NO MORE SPIES (Masters and Mercenaries: New Recruits 4) by Lexi Blake-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 8, 2025

Kala Taggart has known she was in love with Cooper McKay since she was a young girl. But her wild-child ways sometimes clashed with Coop’s apple pie, all-American persona. After the worst night of Kala’s life, she decided to give up on having any kind of normalcy. She focused on her future and let the idea of Cooper go.

Cooper knows he screwed up with Kala when they were young, but the adult Cooper is unwilling to let their past rob them of a future. He joins her CIA team not for the thrill of the job but to be close to the woman he’s always loved. He spends night after night with her at the club, trying to fulfill her needs, to prove he doesn’t need some perfect partner. All he needs is her.

When Cooper and Kala are assigned to a mission, they find themselves locked together and forced to face their problems. As the truth of that long-ago night slowly comes to the surface, Cooper has to admit that Kala might be further from him than ever. And all his plans come crashing down as the elusive terrorist they’ve been hunting makes a move no one is expecting, but the real threat might come from within.

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REVIEW: NO MORE SPIES is the fourth instalment in Lexi Blake’s contemporary, adult MASTERS AND MERCENARIES: NEW RECRUITS erotic, BDSM, romantic suspense series, a spin off from the author’s numerous interconnected Masters & Mercenaries series, crossing over with the author’s Texas Sirens / Nights in Bliss (written as Sophie Oak). This is Ian ‘Big Tag’ Taggart and Charlotte’s daughter Kala, and Alex and Eve’s son Cooper McKay’s story line. NO MORE SPIES can be read as a stand alone but I recommend reading the NEW RECRUITS series in order for back story and cohesion as there is an ongoing premise throughout.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise including D/s situations, spankings and violence, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from several omniscient third person perspectives including Cooper and Kala, NO MORE SPIES follows several intersecting pathways including the heart breaking relationship between Kala and Cooper. At the ages of fifteen Cooper destroyed Kala’s heart and soul, rejecting her invitation for something more, and in doing so, set into motion years of anguish and grief for our story line couple. Fast forward twelve years, Kala has had to endure, and survive dangerous assignments that have left her broken and betrayed but Cooper wants nothing more than to have his best friend and the woman he loves back in his life. Kala Taggart is a no-nonsense operative with the ability to shut down when needed but her lack of emotion and stoic persona hide the reality of who and what she is.-the breakdown of a woman who rides the edge of reason and sanity, a woman who is the target of manipulation and control.

The world building is elaborate and meticulous, and follows several intersecting pathways that reveals a darkness that threatens to engulf our story line heroine as well as the betrayal and heartbreak of friendships and love. The past refuses to let go as secrets reveal the real world absoluteness of the who, how and why, and in this, the cycle of pain and deception comes full circle with the revelations of truth.

The relationship between Cooper and Kala is a best friends to frenemies to friends to lovers but a relationship in which the ups and downs are disquieting and hurtful. The number of times trust and understanding are betrayed leads to a friendship in which hurting one another suggests it is time to part ways. Kala struggles with understanding emotions of the heart-naïve to some extent but a woman who is struggling with what I can only believe is a neuro-divergent persona. The $ex scenes are intimate and passionate.

Once again, there is a large ensemble cast of familiar, energetic and charismatic characters most of whom we have met throughout the numerous interconnected series including, but not limited to, Big Tag and Charlotte Alex and Eve, as well as Captain Zach Reed, CSIS Agent Ben Parker, Kala’s twin Kenzie, their sisters Lou and Tasha, their cousins ‘Devi’ Devon Taggart, and TJ, and Dr. Emmanuel Huisman, and CIA psychologist Lena Gallagher. Devi and Zach’s story is next.

NO MORE SPIES is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, mistrust and misunderstanding, power and control, obsession and madness, family and friendships, acceptance, forgiveness and love. The premise is detailed, complex and impassioned; the romance is heart breaking and emotional; the characters are determined and dynamic.

Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Love the Way You Spy
Live,Love, Spy
2.5 The Bodyguard and the Bombshell
Sweet Little Spies

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

New York Times bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband and three kids. Since starting her publishing journey in 2010, she’s sold over three million copies of her books. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance that she found success. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings.

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