Review: All In (Wild Cards #3) by Ava Drake

In crime, like in love, there can be no half measures….

Fashion model Zane Stryker needs money—badly. At almost thirty, his glory days are behind him, and he needs capital to start over. When his luggage is switched with a bag containing contraband he’s forced to deliver, it’s either the worst thing that’s ever happened to him… or the best.

Enter Sebastian Gigoni, formerly of the British Special Forces, who has to decide just where Zane’s loyalty lies and why. Sizzling attraction erupts between them, but that doesn’t mean they can trust each other. They double down in a race for their lives—and their love—but are their purposes at odds? As they struggle to reconcile their goals, their consciences, and the needs of their hearts, one thing is clear—they must go all in or give up altogether.

It’s a sad day in the reading life of this ginger when a Dreamspun book falls flat.

I can pinpoint one exact thing that didn’t work for me with this one as I loved the first book in the Wild Card series but I couldn’t find that certain something to draw me into this one.

I never felt a connection to neither Zane nor Sebastian and honestly kept mixing up who they were as their names didn’t fit the character and to me should have been switched. There was no chemistry to be had between the two men and the storyline of the hijacked luggage and crime origination bored me to the point I skimmed a good portion of this book.

For me, when you have a series like this it should be an easy read but I so struggled with this book and that makes me sad. The first kiss is one of my most favorite things in romance and when I got to this one, they could have been exchanging coupons in line at the grocery store it was so void of emotion.

Ugh.

That end was over the top insta love and this is coming from someone who digs insta love.
I won’t drag the book through the mud and just say, this one didn’t work for me at all.

An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Audiobook Review: Seven-Card Stud (Wild Cards #2) by Ava Drake

A Wild Cards Novel

Temptation, peril, and dirty poker.

Love is a high-stakes game.

When Collin Callahan, British secret agent, goes up against math genius turned surfer bum Oliver Elliot, the battle is epic—and so is the attraction. They’re pitted against each other in an exclusive, ultra-secret—and ultra-illegal—poker match in Gibraltar, but when players start dying and they could be next, they find a common goal: catch the killer before it’s too late.

Evenly matched at poker and romance, they each wrestle personal demons that threaten to consume them as the stakes climb. It’s an all-or-nothing gamble with both life and love on the line as they fight to be the last seven-card studs standing.

Listening Length: 6 hours and 32 minutes
Narrator: John Solo

Reviewer: Shee Reader

Colin stands on his balcony looking out over the stormy Mediterranean sea and observes a jet ski heading right for a swimmer. Once the jet ski zooms by, the swimmer is nowhere to be seen. So Colin being the upstanding English gent he is, he takes off his loafers and sweater and dives into the ice water to save the swimmer.

Gun, the poker player, is Oliver the surfer. He can’t resist the lure of the waves even when it's cold and grey. On hearing a jet ski coming straight for him, he dives deep to avoid impact. When he surfaces he sees a fully clothed man getting into difficulties in the icy water, and resolves to save him. Then find out what the hell he is up to!

Thus, Colin and Oliver meet, both trying to save the other, but Colin didn’t really have the clothing for it, and their battle for one-upmanship commences. After a little dialogue, it becomes clear that they are both in the exclusive and probably very shady elite poker competition, Oliver to win the mystery prize, and Colin to infiltrate the contest sufficiently to find out the details of the contest and the organisers for his employer.

When top players keep disappearing or winding up dead, Oliver and Colin join forces to work out who is behind the whole thing. Oliver fears it could be his overly controlling father and Colin worries that the fact he isn't a real poker player could put both their lives in jeopardy. Both men give into the sizzling heat between them, hot sex notwithstanding, the love that develops was not expected by either man.

To me this story has pretty much everything! There’s family conflict, job pressures, lots of poker, sexy men falling into bed together, killers, shark attacks, computer wizardry, faked death, corpses in hotel kitchen freezers, and plenty of bad guys! There is intrigue galore and plenty of excitement. The twist at the end is super, and almost believable and the whole story is thoroughly entertaining.

Our main characters are American and English and the narrator did a super job at characterising them both. The world building was terrific and the majority of the supporting cast were superbly evil.

Highly recommended.

Find on Dreamspinner Press or Goodreads!

Review: Seven-Card Stud (Wild Cards #2) by Ava Drake

Temptation, peril, and dirty poker.

Love is a high-stakes game.

When Collin Callahan, British secret agent, goes up against math genius turned surfer bum Oliver Elliot, the battle is epic—and so is the attraction. They’re pitted against each other in an exclusive, ultra-secret—and ultra-illegal—poker match in Gibraltar, but when players start dying and they could be next, they find a common goal: catch the killer before it’s too late.

Evenly matched at poker and romance, they each wrestle personal demons that threaten to consume them as the stakes climb. It’s an all-or-nothing gamble with both life and love on the line as they fight to be the last seven-card studs standing.

Set during a super shady Texas Hold 'Em poker tournament in Gibraltar that has got to be the longest poker tournament known to man, Seven Card Stud is yet another Dreamspun piece of cracky fluff. I thought the poker tournament in Casino Royale was long but James Bond's got nothing on these folks.

I didn't read the predecessor to this but had no trouble keeping up with the plot which is pretty OTT. I won't go into specifics suffice to say I had this look on my face often:

It's strongly akin to the Bond films of yore with less explosions, gadgets and women named Pussy Galore, though there was a Desirée Moorhead. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is you just have to go with it and I did.

Collin is Bond in this case. He's working the tournament undercover for Wild Cards, Inc. He almost immediately meets Oliver a.k.a. Gun. Gun has his own trail around the poker block and gotten himself banned from most establishments because he's just that good. He's got a psycho for a father and loves nothing more than sticking it to the old man so he's become a surfer. Whereas Collin is very proper and British.

Opposites attract is a tried and true trope. What I like most about this trope is the protagonists usually discover that they aren't as opposite as they initially believed which is largely the case between Collin and Oliver. Also! It's the perfect breeding ground for hate fucking and/or angry sex and that was delivered. This Dreamspun cracky fluff was actually a lot sexier than the others I've read. <~~~not a complaint. The first scene and the sauna scene were particular favorites of mine. L'Eau d'Desire wafted off my kindle. These two have a hard time keeping their hands off each other.

I do like the ones who like to be bossed around in the bedroom. I cannot tell a lie. A little bit of orgasm denial never hurt anyone, right? Right. 

The only thing that truly got old was Collin's insecurity. How many times does Oliver have to say he loves him? It's like it went in one ear and out the other like it never happened. Again and again. Geez Louise, give it a rest. He loves you already!

The mystery works itself out in typical Bondian terms. With the possibility for a sequel. Because narcissistic whackadoodle who's egomanical and sociopathic...

Oops. How'd that sneak in here? I meant...

The writing is engaging and I'd be interested in reading more from this author in the future.

Recommend to MM romance fans who can suspend disbelief and enjoy a sexy thriller.

An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Find out more on Goodreads & Dreamspinner Press!


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Audiobook Review: Ace in the Hole (Wild Cards #1) by Ava Drake, Narrated by John Solo

Surveillance, seduction, and extra-dirty politics.

Christian Chatsworth-Brandeis has a problem. A huge one. The US senator he works for has run away with his latest mistress on the eve of a make-or-break fund-raising event, and it’s up to him to cover his boss’s irresponsible tracks.

Stone Jackson, the senator’s new bodyguard, looks enough like the senator that, with some extensive grooming, he might pass for Senator Lacey. Christian and Stone hatch a plan to fool everyone by substituting Stone for the senator, but Miami madness and the incendiary heat between them are throwing obstacles in their way. It’s a race to find the senator and pull off the con of the century before the attraction between them spins completely out of control.

Listening Length: 5 hours 43 Minutes
Narrator: John Solo

Well that was some fun shenanigans. Slightly unbelievable, but fun nonetheless. 

I knew what I was getting into when I picked up this book from the Dreamspun series. I knew it was going to be Harlequin-esque and I went with it. I can say I'm glad I took a chance on this series.

Christian worked for a d-bag senator. There was a death threat to him so they hired Stone as a bodyguard. When the senator took off without a word with his mistress, Stone was used as a fill-in for speeches and whatnot. Since he just happened to look so much like the senator.  

This forced Stone and Christian to work pret-ty close. Which, of course, only ramped up the delicious sexual tension. They were really great together and I loved their chemistry. 

There was some family angst and some drama surrounding their relationship. Especially since Stone wasn't going to be around forever. Once this job for the senator was done, he was done. But even that angst was light. This was mostly a fun and fluffy romance. 

John Solo did a nice job narrating. He had good voices and intonation which made for an enjoyable listen. He's a narrator I'll be looking for in the future. 

Ace in the Hole was my first from the Dreamspun series and it won't be my last. They're perfect for a light and fluffy romance. 

A copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Find out more info on Goodreads and Dreamspinner Press.