Axel by Harper Sloan

Book Blurb:

**Warning**
This book is intended for a mature reading audience and isn't suitable for younger readers.

Fate hasn’t always been friends with Isabelle West. In fact, fate has been a downright bitch.

Isabelle has learned the hard way how hard life can be when fate isn’t by your side. It can hand you dreams on silver platters, but it can snatch them right back and hand you nightmares. One thing Isabelle knew for sure fate was consistent with was taking away everything she ever loved.

For the last two years Isabelle has been slowly clearing the clouds of her past. Happiness is finally on the horizon. She has a thriving business, great friends, and her life back. All she has to do is jump over the last hurdle…her ex-husband.

When problems start causing her to fear her new life, and memories that are better left forgotten start rushing to the surface the last thing she needs is a ghost from her past to come knocking on her door.

Axel never thought he would look into the eyes of Isabelle West again, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to now. He’s carried his anger for so long he isn’t sure he can just turn it off, but when he is faced with protecting her and an unexpected desire to have her again, life gets a little more complicated.

How will Axel and Isabelle deal when all their cards are put on the table and everything they thought was true blows up in their faces?

Melinda’s Review:  

I so enjoyed this book. I felt like I was right there with Iz. I was hooked from the prologue even though it was emotionally so hard to read. Izzy is married to Brandon, I don't even want to call him a man because of what a low life he really is, and she manages to get away from him thanks to the help of her friend Dee and Greg who is friends with Dee. I love that Izzy and Dee end up becoming Greg’s surrogate little sisters who he ends up protecting and looking after. We are also introduced to Sway, Dee and Iz hairdresser, who absolutely cracks me up.

Greg gets his "brothers", friends who were in the Marines with him, involved in helping out when Brandon makes it difficult and threatens Iz during their pending divorce. Iz is shocked when she comes face to face with her one true love, Axel, who she believed died years ago. Axel was just as shocked when he realized the woman Greg asked him to help was the one and only Isabelle that held his heart.  Talk about another emotional time and we get to see that big brother side of Greg again and Maddox oh wow I think I’m going to like this guy. 

There were all kinds of miss communication going on between Iz and Axel my heart went out to them. Everything they went through and had to overcome. I won’t lie there were parts were I balled like a baby.  Reading the ups and downs that Izzy went through after Axel left for basic training, then with her husband, and being reunited with Axel was enough to make me go a little crazy.  At first I thought Izzy was week but after seeing everything she went through no way I could think that.  Izzy is a survivor in my book.

A favorite scene of mine was when Sway sees Iz and axel together outside the salon and then sees some of the other guys. The reaction that Sway has to the guys and vice versa is priceless. I was laughing the entire time. All I can say is Run axel run, and I agree Sway with his shirt off. Another favorite scene was when Iz and axel exchanged Christmas gifts, the panting of Axel and Izzy, the coffee mug and who could forget "Amir Vincit Omnia" the tears were rolling. 

There was so much going on in this book we were introduced to all the guys, Emmy (the secretary for corps security), Sway, and Dee. Plus there was everything going on with Iz and Brandon; Iz and Axel; Iz, Dee, and Greg. I loved getting small glimpses of all these people and I cannot wait to read about them all. Once again I love that the alpha takes no crap man showed his loving caring side. I cannot wait to read more about these "hunk pieces of sex with legs" as Sway calls them. This was a great book I was laughing one minute, crying the next, jumping out of my skin, and then screaming no no no this cannot be happening another minute.  There were so many emotions going on in my head when I finished this book.