RELEASE BLAST - REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: KING OF CLUBS by SANDRA OWENS

 

Passions—and tempers—flare as
one star-crossed couple gets a second chance at love.
 

 

KING OF CLUBS

Aces & Eights #2

Sandra Owens

Releasing June 27, 2017

Montlake Romance

 

 

 

In King of Clubs (Aces & Eights #2) by Sandra Owens, Lauren Montgomery and Court Gentry fell hard for each other six years ago. But when Lauren's past caught up with her she was determined to do everything to keep Court safe, even if it meant ending things between them and breaking both their hearts. Now though, Lauren is back in his life and he's determined to do everything to make sure she stays in it. So, when she tries to run because she fears for her life, Court manages to convince her to stay and fight. The question is - will Court finally help her be free of her past, so they can have a second chance at forever love?

 

What an addictive, fast-paced, thrilling read Ms. Owens has penned in this second story of her Aces and Eights series, encompassing the second chance romance trope; a heroine willing to do whatever it takes to keep those she cares about safe from her past; and a hero determined to do whatever it takes to keep her safe, especially after discovering the truth about her past and how much danger she's facing. The way this story started with the prologue drew me into this story immediately, because of what happens to Lauren. Will she find a way to escape? What will she endure at the hands of someone that should love her? However, this story became even more attention-grabbing once Cord and Lauren came face-to-face for the first time in six years. Because it's palpable both still care for each other, yet Lauren is still determined to keep her distance, as her past is still haunting her. The threat still existent.

 

As for the dialogue, it was a wonderful combination of intense and teasing banter, which takes readers on a roller-coaster of emotions; and action-packed, edge-of-your-seat moments that had me hooked from start to finish. So much so that the pages really flew by, as Lauren was determined to keep Court safe, but ultimately they find a way to compromise when they begin to learn more about each other. However, what I liked most about the dialogue was the playful banter between them, especially the moments where they talk about the time they first met, the nickname Court had for the heroine and when Court is teaching Lauren all sorts of ways to defend herself.

 

Both the main characters are fantastic due to their back stories; their history, and the obstacles they need to overcome to get their second chance at forever. Lauren is strong and brave with all she's faced with her ex and I liked how determined she was to protect Court, because she knows how dangerous her ex can be, which is proven by what he did to her in the past. I also liked the challenge Lauren provided Court. Will he be able to prove to Lauren that she can trust him, especially once she learns the truth of how he and his brothers can help her? While Court, he's confident, protective and I liked how tenacious he was in getting the information he needed to keep Lauren safe and make certain that she no longer had to worry about her past coming after her once they took the bad guys down. I also liked the tight bond he shares with his brothers. They've been through so much, and their bond certainly helps, as Court knows his brothers will protect Lauren just as meticulously as he would.

 

Overall, Ms. Owens has penned a marvelous read in this book where the chemistry was off-the-charts; the romance full of exquisite heat and passion that illustrated how hard it was for these two to keep their hands off each other because their feelings are too strong to be denied; and the ending was completely gratifying, as no couple was more deserving of a second chance at happy ever after than Lauren and Court. However, in saying that, what happens towards the end with the main characters and the bad guys had me concerned for both the hero and heroine. Will they be able to defeat the bad guys?

Furthermore, I liked how the epilogue wrapped this story up and had me wishing I had the next book to read already, as we discover more about the Gentry family and a certain secondary character. Will this person be brave enough to seek out those they've been asked to? I would recommend King of Clubs by Sandra Owens, if you enjoy romantic suspense, second chance romances or books by authors Maya Banks, Cynthia Eden, Susan Stoker or Melinda Leigh.

 

 

 

BLURB

In the second novel in acclaimed author Sandra Owens’s Aces & Eights series, passions—and tempers—flare as one star-crossed couple gets a second chance at love.

Covert FBI agent Court Gentry loves his brothers, his job, and his Harley-Davidson. Once he loved a girl, too, but when she broke his heart, he put his emotions on lockdown…until she crosses his path again.

On vacation six years ago, free-spirited Lauren Montgomery fell hard for Court Gentry. She returned home happier than ever, only to descend into a spiral of abuse by her ex-husband, Stephan. When Stephan threatened to kill any man who touched her, Lauren cut Court from her life—but not from her heart.

When Lauren and Court reunite after her friend marries his brother, Court guards himself against the person who made him feel such intense passion and pain. Except the undeniable spark between them is impossible to contain and heating up fast. Six years ago, it was love. Now, it’s just lust. Keeping it merely physical is a foolproof plan…right?

When Stephan is released from prison, Lauren can’t outrun her past anymore, and Court vows to protect her. But with Lauren in imminent danger, Court must question his heart and risk his life to save the woman he never stopped loving.

 

Court had wanted to let her know he was here, but Madison said if he did, Lauren would just kick him out. According to Madison, Lauren intended to go straight to bed. He tilted his head, listening to the sounds coming from her bedroom. She was moving around, opening and closing drawers. She definitely hadn’t gone straight to bed. What was she up to?

Suspicious, he waited. An hour later, the floorboards in the hallway creaked. A dark-clothed person walked into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, took out two bottles of water, and stuffed them into the backpack she carried, and then headed for the door.

Lauren. Lauren. Lauren. “Going somewhere my little midnight ghost?”

She yelped, the backpack falling to the floor with a heavy thud.

“Easy, G.G.” He pushed off the sofa.

“Court?” She pressed her forehead against the door. “Why are you here?”

“Guarding you. Going to be kind of hard to do if you’re not here, don’t you think?” He picked up the backpack. “Where you headed?”

“None of your business.” She slipped around him, backed up to the kitchen light switch, and turned it on. “You can leave now.”

“Don’t think so.” He frowned at the sight of a gun barrel in the partially unzipped bag. He pulled it out and held up the Glock 26, also known as a Baby Glock, preferred by women because of its smaller size. “You planning on shooting someone?”

“Again, none of your business.”

He shouldn’t like that fire in those golden brown eyes so much. “I’m making it my business. Do you even know how to shoot this?” When her gaze shifted away, he had his answer. Christ, she was clueless. About everything. How to use the weapon she’d been careless enough to let him find, how to disappear, and she probably didn’t know how to fight off an attack.

What to do about that? As he saw it, he had two choices. Either let her go and hope she somehow managed to safely disappear or make her his project. He wasn’t stupid enough to tell her that last part since he doubted there was a woman in the world who’d appreciate being any man’s project.

“Are you that afraid of him?” he asked even though he was sure of the answer.

“Feeling like a broken record here because again, none of your business. I’d like you to leave now.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, probably to show him she meant business. It wasn’t working since she’d managed to push up her breasts so that the material of her T-shirt stretched against them, leaving her nipples outlined.

He’d had those beautiful breasts in his mouth, had explored every inch of her body, had known all her sighs of pleasure. He’d once thought she loved him. Until she’d told him in a phone call it was over, not even having the courtesy to tell him to his face.

Nor had she given him a reason. Just, “Don’t call me again or try to see me.” That had happened only days after she’d told him she loved him. He’d learned the hard way women couldn’t be trusted, the first lesson on that coming from his mother. The one time he’d forgotten that lesson had been with Lauren. But never again.

“What are you looking at?” She lifted one arm, snapping her fingers. “My eyes are up here.”

Irritated with himself and her, he kept his gaze on her breasts to prove… What? That he was an ass? “So they are,” he said, lifting his eyes to hers. “Here’s the deal.”

“There is no deal, Court. You have no say so over my life. I’ll ask you one more time to leave.”

“Or you’ll what? Call the cops?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’ll do.”

He chuckled, amused that she had no clue she was threatening to call the police on an FBI agent. “Let’s sit, and I’ll tell you the deal.” Ignoring the little growl deep in her throat, he settled on the sofa. “Come on, G.G. Just hear me out.”

“Stop calling me that.”

“Why? You used to like it.” She’d been his Gorgeous Girl for six days. It must have been the sun and beer and salty air that had tricked him into mistaking lust for love. He had to admit the woman had a lot to do with that, too. All six years had done to her was turn her from a cute college girl with a love of life into a beautiful woman afraid of her own shadow. He could appreciate the physical change in her, but he didn’t like the fear her ex-husband had put in her eyes.

And when did she have that husband? Before he met her or after? Or even during? No, he couldn’t believe that she would have given herself to him so freely, showing no sign of guilt during their time together if she’d had a husband waiting in the wings. He wanted answers and he planned to get them.

“Lauren, please. Sit and hear me out.” Her cat jumped onto the sofa, climbed onto his lap, and peered up at him with curious blue eyes. “See, even… Hemingway, is it?” At her nod, he said, “Even Hemingway wants to hear what I have to say.”

Like a wary crab, she inched sideways to the nearest chair. “You have five minutes.”

Little did she know. He had as long as he wanted because she wasn’t going anywhere. She might not like it, but it was for her own good. As an officer of the law, he couldn’t stand by and watch her get herself hurt. From all the signs she’d unknowingly given him, she fully expected bad trouble was headed her way.

“I have an offer for you.”

 

 

A best-selling, award winning author, Sandra Owens lives in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Her family and friends often question her sanity, but have ceased being surprised by what she might get up to next. She’s jumped out of a plane, flown in an aerobatic plane while the pilot performed death-defying stunts, has flown Air Combat (two fighter planes dogfighting, pretending to shoot at each other with laser guns), and rode a Harley motorcycle for years. She regrets nothing.

A member of Romance Writers of America's Honor Roll, Sandra is a 2013 Golden Heart® Finalist for her contemporary romance, CRAZY FOR HER. In addition to her contemporary romantic suspense novels, she writes Regency stories. 

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