Marked (Blood Brothers 5) by Samantha Wilde-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date December 27, 2022

She’s made a deal with the devil himself . . .

Detective Sophia Aldridge is on a man-hunt for contract killer Cole Holmes. Ever since the arrests of Lionsgate Kinship, the elusive assassin has dodged the police. Aside from one grainy image of him, no one speaks about the man deadlier than the grim reaper himself. Winding up face-to-face in an alley with him steals her breath. She’s caught him red-handed in a murder, and despite their tousle where he should have killed her, he walked away, leaving her unarmed and pissed off. But the feeling of his large, deadly body up against hers is embossed in her mind.

Getting Sophia underneath him would be a slice of heaven that Cole is too smart to taste. He gave her a warning: stay the hell of his tail if she wants to live. That’s why finding her outside his apartment days later has him seeing red. He makes one final visit to her home, and makes a devastating discovery: hot cop is a mom.

She might be scared of Cole, but she’s not stupid. She swore to protect and she won’t stop until Cole is punished for his crimes. But then her world is shaken . . . her baby girl is kidnapped. Immediately, Sophia assumes Cole is responsible, but when she ambushes his apartment, she realizes she’s wrong. Time is running out, and she needs to bring her daughter home before it’s too late. Cole swears to help, but he has one condition. She needs to let him get away with his lucrative career intact. Sophia will do anything to save her little girl, even break her oath. One thing she can’t guarantee is if she can keep her hands off the dangerous killer who should have her running for the hills.

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REVIEW MARKED is the fifth instalment in Samantha Wilde’s contemporary, adult BLOOD BROTHERS erotic, romantic suspense series focusing on the Holmes brothers-Nash, Cole, Dallas and Dare. This is assassin for hire Cole Holmes, and detective Sophia Aldridge’s story line. MARKED can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary but I recommend reading the series in order for back story and cohesion as there is an ongoing premise throughout.

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

Told from dual third person perspectives (Cole and Sophia), covering a few days in the life, MARKED follows the search for a killer. Detective Sophia Aldridge has been searching for assassin Cole Holmes believing he is someone connected to a child-trafficking ring aka Lionsgate Kinship. Walking into a murder scene, Sophia finds herself facing down our story line hero, but Sophia’s life is about to spiral when the people at Lionsgate Kinship set their sights on our story line heroine. With the authorities following the rules, Sophia needs someone to cross the lines when her only child is abducted, and the police have few if no leads to follow. As Cole and his brothers begin a search for the child, secrets reveal a connection to Lionsgate and our story line heroine. What ensues is the quick building romance and relationship between Cole and Sophia, and the potential fall-out as a search and rescue turns deadly, leaving Sophia wondering where everything went wrong.

The relationship between Cole and Sophia is forbidden as Cole is a wanted man, and Sophia has been charged with taking him down but Cole only kills those deserving to die, and Sophia is caught between head and heart knowing to get involved could mean the end of her career. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate.

The secondary and supporting characters include Sophia’s boss, and police chief Kenneth; Sophia’s ex Bart, and their daughter Bella. We are reintroduced to Cole’s brothers and their other halves: Nash and Lexi (Bound 1), Dare and Tessa (Traced 2), Dallas and Gemma (Extracted 4).

MARKED is a story of betrayal and vengeance, power and control, family and relationships. The fast paced premise is intriguing and engaging; the romance is seductive and intense; the characters are broken, desperate and determined.

Reading Order and previous reviews
Bound
Traced
Unchained
Extracted

Copy supplied by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy