Release Day/Blog Tour: Ripped: Katy Evans

by - Tuesday, December 09, 2014



RIPPED (Real #5)
Katy Evans
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RELEASE DATE: December 9th


A ripped rock star with attitude. An ex-girlfriend with a reckless plan.

Pandora assumed getting her heartbroken by her bad boy ex could only happen once--until Mackenna Jones comes back to town for the biggest concert of his career. They say girls are getting pregnant just thinking about the Crack Bikini tour and it's destined to be a huge hit. 

Oh, it'll be a hit alright--when Pandora comes out swinging. She and her friend Melanie are determined to humiliate him onstage. But when they're caught by security and her ex is summoned, Mackenna decides not to press charges if she'll join him on tour and follow certain conditions--rules designed to give him the upper hand and keep her in close contact with him once again. Soon, the passion they once shared is reignited, and no matter how much Pandora wants to hate him, her hard exterior starts to crack. 

And worse: Mackenna knows it, too. But he hasn't uncovered all her secrets...



Graphics from Author's Facebook page


We have known Pandora Stone throughout this series as the hard-edged, bitter, sarcastic Goth girl who is best friends with Brooke and Melanie. We now get to finally understand what has made her so angry and closed off. Pandora has been holding onto hate for six years...since Mackenna Jones said he loved her and left her broken while he became a Rock God. Now he and his band are back in Seattle and her public tirade has received the attention of both him and his manager. And now in order to get out of a sticky situation, she will be forced to spend some time with him.

Mackenna Jones' first Pandora sighting in six years is both humiliating and fascinating...an unexpected yet titillating surprise. Little does she know that she was his "girl that got away" and that his current life is not all as fulfilling as it appears to be. He has his own issues stemming from their past and his own secrets that he has had to live with. 

These two are angry, volatile, ill-tempered and are now stuck on a bus with cameras watching their every move. There are secrets and misunderstandings adding layers to the strong feelings they harbor under the surface. She is emotionally closed off and always has been, but had her reasons. He left her without explanation, but also had his reasons. But even with all of the secrets and resentment, their connection is too strong to deny, despite their fear of getting hurt again.

We follow them from young, innocent love that was complicated by family dynamics and an unsure future. He was devoted, caring and loving, but he was also young, insecure, and pulled in many directions. The older Kenna is famous, rich, and can have any woman he wants. But he wants her, and he has other things in his life that he is ready to change. Pandora was once naive and more open, but even then she was still not able to fully admit her true feelings. Her family dynamics did not encourage free expression of love and trust. And the new Pandora is hard, edgy, prickly, and guards her heart. Even though their young love was strong, there were powerful forces against them. As adults they are dealing with old wounds, while fighting attraction and unresolved feelings. 

But can he break through her walls permanently? And if so, Can they find a way to merge their very different lives?

This was another engrossing read in the Real series, but had a different vibe to due Kenna's rock star status and Pandora's dark persona. But I really liked these damaged characters and got invested in their story. It was told in both points of view in the present with some flashbacks which was very important due to all of the hidden feelings and private information(although many secrets were kept from us as well until their final reveal to the other character). I loved the introduction of Kenna's humorous, charismatic, twin "Viking-like" band members Jax and Lexington. Hmmm, spin off perhaps? And always enjoy spending more time with Brooke and Remy, Melanie and Greyson, and Kyle. 

Katy Evans knows how to create characters that are flawed and raw, but so appealing and intriguing. Their chemistry and connections run deep and there are always plot twists that keep things interesting. This installment has humor and verbal sparring, but also deep emotional wounds and intense chemistry. It was a story of first love, loss, and surprising second chances. Pandora's journey dealt with opening up, developing trust, and allowing love in while learning to express it. Kenna had his own need to find redemption and prove himself worthy. They were a couple meant to be, but maybe their timing and maturity was off the first time. And as sad as it was to see all that they lost over the years, I was still left with a feeling of healing and hope. 

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.


Wow. I finished Ripped as quickly as I possibly could (having started it on a holiday weekend with little actual reading time). As the history between Pandora and Mackenna is revealed, it took on shades of a Romeo and Juliet type forbidden romance with a twist.

Pandora Stone is angry. Her best friends Melanie and Brooke give her a hard time for her monochromatic wardrobe and negative attitude, going so far as to bet her to dye a pink streak in her black hair. But Pandora has locked up the reason behind her angry man-hater persona. 

Mackenna Jones, lead singer for Crack Bikini, left Seattle and Pandora’s life six years ago, he never imagined he’d run into her again, especially in the public, humiliating way he finally saw her. He has spent the last six years trying to forget his time with Pandora. 

For all the time that has past since Mackenna left town, the miscommunications that happened at the end of their high school relationship have only festered. Both are angry at the way their relationship ended and their first meeting is epic. 

Thrown together by his manager to increase the drama of the band’s upcoming movie, Mackenna and Pandora have to figure out a way to pretend to like each other on camera. But how can they balance needing sparks on camera with the anger they feel when there are no cameras around. And what happens when the sparks begin to shift into their private moments as well?

This is one of those stories where there is so much hatred and bad memories that the good memories they once shared take some time to come out. As the memories of the good times begin to crack through the walls Pandora has put up, they both begin to wonder what would have happened if things hadn’t gone so badly. But they are both hiding things about what really happened that could either fix things, or make things so much worse.

By the end I was emotionally drained by the back and forth and the revelations. This journey was a fantastic one with not only two strong personalities to work around, but all the pain from the past, and the secrets they are each keeping. This had the emotional pull that I’ve come to expect from Katy Evan’s series, and it quickly inserted itself as one of my favorites in this series. 

I was gifted a copy in exchange for an honest review.


REAL (Real #1)
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A fallen boxer.
A woman with a broken dream.
A competition…

He even makes me forget my name. One night was all it took, and I forgot everything and anything except the sexy fighter in the ring who sets my mind ablaze and my body on fire with wanting…

Remington Tate is the strongest, most confusing man I’ve ever met in my life.
He’s the star of the dangerous underground fighting circuit, and I’m drawn to him as I’ve never been drawn to anything in my life. I forget who I am, what I want, with just one look from him. When he’s near, I need to remind myself that I am strong–but he is stronger. And now it’s my job to keep his body working like a perfect machine, his taut muscles primed and ready to break the bones of his next opponents . . .

But the one he’s most threatening to, now, is me.
I want him. I want him without fear. Without reservations.
If only I knew for sure what it is that he wants from me?


MINE (Real #2)
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“I will do anything to make her MINE.” —Remington Tate

In the international bestseller REAL, the unstoppable bad boy of the Underground fighting circuit finally met his match. Hired to keep him in prime condition, Brooke Dumas unleashed a primal desire in Remington “Remy” Tate as vital as the air he breathes . . . and now he can’t live without her.

Brooke never imagined she would end up with the man who is every woman’s dream, but not all dreams end happily ever after, and just when they need each other the most, Brooke is torn away from the ringside. Now with distance and darkness between them, the only thing left is to fight for the love of the man she calls MINE.


Underground fighter Remington Tate is a mystery, even to himself. His mind is dark and light, complex and enlightening. At times his actions and moods are carefully measured, and at others, they spin out of control.

Through it all, there's been one constant: wanting, needing, loving, and protecting Brooke Dumas. This is his story; from the first moment he laid eyes on her and knew, without a doubt, she would be the realest thing he's ever had to fight for.

ROGUE (Real #4)
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Buy: Amazon/B&N/iTunes/Kobo
Read Kim & Rachel's 5 Star Reviews

HE SAYS HE’S NO GOOD FOR HER. 
SHE HATES THAT HE MIGHT BE RIGHT.

Brook Dumas found Remington Tate in REAL, and now it’s her best friend Melanie’s turn to find the man who makes her heart sing. After years of searching, one night in the rain, the strong and mysterious Greyson King comes to her rescue. He’s bold, and maybe just the lover, friend, and protector she’s been searching for. When they make love, he says her name like it means something. Like she means something—and that’s everything she’s ever wanted. 

He disappears for days without a word, and when he’s around, he says he’ll only hurt her. Buy when he’s away, her heart hurts more. 

Then Melanie uncovers the dark world he’d been determined to keep hidden, and suspects that their random first meeting might have not been so random after all. 

Caught in a free fall of emotions, Melanie has no one to catch her but the man she should be running from. . . 
But what do you do when your Prince Charming has gone Rogue?


Katy Evans grew up with books and book-boyfriends until she found a real sexy boyfriend to love. They married and are now hard at work on their own happily ever after. Katy loves her family and friends, and she also loves reading, walking, baking, and being consumed by her characters until she reaches “The End.” Which is, hopefully, only the beginning…

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