In Bed With The Billionaire (Nine Circles #5) by Jackie Ashenden-a review

IN BED WITH THE BILLIONAIRE ( Nine Circles #5) by Jackie Ashenden-a review

In Bed With The Billionaire

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 1, 2016

A man with everything on the line…
Known to the underworld only as Jericho, billionaire Theo Fitzgerald is one of the most powerful men in the world. But his plan is to tear down the criminal empire his father created from the inside out—unless someone else does it for him. He suspects a bold, seductive woman named Temple Cross might be trying to take him out with it—but for the chance to burn in the heat she gives off, he’s not sure if he minds…

A hired hit woman, Temple has been waiting to get close to Jericho her whole life. The man who destroyed her family is worth looking in the eye before she kills him—but when she’s finally alone with Jericho, he’s nothing like the ruthless barbarian she imagined. Her reaction to his touch is explosively sexual—and their emotional connection is too powerful for her to ignore. Is she his shot at redemption? Or will he have to risk losing her love to save her life?

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REVIEW: IN BED WITH THE BILLIONAIRE is the fifth and final? installment in Jackie Ashenden’s contemporary, adult NINE CIRLES erotic, romantic suspense series focusing on a group of friends ‘bound together by power, secrets, need, family and love’. This is billionaire Theo ‘Jericho’ Fitzgerald, and assassin Temple Cross’s story line. Jericho is the brother of Violet Fitzgerald whom we met in book four-Kidnapped by the Billionaire. IN BED WITH THE BILLIONAIRE can be read as a stand alone but for cohesion and backstory I recommend reading the series in order as much of the premise of the current story line has been building throughout the series. If you have not read the previous story lines there may be some spoilers in my review.

NOTE: IN BED WITH THE BILLIONAIRE contains graphic sexual text and scenes of questionable consent.

Told from several third person perspectives IN BED WITH THE BILLIONAIRE follows hired assassin Temple Cross as she sets out to kill the man –Theo ‘Jericho’ Fitzgerald- she believes destroyed her sister’s life. Jericho is one of the world’s most powerful criminals with his hands in prostitution, nightclubs and human trafficking. Several years earlier Temple’s sister went missing and our heroine believes Jericho sold her sister into human sexual slavery. What ensues are Temple’s attempts to infiltrate Jericho’s personal life, and Jericho’s need to understand what makes our heroine ‘tick’.

As the story line builds we learn that Theo ‘Jericho’ Fitzgerald is a reluctant criminal who hides the truth behind a powerful façade. Temple Cross, like Theo Fitzgerald, has a dark and dangerous past, and her powers as an assassin hide the true intent of what it is she is hoping to uncover.

The relationship between our leading couple is highly sexual. Many of the $ex scenes are graphic, intense and not without some ambiguous consent; arguments and physical fights lead to rough and angry $ex but initial consent is debatable and unclear.

There is a large ensemble cast of secondary and supporting characters including all of the previous story line couples. The final several chapters in the story reveal some of the back story for each of our couples, as well as their connections to one another and the current story line players coming full circle from beginning to the end.

IN BED WITH THE BILLIONAIRE is an emotional story line with controversial and complex characters. The premise is thrilling and intense; the characters are tragic and broken; the romance is melodramatic and powerful. IN BED WITH THE BILLIONAIRE is a suspense filled, erotic romance with memorable characters and a happily ever after.

Copy supplied by the publisher through Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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Kidnapped by the Billionaire (Nine Circles #4) by Jackie Ashenden-a review

KIDNAPPED BY THE BILLIONAIRE (Nine Circles #4) by Jackie Ashenden-a review

Kidnapped by the Billionaire

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / The Book Depository /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date March 1, 2016

He kissed her the way he’d run her down, conquering her, taking her…

A priceless plan. An illicit attraction.

Seven years ago, billionaire-turned-bodyguard Elijah Hunt lost everything he had-his family, his future-and now he wants revenge. But when he decides to kidnap the daughter of the man who ruined his life, Elijah gets a lot more than he bargained for. Violet Fitzgerald is nothing like her corrupt wealthy father. In fact, she’s so disarmingly independent-and irresistible-that she just might be dangerous…

And a love that’s too good to be true.

Violet never thought she’d feel a connection to her captor. But there’s something beneath Elijah’s steel-bodied exterior that makes her want to know him more deeply…and surrender to his every demand. But once Elijah’s erotic fantasies become a reality-and he and Violet develop a real romantic connection-he finds himself in a quandary: Is he still the one in control? Or has Violet imprisoned him-body and soul?

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REVIEW: KIDNAPPED BY THE BILLIONAIRE is the fourth installment in Jackie Ashenden’s contemporary, adult NINE CIRCLES romantic, suspense series. This is billionaire/bodyguard Elijah Hunt, and heiress Violet Fitzgerald’s story line. KIDNAPPED BY THE BILLIONAIRE can be read as a stand alone but for cohesion and backstory I recommend reading the series in order as the NINE CIRLES series focuses on taking down the Nine Circles, and an elite corruption ring of sex traffickers, dealers and underground crime.

Told from several third person perspectives KIDNAPPED BY THE BILLIONAIRE finds our heroine in a precarious position as the victim of a kidnapping as part of a revenge plot against her father, and the corruption underground he controls. Violet in an innocent in that she never knew about her father’s ties to crime, and the horrendous cost of life he has inflicted on the people with whom he does business. Violet is a woman who has been searching for her brother-a man, who for the last sixteen years, she believes died by his own hands, but for one reason or another she believes is still alive. Enter Elijah Hunt, her father’s bodyguard, and a man who seeks revenge against Violet’s father for the loss of everything and everyone he loved.

Violet Fitzgerald is a strong woman capable of holding her own against anyone including the family that continues to keeps our heroine at a distance. And now…Violet is Elijah’s captive; a woman Elijah needs to take down the people that destroyed his life….but Violet is also the woman who calls to his soul, and that places both of them in a dangerous situation. As the story line builds, so too does the attraction of want and need between a predator and his prey. Elijah thought his heart had died seven years before, but something about Violet stirs the dying embers of a fire long thought vanished. The $ex scenes are aggressive, provocative and intense.

All of the previous story line couples play secondary and supporting roles, as their overlapping and continuing story lines blend with each successive installment. Although Jackie Ashenden reveals important information, from previous story lines, where necessary, and reflects on some of the history between the characters, I recommend reading the series in order. There is so much information in each installment that may be necessary for continuity for each successive story.

KIDNAPPED BY THE BILLIONAIRE is a fast paced, suspense-filled mystery of betrayal, revenge, and falling in love. The premise is cleverly written and remarkably intense; the characters are impassioned, dynamic and strong; the romance is acceptance of what was, and what can be. Now, I have to go back to the beginning for my own sanity to read what happened to get up to this point.

Copy supplied by the publisher by Netgalley

Reviewed by Sandy

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