Series: Crime Royalty Romance #2
on March 27, 2015
Genres: Contemporary Adult Romance 18+
Pages: 286
Format: eARC
ASIN: B00V89O7EC
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Charlie Sykes takes everything and everyone at face value and believes life would be a lot easier if everyone else did, too. Aussie Jace Knight, international hotelier and purported playboy, has never met anyone like the absurdly literal and obliviously beautiful American who applies for his personal assistant position. The trouble is, how do you pursue a woman whose definition of flirting comes straight out of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary? That, and he’s not the only one after Charlie. Seems Mr. Knight might not be a reformed criminal after all.
Soon, Charlie’s immersed in a whirlwind of international espionage that takes her from the hip streets of Sydney to the majestic Great Barrier Reef and the wild, desolate outback. A dangerous trap’s being set, but how will Charlie protect herself and prevent a tragic betrayal, when she can’t even sort out what her heart’s telling her?
1. Because I loved the character of Charlie so much . . . I thought this review would be well served in the random thought format. Read the book and you’ll see why!
2. I’ve always wanted to go to Australia and reading this book is probably the closest I will come. I have to say . . . Australian slang is like a language of its own!
3. With the exception of Charlie, I had no idea who the good guys and the bad guys were until the very end of the book. Seriously! Even Charlie’s worldly wise best friend B who has been a rock throughout her tumultuous life has got shocking and potentially deadly secrets.
4. I really enjoyed how Lesley Young wrote Charlie, so it came as no surprise to me when she revealed that Charlie was one of her favorite characters. Charlie is unique in her approach to life and the author put so many profound sayings in her mouth, the book could almost be renamed “Life According to Charlie”.
5. The mysterious Jace Knight is the perfect foil for Charlie’s character. According to Charlie “He had a way of turning almost any negative into a positive, and when I pointed this out to him, he said that’s the answer to the mystery of life.” Jace is a man who knows what he wants and goes for it, and he definitely wants Charlie. I laughed out loud at most of the interactions between these two and I bet you will too.
6. I love cats, so any author who shows up with a cat immediately has my attention. Show up with a cat named Miss Moneypenny and I’m in love! And it turns out that Miss Moneypenny is in love too . . . with the “Cat Whisperer” Jace Knight!
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Knight. She’s practically throwing herself at you.” “That’s alright. I’m used to it.”
7. Favorite line from Jace: Actually, it’s a tie between “You have a strange way of thinking Charlie.” and “You have no idea how much you turn me on when you call it coitus.”
8. Favorite observation by Charlie: For the first time ever I realized trust is not a feeling. It is a behavior.
9. The Australian contains all of the elements that are appealing to readers: romance, intrigue, suspense, attractive characters, hot sex and, for you adrenaline junkies, there’s a shoot-out and a high speed chase across the outback.
10. Have I tempted you to read this book yet? OK . . . here’s my last random thought. This book is a love story even though it’s a bit quirky at times, but more than that, it’s about two vastly different people traveling a road together and taking vastly different risks in order to break away from their pasts. I believe this book will hold you captive, make you laugh and make you swoon. What more could you ask for?
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