Book Review: A View To A Thrill by Lexi Blake

Author: Lexi Blake
Series: Masters and Mercenaries #7
Audience: +18
Genre: Erotic Romance, Contemporary Romance, BDSM
Publisher: DLZ Entertainment, LLC
Release Date: August 19th 2014
My Rating: 4 Cups
Source: Author
Blurb (from Goodreads):

A Spy without a Country

Simon Weston grew up royal in a place where aristocracy still mattered. Serving Queen and country meant everything to him, until MI6 marked him as damaged goods and he left his home in disgrace. Ian Taggart showed him a better way to serve his fellow man and introduced him to Sanctum, a place to pursue his passion for Dominance and submission. Topping beautiful subs was a lovely distraction until he met Chelsea, and becoming her Master turned into Simon’s most important mission.

A Woman without Hope

Chelsea Dennis grew up a pawn to the Russian mob. Her father’s violent lessons taught her that monsters lurked inside every man and they should never be trusted. Hiding in the shadows, she became something that even the monsters would fear—an information broker who exposed their dirty secrets and toppled their empires. Everything changed when Simon Weston crossed her path. Valiant and faithful, he was everything she needed—and a risk she couldn’t afford to take.

A Force too Strong to Resist

When dark forces from her past threaten her newfound family at Sanctum, Chelsea must turn to Simon, the one man she can trust with her darkest secrets. Their only chance to survive lies in a mystery even Chelsea has been unable to solve. As they race to uncover the truth and stay one step ahead of the assassins on their heels, they will discover a love too powerful to deny. But to stop a killer, Simon just might have to sacrifice himself…

A Masters and Mercenaries Novel

*Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review.

**Disclaimer: This book contains mature content. As a result, my review may contain references to content intended for mature audiences only.

I've been waiting for this book for a while now. The big bad English spy without a country and the hurt, angry young woman who found herself suddenly alone. It's a pair that normally wouldn't work, and yet Blake manages, as always, to make it happen.

Chelsea is a pretty angry woman, and considering what she had to go through growing up, it's understandable. Once she and Charlie managed to get away from their father and uncle, Chelsea started getting addicted to the power her computer and the Internet offered her. It was really the only thing she could control, and I completely understood that. Because who wouldn't get addicted to being in control for the first time in their life? I also understood why she's afraid of men and why she refuses to get close to any guy that might make her want more for herself, including love, as well as why she doesn't trust anyone all that much. My heart ached for her, it really did, and I was so happy that she decided to trust Simon, just enough to see that she's worth being loved.

I never understood Simon before. He always gave me the impression of someone closed off, almost cold, like nothing could touch him. The only person to really get close to him was Jesse, and that made Simon become his protector, his big brother if you will. In this book though we get to understand why he's cold and why he keeps people at arm's length. We get to explore his childhood, why he decided to become a spy, how has his life changed since he came in Texas, as well as why he's the man Chelsea should fall for. The thing I loved about Simon was how much in control of himself he was, until of course he wasn't. But for the most part of this book, he gave the impression of someone calm, in control of his emotions, even when he was fighting the bad guys. That was hot, let me tell you! But he was also very fragile, especially when you consider the way his childhood is described, so this control is mostly just a mask to keep people away. It makes sense, except thankfully Jesse got under his skin, and Chelsea made him open up even more.

There was a lot of sexual tension in this book, but not a lot of sex. It actually was perfect for Chelsea and Simon. Sure, they're both mad about each other and they are attracted to each other, but I couldn't imagine Chelsea being as sexually open as her older sister, so the fact that there wasn't that much sex was okay with me. The sex that did happen was hot and boy does Simon know how to be use the Dom voice! As I said in the beginning, I wasn't sure they would work. Simon is very polished, very controlled, while Chelsea is like a hurricane in his life, but one that doesn't trust anyone, not even herself all that much. So I wasn't 100% sure they would ultimately work together. As always, Blake proved me wrong and I ended up adoring them together.

That being said, the pacing was, as usual with Lexi Blake's books, pretty fast. We get to delve deeper into the world of espionage and the danger gets bigger and bigger for our favorite spies. We also get to see Ian, or Satan as Chelsea calls him. I'll never get tired of Ian, to be honest. Or Charlie. Or Ian and Charlie. More Ian and Charlie I say. As always, we also get a glimpse into who gets his story next and I am very, very excited.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book, and I'm very excited to see what happens next.