No Love Lost (Masters and Mercenaries: The Forgotten #5) by Lexi Blake-Review & Excerpt tour
Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 29, 2020
When Ezra Fain joined the ranks of the CIA, the last thing on his mind was romance. After meeting Kim Soloman, it was difficult to think of anything else. A tragic mistake drove them apart, leaving him shattered and unable to forgive the woman he loved. But when his greatest enemy threatens her life, Ezra leaps into action, prepared to do anything to try to save her.
Solo accepted long ago that she won’t get over Ezra. She’s worked for years to get back into his life, looking for any way to reignite the love they once shared. Unfortunately, nothing seems to penetrate the wall he has built between them. When she’s arrested for a crime she didn’t commit, she believes she’s on her own.
Racing across the globe, Ezra and Solo find themselves together again, caught in the crosshairs of the agency they sacrificed so much to serve. Days on the run soon turn to steamy nights, but Levi Green isn’t about to let them find their happily ever after. And when the smoke clears, the men and women of McKay-Taggart will never be the same again.
•••••••
REVIEW: NO LOVE LOST is the fifth and final Instalment in Lexi Blake’s contemporary, adult MASTERS AND MERCENARIES: THE FORGOTTEN erotic, BDSM, romantic suspense series focusing on six former military soldiers (Jax, Dante, Sasha, Tucker, Owen, Robert and Ezra/Beck) whose minds and lives were eradicated and erased by a secret, unauthorized military experiment. This is former CIA operatives Kimberly ‘Solo’ Solomon, and Ezra Fain aka Beckett Kent’s story line. NO LOVE LOST should not be read as a stand alone as the story line has been building throughout the series. THE FORGOTTEN is a spin off from the author’s Masters and Mercenaries series; several characters from the aforementioned series as well as the Nights in Bliss, Colorado and Texas Sirens series cross over for familiarity.
NOTE: If you have not read Lexi Blake’s original Masters and Mercenaries series, their may be some confusion as it pertains to the Lost Boys and their backstory.
WARNING: There are some BDSM scenes as well as Dom/sub sexual scenarios.
SOME BACKGROUND: Several months (years) earlier, the mercenaries from the McKay-Taggart Black Ops group rescued, from an unauthorized military lab, run by Dr. Hope McDonald, six men they labelled the ‘Lost Boys’. With their memories wiped clean, no ID, and no traceable DNA, the Lost Boys were essentially ‘new born’ soldiers trained to kill and destroy. The Forgotten are their stories.
Told from third person perspectives, covering several years beyond the present, NO LOVE LOST focuses on the acrimonious and caustic relationship between former CIA operatives, former lovers, and the now divorced couple Kimberly ‘Solo’ Solomon, and Ezra Fain aka Beckett Kent. Divorced for years, our couple struggled with the reality that the fine line between love and hate goes a long way when Beck continues to blame Solo for the death of his brother but Levi Greene, a common enemy who has set his sights on our story line heroine, will pull Beck back into Kimberly’s life but in doing so Beck’s anger and pain would push her away one last time. Fast forward seven years wherein the team at McKay Taggart will discover Solo’s whereabouts which will inadvertently threaten everyone Kimberly loves. What ensues is the rebuilding but tempestuous on again, off again relationship between Beck and Kim, and the fall-out as too many lies and secrets, once again, threaten the fragile hold on trust and love .
Beckett Kent aka Ezra Fain is a man with a temper who lashes out at the woman he loves. Issues of trust, miscommunication, words said in anger and haste between the couple add fuel to an already simmering pain. As Solo struggles with her need for a man who pushes all of her buttons, the enemy is biding his time in an effort to destroy Beckett and Kim.
The relationship between Beckett and Kim is a second chance relationship that has been burned one too many times. Beckett blames Kim for the loss of his brother but it will be the secrets and lies that will push Becket over the edge. The $ex scenes are intimate, erotic and intense with some light BDSM, Dom/sub and spanking scenarios.
There is a large ensemble cast of familiar, colorful and energetic secondary and supporting characters including several of the author’s previously mentioned series. The timeline of NO LOVE LOST jumps approximately seven years wherein the author is setting the stage for her next spin off: Masters and Mercenaries-Reloaded.
NO LOVE LOST is the culmination of five interwoven storylines about The Forgotten-a group of men who lost their lives, their minds, their family and respect; a detailed story of family and friendships; betrayal and vengeance; secrets and lies; love, loss, and forgiveness. The premise is emotional and engaging; the romance is heart breaking yet seductive; the characters are struggling to find a place in the world.
Reading Order and Previous Reviews
Lost Hearts aka Memento Mori
Lost and Found
Lost in You
Long Lost
Copy supplied for review
Reviewed by Sandy
It was the please that did it. He was so rarely polite to her. She took a deep breath and turned to him. They needed to ratchet down the emotion. It was what always tripped them up. “I don’t think we can work together.”
“We certainly can’t if I continue to be a massive asshole.” He moved toward her, putting his hands on her shoulders. “I’m sorry. You’re still a touchy subject for me.”
She nodded, unable to say a word for fear of unleashing a tidal wave. Not seconds before she’d told herself to tamp down the emotion, but here it was, threatening to overwhelm her and all he’d had to do was touch her.
“How about we agree that Levi Green is a problem for both of us and we work together to solve it,” he offered. “Kim, we’ve been going in circles for years. Maybe it’s time we find a way to move on. I know I’m tired of hating you.”
She stepped back. She couldn’t have his hands on her when he used that word. It was wrong when all she’d ever done was love him. “Ariel pointed out that it would be easier on both of us if I stopped showing up in your life.”
His gaze softened. “Would it? I didn’t see you for a couple of years and it didn’t feel any easier.”
She let a moment pass. How was it she felt even more vulnerable than she had when she was with Levi? “I know. I’ve tried to move on. I don’t seem to be able to.”
His hands moved as if he wanted to touch her, but he seemed to rethink the idea. “So maybe we should go about this another way. Maybe we should take this time and do what we didn’t do before. Talk. Try to find a way to get through this. I’m sorry I said what I did about you and Levi. It still hurts and I’m lashing out. All I know is when I thought you were in danger, I knew I couldn’t sit on my hands and let it happen. I can’t do it now either. Let me come with you. Let me help fix this.”
No. It was the only word she should say to him, and then she should turn and walk out and never look back. If she let him in, he would hurt her no matter how good his intentions were. Beck had always had a well of rage inside him that he wouldn’t deal with, wouldn’t acknowledge even existed. He hadn’t changed.
“Okay.” She hadn’t changed either. She was still helpless when it came to this man. She was still in love with him and likely always would be.
He let go of a heavy breath. “Good.” He was silent for a moment, looking her over. “Did he hurt you? Are your wrists okay?”
She’d managed to get what was left of the zip ties off in the car. She had some red marks on her wrists. “They’re sore, but all right. He didn’t slap me around this time.”
She watched as Beck’s hands formed fists and wished she hadn’t said that. His rage was always simmering under the surface when she was around.
He seemed to let it go. “All right. We should get on the road. Can you grab some water and protein bars? I don’t know what we’ll find when we get to Paris.”
She kind of thought she did know. She’d done a lot of homework on Big Tag, and if Rene was who she thought he was, then Beck would feel right at home.
Still, she grabbed the water bottles and bars and stuffed them in the duffel Steph had provided for her. There were a couple of T-shirts and a pair of sweatpants that would likely be too short, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.
This was all she had in the world. It was odd. She would have said possessions were meaningless, but now that she had no access to any of the things that brought her comfort, she missed them with all her heart.
She had one thing. She reached up and found some peace knowing her ring was still there. All these years and she still had her wedding ring. It hung low around her neck, and she always hid it under her shirt when Beck was around.
It was all she had left of her marriage.
“You ready?” Beck fitted a cap to his head and passed her another. “You might want to put your hair up. I know if I was looking for you, all that hair would be the first thing to catch my eye.”
How many nights had he tangled his fingers in her hair and gently tugged, had he told her how beautiful it was and that he never wanted her to cut it? “Yeah. I’m ready.”
He stepped in front of her and placed the cap on her head, his gorgeous eyes staring down at her. “I really am sorry I said what I did. Can you forgive me?”
Her whole soul threatened to melt. She nodded.
“Can I hug you? I want to. I want to reassure myself that you’re really okay.”
She nodded again and then she was in his arms for the first time in years.
“Promise me he didn’t get a chance to hurt you,” Beck whispered.
He sounded like he actually cared. His arms around her made her feel safer than she had in forever. “He threatened me with a bunch of stuff, but I don’t want to talk about it. I will, but not now.”
“Okay.”
They stood there for the longest time, the sound of his heartbeat the only thing she could hear.
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.
FACEBOOK / TWITTER / WEBSITE / AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE
