LUKE (Blue Collar Billionaires #5) by M.Malone-a review

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 13, 2015

Child prodigy Lucas Marshall has always had a gift for tech. He’s done everything from write security software to hack into government servers (allegedly). There’s only one hacker alive who is better than he is. His online buddy C7pher.

Now that he’s the heir to a billionaire, he wants his friend to help him build coding schools for underprivileged kids around the country. He isn’t prepared for his best friend, his only friend, to say NO.

Or for him to drop out of his life completely.

Then he consults on a hacking case for the FBI where the hauntingly beautiful suspect seems to know a lot about Luke. Things he’s only told C7pher…

If the only person you’ve ever trusted is a liar, everything is fair game.

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REVIEW: LUKE is the fifth and final installment in M.Malone’s contemporary, new adult Blue Collar Billionaires romance series focusing of the five Marshall brothers-Tank, Finn, Gabe, Zack and Luke. This is youngest brother Luke Marshall, and Seven’s storyline. LUKE can be read as a standalone but I suggest reading the series in order for back story, history and cohesion as there is too much information missing to understand the family dysfunction and the brothers’ connection to one another.

Some background: The Marshall family consists of 5 brothers and half brothers; three mothers; and one father with ties to the Irish mob. Patriarch Max Marshall is a billionaire who ‘earned’ his money through mafia transactions, and had bequeathed each of his sons an early inheritance. The Blue Collar Billionaires series is their stories.

Told from alternating first person points of view (Luke and Seven) LUKE is the culmination of a building storyline wherein our hero, a child prodigy, will finally meet the father he never knew, and the online hacker he has considered a friend for close to ten years. Luke has always been a bit of a loaner; with few friends and only his mother as family and confidant. Seven and Luke will finally meet when the FBI forces our duo into an unscheduled meeting, but a meeting that will find Luke and Seven on a path to love and a happily ever after. Meanwhile, the family begins preparations for Tank and Emma’s upcoming nuptials.

Luke and Seven’s introduction to one another comes as a surprise to Luke as he never considered his online friend to be a woman. The introduction between Luke and Seven is built upon a lie, and Luke soon discovers that Seven’s appearance has much less to do with meeting Luke and more to do with a possible betrayal against Luke and his family. Seven’s past in the foster care system has left our heroine scarred and damaged; Luke’s life growing up without his father has been a struggle but more so for his mother who has had to work harder to keep food on the table and clothes on their backs. The $ex scenes are erotic and seductive.

The world building continues to focus on the Marshall brothers, their relationships with one another; and their mutual connection through an absent and troubled father. Luke’s relationship with his half brothers continues to grow, as our hero begins to accept the new additions to his ever-expanding family. Luke will finally meet the man he has never known, but is it too little, too late for a father whose life revolves around crime and illegal activities?

LUKE is a simple and predictable read; an interesting look at the youngest son of an absent father; a father whose life revolved around crime and the Irish mob. The premise focuses on Luke’s relationship with Seven, and the real reason Seven has sought out a face to face meeting with her virtual, online friend. The characters are engaging and colorful; the happily ever after is not unexpected but a twist to the family dynamics changes all of the brother’s lives for the future. The conflict resolution was disappointing and felt rushed to the finish. I was hoping for some more angst and intrigue.

Reviewed by Sandy