Delighted (Masters & Mercenaries 24.5: 1001 Dark Nights) by Lexi Blake-Review & Excerpt tour
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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date June 7, 2022.
Brian “Boomer” Ward believes in sheltering strays. After all, the men and women of McKay-Taggart made him family when he had none. So when the kid next door needs help one night, he thinks nothing of protecting her until her mom gets home. But when he meets Daphne Carlton, the thoughts hit him hard. She’s stunning and hardworking and obviously in need of someone to put her first. It doesn’t hurt that she’s as sweet as the cupcakes she bakes.
Daphne Carlton’s life revolves around two things—her kid and her business. Daphne’s Delights is her dream—to take the recipes of her childhood and share them with the world. Her daughter, Lula, is the best kid she could have hoped for. Lula’s got a genius-level intelligence and a heart of gold. But she also has two grandparents who control her access to private school and the fortune her father left behind. They’re impossible to please, and Daphne worries that one wrong move on her part could cost her daughter the life she deserves.
As Daphne and Boomer find themselves getting closer, outside forces put pressure on the new couple. But if they make it through the storm, love will just be the icing on the cake because family is the real prize.
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REVIEW:DELIGHTED is instalment 24.5 in Lexi Blake’s contemporary, adult MASTERS AND MERCENARIES erotic, romantic suspense series, and Lexi’s latest addition to the multi-authored 1001 Dark Nights series. This is former CIA operative Brian ‘Boomer’Ward, and single mother/ bakery owner Daphne Carlton’s story line. DELIGHTED can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.
Told from dual third person perspectives (Boomer and Daphne) DELIGHTED focuses on the building romance and relationship between former CIA operative Brian ‘Boomer’Ward, and single mother/ bakery owner Daphne Carlton. Daphne Carlton is a single mother, and struggles in the wake of her former in-laws interfering in the way she raises her twelve year old daughter. When the elderly babysitter leaves without notice, Daphne finds herself facing her sexy next door neighbor, Brian ‘Boomer’ Ward, the man her daughter has quickly called a friend. Boomer Ward’s attraction to Daphne is immediate but our hero struggles to believe he is worthy of his own happily ever after. Offering up the McKay-Taggart day care/family setting, Boomer pulls Daphne into their lives, lives that are now willing to risk to help the woman with whom Boomer is falling in love. A break-in, a stalker and threats from the former in-law find Daphne on the edge of control until the team at McKay-Taggart uncover the truth about what was happening and why. What ensues is the quick building romance and relationship between Daphne and Boomer, and the potential fall-out as a search reveals Boomer has secrets Daphne knows nothing about.
The relationship between Boomer and Daphne is one of immediate attraction but Daphne hasn’t dated since the death of her late husband. Falling for Boomer was easy but Daphne’s first priority was her daughter’s health and safety, safety that is threatened when someone destroys the place where they lived. Brian ‘Boomer’ Ward knows Daphne Carlton is the woman that calls to his heart but Boomer struggles with issues of low self-esteem, issues that continue in the face of his success and good looks. The $ex scenes are limited but passionate
We are reintroduced to several members of the McKay-Taggart family including Charlotte , Big Tag and their teenagers; MaeBe Vaughn, as well as Daphne’s daughter Lou, and her former mother-in –law Amelia Carlton.
DELIGHTED is a fast paced, engaging and captivating story focusing on family, friendships, relationships and love. The premise is engaging; the romance is seductive; the characters are energetic and quirky. The epilogue fast-forwards the series approximately twelve years, where once again, the author gives us a brief look into the future, and the next generation of McKay-Taggart operatives.
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
His arms came around her, and she breathed him in. He smelled clean and crisp, like a spring wind. Her brain knew it had to be soap, but she associated the smell with him, and it soothed her.
“It’s okay.” He rocked her a little. “I’ve got a friend who is good with appliances. I can ask her to look at it. Don’t worry, Daph. It’s going to be all right. Lou’s good here. I promise. Lou’s good, and you’re going to be okay. I can’t let you go under or Big Tag would get mad at me. He really likes lemon cupcakes.”
They stood there for a moment, his warmth melting some of the ice that had built up over the last several years.
She tilted her head up, and that gorgeous man was staring down at her like he could eat her up, and warm was no longer the word she would use.
Hot. Desire flooded her system like a flash fire, and she wanted nothing more than to go up on her toes and kiss those magnificent lips of his.
Those lips belonged to another woman, and that woman was in the building. What the hell was she thinking? He was a nice man. He didn’t want to kiss her. He was being kind.
She stepped back, wiping her eyes. “Thank you, Boomer. And if you do have someone who can take a look at the oven, I would so appreciate it. You get all the cupcakes. What kind does MaeBe like? Would she be okay with the hugging thing?”
He frowned, like he was trying to figure something out. “I hug Mae a lot. At least I used to. She’s not so huggy these days. She likes anything chocolate.”
Boomer had looked sad when he’d said Mae didn’t hug him much anymore. She hated the thought of this big cuddly god of a man being in a cold relationship, but she wasn’t going to be the reason they broke up.
“Then I will make her something chocolate, and the lemon ones for your boss,” Daphne promised. She had to get these crazy urges under control or she would need to find Lou another place to stay, and she got the feeling Lou would object. “So where is the lounge? Or the gulag. That one kind of scares me.”
“Kala? Oh, that proves you have excellent instincts.” Boomer turned to walk back down the hall.
Those heads were back up above their cubicle walls, and she also noticed the doors to a whole bunch of offices were open.
“Is there a reason everyone is watching us?” She hurried down the hall to catch up with him.
“Because they’re all nosy bastards, and I can’t even complain,” Boomer replied. “I was a nosy bastard, too. We’re a weird family, and everyone is always in everyone else’s business, but it’s not a bad thing. The kind of people who would take advantage get weeded out very quickly around here. Big Tag takes care of them, and there’s usually a lawsuit, but that’s what Mitch is for. Hey, we also have a criminal defense attorney on call. Her name is Lea, and she’s really scary. Now if she had been working the reception desk when we invaded, we might have had trouble.”
She loved listening to him talk. His voice was deep, but every word was tinged with the humor he seemed to have for the world around him. The positive light he exuded was always there in his words.
If only the man weren’t attached…
She shoved aside the thought because he was totally out of her league. They weren’t even playing the same game.
But maybe they could be friends.
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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