Tuesday, October 27, 2015

The Fabergé Entanglement by Lesley Meryn & Elle Brookes (Review, excerpt, and GIVEAWAY) GFT





by Lesley Meryn & Elle Brookes

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GENRE:  Romantic Suspense

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BLURB:

Sabinne ‘Saber’ Darrieux’s father, the billionaire CEO of Frontenac Global Security has been kidnapped. His ransom is not cash in a numbered offshore account, or a briefcase of Bearer Bonds but something utterly unique, incredibly valuable, and until recently, hidden away from the world.

The kidnapper seems to know Saber very well, and knows that the next day, through her work as an elite translator she will be in the same location as the Object. She must steal the Object and deliver it to the kidnapper to ransom her father.

Adrian Steele, a British Intelligence agent has just come off of two harrowing missions. Upon returning to London for a well-earned rest, he learns that his friend and fellow agent, has been murdered in Moscow, but not before he made use of a unique Object as a mobile ‘drop site’ for the valuable intelligence he was carrying.

The drop site is traveling from Moscow to England. Steele insists on completing the mission to honor the death of his friend, Gerry Cornell.

At an ultra-chic quasi-diplomatic gathering in a mansion in Windsor, England, Saber and Steele meet and find themselves faced with a powerful, undeniable attraction.  But at the moment, this compelling attraction is very inconvenient.

In reality they are at the mansion to check out the security arrangements -- for their own reasons -- to steal the Object, a Fabergé egg worth thirty million dollars. But who will get to the egg first?

Fabergé eggs are very famous for their unique surprises. Saber and Steele are about to be very surprised, indeed.

And when Saber clashes with Steele; more than sparks will explode!


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EXCERPT

        
 He was more striking close up. The wire-framed glasses that had given him that bookish look were gone. As a matter of fact, at that precise moment there was nothing about him that was the least bit bookish. Now he looked more like a feral choirboy.

           

Saber lowered her eyes taken in by the seductive curve of his jaw, and his lips parted in an expression of amazement that drew her closer, hypnotically, begging to be covered with her own. She pulled herself back, reminding herself why she was there, what she must do. Leaving him to be found by the Sheikh's security men would be a pity, but she had a job to finish.                  

           

She knew her job, too, she was slick, professional. Her contribution to the family business was to test the security systems that were installed by Frontenac et Cie. She was always on-call to the "Uncles" between her translation assignments to do this testing. And she was very good at it. When caught in a tight spot, she was focused on the job at hand, holding back emotion, the fear of "capture" pushed away. Her focus was laser-like in intensity. She infiltrated the secured areas of high-security targets, grabbed the "package" then ex-filtrated as invisibly as a wisp of smoke. Reflection and reactions came after, as she wrote up her reports and advised the designers on flaws and vulnerabilities in their systems.

           

But all this slipped away as she felt the light touch of his hands, feeling their heat through thin black leather gloves. They slid very slowly up her thighs, coming to rest lightly and seductively around her waist. She stifled a gasp as she felt his hot fingers press into her, very much a lover's caress.        

           

In scant seconds Saber's focus for the job at hand, the reason that she was there to begin with, melted away as she felt his hands tighten around her waist. Her grip on the gun weakened as a wave of heat suffused through her.

           

With a swiftness that took her breath away he closed the narrow gap between them. A hot flash of desire surged through her as his lips took possession of hers. Taking advantage of her surprise, he dashed the gun from her hand, sending it spinning away out of her reach. He flipped her over so she was now under him. Saber stared up at him wide-eyed, his lean, hard body on hers evoking a reaction from deep within her that was as intense as it was unexpected. Shocked, confused, she twisted her head away from his, but her eyes still kept a sidewise watch on him.

           

He bent in closer. Dark eyes flashed dangerously through the long shag of hair that fell over his face. Then, very, very slowly as though savoring every moment, he slid his gloved hand along her arm, around her shoulder, then up her pale exposed throat.  

           

Steele's hand paused, feeling her pulse flutter wildly under his fingertips, before moving up to thread through her silky raven hair. His grip tightened and he turned her head to face him.

           

"Mmmm... I can do it, too," he breathed softly into her ear.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Nook 
Twitter:   @tymslyder


BIOGRAPHIES

LESLEY MERYN

Enjoyed an exotic, adventure-filled childhood, following her anthropologist father and travel writer mother to the farthest corners of the world. She later took inspiration from her Aunt Sophia Francesca and became the author of romantic adventure novels. She alternates her time between Los Angeles, and a family property located in Yorkshire England.

ELLE BROOKES

She is the author of the first two books of the Time Frame Series. Loves travel, discovering new foods to try, reading and writing. She currently lives in the central highlands of Costa Rica with her dog Pixie and her hedgehog Quiller.


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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The tour dates can be found here
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My review


4.25 out of 5 stars

The Fabergé Entanglement by Lesley Meryn and Elle Brookes is a romantic suspense story that centers around Saber Darrieux, a woman of many talents, who crosses paths with Adrian Steele and attracts his attention on several levels, especially when she prevents him from achieving his goal of retrieving a sensitive piece of information.  The cat-and-mouse game that ensues spans countries and requires that layers of deception be uncovered and dealt with as each of them races against the clock, but with diametrically opposite goals.  Demons from the past threaten to derail any progress they make and a successful outcome for at least one of them is far from assured, no matter what allies they find.


This is a wonderfully exciting tale that pits two resourceful and charismatic people against each other in a story that continues to escalate in intensity.  Exotic settings, hair-raising adventures, and a shift between cosmopolitan situations and tacky run-down environs pepper the narrative which has plenty of unexpected twists.  There are some areas which are a little awkward to me, particularly toward the end when one of the villains is revealed and certain horrific elements of the heroine’s past are detailed.  I was irked by the extremely short chapters and the sections with shifting points of views, and I felt that there were a few too many foreign phrases (and their translations) peppered throughout the story but I still was enthralled by the story and enjoyed the sharp witty exchanges and delicious espionage elements that were showcased.  I think that this is a fun and thrilling story and hope that there are more adventures starring this intrepid and very capable pair.

A copy of this title was provided to me for review.

25 comments:

  1. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

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    1. I'm not so much into shoes, and neither is Lesley. But we do go for comfort and practicality. Where I live, wellies make sense because of the 6 month rainy season. Lesley also travels to where there's a lot of rain (England) so she has wellies, too. Yeah, boring, I know.

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    2. Snicker, that's quite a personal question, Mai! With me, it might be a question of how many pairs do I actually wear, because I have far more shoes in the closet than I utilize at any one time! Thanks for visiting.

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    3. Hi...E.L.F.?! I'd like to take a chance to comment here to let you know that I've enjoyed your replies as much as the authors'. I hope you have not found any of my questions ridiculous. I love asking weird questions to put people out of their comfort zone. A more intriguing reply to my weird question guarantees the bigger likeliness that I'll read their books. Thanks and keep on blogging, wordsmith!

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    4. My apologies, Mai, I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable, it just struck me as a funny question. I tend to 'find' shoes in my closet that I have forgotten buying, since I seem to find a pair that is comfy and wear that one to death, even though others are stuck in the back because I couldn't resist a sale! I LOVE your questions, they are thought-provoking and I keep intending to make a list of them because I think that the poor authors get tired of answering the same ones over and over. Keep them coming!

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  2. Lesley and I would like to thank you for your review and for hosting us today. And thank you for posting the review on Amazon!

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    1. You are welcome, it was a fun roller-coaster ride of a story and I loved the interaction between the main characters. Good luck on the tour and accept my appreciation for your interaction with my visitors!

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  3. Thanks for hosting ☺ -@MaroBenipayo via twitter

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  4. Great excerpt, sounds like a terrific book, thanks for sharing and I enjoyed following the tour and learning about the Faberge Entanglement, Good luck with your book!

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    1. Hi Eva, I noticed that you've been following! Thanks for your interest! And I noticed earlier that you're following on twitter @tymslyder Thanks for that! You'll be able to keep up to date when the next Saber and Steele books are available!

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    2. Thanks for dropping by, Eva!

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  5. Replies
    1. Hi Rita, Thanks for stopping by and I'm glad that you enjoyed the excerpt!

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    2. Thanks for popping in, Rita, happy that you liked the excerpt, I thought it highlighted the main characters very well!

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  6. Sounds amazing! Great book tour!

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    1. Hi Betty, Thanks for taking the time to take a look at our book, we really appreciate it!

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    2. Delightful to see you, Betty! Thanks for taking the time to visit.

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  7. Great review! Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I'm looking forward to reading this one myself

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    1. Thanks so much for the compliment, Victoria. I hope you enjoy the story!

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  8. this looks and sounds awesome :) thanks for sharin!

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    1. It is a very fun read, erin. Thanks for coming by!

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