This review is a bit late but I just couldn't connect with this series so it took me some time to finish both titles. The story of Nairne and Zed just wasn't what I was expecting.

Disclaimer: I received this ARC for free by Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

Thank you so much for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this novel but unfortunately I found it difficult to fully connect and become attached to the story. I do love Liese’s writing in future books. This was my first ‘mafia’ trope book and I think this paired with the dominant/submissive trope - it just wasn’t for me. I also found the insta love/lust extra fast. Though this didn’t work for me, I know lots of people will love this one!

A fun steamy read. The chemistry between Zed and Nairne is HOT and the connection between the characters is very strong.

Initial Thoughts:

I entered this expecting your usual contemporary romance, but this was a mix of a lot of tropes that it made my head spin a bit.

Surprisingly, this book had Dom/Sub undertones and I wasn't expecting that! It also touched on mafia, sports, science, and family.

What meant the most for me was the disability rep in this book. I haven't much experience on reading romance books with disabled readers, nor am I an #ownvoices reviewer for this. I did, however, appreciate seeing more types of representation in romance.

I just found out it is part of a trilogy so I'm jumping on to the next one!

I attempted to read the book a while back and decided to DNF this book at around 30%, basically at the point before the main characters hook up. I actually really the female main character but the male lead is a fucking asshole. When they meet in some meeting, he is constantly putting her down and displays intense alpha male behaviour. He is over dramatic and his name is Zed (the worst bad boy name I have ever seen) , the alpha maleness continues when they interact in a bar. I just didn't want read anymore about this hot mess of a guy.

What a fun read. Action packed and easy to follow, I'm already looking forward to reading the third and final book in the series.

What a great debut romance! I love this author's writing style. He's A Brute is smart, fast and with great banter (my favorite!). I loved that the heroine was a strong woman with a sharp tongue who took no nonsense. This book is super steamy and does have strong language. These were bonuses for me, but a good thing to know going in.

Thank you Netgalley and the authors for this ARC of the book.
Chloe Liese is a good author and this book is the prove. I really enjoyed reading this story and I purchased it too.
Great read. Worth my time.
Happy reading.

enjoyed this book from the beginning of the book. Thoroughly enjoyed it and will read more from them. It had me hooked. Must read

2.5 stars
Going into this book I really wasn't sure what to expect. I was assuming it was going to be more about soccer in general but it didn't turn out that way.
Instead, we get to see He's a Brute from both Zed and Nairne's point-of-views. I really liked this set up as it was very important for the dynamic they ended up having.
Nairne is a former soccer player who had to retire due to an injury. She is now in Boston going to school and working as an intern for Zed's company. Nairne is also now in a wheelchair and is paralyzed to some extent.
Zed is a soccer player and runs his family's business while also being heavily involved in the mafia. The book never goes into great detail about this besides mentioning it and stating he was far too involved in it to get out anytime soon.

The relationship dynamic they end up having is sexually based, but it is one that they end up agreeing upon after a lot of back and forth.

Overall I really did enjoy this story. The insight into Nairne's new life and having to navigate a wheelchair and all that comes with her injury was nice to see in a book. We don't get to see it often and I really appreciated how it was mentioned that Zed didn't just like her because she was in a wheelchair and it wasn't a fetish thing. The care and independence he gives her at the same time is one that is hard to balance for anyone, but I think he did it well along with Nairne being exact in what she did and didn't want help with. The relationship they have is definitely a volatile one at times, but they start to get it figured out by the end of the book. I'm interested to continue on with this series and see how they figure out what they both want, vs what they think they deserve.

As for the parts about soccer her getting paid a lot while the ideal isn't the truth sadly for women's soccer, nor would she have had to deal with the paps like the book mentioned. Its something we hope for in the future of women sports, but isn't quite there yet.

He's a Brute was a romantic read of the intense variety. I enjoyed the spunk the characters brought to their relationship and the ongoing back and forth banter between Nairne and Zed. The romance in this novel is not for the light of heart, so if you are looking for a light and fluffy romantic read, you will want to choose a different book. I look forward to reading the second book, She's a Spitfire.

This is my first read by this author. I found the book to be interesting and really liked the characters. Zed is a bit of a control freak and then he meets Nairne who drives him a bit crazy. Full of intense moments, suspense and sexy times made this an enjoyable read. 3.5 stars****


*****I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book provided by NetGalley*****

A big thank you to NetGalley and NetGalley Connect for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is part one in a series. You will probably need to read them in order as they don't have conclusions. They sort of just end. I liked the characters sort of??! It's not realistic at all. See has not one demanding job, head of an NGO, not two demanding jobs a soccer star, but three! He's also a mafia prince ! Wtheck Nairne is soo young. No real romance just wham sex. I don't like books about the mafia and I don't like serial books. I don't u understand why it's not just one book! 3 stars

Super quick, super steamy, but with enough side story that it's not all about the sex. Enjoyable, definitely checking out the next in the series.

This is definitely a very sexual romance novel. There are some sexual references in the first chapter and while that doesn’t usually bother me, I’m used to reading more slow building romance novels. I mention this first because that’s what stood out to me the most and sort of threw me off. The main characters were meeting for the first time and immediately had sexual thoughts about each other. I wasn’t expecting this and the language felt abrupt and too direct so early on.

I wanted to like this story but I just didn’t like the characters. I wanted to like Nairne and Zed but I couldn’t handle their hot and cold between their obvious sexual desires and their work relationship. I was also very overwhelmed by the details between Zed sitting on an important board of directors, being a soccer star, and saving his family’s name in the mafia. I couldn’t grasp his real personality under all those occupations and it didn’t feel believable to me.

Overall I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes intense romance novels that focus mainly on the sexual aspects of the relationship, rather than the slow burn or romance portion of the relationship. I’m sure the characters grow in their relationship and their personalities but I just was turned off by the sexual language from the start.

I really wanted to like this series. I think the plot is intriguing and different from anything else I read lately. However, I just couldn’t seem to get invested in these characters. It was well written and well plotted but just not for me.

The steam! Oh, the steam! Phew! I truly appreciate a book that gets right down to it and isn’t a serious slow burner. I flew through this and I’m ready for book 2!

If you’re looking for a book that includes a smart woman who knows what she wants (mostly), a handsome athletic mafia man and a complicated (and kinky) relationship. Look no further. I just have to know what is going to happen next!

This book was not for me. From the starting itself, it rubbed me the wrong way. There were a lot of things that I didn't like:

1. Hero was a Mary Sue. He is a Mafia boss, a soccer player and the head of a NGO. Each by itself is a full time job. And somehow, he manages to do all this, while being strong handsome, family man who romances his employee Christian Grey style.

2. Heroine was immature whose life changing trauma lasted for less than 3 years (Right!). At 18, she is becomes an introvert due to unimaginable trauma and swears off dating forever, at 21, she is dating her boss. She is showed to be smart, socially awkward nerd who is also sassy. Or I should say, tried to be shown as such. Her prose is just awkward, insincere and unbelievable. Her dialogues are just stilted.

3. Romance. What romance? It really shocks me what passes as romance today. First of all, it is inappropriate. She is young (barely-able-to-buy-her-own-wine young) and she is his employee. He is her boss, has Mafia connection (Ooo! That makes him a bad boy!) and keeps insulting her. She wears clothes at her work place that shows her ni**les tightening and he ogles her and has a b**er at work. And he propositions his employee. Sexual harassment at work place! Ladies and gentlemen, it is a real thing!

4. The writing. The sentences were fragmented, makes no sense at many places and words at some places are used inappropriately.

In my opinion, the book was a propaganda for sexism and male chauvinism. It was unreal, unbelievable and not at all what I was expecting. It didn't work for me.

Although well written, this book just didn't quite do it for me. Not sure why, perhaps that the characters were just a bit too intense for me.

3.5 Stars

There’s a lot going on in this one. You’ve got a fiery red headed Scottish MIT bioengineering student and an Irish-Italian pro soccer player who is also in the mafia. It has a little bit of sports, a little science, and a little mafia without being overwhelmingly one or the other. Honestly, this is my first mafia romance and that aspect confused me a bit, but I was still able to enjoy the book.

I loved that the characters in this book are well rounded. So many times you can describe a character in 1-2 words and you just can’t do that with Zed and Nairne. They each have so many different pieces of their personality and backgrounds that make up who they are. I especially love that there was a certain aspect of Nairne that wasn’t revealed right away. It’s part of her without being the main focus and I think if she had only been defined by that one trait that I wouldn’t have enjoyed the story as much.

This book didn’t grab my attention right away and I didn’t have a problem putting it down for other things, but by the end I was rooting for Zed and Nairne. Their chemistry is hot!

He’s a Brute is available on KU right now and the two other books in the triology will release this summer

Thanks to Chloe Liese for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review!