Pearl's World of Romance - Reviews with a Passion: Mercenary Trilogy

Showing posts with label Mercenary Trilogy. Show all posts

January 29, 2008

And Able - Lucy Monroe

4:14 PM |

They’re the good guys fighting the bad guys. They’ll get the job done—if the price is right and so is the cause. Meet three sexy men who individually are READY, WILLING, and ABLE to go the distance—and together, are unstoppable...

Claire Sharp trusts few people and relies on no one. But after her life is threatened, ex-mercenary Brett Adams blows into her self-contained world, full of southern charm, rugged good looks, and enough sexual experience to write a how-to manual...experience he makes it clear he'd like to use on Claire. She wants help fighting the bad guys, but she's not about to fall into Brett's bed. For one thing, the guy has a no-commitment clause better than most big shot attorneys and for another, despite her response to his too sensual kisses, in her experience sex isn't exactly fireworks and brass bands. Definitely not worth getting all excited over...

Brett plans to prove her wrong. He’s never felt such a powerful combination of lust and friendship with a woman. He'll give her a white-hot pleasure like nothing she’s ever known and she'll realize that some things in life are worth taking the risk for. When the threat to Claire grows dangerously close, pitting them against deadly odds, Brett will do whatever it takes to save her. Because Claire Sharp has just found herself a man who’s ready to bring it on, willing to do what it takes, and able to go the distance…

They say three is a charm...and a charm Hotwire definitely was. Being a sucker for southern charm I must say Lucy Monroe saved the best for last in this trilogy. I was anticipating his story from the first time he appeared in book 1 and by the time he unintentionally showed his affection for Claire in the second book I was not just anticipating anymore but more like craving. I could never have guessed it would be this good, he turned out to be much more than meets the eye.

We met Hotwire in "Ready" as one of Wolf's fellow mercenaries and friend. He is a wiz with computers, charming, polite and honorable but that's all on the surface, underneath he is a toughened mercenary ready to take on any enemy to cross his path or the path of the ones he holds dear. He has feelings for Claire but because of things in the past he can't offer her anything more than his friendship.
Claire first made her appearance in "Willing" as Josie's roommate and friend. She is smart, independent and stubborn and she has a crush on Hotwire but he's warned her that he's not looking for any type of commitment so she keeps her distance.
A threat on Claire's life spirals into both a very imaginative plot and the realization that there is much more between Claire and Hotwire than friendship.
The plot spins off subplots that all roll into one final great conclusion and the relationship between the main characters takes a very surprising turn that blows them both of their feet.

Claire and Hotwire are well-developed main characters, each with their own personal tragedies in their pasts to motivate their views on life, love and passion. I do think Hotwire went a little overboard at one point with his chivalry. It was nice to see him take responsibility for his actions but his views on marriage were a bit archaic and he wasn't seeing that. Luckily Claire was smart enough to show him he was overreacting a bit. Showing her determination and independence she formed the balance I needed to keep Hotwire the hero I loved from the start.
The secondary characters were well-dosed into the story and very complementary to Hotwire and Claire, of course some of them were the main characters of book 1 and 2: Lise, Wolf, Josie and Nitro and they were all a true contribution to Claire and Hotwire's story, giving them center stage to do their thing.
My favorite scene was the one where Hotwire realizes, with a little help from Wolf and Nitro, that he does love Claire. It was a great scene and a real trademark for Lucy Monroe's style: emotional, intense but still spiked with humor and wit.

Again Lucy Monroe has written a delicious combination of passionate romance and another amazing suspense plot. She is very good at mixing everyday things as studying for finals with suspense and romance. Her writing style is fluent and although not fast-paced in this book she kept me turning the pages anxious to know how everything was going to fall in place. Her characters are very easy to relate to, compelling and touching. They have depth and through their dialogues and thoughts you really get to know them and their feelings. Her love scenes are formidable and an addition to the already intense emotional love story and they are the cherries on the pie. The first kissing scene is the appetizer for a delicious meal of passionate love scenes throughout the book. Beautifully written and very erotic in a tasteful way. There was a pool scene that made me happy I was reading this book in the middle of the winter because in the summer I would have combusted into flames...

Overall it's a great trilogy where the total turns out to be so much more that the sum of the parts. Each book has it's own perfectly balanced and paired hero and heroine and it's own unique suspense plot. For me this trilogy is a true keeper in the genre of romantic suspense with the lovely and strong heroines and the delightful alpha heroes topped of with the capability of combining a thrilling plot with intense emotions.

Quotes:
Hotwire and Claire after their first kiss:
" So, no more soul kisses"
"That felt more like a groping, marauder kiss to me."
" I do not grope." Hotwire looked truly offended
"So the fingers I felt on my behind were a spectral phenomenon?” she mocked

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Labels: great reads, Kensington Publishing, Lucy Monroe, Mercenary Trilogy, reviews, Romantic Suspense | 0 comments |

December 7, 2007

Willing - Lucy Monroe

9:34 PM |

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Josie McCall has been raised to be a soldier, and she could be the best—if she wanted it. Instead, she left her dad’s mercenary school behind for a normal job in computers. But now that someone has torched the school and her dad is MIA from the hospital, Josie’s going to use every bit of her merc training to find him and hunt down the culprits who took him. Josie knows a lot about explosives, hand-to-hand combat, and tracking. What she doesn’t know about is sex. She has no idea what to do with the volcanic attraction she feels for her dad’s new partner, Daniel Black Eagle. And that feels more dangerous than any bomb…

Daniel knows exactly what he’d like to do about that attraction. The brooding explosives expert can’t get within five feet of Josie without wanting to touch, taste, and protect her—even if he’s sure she would happily drop-kick him if she knew one sizzling moment of his fantasies. But he’ll save it for later. Right now, he’s got his hands full figuring out who set that bomb and took Josie’s dad. Daniel’s sure of one thing, though—he’s not letting Josie McCall out of his sight for a single second. Convincing the cutest, most desirable trained soldier he’s ever met that she needs a bodyguard isn’t going to be easy. But if she’ll let him, he’ll show her he’s willing to do whatever it takes to keep her safe, and along the way, he’ll make her feel every inch a woman…

Two tough mercenaries down, one to go!

When her father's training facility blows up, her father disappears from the hospital and her own life is threatened, female mercenary Josie McCall has no choice but to team up with her father's former student and now his partner in the facility, Daniel Black Eagle (Nitro). She has known him since she was a young girl and always hid her feelings for him thinking he didn't return them. But now while searching for her father and the person responsible for the destruction of her father's facility, she has to work closely with Nitro and she discovers things she could never have imagined.

The prologue set the stage and promised another heart wrenching story. And it was. An emotional gem dressed in a coat of suspense and passion.
Another nicely balanced mix of suspense and romance.
This trilogy seems to have a recurring theme: the feelings of not belonging overcome by finding an intense and strong love.

Josie is both innocent and tough at the same time. This makes her a lovely character. She's very capable in the field of bombs and fighting, and yet at the same time so naïve where sexual desires are concerned. But she's a quick learner. The way Nitro introduces her the world of sensuality and desire is breathtaking and to die for. No gallant knight could have done it in a better way. It's the way any woman would wish to have been introduced into the pleasures of lovemaking.
Nitro is tough and at the same time so caring and gentle for Josie. But he has to sort out his emotional heritage before he can accept his love for Josie.

Nitro and Josie are perfectly matched main characters. The chemistry between them is magnetic and hot. It seemed to start in book one but in the first chapters you realize their attraction started much earlier. Danger and fear accelerate the mutual attraction and feelings into sexual tension and eventually into an intense love.
They are drawn to each other like moths to a flame, unable to resist yet still trying to protect their hearts, trying not to be vulnerable because they are supposed to be hardened "soldiers." But it's inevitable.

Contrary to book one this book focuses more on the developing relationship and passion between the main characters and a bit less on the suspense. This provides a nice diversity in the trilogy; giving each installment it's own unique vibe, not only in characters but also in the "touch and feel."
The book provides both romance and suspense, both intense emotions and fun moments, both beautiful love and steamy lust, both tough soldiers and caring soul mates.
The love scenes are exquisitely written. Hot and sensual but intense and emotional at the same time. Lucy Monroe knows how to write those scenes like no other.
The secondary characters were enjoyable and a true addition. Especially Hotwire was a treat, oozing with southern charm and I can't wait to dive into his story.

In the field of romantic suspense I have discovered a trilogy that satisfies my appetite for strong alpha males, lovely heroines, steamy passion and a suspenseful plot. Thumbs up for Lucy Monroe!

Quote:
Even less had she anticipated the leashed force of his passion vibrating from his body to hers combined with a kiss so caring and gentle, she was ready to melt in a puddle of devastating emotion right there on the footpath.

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Labels: good reads, Kensington Publishing, Lucy Monroe, Mercenary Trilogy, reviews, Romantic Suspense | 0 comments |

November 5, 2007

Ready - Lucy Monroe

9:03 PM |

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As a writer, Lise Barton is used to coming up with wild scenarios for her characters, but the one that’s playing out for her right now is no fiction—it’s frighteningly real. Someone is stalking her, someone who knows where she lives and what she does. Someone who has even threatened her family—her brother, his wife, and their precious baby girl. Lise isn’t about to let someone hurt them, so she packs up and leaves Texas for the anonymity of Seattle. And then the threats start again…

Joshua Watt’s mission is simple: Go to Seattle and bring Lise home for Thanksgiving or he’ll never hear the end of it from his sister. It’s not like “Aunt Lise” to stay away from their adorable niece, and Joshua’s pretty sure he’s the reason for it. He’s spent months trying to forget the taste of her lips, the feel of her soft hair in his fingers. Yeah, okay, he wants her—badly—but family comes first. But the minute he sees the fear in Lise’s eyes, his survival instincts kick in. The former Army Ranger isn’t about to let some creep terrorize an innocent woman—not on his watch. He’s going to do what it takes to protect Lise and try to keep his personal feelings out of it. Because if there’s one thing he’s learned, it’s that sex and work don’t mix. Not ever. So far…

They’re the good guys fighting the bad guys. They’ll get the job done—if the price is right and so is the cause. And what cause could be nobler than the heart’s desire? Rough and ready, tough and tender—when it comes to love and security, these hunks are definitely for hire...

And this is the first tough guy that has been gunned down by a love that conquers all! Even a hardened mercenary, nicknamed "Wolf" determined to never let himself fall into the trap of romantic love. He's been burned once and isn't ready to be trapped into the claws of betrayal ever again.
But he didn't count on Lise Barton. A heroine you just have to love for her bravery, her sassy comebacks and her pure loving heart. She first comes across as demure and shy but under the influence of her love for and the protection from Joshua she turns out to be his equal in every way, his own she-wolf.
Joshua is to die for! He's a tough soldier turned mercenary but with a heart of gold and when he finally admits how much he feels for Lise he's absolutely adorable.

I really think I'm starting to repeat myself where Lucy Monroe is concerned but her writing just gets to me on a level I really haven't encountered in any writer of contemporary romance so far.
Even in this book, where the focus is more on the suspense (finding the stalker is the main focus of the story) than on the romance.
It didn't bother me because the suspense was killing and Monroe did an amazing job of building up the suspense and gradually luring you into the mystery of the stalker and his motives.
And next to that there was the love story between Lise and Joshua flowing of the pages and effortlessly mixing with the suspense.
If I must mention something that was less satisfying it was the capture of the stalker. I would have liked that to have been more elaborate since it was a bit wrapped up quickly after the superb build up. But this did not affect my opinion in the least because Monroe more than made up for that with the love-scenes. They were every bit a breathtaking as the suspense was.

Two important secondary characters in the book were Nitro and Hotwire. They are Joshua's buddies who help him protect Lise and find the stalker.
The three of them can really knock a girl of her feet...Nitro is intense and brooding, Hotwire is all charm.
They are also the hero's of the other two books in the Mercenary trilogy and I can't wait to read their stories. If they are half as exciting as Joshua's...I'm really in for a treat!

Lucy Monroe wrote a delightful book that keeps you on the edge of your seat with the suspense and warms your heart with the romance.

Quote
Lise to Joshua:
But most of all, I love the man your past has made you to be, the man who looks at the present with the eyes of a protector and the heart of a warrior

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Labels: good reads, Kensington Publishing, Lucy Monroe, Mercenary Trilogy, reviews, Romantic Suspense | 0 comments |