Series: Once a Marine #3
Author: Jennifer Apodaca
Publisher: Entangled Ignite
Published: August 4th 2015
Format: eARC | Pages: 198
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romantic Suspense
Source: Publisher
★★★★★ ( 5/5) Stars!!!
Jennifer Apodaca | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
This Marine will protect her at all costs...
When wealthy heiress Alyssa Brooks finds out her stepfather has been paying her fiancé to marry her, she's humiliated and betrayed. She quickly breaks the engagement, only to be blackmailed by her now ex-fiancé, who threatens both Alyssa and the son she gave up for adoption. With nowhere to go, she turns to the one man she can trust.
Former Marine sniper Hunter Reece's lethal skills could save Alyssa's life. But his little sister's best friend has turned into a woman, who is an irresistible mix of secrets and sexiness. And while Hunter can trust himself to protect her, he can't trust himself to keep his attraction hidden...or even pretend to be the man that Alyssa remembers.
Because the only way to keep the lovely heiress safe is to become the one thing he knows she could never love...a killer.
I received a copy of this book, from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review. In no way did this sway either my review or my rating!
Oh. My. Heart. I think there's a very real possibility that I lost it somewhere between the pages. Sigh. Exposing the Heiress was the perfect blend of suspense, scorching hot romance and heartfelt characters. I was on the edge of my seat from the moment I started it and didn't relax until the final word on the very last page. I'll admit that at first it was the beautiful set of abs on the cover that first drew me to this book, hey, I'm human! But the thing that made me say I need to read it was that blurb. I was intrigued by it's fresh plot and the promise of very complex characters. Which was exactly what I got.
I love deeply complex characters. The ones who make you feel the need to pull apart their layers to really understand what makes them tick. Especially the ones who are a bit broken, I always seem to gravitate towards the broken ones the most. Delving deep and discovering their secrets, the things they hide from everyone else. In both Hunter and Alyssa I got all of that. Hunter being the ex-marine sniper who's seen and done stuff that keeps him awake at night, tortured by memories. While Alyssa's secrets are a bit less obvious but her pain is just as valid.
I absolutely freaking adored and loved Alyssa deeply. In the beginning she gives off this air of innocence and fragility and in some ways is a bit naive. Once she has someone in her corner though, Hunter, you see her blossom. It's in seeing herself through him that she discovers bravery and strength and discovers a passion and fierceness she didn't think she was capable of. She has this incredible heart, I mean, there were times that just seeing how much she thought about and cared for people who are normally brushed aside or not given a second glance brought tears to my eyes a couple of times. Even something as simple as her bringing a plate of dinner to one of her bodyguards had my eyes filling up for crying out loud. It was something so simple but the awe and appreciation from Hunter watching this just got me all emotional. She's such a beautiful force of good.
Tattoos? Check. Tortured past? Check. Strong and protective? Check. Sexy as all hell? Check, check, check, check! Hunter is the type of guy who steals your heart and then really does a number on it. He is so sweet and has a heart of gold but he's also one of those guys who is so torn up over what he had to become in the military that he's almost afraid to touch Alyssa because he doesn't want that darkness to touch her. Totally just sighed and my heart skipped a beat right there. Holy guacamole though, that sexy side? Jiminy Christmas! Sorry I'm trying to keep it clean, but *fans self* He could talk your panties right off of you! There were a couple times when he'd be telling Alyssa what he'd do to her if she didn't walk away and...
Okay, enough. Need to finish this review. Temptation to go back and reread is way too strong...
Sigh.
As you can tell...I kind of liked this book just a smidge. What can I say, I'm a huge sucker for the best friend's older brother trope. Especially with characters like these. Throw that bit of danger into the mix and I've completely been won over. It seems I've had the first book in this series on my Kindle for quite some time now and all I want to do is kick myself and wonder how the heck I haven't started it before now. That will be remedied very soon. I can't wait to go back and read both Adam and then Logan's stories.
I believe I've become an instant fan of Jennifer Apodaca's and can't wait to read more from her. And I'll close this off with one question for her. Well, two names in the form of a question but...Coop and Maxine? Maybe? Just think about it. Haha!
Thanks goes to Entangled Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book!
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