RISKIER BUSINESS (Crossing the Line .5) / His Risk to Take by Tessa Bailey-a review

ebook only .99¢ Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Barnes and Noble /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date January 5, 2015

One more game. And this time, there are no rules…

After a life of pool hustling and living on the wrong side of the law, Ruby Elliott is living on the straight and narrow with sexy-as-all-hell NYPD detective, Troy Bennett. Now the only trouble Ruby has with the law is the naughty kind, pinned against the wall by Troy’s strict and spectacularly hard body. Obeying his every command. Both of them losing themselves in a lust that borders on obsession…

But then her father returns with an offer she can’t refuse: one last hustle in exchange for information. Information she’d die to have. As the pieces and the players of the game reveal themselves, Troy feels the fine edges of his control slipping—control he can’t channel without hurting Ruby. The stakes are high, and the risk higher. Because losing this final game could cost more than Ruby’s heart…it might cost her life.

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REVIEW: RISKIER BUSINESS is the first installment and novella in Tessa Bailey’s contemporary, adult Crossing the Line erotic romance series-a spin off from her Line of Duty series. This is former pool hustler Ruby Elliott and NYPD detective Troy Bennett’s continuing storyline. We were first introduced to Ruby and Troy in HIS RISK TO TAKE (Line of Duty #2) by Tessa Bailey (May 2013).

Told from third person point of view RISKIER BUSINESS finds Ruby Elliott on the receiving end of an offer she cannot refuse. One final hustle, at her father’s demand, and Ruby will gain some very important information that she has been searching for all of her life. Troy knows that whatever is being offered is not as important as saving the woman that he loves, and he sets out to uncover the truth about what it is Ruby’s father is offering for one last game.While Troy is determined to protect Ruby, our heroine continues to place everyone at risk when she puts her wants above ahead of everything else.

The relationship between Ruby and Troy has already been established. Ruby is a former pool hustler who has recently made good with a successful business venture of her own. Troy is a detective whose love for Ruby is beyond measure and he is willing to risk his own life to protect the woman that he loves. The bedroom scenes are erotic, hot and adventurous. Troy continues to talk dirty whenever sex is involved.

The supporting and secondary characters include Ruby’s best friends and confidants, her receptionist Mya, as well as a few of Troy’s fellow officers. We are re-introduced to Ruby’s over protective, best friend Bowen Driscol, whose storyline is next. The world building pushes the line between right and wrong where most of the players are not quite following the rules.

Reviewed by Sandy

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HIS RISK TO TAKE
(Line of Duty #2 /Crossing the Line)
by Tessa Bailey

About the book: Release Date May 2013

ebook only .99¢: Amazon.com / Barnes and Noble / KOBO /

The greater the risk, the hotter the reward…

Homicide cop Troy Bennett had a reputation on the Chicago PD for being fearless and in control—until the night his daredevil partner is killed during a raid. From that moment on, he swears he’ll never again be responsible for the loss of a loved one. To escape his demons, Troy transfers to the NYPD, bringing him up close and personal with Ruby Elliott, a beautiful, street-savvy pool hustler.

Reckless and stubbornly independent, Ruby embodies everything Troy’s avoiding, but when she walks into O’Hanlon’s Pub and blows his carefully laid plans to hell, Troy knows he has to have her—risks be damned. But there’s a connection between Ruby’s shadowed past and a case Troy’s working involving a notorious Brooklyn felon, throwing her safety into jeopardy. Confronted with his biggest fear, will Troy push Ruby away to keep her safe or fight to keep her in his arms where she belongs?

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REVIEW: HIS RISK TO TAKE is the second installment and novella in Tessa Bailey’s adult, contemporary Line of Duty (Crossing the Line) erotic romance series. This is police officer Troy Bennett and pool hustler Ruby Elliott’s storyline.

Told from third person point of view HIS RISK TO TAKE follows Troy as he begins a seduction of a beautiful but strong willed woman he met on a recent night out with the boys. Ruby is everything Troy wants and everything he shouldn’t touch- a woman with a reputation and a history of illegal gambling with connections to underworld crime. Not only has Ruby grown up on the road but she has also grown up on the hustle. What ensues is Troy’s building relationship with a woman who will be caught in the middle of the NYPD’s latest take down.

The relationship between Troy and Ruby is hot and steamy. Troy is a man who likes control in the bedroom; he likes to talk dirty during sex; and he isn’t afraid to experiment with whatever he finds nearby. Ruby is caught off guard when her attraction to Troy forces her to choose sides between family and love. Ruby is a stubborn and feisty woman whose choices will place everyone at risk and in this, she will cause more problems for Troy than she could possibly imagine-a little bit of Ruby goes a long way for everyone involved.

The secondary and supporting characters include Troy’s fellow officers and the crime family connections to Ruby and her dad. We are introduced to Ruby’s BFF Bowen Driscol-a man whose connection to Ruby is protective and close.

HIS RISK TO TAKE is a fast paced, predictable novella with a hot, sexy cop and a difficult female lead. There were moments of anguish when Ruby continued to defy police orders and Troy’s need to protect-in this Ruby is a difficult character to like. Interfering in a police investigation led to some contentious issues with the man that she was growing to love.

Reviewed by Sandy