The Has Been Series by Kat Desalle and Kristin Leigh Jones Book #Review

G-Strings, fake bodies, what lubricant to use, and which angle looks best on camera, these are all things Tony knows. What he doesn’t know is how to pursue a real relationship, one outside the industry that’s making him retire and leaving him behind. Tony DiMarco, aka Ting Tang Tony, made a big name for himself– regardless of being small–in an industry where size truly does matter. He’s had a long career hiding behind a camera lens where his shortcomings didn’t affect him at all. At 38 he’s forced to find a real life where hopefully size doesn’t matter. The last place he thought his life would change is in Florida.

Tripping over the gorgeous and upstanding, Emily Grant, snaps him out of the pity-pot he is just about to take a bath in. However, having never dated outside the industry has him second-guessing everything. How would someone possibly want his “little engine that could”? Can Tony open up about his playboy-style career, and more importantly, can he overcome the insecurities that he’s shoved aside his whole life?

Tony’s got his work cut out for him, he needs to penetrate the walls Emily’s built to protect herself and her own insecurities. Will she be able to handle Tony’s crazy double life he’s trying to hide from her, the one he lives back home in L.A.? There’s a small chance it might work, that it might fit—something Tony certainly isn’t used to. This may be his one opportunity to find that missing puzzle piece he’s only been able to fantasize about.

The whirlwind journey these two set out on will keep you rooting for the underdogs, and teach you that it’s not always the size of the package that’s important—it’s what’s inside that matters most.

Genre: Romantic Comedy

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Rod Stick—though his birth certificate says Rodney Moore— has everything a top-notch porn star ever wanted. Friends are his new family, money satisfies his every wish, and endless lines of willing and ready women fulfill any voids his jaded childhood left behind. Drugs and alcohol patch the remaining leaks those things can’t fix.

However, things are beginning to change. His friends and their bachelor lifestyle are fading in the hot L.A. sun. Irresponsible decisions and self-destructive actions have his career on the rocks. Like his best friend, Tony, he worries he’s going to be the next “has-been.” To complicate things further, a certain sexy and dangerous amber-haired stripper is changing him into another person—one that he isn’t sure he can handle. They say you can’t make a “ho into a housewife.” But two hoes? There are better odds in Vegas.

Can Rod find the solace he searching for in his own private dancer, Crystal Amber? Settling down with her might close the door on that dark chapter of his life forever—the one he’s been running from since he was a kid. Or, will he lose himself and everyone else around him instead creating his own version of hell?

Sometimes our own light is hiding in dark places. Will Rod find his?

Genre: Romantic Erotica

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My review:

I have been following the Has Been crew from the very beginning. It started with my man Tony and his hilarious journey that brought him his true love. With Tony came his crew of merry men, Rod being the black sheep of the crew. Rod parties, ruins special moments and breaks dishes. I never really thought he could be redeemed honestly. He sleeps with anything that walks pretty much, puts anything he can find up his nose and is a raging alcoholic.

In walks Crystal who is half his age and just as crazy as he is. She enables Rod, puts him is situations that he should never be in and can’t seem to grasp that her habits and lifestyle have a finite ending – either jail or a pine box.

I love this story so hard. I was sucked into Rod’s journey which went exactly how it was supposed to. He has to go through what he does in order to make it, to break through the fog and kick his own behind. To see clearer and finally realize his worth. I’ve watched enough people go through it – whether it’s depression, drugs, alcohol etc, there is always a turning point when the person wants to finally make the change for themselves.

Stick Me Baby One More Time is more than just an erotica or romance. It’s more than a group of aging porn stars. It’s about what happens when the lights dim and you really get a good hard look at yourself. Will you like what you see?

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About the Authors:

Kat DeSalle is one half of the crazy writing duo that created the HAS BEEN SERIES.

Born and raised in California, she graduated with a degree in Fine Art, which introduced her to a number of creative outlets. She dabbled in various jobs ranging from teaching art, to working in the finance industry. Ultimately, she found her passion in writing. Now, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and children, where she follows her dream of writing romance novels.

Friend Kat on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kat.desalle
Tweet Kat here: @KatDeSalle
Follow on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8346774.Kat_DeSalle

Kristin Leigh Jones is the wearer of many hats—not literally—although she does look good in one. From being a full-time mom, wife, chef, maid, dog walker, litter box scooper to owning a photography business and working as a freelance editor … She now adds writer to her long resume. Between juggling all these tasks she squeezes in as much time as possible for snuggling her babies, reading, and watching football on Sundays in the fall. Da Bears! Hailing from the Midwest her whole life, she fully appreciates the change of seasons but admits to really only enjoying it less than 5 months of the year.

Kristin is very thankful to have found another half of her brain in her dear friend Kat. Who, might be thousands of miles away, is never farther than a text or a phone call. Together they make up the dynamic duo writing and producing the hilariously romantic and sexy Has Been Series.

Friend Kristin on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristin.leigh.
Tweet Kristin here: @k_leigh_jones
Follow on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8352892.Kristin_Leigh_Jones