SAY I DO (Wilde Ways #10) by Cynthia Eden-a review

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 29, 2020

She hates him.

Dexter Ryan is smug. Arrogant. Manipulative. And he is also…Lacey Amari’s new partner. Well, her partner on one case. A case she doesn’t even want to take, but when Dex—CIA super operative and all around puppet-master—basically blackmails her, she has no choice. Then he asks her the big question…

Will you marry me?

The proposal isn’t real. It’s just an undercover assignment. Dex needs Lacey to be his fake fiancée for a case. Not exactly her dream job. But, she’ll do it. He wants her to pretend to be head over heels in love with him, he wants her help on a dangerous investigation in a remote ski lodge, and he…wants her?

••••••

REVIEW: SAY I DO is the tenth instalment in Cynthia Eden’s contemporary, adult WILDE WAYS romantic, suspense series focusing on the men and women who work for Wilde Ways Security. This is CIA Agent and former US Navy SEAL Dexter Ryan, and Wilde Ways security specialist Lacey Amari’s story line. SAY I DO can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.

Told from several third person perspectives including Lacey and Dex, SAY I DO follows several paths, and the acrimonious relationship between CIA Agent and former US Navy SEAL Dexter Ryan, and Wilde Ways security specialist Lacey Amari. Dexter Ryan has lusted after Lacey Amari since the first time they met, and now that Dexter needs a ‘significant other’ for an undercover operation, Dexter proposes a ‘fake engagement’ to Lacey in an effort to get closer to the woman with whom he will fall in love but Dexter’s assignment is about to go very wrong when Lacey becomes the target of an unknown assassin. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between Lacey and Dex, and the potential fall-out as secrets are revealed, and revenge is a dish best served dead.

Lacey Amari thinks Dex is the biggest a$$hole, and struggles to accept his offer to go undercover on his latest assignment but Lacey is about to discover that not all is as it seems, and Dex’s lies of omission are about to break her heart. Dex is struggling with the information that he knows about Lacey’s past but information that is about to spiral Lacey’s life out of control. In an effort to protect the woman with whom he is falling in love, Dex finds himself battling between head and heart when sins of the past are about to reveal the truth.

The relationship between Dex and Lacey is tempestuous at best. Dex is stubborn, arrogant and alpha; cheats and lies, and in this Lacey struggles to trust the man that is willing to die to protect her life. When Lacey discovers that Dex knows more than he is willing to reveal, our heroine’s issues of trust place her in the direct line of fire . The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and sensual without the use of over the stop, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a small ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including the return of Lacey’s boss and owner of Wilde Ways Security Eric Wilde. We are introduced to Roman Valentino and his bodyguard Heather Madding; Duke Jonathan Radcliff and his wife Elizabeth, as well as several CIA agents working with Dex on his current assignment.

SAY I DO is a story of secrets and lies; betrayal and revenge; trust and uncertainty; revelations and love. The premise is intriguing and thrilling; the romance is provocative; the characters are edgy, flirty and inspiring.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Protecting Piper
Guarding Gwen
Before Ben
The Heart You Break
Fighting for Her
One Hot Holiday
Ghost of a Chance
Counting on Cole
Chase After Me