Traced /Unchained (Blood Brothers 2 & 3) by Samantha Wilde-reviews

TRACED
Blood Brothers 2
by Samantha Wilde
Genre: adult, contemporary, dark, erotic, criminal underworld romance

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

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 15, 2021

He’s deadlier than sin, and her one chance at survival.

Tessa George has three days to sell six gold bricks before Lionsgate Kinship’s men kill her father—and then her. The tall, dark, and insanely hot black-market dealer wants nothing to do with her deal. Turns out selling four million dollars’ worth of gold is too much heat for a criminal. But when the men from Lionsgate find and torture her, the scandalous thug shows up.

Dare Holmes shouldn’t want a damn thing to do with Tessa, her father, or her gold. Not his circus. But her emerald-green eyes and sexy body call him back to her door. He’s thrust into the mess her father left her, but he can’t walk away. Not when being around her is an aphrodisiac and the thought of not being near her makes his chest ache. When they discover what her dad was involved with, the stakes become downright perilous.

Lionsgate’s men are on their heels. The bodies pile up in their wake. And one devastating revelation derails everything they thought they knew. As their attraction to each other grows, Tessa and Dare fall into a race against time—one that perhaps neither of them will survive.

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REVIEW:TRACED is the second instalment in Samantha Wilde’s contemporary, adult BLOOD BROTHERS erotic, romantic suspense series. This is black market dealer Dare Holmes, and yoga studio owner Tessa George’s story line. TRACED can be read as a stand alone but for back story I recommend reading the series in order.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Dare and Tessa) TRACED follows Tessa George, as she is tasked by her father, to locate and cash in millions of dollars in gold bars but Tessa’s father is in hiding, having betrayed the group of which he is a member. Lionsgate represents a portion of the criminal underworld involved in money laundering, human trafficking and illegal arms dealing, and Tessa’s father needs his daughter’s help, help that she is ill-equipped to manage. Enter black market dealer Dare Holmes, and the man with whom Tessa will fall in love. What ensues is the search for the gold, and the potential fall-out as both Tessa and Dare find themselves targeted for sins of the father.

Tessa George has no idea how deep her father’s involvement goes with the criminal organization known as Lionsgate but when her best friend Lexi’s father is killed and her brother is missing (BOUND #1), Tessa goes to Lexi and her boyfriend for help. Dare Holmes wants nothing to do with Tessa George, especially when he discovers her father’s involvement with the Lionsgate group but Tessa is in over her head having not once but twice been targeted by some very scary men. Reluctantly agreeing to help Tessa George, Dare quickly realizes they have bitten off more than they can chew.

The relationship between Tessa and Dare begins as a job, a job Dare refuses until Tessa finds herself facing the wrong end of a gun. Desperate to protect the woman with whom he is falling in love, Dare is forced to into a job that could threaten the job he loves but as Dare and Tessa are pulled deeper into the criminal underworld, Tessa will soon discover that all is not as it appears to be. Stubborn ‘til the end, Tessa refuses to walk away when the going gets tough. The $ex scenes are intimate and intense without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

The colorful and energetic secondary and supporting characters include Dare’s brother Nash, and his girlfriend Lexi (Bound #1), as well as Tessa’s father Warren George and his right hand man Trey. The requisite evil has many faces.

TRACED is a story of betrayal, secrets and lies; power and control, family, friendships, relationships and love. The fast paced premise is intriguing and twisted; the characters are animated and spirited; the romance is provocative and seductive.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one BOUND

Copies supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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UNCHAINED
Blood Brothers 3
by Samantha Wilde
Genre: adult, contemporary, dark, erotic, criminal underworld romance

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

Her good deed will cost her everything—maybe even the man she saved.

Keeping a low profile is Camryn Bayfield’s plan when she takes a nursing job in Utah’s desert. Her vindictive nephew won’t find her there. But on her first night, the sight of one of her patients makes her heart race. His muscular body is bruised and dirty, screaming of neglect. She has one task—sedate him on time—but she’s too busy admiring his mysterious form. And when he grabs her, his hold is unrelenting.

For nearly a year, Brooks Ivanov has been tortured and used as a test subject. An experimental drug makes him lose his memories but gives him immense strength and endurance. Every time he escapes, his captors seize him and he ends up killing more people. Just as he’s lost hope, a new nurse starts caring for him—a nurse who’s different from the monsters who run his basement torture chamber. Her concerned green eyes and angelic face remind him that there’s goodness in the world.

Camryn can’t help but aid in Brooks’s escape. But it’s not that simple. His intense withdrawals ravage his body, and there’s no way she can leave him. On the run, Brooks and Camryn fight to stay alive and ahead of their assailants’ pursuit. Slowly Brooks’s memories return, sparking new rage in his soul. Camryn is his rock, an anchor that keeps him grounded but also drives him to the brink with desire. He has one goal: destroy the people who hurt him and his family. But Camryn’s past creeps up behind them and soon, there’s nowhere to run.

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REVIEW:UNCHAINED is the third instalment in Samantha Wilde’s contemporary, adult BLOOD BROTHERS romantic suspense series. This is RN Camryn Bayfield, and Brooks Ivanov’s story line. UNCHAINED can be read as a stand alone but for back story and cohesion I recommend reading book one BOUND. Brooks is Alexis ‘Lexi’ Ivanov’s brother (BOUND).

NOTE: UNCHAINED focuses on human medical experiments, and therefore there is a slight sci-fi aspect to the story line.

WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line premise there may be some triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Cam and Brooks) UNCHAINED follows months after the disappearance of Alexis Ivanov’s brother Brooks. Camryn Bayfield is a new hire at a rehabilitation clinic but from the outset Camryn is suspicious about the treatment and descriptions of many of its’ patients. On her first night, Camryn comes faces to face with a beaten and bruised man named Brooks, who claims the rehab centre is nothing more than a front for human experimentation. Against her better judgement, Camryn releases our hero, and finds herself on the run in an effort to protect the man with whom she is falling in love. Enter Brooks Ivanov. What ensues is the building relationship between Brooks and Cam, and the fall-out as both of their past have targeted our couple as a means to an end.

Brooks Ivanov has very little memory beyond the previous few months having survived abuse and a series of experiments meant to turn him into a killing machine. With each subsequent injection, Brooks becomes more animal than human, and in this he is the perfect foil for a mad man determined to control his little part of the world. Camryn Bayfield is a nurse, hiding in plain sight, on the run from a dangerous past. Suspecting everything about her new job was a lie, Camryn risked her own life to save the life of a man she knew nothing about. On the run, once again, Camryn and Brooks struggle to stay one step ahead of the people demanding the return of our story line hero.

The relationship between Camryn and Brooks is one of immediate attraction but Brooks is in no condition to look after himself. Beaten, abused and drugged, Brooks needs time to heal but getting them to safety the first in a long list of getting revenge. The $ex scenes are passionate and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

We are reintroduced to Dash and Alexis (Bound 1), Dare and Tessa (Traced 2), Cole Holmes and Camryn’s mother Linda. The requisite evil has many faces.

UNCHAINED is a story of betrayal, revenge, power and control; illegal human bondage and experiments, family, friendships, relationships and love. The premise is heart breaking, tragic ,haunting and raw; the romance is spirited and provocative; the characters are edgy, determined and intense.

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy