I loved this one because of the characters. Sailor was delightfully quirky. The way she blurts out what she's thinking made things pretty entertaining between her and Ryan. Sailor and Ryan's first meeting is quite memorable. Sailor's one night stand turns out to be a surprise of a lifetime when she learns who exactly he is. Sailor's past could lead someone like Ryan to judge her, but once you learn about her and how she has turned her life around you can't help but admire her. It's going to be tough to make amends Sailor knows this, but it doesn't make it any less hard. Watching Ryan and her get to know one another was a wonderful thing to read. I laughed quite often while reading this, but it tugged at my heart at the same time.

***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

A Moment of Madness by Brooklyn Skye
Book Two of the Boston Alibi series
Publisher: Entangled Brazen
Publication Date: March 20, 2017
Rating: 4 stars
Source: eARC from NetGalley

***Warning: this is an adult book, and for the eyes of mature readers***

Summary (from Goodreads):

Sailor Carlson comes back to Boston to make amends with her dad, only to find he passed away, and his bar, the Alibi, now belongs to a bearded, grumpy hottie. Mr. Hottie liked her enough for a night of nameless sex on the kitchen counter, but he wants nothing to do with her now he knows who she is.

Ryan Edwards has been running the Alibi for seven years. Being in a bar night after night means he's no stranger to one-night stands. But when the quirky, beautiful blonde he spent a hot night with shows up at his bar claiming it used to belong to her father, his guard goes right up.

Ryan's desperate for a waitress, and Sailor wants a chance to work in the place that meant so much to her dad. If only the tenuous trust they establish were as strong as the pesky attraction simmering between them.

What I Liked:

This book was surprisingly very, very good! It took me by surprise, how much I enjoyed it. I read A Moment of Weakness two years ago and I didn't love it, but didn't hate it. This book was quite an improvement and it had some depth that the first book did not. Though I will say, I think I like A Moment of Weakness now more than I did then. The book grew on me!

This novel features Ryan, who appeared in A Moment of Weakness. He is the Alibi's owner, and has been for the last seven years (though jointly with Micah, who only recently sold his share to Ryan, after moving to be with Laurel). While checking out a new bar, he helps a woman take her drunk cousin home safely. Sailor Carlson comes back to Boston to fix things with her dad - only to find that he died years ago, and left his bar to someone else. One night, she has to bring a drunk Marissa home... and finds herself bringing home a sexy man from the bar too. Little do they know that he is the Alibi's owner, and she is looking to take the bar from the Alibi's owner. When he finds out the next day, Ryan is furious. But he gives her a job at the bar. After their steamy night together, he doesn't stay mad forever... can he forgive the cute, awkward woman who walked out on her father years ago? Can Sailor find forgiveness in this man who took care of her father for years?

I wasn't expecting to adore both the male and female leads so much. Usually, with romance novels, I like one more than I like the other (and sometimes there are unlikely cases when I hate the female). I usually love the male and this book's male was no exception, but I also loved the female. Sailor is awkward, cute, and so relatable. I don't consider myself nearly as awkward as her, but at the same time, it's refreshing to see such a cute female protagonist in a romance novel. She isn't a bold, brazen, feisty independent woman. Don't get me wrong, she's plenty strong and stands up for herself, but she isn't an alpha female, and I love that about her. She is so sweet.

Ryan, on the other hand, is an alpha but not in an arrogant way. He goes after what he wants (Sailor) and doesn't play any games. When he finds out who she is, he is pissed (and reasonably so). I love how he jumps to her father's defense (she abandoned her father, and Ryan took care of him and the bar). But I was also really happy to see Ryan eventually work through that and help out Sailor. Of course he wasn't going to hand over the bar to her, but he lets her work for him, to let her have the chance to get used to the bar setting.

Ryan is very nice, charming, and selfless in so many ways. Descriptively speaking, the man has it going on. I'm one of those rare women that isn't found of beards, but this guy has a beard and it sounds like he rocks it. I'd love to see the author's inspiration for this guy...

This book actually goes pretty deep and heavy, which was surprising! You don't find a ton of former drug addicts in romance novels. When Sailor abandoned her father, she got married to her high school boyfriend, who was a drug addict. Years later, Sailor finally gets clean and starts to get her life back together. Props to her for that, and props to the author for including this backstory and depth to Sailor's character.

The romance is pretty hot, definitely as hot as the first book or hotter! Well, the first book was okay in terms of heat, but this book was probably a little higher on the heat spectrum. And the progression of the relationship was well-written. These two are sweet together - Sailor with her awkward self, and Ryan with his temperamental, bemused, sometimes grumpy self. They're a good pair together.

Also, it was nice to see both of them put each other in their place, when they deserved it.

The climax of the book involves Ryan jumping to a pretty hefty conclusion (though I understand his reasoning - but he should have talked to Sailor before making that leap). But Ryan is a good guy and a good groveler, and Sailor is a smart girl. It's a great ending, and I'd love to see an epilogue in the future.

What I Did Not Like:

Just that one note I made about the climax - Ryan jumps to a conclusion (which isn't a huge leap, to be honest, but he doesn't talk to Sailor before blowing up at her. Communication, people! It really isn't that hard. Sometimes I want to shake couples (both in romance novels and in real life).

Would I Recommend It:

This isn't a life-changing, OMG-so-good romance novel, but it's an enjoyable read. If you're looking for something quick, steamy, and sweet, this is a good one. It'll always stick out to me because of how unique the hero and heroine are - you don't see a lot of their types in romance novels (the heroine in particular). This series in general is pretty good. Like I said, the first book (A Moment of Weakness) grew on me, and I like it more than I did previously!

Rating:

3.5 stars -> rounded up to 4 stars. I'd be interested in seeing more books in this series! Perhaps Marissa's (the drunk cousin's)! Or one featuring Micah's sister (April, I think? I can't remember her name). I'll be looking out for more books by this author in the future!

My first delve into the world of miss Skye lead me to the bar of the Alibi in Boston. This is where Ryan Edwards resides. He’s the owner of said bar and one hot, hottie. He’s so sexy that Sailor Carlson can’t resist him, even though she should. He’s the guy who holds the key to her future plans, to right the wrong she made of her past. Sailor left her dad, for a life with a drug addict of a man who lead her down the wrong path. She finally got out and got into rehab. Now clean, she wants her dad’s bar back, but it belongs to Ryan who has no intention of selling to anyone, least of all her.
But, Sailor doesn’t give up and slowly she chips away at Ryan’s resolve as well as his desire. To have her.
Ryan is a typical alpha male, hard exterior with the sweet, soft inside. Sailor likes to think she’s tough and can look after herself, and she can, but everyone needs someone to lean on. But, when a misunderstanding turns to distrust, they splinter. Will this be the end? Can Ryan find it in his heart to forget the past, will Sailor forgive being let down?
Take A Moment of Madness and pop it in your kindle today and find out.

I liked Sailor… her inner dialogue was so funny. I think we all have these random thoughts at inconvenient times. She was really struggling with her mistakes and pushing to redeem herself, but not only in the eyes of others but mostly within herself. She wants to come back to her father’s legacy, his bar… queue in Ryan.

Ryan is who I struggled with… normally if I fall for the guy than the book is golden. This was completely backwards for me. Ryan… well I wanted to trip him head first into a keg. Grouchy butt!!He was such a jerk through most of this book I can see that he felt he was honoring a man that stood in for him. Doing the best he could do. I didn’t see any reason’s he needed to treat Sailor as he did… but guys can be jerks!! He disliked Sailor all growing up… imagine his surprise after he had amazingly hot sex with her! Ha… in yo face, man!

I totally fell for Sailor! She was just so stand up… she knew and accepted her mistakes. She takes this lowly job where Ryan is an even bigger butthead and makes her work unpleasant. I think he was just upset with himself for being into her. I think what I really liked about Sailor is that she made so many mistakes but she didn’t make excuses she just tackled them head on. It’s commendable!

I really enjoyed this book. I felt like Brooklyn Skye really excelled at this storyline. She was able to pull all the heart strings and make you want to chuck your Kindle… a few times! Ryan you’ll want to scalp most of the time. But Sailor is amazing. Skye really excelled with these characters… love them or hate them you WILL feel!!

I received an ARC of this book with the hope that I will leave an Unbiased Opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that... my opinions.

Possible spoilers in review.

(Jennifer) Sailor Carlson has returned home to right some wrongs. Even though her father has passed, she wants to buy the bar he willed to someone else, to keep it in the family and feel closer to him. She has been clean for 18 months and wants to continue to improve her life.

Ryan Edwards owns the bar now. Sailor’s father took him in when he was 18 and homeless and he’s forever grateful. He gave up his dreams to run the bar after her father died.

Sailor and Ryan have a hot one night stand after a chance meeting when Sailor shows up to take her extremely drunk cousin home. Imagine Ryan’s surprise when his one night stand shows up the next day stating her father used to own the bar and she’s there to buy it back.

Ryan did not treat Sailor well for a big part of the book. He never trusted her because of her background, accusing her multiple times of things she didn’t do, without asking any questions or giving her a chance to defend herself. If he grew up with parental junkies, he should know the signs and see she didn’t exhibit any of them.

Sailor let Ryan get away with way too much. I understood why she walked away the last time without bothering to try to defend herself. She wouldn’t have been heard anyways. Just wonder if he would have gone back to her if he hadn’t found out for sure she didn’t do it.

The “heh heh” was EXTREMELY irritating. I rolled my eyes EVERY time and said UGH! The sex scenes were interrupted every time with her inner self doubt thoughts. Totally ruined them.

Overall, just an okay read. However, I am curious about Micah’s story.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC provided by NetGalley.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book 😊 I've not read anything written by Brooklyn Skye before, so I didn't know what to expect. The author is an excellent storyteller, and I think she did a great job with expressing the emotions and thoughts of Sailor and Ryan. I also enjoyed that this book had a little bit of everything in it; I was laughing at some points, teary-eyed at others. I feel like that's a rarity in a lot of erotic fiction. I also really appreciated that the author delved into drug addiction, without becoming too morose about it. It's such a huge issue in our society today, and the author did a great job touching on some of the devastation caused by addiction.

Oh, also...beards 😍

Ryan may be the strong, silent type, but his bedroom manner has Sailor's body singing. Unfortunately, that melodic feeling quickly loses it's charm when Sailor drops a bomb. Mr. Strong, Sexy and Silent becomes difficult, grudging and off limits. A Moment of Madness is a journey of redemption, temptation, forgiveness and compromise. Sailor made many mistakes that not only hurt the people she loved the most, but left her with regrets, guilt and pain on so many levels. Her quest to salve her heartache and honor her father while reconnecting with his spirit, is to obtain the place he valued in life and make it a success. There's just one problem. The bar of her dreams is now in the hands of the guy of her fantasies. Will Sailor learn to forgive herself? Can Ryan let go of anger and pride? Can they work together in tribute to a man they both loved? Who knew booze could mend fences and build bonds.

Ryan... aka Mr Grumpy. Grumpy? He's a surly hot mess. I had the whole love/hate thing going on with this one. It was fantastic!

In brief, the story, Sailor comes home to Boston after making some very poor choices in her teenage years. She left her father Marty, the owner of The Alibi and hit the road with her poor choice. Her father has since passed away. Sailor is hopes of maybe coming back to the bar and her fathers legacy. She's not the same girl who left years ago. Not by a long shot.
Ryan now owns the bar, her father took him in and basically took him off the streets, put a roof over his head and raised him, taking him out of an impoverished and sad childhood. When Marty dies he leaves the bar to Ryan. Out of a sense of duty, Ryan feels compelled to keep the bar open and running.
Along with his best friend and partner, they make a good go of it. When his partner marries and wants a more stable (read not running a bar ) Ryan buys him out. His best friend is still around and supportive. These two grew up together. Ryan hates Sailor, who he knows as Jenny. Hates her for everything she has done in the past, represents to him and his own perceived losses. His sacrifices.

The story opens with Sailors cousin Marissa calling her with an SOS, needs a ride home from a bar and is totally drunk. She meets Ryan at the bar, who is there basically checking out the competition. The business isn't doing well and Ryan is trying to figure out ways to boost business. Marissa is unmanageable and Ryan helps get her home. Ryan and Sailor have some obvious chemistry going on and before he leaves, he and Sailor christen Marissa's couch. Yup, okay to screw on her cousins couch until he finds out who she is? Yeah... not a snowballs chance in hell.

When Sailor shows up the next day at the bar and Ryan finds out who she is, he is livid. He's accusatory, doesn't let her get a word in edgewise and just flat out nasty. Sailor begs for a job, anything to get the feeling of being in her Dad's bar and her own way of cleaning up history. Since he just fired the dishwasher, he has her washing glasses. And makes her work days unpleasant. He's attracted to her and that makes him even more angry. Sailor wants to help him build the business up.
She's got a few ideas. Marissa helps by calling in her drinking peeps and business is great.
Ryan finally lets Sailor in a little closer when an incident at the bar sends him over the edge. He jettison's her into orbit. Sending her packing, in tears and no explanation. Never let her say a word. In fact he never even told her exactly was he was accusing her of.

Sailor is heartbroken, not so much about Ryan, but that her past too will never let her go. Speaking of which, she also runs into a ghost from her past she wasn't expecting either. Ryan automatically assumes the worst. Of course he does, because he's a class A jack hat. Enter Micah again, Ryan's best friend who tries to even things out, Micah is the voice of reason in the story on the male end. It certainly wasn't Ryan.

You have to read the book to see how it all plays out because Miss Brooklyn pulls a couple quicks ones out of her hat and give the story a little twist.

She's a great writer. I loved this book and the storyline was great. I loved Sailor. Sailor held her head up high, despite her past and the crap way Ryan treated her. She deserved much better. Ryan, was a piece of crap. He's described as Mr Grumpy? This guy is one surly SOB and in real life wouldn't last one minute with any woman I know. The man had more mood swings that a tot lot and really needed to be medicated. I wanted to throat punch this guy so many times. Having said that, that right there is an indicator of a great writer. Someone who makes you want to reach right into the book and throttle the character. My hat is off to her on that one. I haven't read book one, I'm going back to read that.

Great writing Brooklyn... great enough to really tick me off. I tossed my kindle. That's the sign of a really good read for me. I have a feeling this is going to be a great series.

**arc from NetGalley and Entangled in exchange for a fair review***

Have you heard about the one where a girl takes a pot plant to a bar and comes out with way more than she expected and hot man to boot? Well once you’ve inhaled A Moment of Madness you can say you have.

When I saw this book I was super excited to get my grabby hands on it because it was for a character that wormed his way into my heart in the first book in the Boston Alibi series, A Moment of Weakness (if you haven’t read this yet do so now, it’s awesome). After reading it, I’m so glad he did get a story because it’s a fantastic read.

From the opening pages to the goofy grin inducing last page, you will fall and fall hard for Ryan and Sailor, I know I did. They were so much fun to read. Plus boy is the chemistry strong with this pair! They certainly steamed up my kindle that’s for sure.

I already want to reread this book just because I enjoyed it so much. There is just something about seeing Ryan and Sailor fall for each other while having fun that makes this a special read. It was never too heavy or too light, it just felt right.

This is a read not to be missed. Brooklyn Skye is definitely on my auto buy list now. I can’t wait to see more form this author and I have my fingers crossed a certain barman might get a story *cough Trevor* because I don’t want this series to end.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review via Netgalley.

in a moment of madness, sailor carlson has returned to boston after a long absence to make amends. she'd abandoned her father, married a drug addict, was a drug addict, and now that she's gotten her life together, she wants to reclaim her father's bar and somehow earn his forgiveness. or at least feel that she's earned his forgiveness, given that he passed away before she got her life back on track.

she meets ryan edwards one night and the heat between them just burns. she's never felt like this, never done anything like this before. neither has ryan. and the last thing he expects is to see his hot one night stand hanging out at his bar. but when she inadvertently lets slip that she's the estranged daughter of the man who saved him, he is less than pleased.

sailor has a tough road ahead of her, because ryan is going to make her work super hard to make those amends. the problem is that he finds it hard to stay away from her. so they keep sleeping together and he wants to trust her. wants to trust that what they have is something real, that she's not going to screw him over like she did her dad.

but he's got trust issues. and she is so naïve at times. but she is trying, she is better. and eventually ryan and sailor figure it all out. it's a pretty emotional story, about trust, about loss, about recovery. but in each other, ryan and sailor find something unexpected. love. happiness. good things for once.

A Moment of Madness by Brooklyn Skye is Book 2 of the Boston Alibi Series.

What a fun and quirky character Sailor was, and to be paired up with such a grouchy bear like Ryan was fantab...a winning combo for sure. My only issue for this read was just how quick Ryan was to judge Sailor as a liar and thief and cast her out of his life when the bar was robbed...what an ass, imo. Other than that the storyline was well-done and flowed well with a great cast of characters...WTG Ms. Skye!

Please note that an ARC was generously provided in exchange for an honest review of which this is both honest and completely voluntary.