by Lesley Meryn & Elle Brookes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Romantic Suspense
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
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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**************************
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.
, 
, 
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. In
addition, she has a contemporary romance through Entangled Publishing called 
, a self-pubbed Christmas short story called 
and two interracial romances, 
and 
.
