“You broke her heart.”

“Yeah, well, she broke mine, too.”

FINAL DECISION:  The most emotionally complex story of the series so far, BIG EASY TEMPTATION expands the overarching conspiracy while always keeping the focus of the story on the characters and their relationship.

THE STORY:  At their first meeting almost decade ago, Naval Officer Dax Spencer knew that Holland Kirk would be special to him.  The two circled around one another for years until 3 years ago.  The death of Dax’s father brings the two together as Dax seeks answers to what happened to his father.  Holland’s work as a NCIS agent gives her jurisdiction and for a time the two work together and finally begin building a relationship.  Then everything falls apart separating the two.  Now the two reunite as the conspiracy The Perfect Gentlemen are investigating appears connected to Dax’s father’s death. Dax has questions for Holland about what happened three years ago.

OPINION:  I loved the emotional complexity of this story.  The narrative is unusual in that the story is divided in two parts. The first part takes place in the past and ends badly with Holland and Dax separated.  The second part begins in present time and ultimately brings the two lovers back together.  I especially liked that the story takes the time to bring readers into the past and show the entirety of what went wrong with Holland and Dax.  Without that context, it would be difficult to understand and forgive the betrayals that tore them apart.  By following Dax and Holland through the entirety of their story, the pain they both experience is more immediate, fresher and thus more devastating than a mere exposition of the past would have been.

This is a second chance at love story and I became engrossed in Dax and Holland’s journey and was deeply saddened at the end of the first part of the story and then rejoiced when the two found on another again.  The complexity of the story, the characters and the emotional heft of the story matched the increasing complexity of the overarching story.

One thing I especially like about this series is that each of the books in the series is different.  This is the not a series with different characters in the same story. Each of the stories, each of the characters, each of the situations and challenges are different.  At the same time, each of the novels adds to the overarching story and I love that I get to see all the characters throughout the series.

Both Dax and Holland make many mistakes on their way to finding one another and I like the optimism of that.  Even with all their mistakes and misses in getting to their HEA, the do eventually get there.

The most angst filled story so far, this book feels like a pivot point in the series as the third of the five Perfect Gentlemen gets his woman and some of the outlines of the conspiracy are beginning to be revealed.  The conspiracy which has ensnared The Perfect Gentlemen is breathtaking in its scope.  It also keeps me guessing!

WORTH MENTIONING:  This book also reveals the likely pairings for the other Perfect Gentlemen and now I can’t wait for the next book.

CONNECTED BOOKS: BIG EASY TEMPTATION is the third book in The Perfect Gentlemen series.  This book should be read as part of the series because the suspense thread is part of an overarching story.  The overarching mystery continues past this book as well so be willing to continue to read the series.  Not a hardship!

STAR RATING:  I give this book 5 stars.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in order to provide a review.  I was not required to write a positive review.  All opinions contained herein are my own.

“He’s taken one glance inside Lara’s fridge and known he would need help to survive.  The woman didn’t even have real milk.”

FINAL DECISION: The second entry in The Perfect Gentlemen series is funny, suspenseful, and spicy hot.  Connor, Lara and all the supporting cast of characters makes this a read that is fast paced and exciting.

THE STORY:  Connor Sparks, one of the Perfect Gentlemen, has picked up the mystery of who killed one of their own. A mysterious informant has sent the crew looking at Lara Armstrong, who runs an online tabloid, Capitol Scandals.  Connor, who works for the CIA, intends to use all his skills to find out what Lara knows.  Pretending to be a bodyguard, Connor inserts himself into Lara’s life but finds that the quirky woman brings a light to his life that the man who has lived in darkness for so long desperately wants.  Lara is a woman who wants to change the world but when someone tries to kill her, she has to turn to her sexy new bodyguard for protection.

OPINION: A perfect blend of humor, complex drama and suspense, SEDUCTION IN SESSION picks up where the first book in the series left off.  The overarching mystery continues as the question of who killed Maddox expands into a true conspiracy that goes far beyond the murder of one man.  I love that the suspense story is not external to the characters and the romance, but rather is built into the fabric of the relationships both between the hero and heroine but also The Perfect Gentlemen themselves.  I adore a good romantic suspense but only where the focus remains on the romance and not the suspense.  Here, as with the first book in the series, I found the balance just perfect. The overarching story kept me turning pages, while I relaxed into the romance between Connor and Lara.

The romance between Connor and Lara is complex and intriguing with a layer of humor which kept the story from being too dark.  Connor is a man who is marked by all the work he has done to protect people.  Working for the CIA has led Connor into a dark world and he now sees himself separate from those he cares about because of his secrets.  When he first approaches Lara, Connor knows that he will find a spoiled girl who is playing at revealing secrets or a woman who is trying to harm his friends. What he discovers instead is a woman who believes in the good in people and who wants to help others.

It is was easy for me to fall a little in love with Connor.  I love heroes who are wounded and have a darkness at their core. Connor is a good man who has had to do bad things for good reasons.  The love of a good woman brings him into the light.

Lara is not a character that I normally would like.  She is fussy with her Vegan diet, her obsession with environmental and social issues. She did eventually win me over because her genuine concern and caring for others, her ultimate recognition of the complexity of the world and her ultimate complete acceptance of Connor showed her to be someone that I could like and see as a match for Connor.

In less talented hands, these characters could have been caricatures.  Instead, the story goes deep into these two people giving them depth and complexity and life.

This series scares me a bit because I feel that it is one that I will want to re-read again and again, but so much depends upon the remainder of the series because these books are so intertwined.

WORTH MENTIONING: I’m not a big fan of pets in books because they often are a distraction, but I loved Lara’s struggling Vegan dog Lincoln.

CONNECTED BOOKS:  SEDUCTION IN SESSION is the second book in The Perfect Gentlemen series.  I cannot recommend a reader skip the first book, the stories build upon one another in the overarching story so just start at the beginning with this series.  You won’t regret it.

STAR RATING:  I give this book 5 stars.