Charmed (Masters and Mercenaries / 1001 Dark Nights) by Lexi Blake-Review tour
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 23, 2020
JT Malone is lucky, and he knows it. He is the heir to a billion-dollar petroleum empire, and he has a loving family. Between his good looks and his charm, he can have almost any woman he wants. The world is his oyster, and he really likes oysters. So why does it all feel so empty?
Nina Blunt is pretty sure she’s cursed. She worked her way up through the ranks at Interpol, fighting for every step with hard work and discipline. Then she lost it all because she loved the wrong person. Rebuilding her career with McKay-Taggart, she can’t help but feel lonely. It seems everyone around her is finding love and starting families. But she knows that isn’t for her. She has vowed never to make the mistake of falling in love again.
JT comes to McKay-Taggart for assistance rooting out a corporate spy, and Nina signs on to the job. Their working relationship becomes tricky, however, as their personal chemistry flares like a wildfire. Completing the assignment without giving in to the attraction that threatens to overwhelm them seems like it might be the most difficult part of the job. When danger strikes, will they be able to count on each other when the bullets are flying? If not, JT’s charmed life might just come to an end.
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REVIEW: CHARMED is the 20.5 instalment in Lexi Blake’s contemporary, adult MASTERS AND MERCENARIES erotic, romantic suspense series, and the latest addition to the multi-authored 1001 Dark Nights series. This is thirty-two year old, billionaire oil businessman JT Malone, and former Interpol agent and McKay Taggart’s newest operative Nina Blunt’s story line. CHARMED can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.
Told from several third person perspectives including Nina and JT, CHARMED follows the building romance between thirty-two year old, billionaire oil businessman JT Malone, and former Interpol agent and McKay-Taggart’s newest operative Nina Blunt. Nina Blunt’s latest assignment with McKay-Taggart is working undercover to ferret our a potential spy at Malone Oil but a one-night stand with JT would bring Nina face to face with a number of suspects thus ensuring their one-night stand becomes something more. A fake romance and engagement ensues in an effort to smoke out the person(s) responsible for trying to steal industry secrets, and sell them to the highest bidder. What ensues is the building romance and relationship between JT and Nina, and the potential fall-out as JT and Nina’s relationship begins as a lie, a lie between our leading couple.
Someone is trying to steal secrets from Malone Oil, and the group at McKay-Taggart is on the job. Going in as a happily married couple, Nina and JT must remain in character as Nina continues to do her job but all does not go according to play when our couple are targeted, and JT struggles to protect the woman with whom he is falling in love. As a Dominant both in and out of the bedroom, JT battles between head and heart when Nina places herself in the direct line of fire, doing her job.
The relationship between Nina and JT begins as a one-night stand, an affair wherein Nina had no idea as the identity of the man with whom she would fall in love. Caught the morning after by the people involved, JT and Nina would quickly label their relationship as the newly engaged, an engagement that was suspect by on so many levels. The $ex scenes are passionate and intense, with some light Dom/sub sexual scenarios.
There is a large ensemble cast of colorful, energetic and familiar secondary and supporting characters including Big Tag and Charlotte, Alex McKay, agent Sandra Croft, JT’s brother and McKay -Target agent Michael Malone, as well as JT’s assistant Dianna, and several Malone Oil employees.
CHARMED is a story of betrayal and vengeance, power, money, and control; secrets, lies, relationships and love. The fast paced premise is intriguing and entertaining; the characters are charismatic; the romance is frenzied, seductive and hot.
He stared at her for a moment as though assessing the situation and then he leaned against the wall. “No. I would have made sure you got back to your room, but I don’t know your threshold. I have zero interest in coaxing you with liquor. I would far rather know you wanted me and not some random guy to forget your troubles with. And I didn’t want to get drunk either. Three’s a good limit for me. I don’t need anything to dull this experience.”
He was forthright. She liked that quite a bit, and he hadn’t had a fourth drink either. He’d been perfectly in control. Another thing she liked. She couldn’t exactly come out and tell him she would very much enjoy it if he dominated her sexually. Or could she? “But I am trying to forget my troubles. That doesn’t mean I don’t want you in particular. If you hadn’t been in the bar this evening, I would have settled for a book.”
His lips curled up in the sexiest smile. “What kind of book?”
“Romance.” Somehow she didn’t think he would be derisive. Some people had contempt for the genre, but they were usually the ones who could use it the most.
He moved in, his hand coming up to brush a stray hair off her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. “I like the sound of that. It’s your turn to tell me something. What would the hero of that book you would have read do right now?”
He’d backed her against the wall, but not in a way that felt threatening. He was taller than she was and loomed over her, his broad shoulders blocking most of her line of sight. She was still in her heels and for most men that put her at eye level or taller. Not with this one. It was nice to look up to a man for once. “I think he would invite her back to his room where they wouldn’t shock anyone who happens to walk down the hallway.”
He watched her like he was studying something fascinating, something he wanted desperately to learn. “I happen to know there are only two rooms on this floor, and I saw the couple in the other room go upstairs a few hours ago. They seemed like they were ready for sleep. Not that older couples can’t party the night away, too, but they didn’t seem like the type. So we don’t have to worry about anyone catching us, though I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t be ashamed to get caught touching you.”
He was pushing all her buttons. The good kind. The kind that got her in trouble.
NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.
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