Showing posts with label Risky Business series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Risky Business series. Show all posts

Thursday, 25 February 2016

Review - Play to Win by Tiffany Snow


Title: Play to Win 
Series: Risky Business #3
Author: Tiffany Snow
Release Date: February 23, 2016


PLAY FAIR . . . OR PLAY TO WIN?

Falling in love with polar-opposite men was an intoxicating ride that nearly ended Sage Reese's life. Now it's time for Sage to decide: Parker, the clean-cut, filthy-rich business magnate . . . or Ryker, the tough-as-nails undercover detective. Her choice? Neither. Because she can't stand the thought of coming between two brothers-in-arms finally trying to repair their friendship.

Yet not everyone feels the same way, including a mysterious woman who's come to Ryker and Parker for help. Sage knows firsthand how hard it is for the two former Marines to resist a damsel in distress. But something just doesn't feel right.

Now there's a danger closing in that only Sage can see, and she intends to do everything she can to protect Parker and Ryker-even at the risk of losing them both . . .






When you have to make a choice…

Sage Reese has a dilemma of epic proportions. She is in love with two men. Parker and Ryker couldn’t be more different but she loved them for different reasons. How could she decide?

“There might be better ways to wake up than sandwiched between two half-naked men, but if there was, I couldn’t imagine what it would be.”

This is the third in their continuing story and is full of the suspense and danger that has marked each book in the series. So many questions to be answered, with the biggest one being who Sage will pick. Or will she? I was more than ready to find out as the drama seemed to reach a fever pitch in their relationships, as well as in the dangerous situation they found themselves in.

The relationship Sage had with these two men in her life is not a surprise—her dilemma has plagued the entire series. Knowing this, I don’t know why but I struggled even more with Sage’s character this time around. I guess I am not as comfortable with how she loved both men and couldn’t decide. I understand monogamy and polyamory, but this relationship didn’t seem to fit either… 

The story was well-written, though, and the author certainly knows how to bring emotion and tension to a tale of complicated love and suspense. A satisfying ending to an intriguing series. 
~ Review by Diane

This review breaks my heart a little. I usually don't like a love triangle, but the first in this series snagged me, and caught me up before I realized what it was doing. I found the way it played out to be refreshing. Sage was equally torn between two really amazing men, who really cared about her for who she was. So, I carried on. Book two had even more drama—the least of which was the triangle. When there are men, organizations, and foreign mobs out to kill you, who has time to worry about who she's going to end up with? This helped allay a lot of my concern and dislike of triangle drama. Truthfully, nothing would have been sexier than if they had just decided to have a lovely little threesome and solve everyone's problems. 

Nope. Book three. I started it way ahead of schedule, pushing back other due dates and reads. This one, I had to have it now. I absolutely had to know what was going to happen, who she was going to choose, how could there possibly be a true HEA for these people. 

Apparently through a rather contrived and disappointing plot twist. There were twists upon twists in this book. Characters used as bad guys, characters used as good guys, misunderstandings, and a lot of deceit. It felt almost like a cop out when everything was revealed in the end, and I couldn't help feeling as if all these jumbled plot lines were shaken about for good measure, then shoved into a pretty box, where they were wrapped neatly and tied with a bow. Look! No more mess! All pretty! That doesn't change the state of the items before they were neatly wrapped however, and it felt a little cheap. 

It most definitely was not a bad read, and even knowing how it plays out, I would recommend this series for the first two books alone. It was just not up to its potential, and definitely not on par with the earlier books’ solid, enthralling story lines. This series was like a mug of good beer. The first sip is amazing, full of flavor and potential. The middle is just starting to make you feel a little giddy in anticipation. Then that last swig is warm and flat, and there's nothing left to do but chug it down. 
~ Review by George




A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Tiffany Snow earned degrees in Education and History from the University of Missouri-Columbia, before launching a career in Information Technology. After over a decade in IT, she switched careers to what she always dreamed of doing - writing. Tiffany is the author of romantic suspense novels such as the Kathleen Turner Series, which includes No Turning Back, Turn to Me and Turning Point. Since she's drawn to character-driven books herself, that's what she loves to write, and the guy always gets his girl. She feeds her love of books with avid reading, yet she manages to spare time and considerable affection for trivia, eighties hair bands, the St. Louis Cardinals, and Elvis. She and her husband have two daughters and one dog.



Tuesday, 29 September 2015

Review - Playing Dirty by Tiffany Snow


Title: Playing Dirty
Series: Risky Business #2
Author: Tiffany Snow
Release Date: September 29, 2015


DOWN AND DIRTY

Faced with a choice between bad-boy detective Dean Ryker and sexy power player Parker Anderson, Sage Reece fought the law--and the law won. But while Ryker's sizzling touch may rule her nights, Sage's days belong to Parker's cool, calculating intensity. . . .

Both Ryker and Parker are determined to protect Sage from a brutal enemy who'd use her to pay for their mistakes. Yet when the usually on-point Ryker is distracted by ghosts from his past, Parker seizes his opportunity to get Sage's attention--and keep it in ways beyond her wildest dreams.

Now, caught between a mobster out for revenge and two men who were once best friends, Sage must play to win--even if it means getting dirty. . . .






I absolutely could not wait to read Playing Dirty after the first book ended with a sort-of cliffhanger. I was on the edge of my seat with the first one, and hoped to find some resolution and closure here. Nope. Now, that doesn't mean it wasn't great. It was. 

It has this nail-biting quality to it because you just don't know where the plot is going. I usually despise triangles, because it's obvious who she really loves and why does she have to be so immature and draw it out? Not the case here. In corner one, we have Parker. Businessman, control freak, with so many hidden layers to his personality that he continued to surprise me all the way to the end. Ryker, the tough as nails detective, with his bad boy attitude who had no shame in admitting his feelings and the hopes he had for their relationship. Not to mention the fact that her chemistry with both men is all out explosive! Here is a woman with a genuinely tough decision! By the end of the book, I still couldn't decide which man I wanted to win. 

But wait. There's an actual plot here too! So much more than the romance. There is mystery, murder, mayhem and a twist that had me squealing out loud. Even without the relationship drama, there is enough side plot to feed the book, and it didn't get brushed over—it was fully developed and intense. I spent the last chapter both upset that obviously it wouldn't be wrapped up by the end, and excited that I would get at least another book with these complex characters. I can't wait! 
~ Review by George

Whoever said “three is a crowd” never met these three…

This is the second in a three book arc but the first I’ve read in the set. While I am definitely going to pick up the first book—I mean, like right NOW—this book was everything I’d hoped it would be. 

Sage Reece was torn between sexy Dean Ryker and equally handsome Parker Anderson. One is her boyfriend and the other is her boss, though the feelings she has for them both is wreaking havoc with her emotions and her well-being. Ryker loves her. Parker said there would never be anything between them. Sage’s choice should be crystal clear but nothing could be further from the truth.

There is a lot of history between Ryker and Parker; once best friends, they can’t even be civil to each other now. There is danger coming at them from different, but equally deadly sources. Sage is caught in the middle as she struggles to keep herself, those she loves, and her heart, safe.

I read this book in one sitting as the emotional turmoil of this love triangle was only rivaled by the danger that threatened them all. Nail-biting action is par for the course as the story quickly moved at a dizzying pace. Revelations about Ryker and Parker, even her own family, kept coming and coming as Sage dodged more than one attempt on her life. 

Flipping between Parker and Sage’s point of view, it was easy to see that love was playing havoc on more than one front. Was it all about revenge, settling old scores? Was it true love or simply a physical need?

Sage is being torn apart by decisions she had, and still has, to make.

“I fell into a troubled sleep, in Ryker’s arms but thinking about Parker.”

I know she is viciously torn between the two and tried to be honest with both Parker and Ryker yet, at times, it didn’t seem like she was being truthful enough. A series of emotional scenes towards the end of the book seemed to come oh, so close to revealing what their hearts truly felt. I love all three of these characters and I want them all to be happy—author, take note, please!

While some parts of the story ended well, there are still many questions about how it will all turn out. I, for one, will be counting the days to find out! 
~ Review by Diane




Tiffany Snow was born in Saint Charles, Missouri, where she developed a fondness for trivia games, the music of Elvis Presley, and romance novels. After earning two bachelor's degrees -- one in social studies education and the other in history -- she went on to work in the information technology field. Now she writes full time, when she's not quoting When Harry Met Sally or dancing along to her favorite '80s hair band. She resides in the Midwest with her husband of eighteen years and their two daughters.