CLAIMING BAILEY (Ace Security #3) by Susan Stoker-Review and Giveaway

CLAIMING BAILEY
ACE Security #3
by Susan Stoker
Release Date: December 5, 2017
Genre: adult, contemporary, romantic suspense

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About the book: Release Date December 5, 2017

Bailey Hampton will do whatever it takes to keep both herself and her little brother safe from the vicious Inca Boyz gang. Hiding out in Castle Rock, Colorado, is only a temporary solution until she can earn enough money to get out of the state altogether. But when she meets handsome security nerd Nathan Anderson, she discovers a reason to stay and fight for what she wants.

Ace Security’s Nathan Anderson has always been the “numbers guy,” not the man any of the firm’s clients look to when their safety is threatened. But from the first time he ran into Bailey, she never made him feel like less of a protector than his brothers. Nathan was attracted to the petite, black-haired pixie with wild tattoos from the start, and by some miracle, she seems to return his interest.

But danger stalks Bailey and her brother, so it’s up to Nathan to channel his inner alpha and find a way to end the threat to their lives once and for all—and he’s not giving up Bailey without a fight.

•••••••••••

REVIEW: CLAIMING BAILEY is the third instalment in Susan Stoker’s contemporary, adult ACE SECURITY romantic suspense series focusing on the Anderson triplets (Blake, Logan and Nathan) and the family owned Ace Security. This is Ace Security co-owner and self-proclaimed numbers geek Nathan Anderson, and mechanic Bailey Hampton’s story line. CLAIMING BAILEY can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. There is an ongoing premise throughout the series that focuses on the take down of the vicious gang known as the Inca Boyz.

NOTE: Due to the content of the story line, there may be some triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Bailey and Nathan) CLAIMING BAILEY follows the building relationship between twenty four year old mechanic Bailey Hampton, and Ace Security numbers geek Nathan Anderson. As the team at Ace Security continues their hunt for the mysterious Bailey and her little brother Joel, little did they know that the woman in question was living right under their nose. When Nathan’s beloved ‘Marilyn’ broke down in the parking lot, our heroine stepped up to help Nathan get back on the road only to be blindsided when Nathan’s offer for dinner comes with some disturbing news.
Nathan knows Bailey is on the run from the Inca Boyz gang, forcing our heroine to reveal her questionable past- a past that places everyone in danger including our story line couple. What ensues is the building relationship between Nathan and Bailey, and the potential fall out when Bailey’s whereabouts are discovered.

Bailey Hampton’s earlier years were spent living under the ‘protection’ of the Inca Boyz gang. Since the age of fourteen Bailey’s life became a cycle of sex, drugs and drinking only to come to a head when she realized that her little brother was being coerced into something she didn’t like. Hiding in Castle Rock was a little too close to the man in charge but securing a job and a home for her brother had been our heroine’s first order of priority. Nathan Anderson considers himself the nerd; the non-violent, ‘weaker’ sibling to his ex-military brothers who adore and protect the people they love. Always feeling like an outsider Nathan struggles with his place in the family-a family destroyed by their mother’s abuse and neglect. Knowing the Inca Boyz will be coming for Bailey Hampton, the Ace Security Team set up a plan that includes Bailey’s brother Joel-a ten year old whose earlier experiences have changed him into a hardened young boy.

The relationship between Nathan and Bailey is slow to build as Bailey battles her attraction to a man who may be willing to sacrifice our heroine in the hunt for the Inca Boyz gang. Bailey’s dark and dangerous past has left both physical and emotional scars including an unwanted and forced tattoo that screams louder than any words spoken aloud. The $ex scenes are intimate and seductive without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including Logan and Grace (Claiming Grace #1), Blake and Alexis (Claiming Alexis), Ace Security employee Felicity Jones, Bailey’s ten year old brother Joel, her boss at Clayson Auto Boy Clayson Davis, as well as several other mechanics (Henry, Ozzie) who look after our story line heroine. The requisite evil is the Inca Boyz crew and their current leader Donovan.

CLAIMING BAILEY looks at one woman’s struggle to move on from her past. Bailey’s need to hide is predicated on the decisions she made at an early age that have affected her life and the life of her younger brother. Nathan Anderson struggles battles his attraction to a woman who is looking to run, and his ongoing inability to be accepted for who he is. The premise is entertaining but I questioned a couple of the plotline scenarios including the use of a ten year old in the take down of a murdering gang member, as well as the set up in which all three in question risk their lives in more way than one. The romance is passionate and provocative; the characters are broken and immature-struggling with their place in the here and now.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Claiming Grace
Claiming Alexis
Claiming Bailey

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, Susan Stoker has a heart as big as the state of Texas where she lives, but this all-American girl has also spent the last fourteen years living in Missouri, California, Colorado, and Indiana. She’s married to a retired Army man who now gets to follow her around the country.

She debuted her first series in 2014 and quickly followed that up with the SEAL of Protection Series, which solidified her love of writing and creating stories readers can get lost in.

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