A review by jonetta
Smoke and Sin by Shayla Black, Lexi Blake
4.0
Roman Calder is the chief of staff to the President of the United States. He’s one of “The Perfect Gentlemen” and thirteen years ago, he was in a passionate but secret relationship with Augustine (Gus) Spencer, the sister of one his fellow Gentlemen, Dax Spencer. Though Gus is gorgeous and extremely talented, Roman had a different “vision” of who his wife would be (think Stepford), which was driven by memories of his own parents’ volatile marriage. He broke things off with Gus, at the worst time ever for her. Now they’re both working in the White House, she the number two person in the Press office and the tension between them has never abated. While Roman and the rest of his friends are working diligently to figure out the conspiracy involving the Russians, Gus is waging her own secret investigation that threatens to intersect with theirs.
I expected the story between these two to be steamy, passionate and full of tension and it was that in overdrive. But it also revealed their vulnerabilities and past secrets that I’d never imagined. Gus is smart, resourceful and a handful for Roman who had the misconception he could somehow control her. It was fun seeing how she could disarm the über controlled Roman, known as the Hitman who was fierce in his loyalty to Zack Hayes (POTUS). Their romance far exceeded my expectations.
But the true intrigue belongs to the continuing story arc involving the conspiracy threat to Zack. The investigation ramps up once they get to London and there are significant discoveries that provide a lot more insight. The ending was explosive and I cannot wait to get to the next book, which ends the series and will provide all the answers. This was the story I’d hoped it would be.
FYI, there was a change in narrators that took me by surprise as I loved Kaleo Griffith’s performance in the previous three books. However, five minutes into this story I knew Greg Bordeaux was a worthy replacement and owned these characters. The transition was seamless.
Posted on Blue Mood Café
I expected the story between these two to be steamy, passionate and full of tension and it was that in overdrive. But it also revealed their vulnerabilities and past secrets that I’d never imagined. Gus is smart, resourceful and a handful for Roman who had the misconception he could somehow control her. It was fun seeing how she could disarm the über controlled Roman, known as the Hitman who was fierce in his loyalty to Zack Hayes (POTUS). Their romance far exceeded my expectations.
But the true intrigue belongs to the continuing story arc involving the conspiracy threat to Zack. The investigation ramps up once they get to London and there are significant discoveries that provide a lot more insight. The ending was explosive and I cannot wait to get to the next book, which ends the series and will provide all the answers. This was the story I’d hoped it would be.
FYI, there was a change in narrators that took me by surprise as I loved Kaleo Griffith’s performance in the previous three books. However, five minutes into this story I knew Greg Bordeaux was a worthy replacement and owned these characters. The transition was seamless.
Posted on Blue Mood Café