Broken Rebel by Sherilee Gray is a good fit for those seeking an emotionally charged, intense, and deeply passionate love story that explores the complexities of forbidden love and personal redemption.

I truly didn't like reading this book. It just wasn't for me. I really tried reading it multiple times but I just could not get through it. I just dnf it.

This story is definitely intense. It feels like Neco and Ruby are always struggling. They are both strong willed, both full of fear, loyal, determined and committed among other things. And that comes from the very rough past they had.

They don't know any better when it comes to relationships, specially Neco. It's like his need to be the protector is so overpowering that it turns him into a control freak and sadly for him, Ruby is having non of it. It is still sexy when he goes all caveman on her but they both have trouble communicating and agreeing in a compromise so that they can finally be happy and indulge in a relationship full of love. The one that was supposed to happen years back. Because there was really no one else, she is his woman and he is without a doubt hers.

He has been denying himself an opportunity with her for a very long time. But when she is the one in danger, the one attacked...there is no second guessing. It's like a switch turned on inside him and he is ready to claim her and do whatever it takes to keep her safe. Surprisingly, she has the same mind set. She will be now what he has always been for her. Her superman. That is something I like about the story. Even when she makes mistakes, she is not looking for pity or special treatment. She is not a damsel in distress. She works hard to be strong and independent. It's a long process for them to deal with the danger while dealing with feelings they have kept at bay for too long. But they are committed to figuring it out and in the process it makes for a steamy, page turner and pack full of action story.

My first Sherilee Grey book was Shattered Kings, so when I saw this I totally wanted to read more from this series. This time around we have Ruby and Neco. Whom were once best friends but once they became adults Neco has kept Ruby at arms length. And the more space Neco puts between them the more Ruby acts out trying to anything out of Neco, even its it anger and frustration. It's something over nothing.

Now Ruby's being targeted, causing the team to have to engage. And the more Neco gets hot and cold with Ruby the more Ruby wants independence and to show the men, especially Neco what she's capable of.

The bigger the threat the more Neco loses his mind and causes him to finally get his head out of his ass and finally grab what has always been rightfully his.

Sweet & predictable

Well written and an enjoyable story. I really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more by this author.

Great story!! 3.75 stars

Again I loved the characters and their antics.

I felt the connection between Ruby and Neco to be strong and loving and overly emotional. Their background is interesting and I loved that they grew up together.

The story moved swiftly and effortlessly and had a good dose of action to keep you interested.

All up a good story and I look forward to continuing on with the series.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Copy of this book. Really enjoyed this one. Loved the love/hate thing between Neco & Ruby...looking forward to reading more by this author...

Neco would do anything for Ruby. He would not however give into his wants and desires. She was his everything and he would protect her at all costs even from himself. When her life is in danger he searches out for the ones that will do harm. She is the other half of his soul and she couldn’t live without him.

Just an okay read for me.These 2 were involved in one another’s lives basically forever the issue keeping them apart was kind of lame.There was too much back and forth. Too much pulling and tugging. I was exhausted by the end of the story and hoped that they would just move on from one another it was so toxic.

This is the second book in the Lawless Kings series and I loved it just as much as I did the first one.
Ruby works at the King Agency as the receptionist but she wants to be an agent, she knows she is ready and she has been taking defense classes. But Neco, always her protector, doesn't think she should be doing that. She has loved Neco since she was very young but he doesn't see her that way, so he pushes her away. Ruby thinks it's time to make changes in her life, time to change jobs and move on from Neco.
Neco has always been Ruby's protector and he loves her too but he can't let his demons touch her. He has done some bad things that eat at his soul and he doesn't want it to affect Ruby, so he pushes her away. When Ruby is attacked, he goes crazy and all he wants to do is kill those responsible.
Will Neco finally realize he does deserve to love Ruby? Will Ruby give him another chance? Will they find out who was really behind her attach and almost kidnapping?
I love both of these stories and hope there will be more from the other guys in the King Agency. This story is full of pain, guilt, heartache, and love. It is worth the read and once I got started, I didn't want to put down until the end. So if you are looking for a new series to start, give this one a try, I hope you love it as much as I have.
**Copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley and this is my honest review**

What's not to love about Sherilee Gray? The character's were raw...and a bit hard to love, but you can't help but want for them the happy ever after they deserve (even if you think the MC sometimes deserves a swift kick in the balls vs the love of a woman)

This is the second book in this series, and as always, the author brings you excellent writing. The story is not everyones cup of tea, but for me, it was the perfect gritty tale needed to give these two character's their voice.

I voluntarily read an advanced reviewers copy of this book

This is the second book in the series and also the second book I have read by this author and I have to say that I loved it. I have to take a second and give massive kudos to Sherilee Gray for daring to be different. For taking a chance on not writing a cookie cutter romance and giving us something that is packed with anger, pain, drama, romance, explosive heat and action.

Overall this is a great book for a great price by a great author. Full review to come upon release.

Broken Rebel is the second intense, sexy installment of the Lawless Kings series. This time it's Neco and Ruby's story and it's a doozy!

Neco and Ruby have a complicated history. He's the man who's always been her savior since she was a child looking for a little haven away from her abusive stepmother. But now that they're all adults and both working for Hunter and Van's security agency, Ruby wants more from Neco than just a pseudo brother/protector. She's been in love with him forever and she wants him to see her as more than just a little girl who needs protecting and saving. She goes about getting his attention in all the wrong ways, though, and Neco is determined not to give into the feelings he's always had for Ruby. You see, he has never thought that he's good enough for Ruby. Sigh...yes it's the tried and true trope of not feeling good enough for someone so you push them away. Frankly, this trope is getting a little, OK, A LOT, old in romance. I'd like to see something a little different once in awhile for a man (or woman) pushing away the person they have feelings for. Here in Broken Rebel, Neco takes that trope a little too far one too many times. The ways he pushes Ruby away are cruel and honestly, I felt as if Ruby deserved much better. But, she loved him and she couldn't seem to get past those feelings, no matter what cruel thing he did to push her away.

Until someone hurt Ruby and Neco finally came to his senses and decided to claim his woman. Me caveman, me claim. Yeah...also a trope that's getting a little old. And Neco took it too far, also. But, I have to say, as much as I disliked a lot of Neco's decisions and actions, I think he truly loved Ruby so I can sort of give him a pass on some of his behavior. I don't think I like him, no, I KNOW I don't like him, but I can understand some of his actions. I still think Ruby could have done better, and I wish she hadn't been such a doormat for him for so long, but their love was complicated, and intense, and people do stupid s*** when they're in love. Especially when they're trying to fight that feeling.

Broken Rebel is just as sexy as Shattered King and also features a sort of unlikable hero and a doormat heroine, much like Shattered King, but it's still really readable and engaging. I didn't end up liking Neco or even Ruby that much, but their story is suspenseful and intense. And I'm really, really looking forward to the next story, which I am hoping is Zeke's (Beautiful Killer).

I was very interested in Ruby's story after the first book but it wasn't as good as book one. There were times that there was just too much detail that the story kind of dragged on..

Ruby Styles has been in love with Neco Malik since the first time he pulled her up to his window and held her all night long in his arms. He kept her safe from her stepmother and from the dangers of their neighborhood. But it was when he kept her safe from him that he broke her heart for the first time. Once upon a time, he had been her Superman. But she was done waiting for him to see her as more than a nuisance. She wanted to be more than King Investigation's receptionist. She wanted to challenge herself. To become more. To be able to defend herself too. To be someone she could rely on. And she did. Until the night her roommate shattered her life and exposed just how frail she was. Neco was a possessive bastard and Ruby was his to keep. In turmoil for letting her down yet again, he is determined to keep her safe from her roommate and the dangers he brought in to her life. Claiming her is only the beginning of what Neco will do. Broken Rebel is the second book in the Lawless Kings series. Sherilee Gray is brilliant yet again with another tale full of grit, sex, danger, testosterone, and an independent leading woman that will put her Superman in his place while keeping him in her heart. A sexy tale of love, forgiveness, and healing of broken hearts who have always belonged together but never took the chance on each other before now...

Ruby has been in love with Neco since forever but he is determined to keep her at arm's length and treat her like his little sister. Why? Because he wants to keep his darkness away from her. To him she is light and everything pure and innocent even though the things she's seen have left her anything but. Neco saving her from her abusive stepmother is only one example of the hell she has been through. In spite of distancing himself from her, he still considers her as 'his'. So when her life is endangered by the actions of her addict roommate, all bets are off.Now keeping her far away from his is no longer an option and none of his scare tactics are working with her. And he's starting to realize allowing his true feeling for her to come to the surface is probably the only thing that is going to keep her safe, especially when the person threatening her seems to know a lot more about Ruby than they should.

3.75 stars--BROKEN REBEL is the second installment in Sherilee Gray’s contemporary, adult LAWLESS KINGS erotic, romantic suspense series focusing on the men and women who work for King Agency doing personal protection and security, private investigation (corporate and domestic) and high-risk fugitive recovery, missing persons and kidnapping investigations. This is King Security tracker Neco Malik , and King Agency receptionist Ruby Styles’ story line. BROKEN REBEL can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous installments is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person points of view (Ruby and Neco) SHATTERED REBEL looks at the friends to lovers relationship between King Agency employees Ruby Styles and Neco Malik. Growing up on the mean streets meant Neco was all about protecting the people whom he loved including his childhood friend Ruby Styles. The early years were never good for our leading couple but Ruby suffered at the hands of the people who were tasked with loving and caring for our younger heroine. Fast forward to present day where Ruby finds herself on the outside looking in as the man she has always loved looks beyond the woman to see the child within. Hoping to gain respect and their trust Ruby sets about proving she is just as capable as the men she works for at the King Agency by seeking employment somewhere else. But Ruby’s life is about to get a whole lot worse when our heroine is targeted but an unknown source. What ensues is the building love and fracturing relationship between Ruby and Neco, and the potential fall out when the past come back, looking for revenge.

Neco Malik struggles with his attraction to the woman that calls to his heart. From an early age Ruby saw Neco as her protector and her Superman but Neco believed himself to be the villain, and in doing so, sets about to destroy our heroine’s heart. Ruby’s love for Neco never wavers in the face of our hero’s less than stellar actions and attitude, including his attempts to dissuade Ruby through intimidation and threats.

The relationship between Ruby and Neco is a friends to lovers, back and forth friendship wherein Ruby believes that to be accepted she must prove herself worthy by walking away and never looking back. Neco’s need for Ruby is palpable but his treatment of our heroine is questionable including the push and pull of sexual attraction. Saying that, Ruby knows how to push Neco’s buttons as well, including going rogue as she sets out to meet up with a potential threat to her life. The co-dependent relationship between Ruby and Neco borders on heartbreaking and problematic. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Hunter King and his fiancee Lulu Frost (Shattered King #1), Hunter’s older brother Van King, and their guardian Raul Esposito; King Agency employees: former police officer Jude Wayland, and ex-navy SEAL sniper Zeke Stanton. We are introduced to Ruby’s roommate Scott, PI Harry Hains, as well as Neco’s mother Celeste Malik. The requisite evil has many familiar faces.

The world building continues to look at the camaraderie between the King Agency employees, most of who have known one another for most of the lives. The simmering relationship and attraction between Ruby and Neco is apparent to everyone but Neco refuses to acknowledge the elephant in the room.

BROKEN REBEL is a story of family and friendship; of one man’s struggle to move on from the past, and one woman’s need to be accepted for the woman she has become. The premise is engaging and emotional; the characters are broken, colorful and charismatic; the romance struggles in the face of unrequited love, perceived notions and one man’s battle with his demons.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

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I loved the first book so I thought that the 2nd one was going to have the same intensity. There was too much internal conflict for me to fully enjoy this story.
Ruby and Neco has been friends from childhood. Ruby has always crushed on Neco. He has played her knight in shining armor throughout their entire existence. Neco has done some stuff in his past that he is not proud of so he pushes Ruby away fearing that he would taint her innocence.
The first conflict is weak at best. They work together and they are friends so how is it that Neco won’t let Ruby in romantically. I wanted to smack him at times. Ruby continuously pushes up on Neco which drives me crazy because she does silly things. I forgot that she was a grown woman at times.
The second conflict is that once they finally get together, Neco in all of his alphaness gets crazy and demands that Ruby quit her field job. It is too dangerous for his woman. Oh please! He can’t protect her forever.

There was too much back and forth. Too much pulling and tugging. I was exhausted because it took away from their story and character development.
I am still interested in the series, so I can’t wait to see what is next.

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Book Review
Title: Broken Rebel
Series: Lawless Kings #2
Author: Sherilee Gray
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publication Date: October 10, 2017
Cliff Hanger: No

4 Stars

*This story is for mature audiences only. Contains explicit scenes, possible triggers due to abuse, rape and language intended for adults 18+

Synopsis:
She's loved him since he saved her from her evil stepmother all those years ago. He's sworn to never love her for fear of tainting her innocence with his criminal past.

What do you do when the one person you love is the one person who can’t have?

Broken Rebel is an intense, ultra-sexy standalone novel set in the world of the Lawless Kings. Sherilee Gray’s raw, hard, beautiful, deeply-emotional voice will leave you breathless long after the last page.
"Smokin’ hot, the chemistry is volatile, and the plot diabolically clever. Broken Rebel is an exhilarating thrill ride and oh, so sexy! Don’t miss it!" - The Librarian's Corner

My Thoughts:
This is the second book in this series and can be read as a standalone, but to really get a grasp of Neco and Ruby and the rest of the guys King’s Agency, read the first book Shattered King.

Ruby and Neco were childhood friends and both had terrible childhoods. Ruby’s father died when she was young and her stepmother was very abusive both verbally and physically and didn’t protect Ruby from her wandering boyfriends. Ruby would sneak out her bedroom window and run across the street and tap on Neco’s window. Neco would hoist Ruby into his arms, dry her tears and sing to her until she fell asleep. She spent many childhood nights sleeping at Neco’s.

Neco’s childhood wasn’t much better. His mother loved him but she had to sell herself to make ends meet as she was a single mother. Neco hated that for his mom. When he became a teenager, he got caught up in a gang to help make money so his mother didn’t have to sell herself anymore. Neco felt because of his job working in the gang that he was no good for Ruby. He loved her but he had to protect her from the gang and himself. So he turned her away on her 16th birthday and to this day continues to push her away by being with every other woman but Ruby.

Ruby has loved Neco, her hero, her superman since she was a child. She no longer needs a protector as she has grown stronger both emotionally and physically. She wants to do PI work with the guys and has been training for it. Neco is dead set against it and puts up road blocks where ever he can. They are constantly bickering until one day Ruby has had enough and leaves King’s Agency to work with another PI that will train her without all the hassle. Will Neco and Ruby find common ground? Will they find their HEA? Now I am not going to give any more away as you need to read the book.

The story is told in dual POV and I loved the broken characters and the road they had to travel to get to the other side. The chemistry between Neco and Ruby was explosive! There is suspense, twists and turns and of course push and pull between the characters. My heart hurt for the characters but it also rejoiced as they found their way. I truly enjoyed this story and I look forward to more with the guys from King’s Agency.

ARC kindly provided by NetGalley for an honest review.

I GOT THIS BOOK FREE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW. THIS BOOK IS THE SECOND BOOK IN THE SERIES BUT I HAVE NOT READ THAT BOOK BUT THE MAIN TWO THAT THAT BOOK WAS ABOUT WAS PART IF THIS BOOK BUT DID NOT AFFECT IT THAT I DID NOT KNOW THERE STORY SO CAN READ THIS BOOK WITH OUT READING THE FIRST WITCH WAS GOOD FOR ME (LOL). SHERILEE GRAY IS ANOTHER NEW AUTHOR TO ME WITCH IS GOOD AS THIS STORY WHICH INTEREST AND ENTERTAINING AND LOOK FORWARD TO MORE OF HER WORK AND FUTURE BOOK IN THIS SERIES.

THE MAIN FEMALE IN THIS BOOK IS RUBY SHE'S BEEN IN LOVE WITH NECO SINCE THEY WERE LITTLE KIDS. SHE LIVES HER ROOMMATE SCOTT. HI BEST FRIEND IS MURDERED READ TO BOOK TO FIND OUT WHY? YOU FIND MORE ABOUT HIM THERE ARE TWISTS AND TURNS WITH HIS STORY CAN'T GOING INTO THE STORY WILL GIVE THE STORY AWAY IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT READ THE BOOK WILL NOT DISAPPOINT YOU. RUBY'S FATHER DIED WHEN SHE QUITE YOUNG AND WHEN HE PASSED AWAY SHE STAYED WITH HER STEPMOTHER VALERY WHO IS A B***H.

THE MAIN MALE PERSON IN THE BOOK IS NECO HE IS ALSO IN LOVE WITH RUBY BUT HE DOES NOT THINK HE IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR HER AND TRIES TO MAKE HER HATE HIM. HE SLEEPS AROUND A LOT WHILE GROWING UP SO RUBY SEES READ TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS. HE LOOK AFTER HER WHILE GROWING UP BECAUSE OF HER STEP-MOTHERS ABUSE. NECO NEVER NEW HIS FATHER BUT HE LOVE HIS MOTHER AND WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR HER THAT IS PART OF THE REASON HE DOES NOT THINK HE IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR RUBY AGAIN YOU'LL HAVE TO READ THE BOOK FOR THAT INFORMATION. HIS MOTHER DRINKS A LOT AS SHE WAS ALSO ABUSE WHILE SHE WAS GROWING UP AND WHEN SHE WAS OD AS WELL READ TO FIND OUT ABOUT THAT.

I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO OTHERS ITS A GOOD STORY WELL WRITTEN STORY FROM START TO END I LOOK FORWARD TO HER FUTURE BOOK IN THIS SERIES .

HERE ARE A FEW MAIN PEOPLE FROM THE BOOK:
VAN - HE IS HUNTER'S BROTHER. HE AND HUNTER OWN AND RUNS KING'S AGENCY TOGETHER AND SOME OF THERE FRIENDS WORK FOR THEM RUBY DID BUT LEFT TO WORK FOR HARRY.
HUNTER - VAN'S BROTHER. HE HAS A GIRLFRIEND WHO HE ALSO HAS A SON WITH THERE STORY WAS BOOK ONE IN THE SERIES. HE IS ALSO NECO BEST FRIEND.
ZEKE - EX-MARINE I A REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO HIS STORY WHICH I HOPE COMES OUT SOON. HE ALSO WORKS FOR THE BROTHER'S
JUDE - EX-COP HE ALSO WORKS FOR THE BROTHER'S.