Review: Down To You (#1, Bad Boys) by M. Leighton

My Thoughts

Holy hotness!!! Twins?! A sexy, humorous and totally addictive read.
One moment I was biting my nails in indecision, the next I was fanning myself at the irresistible temptation that is Nash and Cash.

• Related Posts: My review of The Wild Ones (#1, The Wild Ones), My review of Wild Child (#1.5, The Wild Ones)

Synopsis

The scorching tale of one girl, two brothers and a love triangle…that’s not. Olivia Townsend is nothing special. She’s just a girl working her way through college so she can return home to help her father run his business. She’s determined not to be the second woman in his life to abandon him, even if it means putting her own life on hold. To Olivia, it’s clear what she must do. Plain and simple. Black and white. But clear becomes complicated when she meets Cash and Nash Davenport. They’re brothers. Twins.

Cash is everything she’s always wanted in a guy. He’s a dangerous, sexy bad boy who wants her in his bed at any cost. He turns her insides to mush and, with just one kiss, makes her forget why he’s no good for her. Nash is everything she’s ever needed in a guy. He’s successful, responsible and intensely passionate. But he’s taken. Very taken, by none other than Marissa, Liv’s rich, beautiful cousin. That doesn’t stop Olivia from melting every time he looks at her, though. With just one touch, he makes her forget why they can never be together.

Black and white turns to shades of gray when Olivia discovers the boys are hiding something, something that should make her run as far and as fast as she can. But it’s too late to run. Olivia’s already involved. And in love. With both of them. Both brothers make her heart tremble. Both brothers set her body on fire. She wants them both. And they want her. How will she ever choose between them?

My Review

“And most of the wreckage revolves around two guys. Two guys that, for totally different reasons, are tearing me up inside. Two guys I want. Two guys I can’t have. Two guys I can’t stop thinking about.”

I’ve wanted to read this book for a long time, especially since I absolutely loved The Wild Ones, also by M.Leighton. This book had it all – seduction, angst, humor, love and hell, sexy twin brothers… what more do we need?! I inhaled the pages… it felt like I started the book one second and before I knew it, I was on the last page, totally captivated by the story and begging for more.

Olivia is an accounting student who is out one night with her friends when she meets tattooed bad boy and club owner Cash Davenport. “Cocky, sexy, charming. Untamed. Rebellious. Heartbreaker.” He’s everything she likes in a man… and just the type she needs to run from.

“He’s the embodiment of the one thing in life I need like a hole in the head–another bad-body love interest.”

And here, at this moment, when she meets him is one of the things I love best about M. Leighton. She totally makes me feel flushed and nervous, feeling everything our heroine is feeling when she meets the book’s love interest. She is so skilled at bringing the words to life that I felt as if Cash Davenport was looking at me with his seductive dark eyes… GULP!

But I digress…

I loved their immediate chemistry. Her body is definitely responding to him. And their banter is so entertaining.

“I’m beneath no man!” she replies harshly. Then, with a mischievous quirk to her mouth, she adds, “At least not without dinner and a drink first.”

Imagine her surprise when she runs into the same guy the next morning… but wait…he’s not Cash, he’s Nash! WHAT?! Yes, his identical, gorgeous and sophisticated good-boy twin brother who works at a prestigious law firm.

“Note to self: Do not expect coherent thought to be possible when staring at Nash. Motor skills may be impaired as well.”

But of course, there’s a problem. He’s the boyfriend to her awful, rich bitch snotty cousin, Marissa. Yup, just the kind of guy she should be going after and he’s taken. Dammit!

When she starts working at Cash’s club, the desire she feels for him continues to intensify, not eased by the fact he’s made it clear that he wants her in his bed.

“I promise you won’t regret it. I promise to make you feel things and enjoy things you never even thought of before. I’ll make every night the best night of your life until you say it’s over.”

He’s so charming, so persistent and it’s so very hard to stay away…

“But you don’t get social with your employees,” I remind him quietly.
“I’d make an exception for you.” His face is getting close and closer. Slowly. A centimeter at a time.
“But it’s your rule.”
“I’ll break it for you,” he whispers.
“No, don’t do that,” I say breathlessly.
“Fine, then you’re fired,” he says just as his lips meet mine.”

Nash, on the other hand, is sweet, thoughtful and is just the kind of guy she needs. But she can’t help what she feels. She’s drawn to each for different reasons, but at the end of the day, she wants them both, heart and body.

“I feel like all of a sudden, my life is a train wreck. And most of the wreckage revolves around two guys. Two guys that, for totally different reasons, are tearing me up inside. Two guys I want. Two guys I can’t have. Two guys I can’t stop thinking about.”

The love triangle is stressful (as all love triangles are for me) and I loved both Nash and Cash equally. I also loved that Olivia isn’t a weak female character… although indecisive (but who wouldn’t be), she’s snappy, sassy and intelligent. A really surprising and unexpected plot twist left me reeling, but really happy. At the end we are left with a sorta cliffhanger… a to be continued or sorts, that left me wondering how the story would unfold, wanting more Davenport goodness immediately! (Lucky for me, book 2, Up to Me is already out!). There are bad guys in the mix and it seems book 2 will include an element of danger that is sure to get my heart racing.

Overall, I really loved Down to You. M. Leighton’s writing is humorous, cheeky and smooth making it easy to devour this book in one, delicious, fun-filled sitting!

Up to Me is book 2 and Everything for Us is book 3.

Some Favorite Quotes

“So that’s how you charm the cobra,” I quip. He smiles devilishly. “If you really want to see what effect you have on my snake, I’d be happy to show you.”

***

“I want to paper cut her. On every square inch of her body. And then roll her in salt water.”

***

“I have no clue. I have ovaries; therefore, I repel all things mechanical.”

***

“Where did you get that dress?
I stole it from a homeless person,” I say straight-faced. “She was lying right beside the stripper that gave you yours.”

***

“You sure? Because I specialize in deassholization.”
This time she smiles. Deassholization?” “Yeah. Just think of me as the Orkin man of assholes–putting assholes in their place.”

***

“I’m beneath no man!” she replies harshly. Then, with a mischievous quirk to her mouth, she adds, “At least not without dinner and a drink first.”

***

“Ah-ha! I knew it! Penis problems”
“Well, it seems that the cause of some of my problems happens to have a penis. Well, two actually,”
“Oh sweet Mary! You’re dating a guy with two dicks?”
“Ginger, no! It’s about two different guys.”
“Oh,” she says, obviously disappointed. “Damn. That woulda been kinda cool.”

***

“In the meantime, get those penis problems fixed. Every hen house needs a cock, but only the special hens can handle more than one. Try ’em out then pick one and stick with it. You’re not old enough to play with two toys at the same time. That’s cougar territory.”

Subscribe for Updates: