FULL THROTTLE (Black Knights Inc #7) by Julie Ann Walker-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 2, 2014

She Needs a Hero…

Abby Thompson didn’t sign up to be the daughter of the President of the United States. The position was forced on her by the small matter of her birth. Preferring a quiet life of study, she’s content to leave the politics and the international intrigue to her father. Unfortunately, the most powerful man on the planet is sure to make enemies. When a group of armed thugs takes her hostage half a world away, demanding the U.S. government release prisoners in exchange for her safe return, she fears her father’s policy of “not negotiating with terrorists” means she’ll never see the shores of the Potomac again. Luckily, there’s one glimmer of hope. His name is Carlos Soto. And though she abruptly ended things with him years ago, she knows now he’s the only man who can save her…

Black Knights, Inc. to the Rescue…

Carlos “Steady” Soto has taken part in his fair share of dangerous missions working at the covert government defense firm of Black Knights Inc. But nothing prepared him for the emotional rollercoaster he faces when he’s tasked with rescuing the only woman he ever loved—who also broke his heart. Racing against time and outmaneuvering a group of trained terrorists will take everything he’s got. Plus there’s the heat simmering between them which is threatening to ignite into an inferno. While ruthless enemies stalk them, they must learn to trust each other again. Even if they do make it out alive, will Abby turn her back on him…for the second time?

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REVIEW: FULL THROTTLE is the seventh installment in Julie Ann Walker’s contemporary, adult Black Knights Inc romantic action/ suspense series focusing on an elite group of ex Navy SEALS, FBI, CIA and military heroes headquartered at a motorcycle shop known as Black Knights Inc. The men and women of Black Knights Inc are so far under the radar that they are blacker than Black Ops. This is Carlos ‘Steady’ Soto and Abby Thompson’s storyline- a friends to lovers trope with a slight second chance at love.

Abby Thompson is the twenty seven year old daughter of the President of the USA, a botanist and currently in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on assignment. Eight years earlier Abby’s best friend was killed in a coffee shop explosion that was intended to take out the President’s daughter. With her security detail in place, Abby believes she is well protected from any personal threats against her life. Enter Carlos Soto, her best friend’s brother and one of the men hired as part of Abby’s protection team. Within a matter of minutes, most of the Secret Service Agents will be killed and Abby will be kidnapped and held hostage in places unknown.

Told from several close third person points of view, the storyline finds Carlos going solo into the jungles of Malaysia searching for the woman that he loves. Eight years earlier, the then twenty five year old Carlos believed he was too old for Abby and now that her life has been threatened Carlos is determined to bring her home-at any cost. The relationship between Abby and Carlos is fraught with sexual tension, desire and lust. A good portion of the storyline finds Carlos is desperate need of sexual release and our couple takes the opportunity to explore one another while on the run.

FULL THROTTLE takes the reader through the sweltering jungles and underbrush of Malaysia. Our couple will encounter charging elephants, fire ants, local tribesman and frequent gunfire. No place is safe; everyone becomes suspect; and the kidnappers are never very far behind.

The secondary characters include a new team of Black Ops soldiers (or Alpha Platoon Boys) who quite possibly are the subject of future storylines or a possible spinoff series. We will be introduced to several friends and former soldiers whose job it is to protect and rescue those in need. Some of the previous storyline characters (Boss, Ozzie and Rock) play a small role in FULL THROTTLE but most of the focus is on Abby’s rescue and her relationship with Carlos-in this I missed the friendship and intimacy of the Black Knights Inc team. There is a possible romance developing between one of Abby’s Secret Service Agents Penni DePaul and Black Knights’ operative Dan ‘The Motor City Madman’. Dan’s story may be next when he volunteers to help bring in a former CIA agent who’s gone rogue.

I did have a small issue with one particular aspect of the storyline and that was the continuous use of a juvenile like figure of speech and euphemisms. When our heroine cursed she would substitute words and phrases that made no particular sense or have anything to do with their current situation-e.g. Shitpickle/Sonofabiscuit/What the Friggin Sticks. She had no issues or problems using the proper terminology during sex, but she was adverse to using graphic language when trying to make a point-whether this particular style of language was intended to add humor, I am not sure, but it was distracting in an adult storyline and I felt disconnected whenever word substitutions were used.

FULL THROTTLE is an action packed, suspense filled story about terrorism and extremists threats against the President’s family. There is intrigue, mystery and romance; secrets and anticipation; betrayal and loss. Julie Ann Walker adds another exciting storyline and sexy hero to the Black Knights Inc series with Carlos and Abby’s story.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.

Reviewed by Sandy

HELL ON WHEELS
(Black Knight Inc #1)
by Julie Ann Walker

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Click HERE for our review of HELL ON WHEELS

ABOUT THE BOOK: August 7, 2012

He’s the bad boy she’s always wanted…

Nate “Ghost” Weller has loved Ali Morgan nearly half his life. But he’s done something so heinous he’s convinced she’ll never forgive him if she discovers the truth, so he keeps his feelings and his secrets to himself. Then she blows into town with a mother lode of bad guys on her tail and Nate can’t deny she’s in serious trouble. Unfortunately, he’s the only one who can help her.

She’s the good girl he’s kept at arm’s length…

Ali knows Nate as the most solemn, aloof man on the planet. Sadly, he’s also the sexiest. For years she’s avoided him, unable to stomach his dark scowls and brooding silences… especially when she secretly yearns for his touch. Now she must rely on him to save her from the malevolent shadows ghosting her every move. When the bullets explode, so does their passion. But can love really conquer all? Or are some things just too terrible to forgive?

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IN RIDES TROUBLE
(Black Knights Inc #2)
by Julie Ann Walker

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 2012

Rebel with a Cause

Becky “Rebel” Reichert never actually goes looking for trouble. It just has a tendency to find her. Like the day Frank Knight showed up at her door, wanting to use her motorcycle shop as a cover for his elite special ops team. But Becky prides herself on being able to hang with the big boys-she can weld, drive, and shoot just as well as any of them.

Man with a Mission

Munitions, missiles, and mayhem are Frank’s way of life. The last thing the ex-SEAL wants is for one brash blonde to come within fifty feet of anything that goes boom. Yet it’s just his rotten luck when she ends up in a hostage situation at sea. Come hell or high water, he will get her back-whether she says she needs him or not.

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REV IT UP
(Black Knights Inc #3)
by Julie Ann Walker

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ABOUT THE BOOK: October 2012

He’s the heartbreaker she left behind…

He Never Misses a Target

Jake “the Snake” Sommers earned his SEAL code name by striking quickly and quietly—and with lethal force. That’s also how he broke Michelle Carter’s heart. It was the only way to keep her safe—from himself. Four long years later, Jake is determined to get a second chance. But to steal back into Michelle’s loving arms, Jake is going to have to prove he can take things slow. Real slow…

She Aims to Make Him Beg

Michelle Carter has never forgiven Jake for being so cliché as to “love her and leave her.” But when her brother, head of the Black Knights elite ops agency, ticks off the wrong mobster, she must do the unimaginable: place her life in Jake’s hands. No matter what they call him, this man is far from cold-blooded. And once he’s wrapped around her heart, he’ll never let her go..

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THRILL RIDE
(Black Knight Inc #4)
by Julie Ann Walker

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Click HERE for our review of THRILL RIDE

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date April 2, 2013

He’s Gone Rogue

Ex-Navy SEAL Rock Babineaux’s job is to get information, and he’s one of the best in the business. Until something goes horribly wrong and he’s being hunted by his own government. Even his best friends at the covert special-ops organization Black Knights Inc. aren’t sure they can trust him. He thinks he can outrun them all, but his former partner—a curvy bombshell who knows just how to drive him wild—refuses to cut him loose.

She Won’t Back Down

Vanessa Cordova hasn’t been the team’s communication specialist
very long, but she knows how to read people—no way is Rock guilty of murder. And she’ll go to hell and back to help him prove it. Sure, the sexy Cajun has his secrets, but there’s no one in the world she’d rather have by her side in a tight spot. Which is good, because they’re about to get very tight…

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Born Wild
Black Knights Inc #5
by Julie Ann Walker

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BORN WILD (Black Knights Inc #5) by Julie Ann Walker

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 5, 2014

She’s got three rules:

1. Trust no one… Eve Edens has been abandoned, used, or manipulated by almost everyone she’s ever met. Born into ridiculous wealth, she’s dealt with the petty jealousies and sordid little resentments for nearly thirty years. But after three botched attempts on her life, she can no longer ignore the truth. Someone wants her dead.

2. Avoid the bad boys at all costs… William “Wild Bill” Reichert, the wonderfully sexy boy who abandoned her years ago, is back in town. Only he’s no boy. Now he’s a covert operative – and he’s all man. When Eve hires Bill to help her discover who is behind the attacks, Bill soon comes to suspect it’s someone much closer to Eve than she dares to believe.

3. And never fall for the same ruse twice… The search for the killer takes Bill and Eve deep into the dark secrets and strange world of the rich and famous, and into the heart of red-hot passion re-ignited by the peril that threatens to consume them both. But does Eve dare risk her heart on Bill a second time?

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Hell For Leather
Black Knights Inc #6
by Julie Ann Walker

Click HERE for our review of HELL FOR LEATHER

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HELL FOR LEATHER (Black Knights Inc #6) by Julie Ann Walker

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date May 6, 2014

Only the most urgent crisis could force Delilah Fairchild to abandon her beloved biker bar and ask the surly Bryan “Mac” McMillan for help. Her uncle—the man who raised her—has vanished into thin air, and Mac is the only person with the right connections to help her find him. What the ex-FBI agent has against her is a mystery…but when the bullets start to fly, Mac is her only chance of finding her uncle alive.

Mac knows that beautiful women can’t be trusted, but he has to put his natural wariness of Delilah aside in order to help her. With the clock ticking, Mac and Delilah find themselves holding on to each other in the wildest adventure of their lives.