ARC Review: Denying Mr Parks (The Parks Series #1) by Lilly James

Title: Denying Mr. Parks
Author: Lilly James
Series: Parks Series #1
Genre: contemporary romance, abuse

Evelyn Banks is her own worst enemy…

A recovering alcoholic, the key to Evelyn’s continuing sobriety is to remain focused and controlled. She finally has her life on track with a new job at a law firm, but her world is shaken when she meets the firm’s gorgeous, charming, dominant CEO.

Wade Parks asks for only one thing—to be obeyed…

Wade’s perfect world is one of discipline and obedience. When he encounters his firm’s new employee, he begins a cat-and-mouse game in his pursuit of the feisty and independent Evelyn, determined to break through her cold demeanor and give her the discipline he’s sure she craves.

Evelyn is willing to submit to his dominance, but her emotions are another matter…

Both of Evelyn’s parents were addicts, incapable of giving her the slightest bit of affection, and she’s not equipped to deal with the rush of powerful emotions her relationship with Mr. Parks unleashes. So she turns to the only solace she knows—numbing her feelings with alcohol.

He sees past Evelyn’s flaws, but some secrets hit too close to home…

Just as Evelyn’s heart begins to thaw, Mr. Parks is reminded of his own troubled upbringing and he pulls away, leaving her feeling abandoned.

But another very real danger is lurking, and Evelyn might be very wrong about the source of the threat…

Can she be saved by denying Mr. Parks?

Or is submitting to him the only way to save them both?

Amazon US | Amazon UK

MY REVIEW

Denying Mr Parks by Lilly James
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5 “watermelon” STARS

“Why was I so afraid of him finding out about my past when I never wanted him in my future?”

First time author Lilly James just did something wildly unusual, she brought the big guns and totally blew me away with one hell of an emotionally draining, infuriating, raw and highly addictive read. What an amazing ride. It sucked me in completely and spit me out totally messed up in the end.

There was absolutely nothing that didn't work for me in Denying Mr. Parks. I loved the deeply flawed characters, the highly descriptive writing style and the emotional roller-coaster I just went through over the last 24 hours.

I finished reading seven hours ago and I'm still thinking about Evey and Wade, and thanks to that mother of a cliffy at the end I will be biting my nails until the next book -in the planned trilogy- will be out. Hurry up Ms. James and expect some fangirl stalking in the meantime. ;D

I try and be as vague as I can with my review, 'cause only having the blurb to go with worked out really well for me.

“When I want something, I always get it. Right now, what I want is you. I knew it as soon as you introduced yourself to me. And I don't necessarily need to know all about someone to understand that I want them and I won't stop until I have it.”

Evelyn Banks is doing fine. No she is doing good in fact. Her life is almost normal after a lifetime of struggle. She is living with her best friend, there is a man interested in her (Alex, her best friend's brother) and she has the perfect job as an assistant at one of the best law firms in the city. At twenty-five she is finally doing good.

That is until Wade Parks comes into her life. The founder of Parks Law Firm is not only insanely good looking, rich and highly intelligent; no, on top of that he has an almost insane obsession with poor Evey the moment he lays eyes on her. And let me tell you, that man doesn't take no for on answer. Literally.

“Yes, he was a man that sucked air from lungs.”

He states his intentions so bluntly, that cocky bastard...I was clutching my pearls in shock. *wink wink*

“The things that mess us up in life are fantasies inside our heads telling us how life is meant to be. How life should be. When really, life is a living nightmare.”

For the casual reader this sounds just like any other 'billionaire falls for the employee' romance trope. But it's not. There are so many layers and facets to these characters, I couldn't even begin to tell you who they are. But that's also because we still don't know that much after the first book.

Evey is flawed, and deeply so. She is not alright and even contemplating any kind of connection with Mr. Parks is potentially toxic and most definitely ill-advised. And yet, it's just so damn tempting and irresistible.

“If I tell you my past, I'm scared you won't want my future.”

Evey's daemons are a brave subject for the author to touch on. I personally haven't seen it in a romance novel before and it was not an easy thing to read and her journey gets very self-destructive and painful to watch. I'm not going into details here, or even telling what exactly her problem is, but in my humble opinion it's a good twist.

Wade on the other hand is not used to being told no. He is the epitome of rich kid who gets it all. Or as Evey would put it; he is a controlling, domineering and possessive arsehole. Yeah, I really like him and then at times I just wanted him gone.

But to be honest, for now he is - putting the obvious characteristics aside - a total mystery. There are a few glimpses over the course of the book and a big and shiny neon sign at the end of the book that makes you wonder what's really going on. I think there is a lot more than meets the eye.

“Parks was slowly trying to destroy my barricade. He was trying to break down that defence I had built, and I had hoped I was strong enough to keep myself from caving in.”

I absolutely love the development of their relationship. It's a constant struggle with Evey denying him and Wade just barrelling through all her walls. As a result the two are highly combustible together and you can tell they are just made for each other. But it's not all fun, in fact I would most definitely say the book is more in the dark reads category.

My feelings were all over the place with that as well. I alternated between yelling at my kindle and Evey to give in and then I just wanted her to run the other way. Told ya, roller-coaster ride.

I can absolutely see this book will polarise the reading community. Some people will fall head over heels and I guess a few just won't warm up to Evey with her constant push-back and erratic behaviour or they will think Wade is just too much. They are complex and very complicated characters, with mostly reasonable behaviour given where they come from and I for one really appreciate that.

“Do you even have a heart Parks?”His lips twitched “Do You?”That was easy. “No.” I said clearly.”

I'm firmly in the head over heels category, but I'm really looking forward to see some other reactions after Denying Mr. Parks is finally published. The current release date is February 20th 2015. Mark it, people!

Thank you so much for this little gem Ms. James, I'm here to stay. Desperately waiting for the next book. Please don't make me wait too long.

Because...that ending?

**ARC very kindly provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.