TOO HARD TO HANDLE (Black Knights Inc. #8) by Julie Ann Walker-Review and Book tour
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 8, 2015
“The Man” is back
Dan “The Man” Currington is back in fighting form with a mission that takes him four thousand miles south of BKI headquarters, high in the Andes Mountains of Peru. He’s hot on the trail of a rogue CIA agent selling classified government secrets to the highest bidder, when Penni DePaul arrives on the scene. Suddenly the stakes are higher, and keeping Penni safe becomes Dan’s number one priority.
And this time she’s ready
A lot has changed since former Secret Service Agent Penni DePaul last saw Dan. Now a civilian, she’s excited about what the future might hold. But before she can grab onto that future with both hands, she has to tie up some loose ends-namely, Dan Currington, the man she just can’t forget. And a secret that’s going to change both their lives-if they can stay alive, that is.
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REVIEW: TOO HARD TO HANDLE is the eighth installment in Julie Ann Walker’s adult, contemporary Black Knights Inc romantic/action, military 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 Dark Ops operator Dan Currington, and former Secret Service agent Penni DePaul’s storyline. Penni and Dan were first introduced in FULL THROTTLE –book #7. TOO HARD TO HANDLE can be read as a standalone but each successive installment builds upon the previous storyline setting up another couple and the potential for a new relationship. Dan and Penni’s story advances the series approximately three months from their first encounter.
Told from several third person points of view TOO HARD TO HANDLE finds Black Knights operatives Dan Currington and Dagan Zoelner in Peru where a three month stake out has resulted in no sightings of a rogue CIA agent charged with selling classified government secrets. While the duo, along with special operations agent Chelsea Duvall, continue their surveillance, CIA agent Penni DePaul begins her search for Dan Currington in the hopes of sitting down and discussing the possibility of a future. What ensues, is less than perfect timing, when all h*ll breaks loose and the small group become a target of an unknown gunman. When the search for the rogue CIA agent strikes pay dirt, the gunman resurfaces and this time, not only are Penni, Dan, Dagan and Chelsea targeted, but so too, is their uncooperative rogue who refuses to talk unless a deal is made. A trip back to the USA finds Penni in the midst of the Black Knights operation and once again, she will be targeted when everything begins to spiral out of control.
The relationship between Penni and Dan is one of second chances; a brief affair, while on assignment, a few months earlier has left Dan questioning what it is he wants from Penni and for the future. Penni knows that her future has already been laid out-with or without Dan by her side. Dan has yet to reveal to Penni that he was once married and that his wife was brutally murdered at Black Knights Inc and the revelation will become the proverbial ‘elephant in the room’ when Penni believes that she is the rebound relationship and nothing more. The $ex scenes are intimate and seductive. The mile high club will get two more members joining the long list of devotees.
TOO HARD TO HANDLE is an ensemble storyline with many of the previous storyline couples and characters playing supporting and secondary rolls throughout the story. Several of the girlfriends and wives will bring Penni into their growing family at Black Knights Inc., but it is Dan’s acceptance of what is and what is to come that will ensure Penni’s place in his heart and with the Black Knights family. There is a secondary storyline developing with a potential love match between Dagan Zoelner and Chelsea Duvall.
The world building continues to focus on the Black Ops assignments: the rescues, the take downs, the search and destroy missions that are not quite legal but sanctioned by the highest office in the land. Each storyline takes aim at terrorism, betrayal, espionage and treason. The men and women of Black Knights Inc. are called in when everything else has failed.
TOO HARD TO HANDLE is a fast paced, action packed storyline where Dan Currington will find the other half to his soul in Penni DePaul. The road to love is filled with heartbreak, grief and misunderstanding. The storyline premise is spirited, intense and suspenseful; the characters are inspiring and realistic; the romance is sensual and passionate; the happily ever after takes a few months to grab hold. Julie Ann Walker’s BLACK KNIGHTS INC. series is a must read every time.
Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley.
Reviewed by Sandy
Message from the Author
Hi everyone! Julie Ann Walker here, delighted to be talking today about my mad love for men on motorcycles whose hearts happen to be as big as their… ehem… hogs. (That’s slang for their bikes! Get your heads out of the gutter, you naughty readers! *wink, wink*)
But seriously, from the King of Cool, Steve McQueen, to Marlon Brando in The Wild One, to Charlie Hunnam in Sons of Anarchy, there has always been something about a guy riding around with rolled steel and a V-Twin engine between his legs. It sets our hearts aflutter. And in my Black Knights Inc. series, I try to take those badass bikers to a whole new level by also making them covert government operators. The series is all spies on bikes, leather and chrome, romance and redemption, action and adventure. So, what’s not to love? Nothing! I guarantee it.
Read on for an excerpt of TOO HARD TO HANDLE. You’ll see the men of Black Knights Inc. have heart, humor, and everything a woman could want in a man…
“Nice,” Zoelner said. “Have you been holding on to that one for a while?”
“Came up with it in Bogota,” Dan admitted, a definite grin in his tone.
“I like it.”
“Thought you might.”
Really, though,” Zoelner went on, “I was expecting some quote from Ted Nugent or Eminem.”
“I can come up with my own material, you know,” Dan insisted. “It’s just I like to give credit to my hometown whenever I can. To make up for the place getting such a bad rap.”
“Maybe it’s because so much bad rap has come out of there,” Zoelner mused. “Insane Clown Posse comes to mind.”
“Hey,” Dan whispered urgently, “don’t say that too loud. You’ll have groups of juggalos beating down your door.”
Zoelner snorted.
“And just so you know,” Dan went on, “what I’ve learned out of this lifetime is you should be proud of where you come from.”
“I’m waiting…”
“Kid Rock said that. Via his Twitter account.”
“And there it is.”
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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Click HERE for our review of IN RIDES TROUBLE
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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Click HERE for our review of REV IT UP
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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Click HERE for our review of BORN WILD
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.
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FULL THROTTLE
Black Knights Inc. #7
by Julie Ann Walker
Release Date: December 2, 2014
Click HERE for Sandy’s review of FULL THROTTLE
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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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Wonderful review, Sandy. Sounds like a exciting series. There have a been a few I would love to start, but especially when they are in the 8th or 10th book, its hard enough to try to catch up with one series.
Wonderful review Sandy. I am a big fan of this series although I am a couple of books behind. Congrats to Julie Ann on the new release.
Another great review. I have read some of the books; I am falling a little bit behind!
Fantastic review. Sounds like a great series. Congratulations to Julie Ann
Very nice review, Sandy. This looks like a good series. A new author to try.
Great review. Love this type of series and genre. Congrats to Julie Ann on the new release.
Terrific review, Sandy. Looks good.
Great series, can’t wait for this one. Thanks for the review and giveaway!