Discover the Lexi Blake Crossover Collection Release Date: April 10, 2018
Author: Lexi BlakeSeries: Masters and Mercenaries #16
Audience: +18
Genre: Erotic Romance
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
Release Date: April 10th 2018
My Rating: 5 Cups
Source:InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):
CLOSE COVER by Lexi Blake Remy Guidry doesn’t do relationships. He tried the marriage thing once, back in Louisiana, and learned the hard way that all he really needs in life is a cold beer, some good friends, and the occasional hookup. His job as a bodyguard with McKay-Taggart gives him purpose and lovely perks, like access to Sanctum. The last thing he needs in his life is a woman with stars in her eyes and babies in her future.
Lisa Daley’s life is finally going in the right direction. She has finally graduated from college after years of putting herself through school. She’s got a new job at an accounting firm and she’s finished her Sanctum training. Finally on her own and having fun, her life seems pretty perfect. Except she’s lonely and the one man she wants won’t give her a second look.
There is one other little glitch. Apparently, her new firm is really a front for the mob and now they want her dead. Assassins can really ruin a fun girls’ night out. Suddenly strapped to the very same six-foot-five-inch hunk of a bodyguard who makes her heart pound, Lisa can’t decide if this situation is a blessing or a curse.
As the mob closes in, Remy takes his tempting new charge back to the safest place he knows—his home in the bayou. Surrounded by his past, he can’t help wondering if Lisa is his future. To answer that question, he just has to keep her alive.
Author: Larissa Ione
Series: Demonica Underworld #6, Demonica #17
Audience: +18
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
Release Date: April 10th 2018
My Rating: 5 Cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):
After a difficult childhood and a turbulent stint in the military, Declan Burke finally got his act together. Now he’s a battle-hardened professional bodyguard who takes his job at McKay-Taggart seriously and his playtime – and his playmates – just as seriously. One thing he never does, however, is mix business with pleasure. But when the mysterious, gorgeous Suzanne D’Angelo needs his protection from a stalker, his desire for her burns out of control, tempting him to break all the rules…even as he’s drawn into a dark, dangerous world he didn’t know existed.
Suzanne is an earthbound angel on her critical first mission: protecting Declan from an emerging supernatural threat at all costs. To keep him close, she hires him as her bodyguard. It doesn’t take long for her to realize that she’s in over her head, defenseless against this devastatingly sexy human who makes her crave his forbidden touch.
Together they’ll have to draw on every ounce of their collective training to resist each other as the enemy closes in, but soon it becomes apparent that nothing could have prepared them for the menace to their lives…or their hearts.
Author: J. KennerSeries: Stark Trilogy #4.5
Audience: +18
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
Release Date: April 10th 2018
My Rating: 5 Cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):
McKay-Taggart operative Riley Blade has no intention of returning to Los Angeles after his brief stint as a consultant on mega-star Lyle Tarpin’s latest action flick. Not even for Natasha Black, Tarpin’s sexy personal assistant who’d gotten under his skin. Why would he, when Tasha made it absolutely clear that—attraction or not—she wasn’t interested in a fling, much less a relationship.
But when Riley learns that someone is stalking her, he races to her side. Determined to not only protect her, but to convince her that—no matter what has hurt her in the past—he’s not only going to fight for her, he’s going to win her heart. Forever.
Author: Corinne Michaels
Series: Return to Me #3.5
Audience: +18
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
Release Date: April 10th 2018
My Rating: 5 Cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):
I’ve had two goals my entire life:
1. Make it big in country music.
2. Get the hell out of Bell Buckle.
I was doing it. I was on my way, until Cooper Townsend landed backstage at my show in Dallas.
This gorgeous, rugged, man of few words was one cowboy I couldn’t afford to let distract me. But with his slow smile and rough hands, I just couldn’t keep away.
Now, there are outside forces conspiring against us. Maybe we should’ve known better? Maybe not. Even with the protection from Wade Rycroft, bodyguard for McKay-Taggart, I still don’t feel safe. I won’t let him get hurt because of me. All I know is that I want to hold on, but know the right thing to do is to let go…
Author: Carly PhillipsSeries: Bodyguard Bad Boys #2.5
Audience: +18
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
Release Date: April 10th 2018
My Rating: 5 Cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):
Talia Shaw has spent her adult life working as a scientist for a big pharmaceutical company. She’s focused on saving lives, not living life. When her lab is broken into and it's clear someone is after the top secret formula she’s working on, she turns to the one man she can trust. The same irresistible man she turned away years earlier because she was too young and naive to believe a sexy guy like Shane Landon could want her.
Shane Landon’s bodyguard work for McKay-Taggart is the one thing that brings him satisfaction in his life. Relationships come in second to the job. Always. Then little brainiac Talia Shaw shows up in his backyard, frightened and on the run, and his world is turned upside down. And not just because she’s found him naked in his outdoor shower, either.
With Talia's life in danger, Shane has to get her out of town and to her eccentric, hermit mentor who has the final piece of the formula she’s been working on, while keeping her safe from the men who are after her. Guarding Talia's body certainly isn't any hardship, but he never expects to fall hard and fast for his best friend’s little sister and the only woman who’s ever really gotten under his skin.
Author: Susan StokerSeries: Delta Force Heroes #7.5
Audience: +18
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Evil Eye Concepts, Incorporated
Release Date: April 10th 2018
My Rating: 5 Cups
Source: InkSlinger PR
Blurb (from Goodreads):
Sadie Jennings was used to being protected. As the niece of Sean Taggart, and the receptionist at McKay-Taggart Group, she was constantly surrounded by Alpha men more than capable, and willing, to lay down their life for her. But when she visits her friend in San Antonio, and acts on suspicious activity at Milena’s workplace, Sadie puts both of them in the crosshairs of a madman. After several harrowing weeks, her friend is now safe, but for Sadie, the repercussions of her rash act linger on.
Chase Jackson, no stranger to dangerous situations as a captain in the US Army, has volunteered himself as Sadie's bodyguard. He fell head over heels for the beautiful woman the first time he laid eyes on her. With a Delta Force team at his back, he reassures the Taggart's that Sadie will be safe. But when the situation in San Antonio catches up with her, Chase has to use everything he's learned over his career to keep his promise...and to keep Sadie alive long enough to officially make her his.
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*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of these books from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.
**Disclaimer: This book contains mature content. As a result, my review may contain references to content intended for mature audiences only.
Welcome, dear book lovers, to part 1 of my review for the Lexi Blake Crossover Collection. I cannot even describe how much fun I had reading these books. It was fantastic, and I think this is the best idea ever! I love crossovers, so having authors that I've known for a long time put their minds together to come up with a literary crossover collection is just the most fantastic idea ever!
Close Cover by Lexi Blake
I know I've said it a few too many times, but I'm going to say it again: every time I pick up a Lexi Blake book I know I'm going to have a good time. This book is no different.
Remy is a guy that knows what he wants. He wants to do his last job perfectly, and then go back home and try to repair some of the things the people from his small town blame him for. He takes a lot of blame on his shoulders, even though I firmly believe it's not all his fault. When he realizes his last job involves the woman he's desperately afraid of, his initial reaction is to refuse. I think that if it wasn't for the money and Ian's meddling nature, he wouldn't have done it. He knows he's not going to stay, and I respect him for being honest about his intentions from the start. I also don't fault him for being reluctant to have a more serious relationship, seeing what his ex made him go through. I do, however, fault him for the way he initially reacted when Lisa suggested she go with him in order to stay safe. He definitely could have handled that better.
Lisa is one proud lady. It's strange seeing her be so closed off, and struggling to survive when her family could help her out. At the same time, it's a strange situation seeing Lisa as a stranger inside her family. That's how I saw her most of the time, even if her family loves her and they try to help her out, even when she doesn't want to be helped. It's easy to see that she needs to help herself, and the first thing she needs to fight is her own stubbornness. She eventually realizes she needs help, and she accepts it even though it takes a little bit of time. I respected her for finding the strength to fight her own demons, which are, unfortunately, very powerful and understandably so given what she went through as a child.
I absolutely loved this book, as you can imagine. As I said before, every Lexi Blake book is a winner for me and this one is no exception.
Her Guardian Angel by Larissa Ione
Speaking of books I know will be good, the second book in the Masters and Mercenaries Crossover collection is fantastic and surprising and just full of OMG moments.
Suzanne is a Memitim, but she is not a regular one. She had a good life, unlike her half brothers and sisters, and she can't really come to terms with her the fact that she had to leave her life behind to become a guardian angel. She's a fragile character, probably because she loved her previous life and she misses what she lost. I wonder if somehow she was chosen as Declan's Memitim for that specific reason. Anyway, I loved Suzanne and I was so happy to see her find her HEA.
Declan was a mystery to me. I wonder how exactly his angelic heritage will be useful in the final battle, since he was chosen for that reason. So I have questions. Many, many questions.
But my curiosity aside, I feel like this book was a game changer for the world of the Demonica. I now I said this when Ione introduced the elves, but now I am certain a lot of changes are coming, because certain things happened for Suzanne as a Memitim that have me questioning exactly how the Memitims will function from now on, provided someone decides they need to know. I also wonder if this is something that changed with Azagoth's decision to not make any more Memitims with random angels or if it's a particular type of thing that happened before but no one talked about it and/or someone scrubbed the memories of the people involved, as we find out happeend to Declan and Ian.
All in all, I am very excited about the future of the Denomica series.
Justify Me by J. Kenner
I was super stoked to read another J. Kenner book. And I'm happy to say I loved this book. A lot.
Natasha is a woman who went through a lot. She's strong, but there's something also really fragile about her. She needed to come to terms with her background with Riley, she needed to get over her fear of losing someone close to her, as she lost her father. But she gets there. I respected her for that, for the strength she found in herself to overcome her fears.
Riley is a loyal guy. Too loyal, in fact. He made a promise, and if it wasn't for a phone call, he wouldn't even have been in Los Angeles. He promised to stay away from Natasha, the woman he knows is "the one", and he did that. I liked Riley, even respected him for not pushing Natasha by asking her out again. I also liked that he was willing to break his promise in order to protect her. Basically I respected him.
I haven't read any of the previous books in this series, but I definitely will rectify that in the future. The more books by Kenner I read, the more I love her writing style. I definitely will keep my eye out for more of her books, while playing catch up on this series.
Join me tomorrow for part 2 of my review of the Lexi Blake Crossover Collection.
EXCERPT
His to Protect by Carly Phillips
Shane narrowed his gaze, not liking the sound of that at all. “I’ll get to the bottom of it,” he promised, knowing his friend was in China and would be worried sick about his sister.
“Keep in touch,” Tate demanded.
“Will do.” Shane disconnected the call and looked at Talia.
A woman he hadn’t seen since high school because, although he was good friends with her brother, he and Talia ran in different circles.
They always had.
A year younger, the little brainiac who’d tutored him in chemistry his senior year had saved his ass and enabled him to graduate. Too bad he’d been stupid enough to kiss her as a thank you, then shove his tongue down her throat and his hand up her shirt like she was a horny cheerleader and he was the football captain copping a feel. Which he had been.
But she wasn’t that kind of girl. She’d deserved better. No wonder she’d pushed him away and slammed the door in his face, avoiding him afterward. Then life had taken them their separate ways.
But now she needed him and he found irony in that.
He had wrapped the towel around his waist and tucked the corner in to keep it in place. Folding his arms across his chest, he pinned her with his most serious gaze. “Tate says you’re in trouble. And I can’t help you unless I know the extent of it. So let’s hear it,” he said, getting down to what he did best.
Business.
Because if he kept staring at her porcelain skin, big brown doe eyes, and silky, chocolate-colored hair falling haphazardly and adorably out of a bun on the back of her head, his cock wouldn’t go down and this situation would remain embarrassing. Apparently she still made him lose control just as she’d done years ago.
“Keep in touch,” Tate demanded.
“Will do.” Shane disconnected the call and looked at Talia.
A woman he hadn’t seen since high school because, although he was good friends with her brother, he and Talia ran in different circles.
They always had.
A year younger, the little brainiac who’d tutored him in chemistry his senior year had saved his ass and enabled him to graduate. Too bad he’d been stupid enough to kiss her as a thank you, then shove his tongue down her throat and his hand up her shirt like she was a horny cheerleader and he was the football captain copping a feel. Which he had been.
But she wasn’t that kind of girl. She’d deserved better. No wonder she’d pushed him away and slammed the door in his face, avoiding him afterward. Then life had taken them their separate ways.
But now she needed him and he found irony in that.
He had wrapped the towel around his waist and tucked the corner in to keep it in place. Folding his arms across his chest, he pinned her with his most serious gaze. “Tate says you’re in trouble. And I can’t help you unless I know the extent of it. So let’s hear it,” he said, getting down to what he did best.
Business.
Because if he kept staring at her porcelain skin, big brown doe eyes, and silky, chocolate-colored hair falling haphazardly and adorably out of a bun on the back of her head, his cock wouldn’t go down and this situation would remain embarrassing. Apparently she still made him lose control just as she’d done years ago.
About Carly Phillips:
Carly Phillips is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of over 50 sexy contemporary romance novels, including the Indie published, Dare to Love Series. She is happily married to her college sweetheart, the mother of two nearly adult daughters and three crazy dogs. Carly loves social media and is always around to interact with her readers.Newsletter | Facebook | Carly's Corner | Instagram | Twitter | Website
