This third novel in Kenner's Stark series brings on the heat of the first two books while advancing the story of Damien and Nikki. The comparisons to E. L. James' books are both unavoidable and warranted, but this series is worth reading in and of itself. Nikki, in particular, is an admirable heroine who has enough personality to avoid being seen as a Mary Sue or doormat. Highly recommended.

Sadly I wasn’t sold this time around. I could appreciate this authors writing talent but this book wasn’t for my tastes. I can appreciate why it gained such a dedicated readership and following but this romance reader was left feeling underwhelmed.

'Against all odds' - this pretty much sums up Nikki and Damien's plight in the third and last book in the Stark Trilogy.

I was looking forward to reading the third installment in the Stark Trilogy series by J. Kenner because the first two books were highly rated. When I got approved to read the ARC, I felt like Christmas came waaaay too early for me! In my defense, both main characters grew on me so I can't simply NOT read the third book. Heh.

Now, for the review proper!

In this last installment in the book, we get a bunch of tangible and intense conflicts which threaten to break apart Nikki and Damien. What I liked best in this story was that the conflicts weren't only emotional. There were also external forces which posed a huge threat to Nikki and Damien.

For emotional conflicts, this was where everything blew over from the first two books.

Damien was too overbearing and too secretive, which gave rise to a whole lot of trust issues between him and Nikki. And of course, there's also fragile Nikki. She's not exactly as stable as most people perceive her to be. Damien served as her anchor but then, their relationship was racked by trust issues and noble idiocy, so the push to cut was really strong.

As for external conflicts, there's the issue of Damien's horrific childhood in the hands of his tennis coach, and the psychopathic woman who's trying to break apart Damien and Nikki. His empire is also being threatened by these forces, and he's left backed into a corner.

All the conflicts seriously gave the story a whole lot of angst and drama, but in fairness, I like how the author balanced everything with quiet moments between Nikki and Damien. The angst and the drama was perfectly blended with comfortable moments which could be considered as the calm moments before the storm.

What I didn't like, however, is the noble idiocy.

Sure, sacrificing for a loved one is considered selflessness, but sometimes, it's just absurd. In this case, I didn't like how Damien tried to be a noble idiot by leaving Nikki and going to Germany. Then just as they patched up, Nikki suddenly gets hit with the noble-idiocy-virus and leaves Damien to keep him safe. I just don't really like this plot device because I consider it stupid.

All in all, the happy ending in this third and last installment had been a long time coming. I really appreciate that Nikki and Damien finally got together minus the conflicts. They really went through a lot together, so when the happy ending came, I was really happy for them.

I really don’t have much to say except I wish I read this book sooner...I feel my tastes have evolved and my expectations are a little higher now.

With that said, it wasn’t bad.

It just wasn’t great either.

Damien and Nikki find their long-awaited bliss after yet another series of unfortunate events and obstacles to keep them apart.

We learn about what fully drives them, their weaknesses and needs...but, I found myself skimming more often than not, just to find the point.

I love J. Kenner, and the first two books (which I read when they were released) were fantastic...I only wish I finished this series sooner, the rating may have been higher.

Loved this book. I’ve read author before and I keep coming back for more. They are always hard to put down once I start.

I LOVE this book!!! I do. I am okay with using shouty capitals and lots of !!!!!!!! when talking about Complete Me by J. Kenner. I don’t even know where to begin when professing my love for J. Kenner and this book. I am going on the record: The Stark Trilogy (Release Me, Claim Me, and Complete Me) is one of my favorite series of ALL TIME!!! When I finished Complete Me, the first thing I did was tweet J. Kenner and beg for more. I have no shame, I know. I LOVE this book!!!Damien Stark…oh, Damien Stark. His name alone gets my heart racing at just the thought of him. Damien is one of my ALL TIME favorite book boyfriends. It takes a lot to get to the top of my book boyfriend list, but alas, there he is! Damien has driven his Lamborghini straight to the top of my list! Sure, Damien has more money than God but that is not why I LOVE him. I LOVE that Damien would give it all up for the love of his life, Nikki Fairchild.“You are my everything, Nikki. You have to know that. You have to believe it.”In Complete Me, we find Damien in the fight of his life. This fight could result in Damien losing the one and only thing that truly matter to him--Nikki. But Damien isn’t the only one fighting for this love. Nikki LOVES this man (almost as much as I do!) and she is determined to be by his side through it all—even when Damien is keeping Nikki at an arm’s length in an attempt to keep her safe.“You forgot that I’ve seen you in action, Damien Stark. You’re a goddamn force of nature. They can’t possibly hold you. Maybe they don’t know it yet, but I do. You’re going to walk away from this. You’re going home a free man. There’s no other way that this can end.”Complete Me is so beautifully written that I don’t think anyone could ever properly express how wonderful this book is! I love that Damien and Nikki both have these wounded yet incredibly beautiful souls. They truly are saving each other with this beautiful love they have between them.“At the end of the day, it’s just you and me. We make our own reality, Nikki. And no one can take it from us.”Complete Me is one of my absolute favorite books of the year. It is THAT good. If you have not started the Stark Trilogy yet, you must bump it up to the VERY top of your TBR list. I loved this entire series but J. Kenner blew me away with Complete Me. What makes this story even more amazing is the perfection that is J. Kenner’s writing style. I may be in love with Damien but I also have the world’s biggest author crush on J. Kenner. How can you not love someone who takes your breath away with passages like this:“I love you, Nikki. I will always fight for you.” His words are heavy with meaning and ripe with passion. They knock me backward and steal my breath. “You love me,” I say stupidly. The corner of his mouth curves up. “Desperately.”I gasped. I literally gasped!!!!! when I read that part. I need more Damien and Nikki. I can’t live in a world where more Damien and Nikki doesn’t exist. Do you hear that J. Kenner? I need more!!!! I highly, highly, highly (have I said highly?) recommend Complete Me!!!! Buy it!!! Read it!!! LOVE it!!! NOW!!!

Quick review for a much longer read than I anticipated. I'm struggling to put into words what I thought of this book. It wasn't that I thought it was bad, but underwhelming to me. Admittedly, it's been a while since I've visited this series, but when I realized that this "trilogy" wasn't really a trilogy anymore and ended up getting the latter books in the series, I came back to it to have context in terms of what to expect in the latter books.

This book picks up where "Claim Me" left off, with Damien Stark in Germany undergoing the trial with Nikki at his side. Both of them are dealing with their respective issues - particularly noting Damien's tormented past - while still exploring their relationship with each other. There are plenty of steamy and bluntly explicit scenes in this story, but the come across as repetitious and plodding for many places in the story, really not building upon the dynamic that the two share. Add in the very thin plot of a mysterious person that threatens Nikki by sending her ominous messages and you get something that's mimicking tension and conflict rather than something that has more palpable weight. (Also, if you've guessed the perpetrator like I did within the first third of the book, your guess is likely right. I felt the mystery really dropped the ball and had not much pull in the heart of this installment.) This book does touch on conflicts of self-harm and mental issues of the characters within, but the way the narrative throws them together really didn't do justice for the plot or characterizations. I could tell they had weight for the characters, but I didn't feel them because they would only be introduced during moments that were meant to be tense for the characters, but then taken away when the sensual scenes came about. And much of it was the two using each other as ways to work in denial of their pain, so...there's that.

I think if this were truly the final book in the series with the way the book rushed its ending, I would've been more disappointed. I like parts of J. Kenner's writing, and I've read books in her latter bibliography that actually work a bit better for pacing, but this to me didn't showcase as much of a compelling story or interest in the characters as it aimed to portray. I got the intention, but the execution didn't grip me.

I definitely plan to read the rest of the books in this series since I have them, and there were a few side characters that I liked reading about, but unfortunately there wasn't really much in the way to develop or showcase them more here. I'm probably not likely to return to the first three books in this set and just look at either the latter books or the spin-off series instead.

Overall score: 1.5/5 stars.

Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.

Without a doubt, Damien Stark is one of best dirty talker of the year! ” ~Under the Covers

The title is as cliché as it sounds but it fits. This last installment of Stark Trilogy is a great completion to Damien and Nikki’s story. Ms. Kenner did a fabulous job giving them a happy ending they both deserve.

Damien and Nikki have grown quite a bit, individually and as a couple. I think both characters have learned each other’s dark side and accept them whole heartedly. Their uncertainties are gone and trust has become the key to their happiness. Don’t get me wrong, love and lust has been there and even stronger in this book. Nikki really shows how much she loves Damien. And yes ladies, this novel is hotter than ever with several panty-dropping scenes. Without a doubt, Damien Stark is one of the best dirty talker of the year!

The issue that bugged me with the first two books was the constant mention of the one million dollar proposition which was nowhere to be found in this novel. Whew. I love that they, including the media finally let that issue go. I’m not sure what Ms. Kenner’s plans are for Jamie (Nikki’s bff) but I’m hoping she gets her own HEA. She irritated me to the core with her selfish acts but her story is familiar and well, I would love to see how her life turns out.

Overall, another great read. Ms. Kenner has made a fan out of me and I cannot wait to read more of her work.

Now although I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen, and there were moments that were very good I just felt like the book was 90% sex and I just got tired of it after a point. Yes I have read books that are majority sex but for some reason it just didn't do it for me in this one.

I am glad that I read it though, because I did want to see where things were going to go.