you know a book is good when a white author calls girls ghetto
there's no plot to this and it felt like both of the characters were handed notecards that said "insecure girl" and "emotionally damaged guy" and had to improv those personalities and as soon as they were off page ceased exisiting

*****5 Beast Stars*****
Beast and Allison's story took me by surprise. All Alison wants is to get the story that will make the front page. What she gets when she meets Leo is attitude and a good look at his muscles. Her mind can’t seem to function when in the same room as the Beast. Leonardo “Beast” has earned his nickname and then some. A violent felon with an even more violent past, Leo is looking to start over and make a life for himself. As part of a work-release program at the 5th Street gym, Leo has volunteered for an interview with a young journalism student. Allison mind can’t seem to function when in the same room as the Beast. After several failed interview attempts and a little drooling, Alison wants more than just the story and what she wants she usually gets. Beast believes he’s not good enough for Allison but Allison out to prove him everyone wrong? Will Beast given in? Can these two find happiness?



*****ARC from Net Galley for review*****

This book was a bit slow to start but a few chapters in and I was hooked.
I never knew it was the second book in the series yet the first I’ve read by the author. I NEED to read the first book ASAP.

If the chemistry is as good as these two characters them I’m reading it pronto.

A new author me and one I’ll certainly be following.

I think maybe i should have read the first book first but even so, I still steamrollered my way through and I think I might just be a little bit in love with Leo 😍
I will definitely be hunting down the other books in this series!

This book was absolutely amazing! I throughly enjoyed this book from Elizabeth Reyes and watching Leonardo get all he could have ever dreamed of. Each word of his childhood threatened to drive me to tears. The pain he must have felt consumed my every breath as I waited patiently to see how his life would turn out after meeting Allison. She provided the one shining light in his life that had seemed filled with hopelessness and despair. Leonardo was an extremely strong character as he fought for another chance at life and finally achieve all he had been deprived of for far too long.

Fantastic must read book and I will look forward to reading more from to reading more from this author

Didn't realize this was the second book in a series, but it can be read as a standalone. A bit slow to start, but it doesn't take long for the story to pick up. I liked the interactions between Leo and Allison, even if she's a bit confused about his behavior when it comes to her. Especially as his past is making a reappearance and is now becoming a problem for Allison as well. The right amount of angst and drama, well-developed characters and a storyline that flows well.

This book started slow for me but I was still invested and intrigued. I enjoyed the characters especially the alpha of Beast but I felt that there were so many side characters it was kind of hard to keep up with them all. Other than that I really enjoyed this book.

In a word: beast-tastic!

This is the second book in a series; I have not read the first one, but I feel that this could be a standalone as I didn't feel that I was missing vital information.

Leo (""Beast") Ledesma, an ex-con looking to leave his past behind him and change his violent ways meets with Allison Rico, an aspiring journalist looking for front page worthy news story. From their first encounter, the tension between these two is palpable as Allison seems to hardly be able to form a sentence around this physically impressive specimen. On the other end, Leo also feels the strong pull of attraction, but he resists as he feels he is unworthy of the attention of a woman he believes to be so far above him. Allison isn't willing to give up so easily; she also had a rough childhood, and she feels she can handle whatever demons haunt Leo, but will she be able to see him in the same light once she knows the details?

What I liked:
-- excellent chemistry between the 2 main characters
-- interesting plot
-- steamy goodness

What I didn't like as much:
-- a little too much "slow burn" for my personal taste
-- love an alpha male, but Leo/Beast was a little too over the top at times

Overall, a great story with an HEA - what more could anyone ask for?

Plot -- 4/5
Main Characters -- 4/5
Supporting Case -- 4/5
Steam Factor -- 3/5

I fell in love with Elizabeth when I read her book Noah (5th Street Book 1) because that one pulled at my heartstrings. Beast is about an ex-con trying to turn his boxing into something while fighting the demons of his past. Allison is a journalist student writing a story on the program Leo/Beast is in while out on parole. Allison is attracted to him, but their first meeting left her feeling defeated because she misunderstood his attitude. Beast is a protector and when his pasts comes back it starts interfering in Allison’s life as well. They both do not know what is going to happen, but Allison is fighting for them both when Beast pushes her away. Can Beast find a way to fight the demons of the past to give Allison the man she sees hiding behind the beast? I loved the story line, but the characters and scenes fell sort of flat to me. Allison seemed like all she did was be self-deprecating through the first few chapters. Leo/Beast was back and forth on if he wanted to give in to his attraction. They talked in the way of the speaker is speaking their own name when talking in their own heads and that is a negative for me. I loved the suspense and chemistry in the story. It was the main characters that just didn’t do it for me and I so wished they could have given me more.

This is the first book I have read by this author, I will definitely read the other books in this series. I pre-ordered the third book in this series Nine that will be released on July 1,2018 from Amazon for $2.99.

Beast, Leonardo has had a very difficult life so far. He is currently on parole and works out at the 5th street Gym. Allison is a 19 year old college student whom interviews the paroles at the gym for an article in her Journalism class.

Sparks fly between these two but Beast tries his hardest to fight his feelings for her.

This book ends in a HEA with no cliffhanger.

Just like Reyes’ other 5th Street books, this one did not disappoint. I was pretty skeptical that this book would have a HEA. The title of the book is Beast, after all, a name that he lives up to. However, Beast is not an anti-hero.

Reyes is painting with a much broader stroke. Beast is gritty and real. And this is important from a literary standpoint. But it is also important because she is writing as a Latina, as a woman of color, about a community that is often misrepresented in the news media. Beast is more than a canned archetype of the romance genre. Beast is not a thug. Beast represents all young men who’ve come from bad circumstances and striven to rise above.

Allison is a college student who is writing a paper about work release inmates. Some are working at a gym where her sister Lila works.. Allison gets an interview with Beast one of the former inmates.. When she meets him, she is eating a jelly doughnut and he remembers her as jelly for the doughnut. When he calls her that, her sister is somewhat offended as Allison has a poor self image. Despite the strange meeting, Beast and Allison have an instant attraction which is not really a good thing as her sister and many others are very protective. Beast's reputation doesn't help, but he has changed. The chemistry heats up and they begin to date. Everything is going well until there is an incident that puts Allison in danger and Beast at risk to go back to jail. Will this romance work out due to all the opposition and will Beast go back to jail? I loved this book as it is a second chance for someone that needs it for a new life. Finally someone who loves him for who he is, not who he was. Interesting concept and it works. Well written and researched. I received this book from Net Gallery for an honest review and no compensation otherwise.

This was a decent read. Entertaining, steamy, a bit angsty with a good dose of drama and heartache. I liked it. This was my first Elizabeth Reyes book and the glimpses of characters from previous books definitely make me want to go back and read everything I've missed. This storyline was well layered with a lot of gritty drama and emotion... a solid storyline. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.

This was going super well, loved the story, characters, the whole thing. But when you start calling white people "crackers" in your book, you lose me. It was completely unnecessary to the story, and I cannot imagine why the author felt it should be in there. No main or secondary characters should be using racial slurs. If it was the villain of the story, it might be understood, but this was two friends of Beast, no one addressed in the story that they shouldn't be saying it, and I just didn't like it. Would feel the same way no matter what race they were mocking. I can't get behind a book that contains that, no matter how good the story is.