I absolutely love The Perfect Gentlemen series by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake. It's suspenseful, sexy and action-packed. And it's finally here! Check out my review, then go check it out for yourself.
Big Easy Temptation (The Perfect Gentlemen #3), by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake
Publish Date: May 3, 2016
Publisher: Berkley Romance
Format: e-ARC, provided by the publisher
Genre: adult suspense romance
To Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Rating: 5 STARS
(Synopsis) The New York Times bestselling authors of the Masters of Ménage series present the third scintillating novel featuring the privileged, wealthy, wild men of Creighton Academy—the Perfect Gentlemen.
Years ago, Naval officer Dax Spencer and NCIS agent Holland Kirk indulged in a steamy affair—until she betrayed him in the wake of his father’s death. Dax tried to put her behind him with a payback of his own. But he never forgot Holland…
Now, as Dax and his fellow Perfect Gentlemen unravel a web of lies, he discovers his family’s tragedy is part of a much larger conspiracy. Soon, all clues point him back to New Orleans…where Holland waits, protecting her deadly secret and holding a torch for the only man she’s ever loved.
Once reunited, they can’t fight the passion flaring hot and wild. But something sinister lurks around every corner, from the elegance of the Garden district to the beauty of the bayou. Dax and Holland may find their way back to each other—if they survive...
The Perfect Gentlemen series by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake is completely captivating. These five men – these “Perfect Gentlemen” – and the women who round them out are some of the most compelling characters I’ve met in suspenseful romance. They are so very far from perfect, and yet they wear the hero moniker well. None of the three books out so far in this series has disappointed, and in fact, the further down the rabbit hole we get, the better the books.
Big Easy Temptation lent an especially emotional aspect to the story’s building blocks. We’re still trying to find out who killed the sixth member of the group – Maddox – and how that all ties in to the current president and Perfect Gentleman, Zack. In this third book, though, we see the lengths a son will go to in order to clear his family name. More than that, though, we see how far a woman in love will go in order to protect her man.
In Big Easy Temptation, many more layers to the overarching conspiracy are revealed. Some questions are answered. Many others are asked in their place. But, the part of the puzzle that’s worked on in this book has a personal tie to Dax, the Perfect Gentleman who is the Naval officer. Dax’s father was disgraced, when a scandal was revealed and he committed suicide in its wake. Heartbroken and determined to get to the bottom of a situation that makes no sense to him, Dax turns to a woman he can’t get out of his mind for help – NCIS prosecutor Holland Kirk.
Nearly half of this book occurs in the past – three years in the past, to be exact. We know in the beginning that Dax and Holland fell in love. We know they were working on clearing his dad’s name together. And we know that they bitterly broke up and that Dax has neither forgiven her or forgotten her. And, now he needs her help again. So, we spend most of the first half of the book rehashing their backstory so that the story in the present makes more sense.
At first I just wanted to get to the NOW, so I didn’t want to be bothered by so much THEN. But, after a chapter or two, I was very glad that the authors did things this way. That backstory is absolutely vital to what’s happening in the present. And, it added so much feeling and understanding as to why Holland and Dax broke up and why they both are still so torn up about it after so much time has passed.
I loved Dax from the moment I met him in book 1. I loved him so much more in this book. He has so much love for his mother and his sister. He doesn’t want to clear his father’s name to pave an easier way for him in his career – he wants to do it so that his loved ones can breathe easier and be content with their memories. He’s compassionate and protective and so loving toward the women in his life.
But Holland- just, WOW. I don’t think I’ve ever met a stronger female character. She fell in love and made a hard choice – the hardest choice ever. But, for her, it was the only choice in order to protect the people SHE loved. And then she lived with that for a very long time. I love that she didn’t make Dax’s road to redemption easy – he had A LOT to apologize for. I also love that she didn’t wait too long before she admitted that there was no way she would turn him away for good.
As has been the case with every other Perfect Gentleman novel, Big Easy Temptation was action-packed and full of many nail-biting moments. The closer we get to Zack’s story and the final book in the series, the more dangerous things seem to get. The wait in between books is such delicious torture, but one I will gladly endure since I want answers as much as these characters do.
Shayla Black is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than forty novels. For over fifteen years, she’s written contemporary, erotic, paranormal, and historical romances via traditional, independent, foreign, and audio publishers. Her books have sold well over a million copies and been published in a dozen languages. Raised an only child, Shayla occupied herself with lots of daydreaming, much to the chagrin of her teachers. In college, she found her love for reading and realized that she could have a career publishing the stories spinning in her imagination. Though she graduated with a degree in Marketing/Advertising and embarked on a stint in corporate America to pay the bills, her heart has always been with her characters. She’s thrilled that she’s been living her dream as a full-time author for the past seven years.
Shayla currently lives in North Texas with her wonderfully supportive husband, her teenage daughter, and a very spoiled cat. In her “free” time, she enjoys reality TV, reading, and listening to an eclectic blend of music.
Visit Shayla’s website: http://shaylablack.com/
Visit Shayla on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShaylaBlackAuthor/?fref=ts
Visit her Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Shayla-Black/e/B001IOFJQM/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1451315186&sr=8-2-ent
ABOUT LEXI BLAKE:
Her first novel, Their Virgin Captive: Masters of Ménage, Book 1, was a collaboration with New York Times bestselling author Shayla Black. There are six more books available in the series: Their Virgin's Secret, Their Virgin Concubine, Their Virgin Princess, Their Virgin Hostage, Their Virgin Secretary, and Their Virgin Mistress.
In addition to the Masters of Ménage series, she is the author of the Masters and Mercenaries series. The first nine novels, The Dom Who Loved Me, The Men with the Golden Cuffs, A Dom is Forever, On Her Master's Secret Service, Love and Let Die, Dungeon Royale, A View to a Thrill, You Only Love Twice, and Master No are available now, along with the novellas Sanctum, Unconditional, Dungeon Games, Cherished, Luscious, Adored, and Just One Taste. The tenth novel, From Sanctum with Love, is coming February 23, 2016, along with a new novella, Devoted, on April 12, 2016.
In 2013, Lexi also began releasing her urban fantasy series, Thieves. The full series, Steal the Light, Steal the Day, Steal the Moon, Steal the Sun, and Steal the Night, are available now on Amazon. The first two books in a spin-off of the series, Ripper and Addict, were released in 2015. Look for Sleeper, the next book in the spin-off series, to be released in Fall of 2016.
Lexi again collaborated with Shayla Black in a new series The Perfect Gentlemen. The first book, Scandal Never Sleeps, is now available. Book two, Seduction in Session, will release on January 5, 2016, followed by book three, Big Easy Temptation, on May 3, 2016.
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For more information about her books, her appearances and her wacky life visit her Facebook page (http://goo.gl/q2IHnJ) or her website (http://www.lexiblake.net) .
