"Unchained Hearts" (Baxter Family Sage #1) by Palessa is a great read. This was the first time I've read Palessa's work and it definitely won't be the last. I loved this book. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next in the series. ( )

This was such an amazing book. I loved the story of Cass and Lila and it led to the story of Randy and KC. These love stories were so amazing and the tragedy each one of their stories held was so heartbreaking. KC (Kyle) is the daughter of Cass and Lila. Randy (Brandon) is Cass's adopted son, no blood relations. This is how these 2 stories are connected. The sex scenes were hot and explicit so be forewarned!! Palessa is a new author for me, I received a copy of this book from another author for an honest review. I am definitely looking forward to the next installment of the Baxter Family. I am so hoping for what I think the end of book one intimated!! This could be read as a stand alone but there is more. There is an HEA of sorts but there is also a cliffhanger which I am predicting leads to the next book. ( )

Unchained Hearts by Palessa
Baxter Family Saga, Book 1
Newton "Cass" Baxter & Virgilia "Lila" Avery
Brandon "Randy" Hall/Baxter & KC "Kyle" Avery

In a nutshell, this is the story of two separate couples, each from a different generation of the same family (literally, the parents' love story is part one and their childrens' love story is part two) and the forces they have to overcome in order to be together. The story itself is intriguing and interesting to read. It definitely could fit the bill for a "saga"; however, as has been mentioned in other reviews, this would have been much easier to follow if the two couples' stories would have been broken into two books. Actually, three, because we are left with a bit of a cliffhanger which leaves an opening for future updates.

Cass and Lila deal with class/racial prejudices in the post-civil rights 1970s. That's bad enough, but then they have to deal with someone close to them who is mentally unbalanced and causes them to be apart for years before the truth comes out. Their story was actually really good.

Then the book jumps ahead and starts to follow their grown daughter, Kyle, and the reparation of a relationship she had in college which also ended due to an outside influence. This part of the story started to become unbelievable as her love interest has an awkward connection to her family. The problems they faced were also recycled and made me shake my head. They could have had enough to overcome just dealing with family issues.

All in all, the author is a good storyteller. My biggest concern and what was EXTREMELY annoying and bothersome was the fact that a talented editor is needed ASAP. This could become something truly great with good editing. An editor could help the author make the changes needed to avoid all the confusion, i.e. why so many different nicknames for ALL the characters? An editor could also clean up the HORRIBLE spelling and grammatical errors found throughout the ebook edition I read. Examples: ruckus vs. raucous, more bitter vs. bitterer (not a word), typographical errors which were laughable--I'm talking about sentence structure turned around as if Yoda were speaking. There were also some uncomfortable and awkward mentions of body parts which were cringeworthy--not because of the sex scenes per se, but just the awkwardness of the words themselves (nub? labia lips? No. Just no.)

Even though I think the author is very creative, she needs to hire an editor. Period. End of rant. Thank you very much. ( )

FOR 18+ READERS ONLY. Kyle Avery, successful entrepreneur of a restaurant chain based on her mother's diner, has been summoned by a letter from her recently deceased mother to a meeting with the reclusive head of Baxter Chemicals, Newton "Cass" Baxter. It is at this meeting where she learns the truth, as the tale of the relationship between Cass and her mother, Virgilia, is unveiled, a steamy love-at-first-sight interracial affair that is upended by Cass' devious mother. After learning this history, Kyle discovers that Cass' adoptive son is the college beau in her own true-love tale that was torn asunder by the machinations of a devious and dangerous ex-girlfriend. This long novella of two parts reads very well, demonstrating a fine sense of writing with almost no grammatical or formatting errors. The moments of soul-mate love and attraction are presented by the author in strong physical and erotic sexuality, making this book unsuitable for non-adults. Yet, at its heart, readers will find a double dose of romance pushed into a soap opera thriller, which will please fans of daytime drama serials. However, the hyper coincidences of the plot do not stand up to background research as a key element of a villainous conspiracy depends upon a misreading of a cultural scientific myth and does not hold up to skeptical scrutiny. Points for style and flow; deductions for plot weaknesses. ( )