyyybe after reading the first summary but then I saw there was a second book, haha. I’m glad that the second book had development though! never knew NA had trilogies!
I love S.C’s series and am currently rereading Reckless. I just can’t get enough of Kellan.
YA used to be my favorite genre, but now I’m addicted to NA. Both hold a place in my heart. 🙂