Slick's review posted on Guilty Pleasures Book Reviews 
 3.5 STARS 
 Here's the thing with Exquisite Trouble; I didn't love it and I didn't hate it. Parts of this story were very intriguing and interesting, parts of it I wanted to throw the Kindle against the wall in frustration, parts didn't ring true to the characters, and parts were really quite sweet. For me it is one of those books that just didn't quite gel together cohesively, yet I found it hard to put down because I was invested in the characters. I still very much love Ann Mayburn's writing style which is probably one of the reasons I couldn't put this book down and the reason I will continue to read this series. 
 I was intrigued by Miguel "Smoke" Santos security expert and member of the Iron Horse MC but I can't say that I loved him. There were aspects of his personality I enjoyed but at other times I truly wanted to beat him over the head with a cast iron skillet because he could be so dense especially where Swan was concerned. He claimed he "got her" and he understood her idiosyncrasies and while he was better with her than most, he still didn't quite get the things that he did to upset her nor did he do anything to try and do better. Honestly that bothered me a lot because of his claims of wanting what was best for her, wanting to always protect her, to be there for her...yet he has no problem leaving her with men who would like her for themselves to go off to rescue some bitch she slept with in the past or having other bitches shop for her, just no! So yeah, there were a lot of things about Smoke I didn't like and it has more to do with how he treated Swan than anything because I know he's a badass, I know he's in a MC, I know he's done some bad shit and I can accept that but what I have a hard time with is disrespecting "his woman" and he did that on more than one occasion no matter how much he tries to say he didn't. That shit don't fly with me, so me and Smoke...we have some issues to sort though. I mean really Smoke, having your first BDSM session with your woman in her parent's home? No, just no! 
 Then there is Swan, I liked the girl a lot and I get her being different I do but I have a hard time with her being so naive especially given where she worked and the fact that she had friends from the club. For someone who was taught to always be aware, I found it hard to believe that she had no clue about the MC world, like not even a little bit. She watched porn, supposedly a lot of porn, but she blushed at every little thing and she cussed like a sailor but Smoke had to get her to say words like cock and pussy? I just don't know and while I get that she was sheltered and that she has some social issues (as Smoke thinks high functioning Autism), I really wondered about her trusting Smoke so much and then Hustler and then again Tom. From how she was raised, I just didn't see that especially after meeting dear old dad and step-mom. With her supposed training I also don't think she would have been stupid enough to get out of her car when she saw what was going on in the parking lot where the story truly began, but again maybe that's just me trying to be logical. 
 Even with my issues regarding them, I couldn't put this book down because I CARED about these characters and I wanted to see where this story took them which leads to my other issue. This book ended abruptly and yes, I know there's another one coming but there were too many open story lines just left hanging. I'm hoping that because this is the first book that won't be the case in subsequent books. Often first books in a series are hard because all the characters are being introduced, the ground work for the series is being laid out and it tends to bog down the story and in this case there was just too much left unsaid and undone and the book feels unfinished. When I finish a book and I'm like but hey what about that, and that, and that and what was up with that guy or girl; it kind of drives me crazy and I just want to scream a little bit. 
 There is no doubt this series is intriguing, there is no doubt you won't be caught up in these characters, and there's no doubt this author has an entertaining voice but for me I wanted more. I wanted the characters to reflect their upbringing, I wanted loose ends tied up, and more than that I wanted to believe that Smoke truly live by the words he spoke about Swan. I didn't love this book but like I said, I also couldn't put it down. Will I read the next one? You betcha and I'm going to hope that it's the glue that sticks all the pieces of this book together.