Story (4 out of 5) Hottness (3 out of 5)
Book Description
A scarred fighter.
A girl with rules.
One night of unbridled passion.
There are three things you need to know about Elizabeth Bennett: she’s smart as a whip, always in control, and lives by a set of carefully crafted rules. She’s learned the hard way that people you love the most always hurt you in the end.
But then she meets Declan Blay, the new neighbor at her apartment complex.
A tattooed British street fighter, he’s the campus bad boy she’s supposed to avoid, but when he saves her from a frat party gone bad, all her rules about sex and love fly out the window.
She gives him one night of unbridled passion, but he longs for more.
With only a cardboard-thin wall separating their bedrooms, he dreams of possessing the vulnerable girl next door forever.
One night. Two damaged hearts. The passion of a lifetime.
*A modern love story inspired by Pride and Prejudice*
*DIRTY ENGLISH is an 80,000 word novel, but also enjoy the first five chapters of Ilsa’s VERY BAD THINGS at the end of DIRTY ENGLISH!
Warning: 18 and over please. Book contains language, sexual situations, and triggers.
Amazon.com
Review
British, lover of classical romances, muscled fighter, tattooed, and smart…that is Declan Blay. He is ridiculously hot and clearly earned his title of Sexiest Man on Campus. His female counterpart is the vulnerable and scarred Elizabeth Bennett who is not looking for love, but a way to live her life her own way.
Ilsa Madden-Mills created Dirty English as a modern love story inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I loved how she incorporated the romantic classic into her writing and made Declan the sweetest and most romantic fighter you could ever come across. I’m not a fan of Pride and Prejudice (please don’t hurt me!). I’m among the few people I know that do not like Jane Austen (I’m a Brontë lover all the way!). But Madden-Mills has made me want to read that book again even after I’ve sworn it off. I never thought anything could make me do that! But after reading Declan and Elizabeth’s love story, I may need to give that book another chance.
Madden-Mills’ writing is perfectly paced and at times quite poetic. There were points in her book where she would have either Elizabeth or Declan say something that resonated with human nature that was extremely poignant. Having these little moments of clarity for her characters really made me stop, think, and contemplate the purpose of sharing love with another.
“Big moments happen with the smallest actions, and sometimes it’s not until later we connect the dots, but in that instant, I knew that somehow, someway Declan was going to own my heart. It terrified me and excited me all at the same time.”
Ch.15
Their declarations of love for each other are beautiful. Plain and simple. Once they admit what they want, everything falls into place. Their journey to each other is not a smooth one and has many ups and downs. Declan’s desire to find love and be loved was heartwarming and honest. If only more romance heroes would admit their desire to find their soulmates like Declan does.
If you like sexy fighters who happen to have a delicious British accent and can quote Jane Austen, then you need to read Dirty English! You’ll be like Elizabeth when she says:
“Heck, I’d already pictured us lying in a pile of old books, stark naked and smoking a satisfying cigarette after boinking each other’s brains out.”
Ch. 13
Click on the covers below to see other books by Isla Madden-Mills that I reviewed.
Romance Bound 