I saw this meme on It’s All About Booksand thought, I like this!! So, I decided to do it once a month also. Many thanks to Yvonne for initially posting this!!
This post is what it says: Places I travel to in books each month. Books are lovely and take you to places you would never get to. That includes places of fantasy, too!!
Bon Voyage!!
Please let me know if you have read these books or traveled to these areas.
Countries I visited the most:United States, England
States I visited the most:New York, Georgia. Texas, California, Massachusetts
Cities I visited the most:New York City, Atlanta, Highland Park, Boston
Someone wants Mackenzie Stone dead.After four attempts on her life, the Stone Foundation hires her a bodyguard – Diego Lopez, the man who’d thwarted the most recent attack.Mackenzie suspects the threat is coming from inside her organization, so Diego poses as a college friend researching foundations. Their 24/7 forced proximity only intensifies the attraction simmering between them.As their need for each other begins boiling over, they struggle to focus on the growing threat. And when they visit Diego’s family for Christmas, Mackenzie is torn by conflicting emotions – celebrating the holiday she hates while fighting her need for Diego.As the threats spiral out of control, Mackenzie is backed into a corner. Can they unravel the mystery of the attacks before the shadowy danger engulfs them both?
First Line:
Mackenzie stepped out of the Waterwheel bat into the Seattle night and took a deep breath.
Once Upon a Christmas by Margaret Watson
Important things you need to know about the book:
Pace: The pace of Once Upon a Christmas varies from medium to fast. The book starts quickly (with an attempt on Mackenzie’s life), slows down to medium during the investigation, picks back up to fast for the climax, and finally slows back down to medium for the end of the book.
POV:Once Upon a Christmas is a 3rd person POV book. The POVs are focused on Mackenzie and Diego.
Series:Once Upon a Christmas is the 9th book in The Blackhawk Security series. You can read this as a standalone. I recommend reading the first eight books to understand the series.
Trigger/Content Warning:Once Upon a Christmas has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:
Classism (moderate, on page)
Bullying (minor, off page)
Workplace Harassment (moderate, on and off page)
Physical Injuries (minor, on and off page)
Hospitalization (minor, on page)
Death of a Grandparent (minor, off page)
Kidnapping (moderate, on page)
Knife Violence (moderate, on page)
Attempted Murder (graphic, on page)
Toxic Family (moderate, on page)
Sexual Content: There is moderate to graphic sexual content in Once Upon a Christmas.
Language: There is moderate swearing in Once Upon a Christmas. There is no offensive language.
Setting:Once Upon a Christmas is set in Seattle, Washington. There are a couple of chapters set in Chicago, Illinois.
Age Range: I recommend Once Upon a Christmas to anyone over 21
Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):
When Mackenzie is attacked and injured, Diego is there to subdue her attacker and provide aid to her. When he finds out that this is the 4th attack she has endured, he suggests hiring him as a bodyguard. Taking his advice, she hires him, and they begin investigating who is behind her attacks. When the evidence points to the employees at the foundation she inherited, Diego poses as her college friend who has come into money and is looking into starting his foundation. Mackenzie and Diego didn’t expect the intense attraction they had for each other. As the attacks continue and pick up, Diego needs to find out who is behind them and why. Mackenzie’s life is at stake, and he isn’t going to risk it. Will they find out who wants Mackenzie dead and why?
Main Characters
Mackenzie Stone: I liked Mackenzie. She was a little reserved for a character at the beginning of the book. But, once the author explained her backstory, I understood why she was so reserved. She had a horrible childhood. It also explained why her relationship with her family was so strained. Add in that she inherited the family’s foundation instead of her mother, and it became almost unbearable. She dealt with the attempts on her life pretty well (excluding that one scene where she drank Scotch and dry-humped Diego). I also liked how she dealt with her employees (including the unruly ones). But, her true strength showed at the end of the book. She dealt with everything (and I mean everything) like a boss. Her speech at the jail was spot on.
Diego Lopez: I liked Diego, but I wish the author had been more forthcoming with his background. I wouldn’t say I liked waiting until halfway through the book to find out who and what he was. Other than that, he was perfect for Mackenzie. Diego was very good at his job, and he gave Mackenzie excellent advice about looking into the foundation’s financial records (and the records of the list of suspect employees Mackenzie had). His actions and reactions at the end of the book were outstanding. I liked how he stood beside Mackenzie and supported her through everything.
My review:
Once Upon a Christmas was a great book to read. Its fast-moving, well-written storyline kept me glued to the book. I got invested in Mackenzie and Diego’s romance. Once Upon a Christmas is an excellent book for those who enjoy romantic suspense.
The main storyline centers around Mackenzie, Diego, the foundation, and the attacks on Mackenzie. The author didn’t hide who was behind the financial crimes (the embezzling). It was self-evident from how that person acted. But I had an issue figuring out who was behind Mackenzie’s attacks. I was surprised to find out who it was. That did take me by surprise. That was a neat twist the author put in at the end of the book.
The romance angle was well-written. I liked that Mackenzie and Diego fought their feelings until Chicago. There was a slip-up that involved Scotch and dry humping.
The mystery angle was terrific. As I stated above, I did figure out half the mystery (the embezzling part). But I was surprised by who was behind her attacks and why. It made sense when Mackenzie had that confrontation at the police station.
The end of Once Upon a Christmas was enjoyable. I liked how the author wrapped everything up. But she left me wondering if there would be a book 10.
Many thanks to Margaret Watson for allowing me to read and review Once Upon a Christmas. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
If you enjoy reading books similar to Echoes of Ballard House, then you will enjoy these books:
I saw this meme on It’s All About Booksand thought, I like this!! So, I decided to do it once a month also. Many thanks to Yvonne for initially posting this!!
This post is what it says: Places I travel to in books each month. Books are lovely and take you to places you would never get to. That includes places of fantasy too!!
Bon Voyage!!
Please let me know if you have read these books or traveled to these areas.
Countries I visited the most:United States, England, Italy, France
States I visited the most: California, Louisiana, New York, Hawaii, Arizona, Washington
Cities I visited the most: New Orleans, Los Angeles, London, San Fransisco, Paris, New York City, Maui, Tucson
Trust No One by Margaret Watson—review here (4 stars)
May:
Scavenger Hunt (a book turned into a movie/TV show you’ve seen): The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
2023 ABC Challenge (E): Ellipsis by Jacob L. White
Romancepoly 2023! (Read a book where either the cover is blue, black, or silver or it is a winter holiday book): Black Kiss by Dori Lavelle
2023 TBR Prompts (a book that has been turned into a TV series): Lovin’ on You by Fabiola Francisco
June:
Buzzword Reading Challenge 2023 (books with “other” in the title): The Other Side of Goodbye by Ben Follows
2023 Sami Parker Reads Title Challenge 2023 (a book that has the name of a month in the title): Every Day in December by Kitty Wilson
Cover Scavenger Hunt 2023 (a tree): My Dead World by Jacqueline Druga
The StoryGraph’s Onboarding Read Challenge 2023 (Read a book published in the last three years that fits your reader profile): How to Train Your Viscount by Courtney McCaskill
The StoryGraph Reads with World 2023 (Norway): Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval
The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge 2023 (a popular science book): Factfulness by Hans Rosling
Beat the Backlist 2023 (giving an author a second chance): Spirit of Denial by Kate Danley
Scavenger Hunt TBR Book Challenge (What object did you first see on the cover of the last book. Find another book with the same object on the cover): The Bronzed Beasts by Roshani Chokshi
Books I bought*:
*Normally, there won’t be a lot of books on here. But, I am going through my Goodreads shelves and downloading any free books I am coming across from books already shelved. This is an ongoing project, and I should be done by September.
Mel and Dev are no longer a couple, but they run Blackhawk Security together. When being around Dev becomes too painful, she buys him out.
Dev knows she’s going after her old CIA boss Kingsley, so Dev makes her a deal – if she accepts his help on this last job, he’ll walk away.
But Kingsley is slippery. After he murders one man and almost kills a young woman, they realize he has a well-planned escape.
Can Mel and Dev stop him? Or will Kingsly eliminate them first?
First Line:
Mel walked down the hall to her office, still smiling. She’d just dropped Bree off at the Helena airport, and her security agent would be in Chicago in five hours.
Trust No One by Margaret Watson
While Mel and Dev are no longer a couple and haven’t been for years, it doesn’t mean that Mel still has feelings for him. When Mel’s feelings become too much, she tells Dev she is buying him out. Dev is stunned. But knowing that Mel is going after a corrupt CIA agent, he counteroffers with a deal: He’ll leave Blackhawk Security after they take Kingsley. But Kingsley is slippery and can take down any witnesses that tie him to nefarious activities. With Kingsley’s reach extended to the top of the CIA, Mel and Dev must take Kingsley down quickly. But can they do without bloodshed or anyone getting hurt? And, when the dust settles, will Mel and Dev be able to put their past aside and embrace their future together?
When the author contacted me to ask me to read/review Trust No One, I immediately said yes. Margaret is an auto-accept for any books for me. I have been reviewing and loving her books since 2017/2018 (not sure about the year and am too lazy to look it up). I was also super excited when I saw this was Mel and Dev’s story. I have read this series from the beginning and longed for their book. Now that I’ve got it, I am happy.
Trust No One is the 8th book in the Blackhawk Security series. This book is the series’s last book, but I could be wrong. I would classify this book as a semi-standalone book. You don’t need to read the entire series to understand Dev and Mel’s story or the series’ background. But I suggest reading book seven first (Bree and Jameson’s story). The author comprehensively explains the Kingsely storyline in that book.
Trust No One is a fast-paced book. It occurs within a few weeks of Mel telling Dev she wants to buy him out. The author doesn’t let up on the pace. The pacing suited the book, considering what Mel and Dev were up against. It didn’t slow until after the airport scene at the end of the book.
Trust No One takes almost entirely in Washington, D.C., with the beginning chapter in Montana and the ending in Seattle. The author perfectly captured Washington’s hustle and bustle while highlighting the city’s seedier parts.
The main storyline in Trust No One center around Mel, Dev, and Kingsley. It was a wonderfully written storyline that kept me glued to the book. While I knew how this storyline would end up, I still loved the ride it took me on. There was a twist in the plotline that did take me by surprise. And the author kept me guessing who dirty CIA agents were until almost the end of the book.
I liked Mel. She was feisty, headstrong, and determined to bring down Kingsley. Did I think she was silly for wanting to go after him alone? Yes. But it showed her dedication to keeping her agents safe and bringing down a bad guy. She was paranoid, but in her work, being paranoid was a given. That paranoia helped her and Dev out during several instances when Kingsley’s agents followed them. The only thing that I didn’t like about her was how she dealt with her feelings for Dev. It didn’t follow the strong woman the author had built up throughout the series.
Dev drove me up the wall during the book. I was in awe of his surveillance skills and contacts. I also wanted to know more about what he did during his SEAL/SpecOps days. But at the same time, I also wanted to smack him upside the head. He didn’t want to listen to Mel (though he had more experience in the field). It took him a while to admit that she had skills. As for his feelings for her, I was getting very frustrated with him about that. I knew his feelings for Mel from the beginning of the book. But it took him until almost the end of the book to discuss his tumultuous upbringing and to admit his feelings.
What do I say about Kingsley? He is a personification of any high-ranking official in Washington, D.C. He was overconfident, had connections that made my head spin and was willing to do whatever it took to cover up his mistakes. But, unlike real life, he was getting his comeuppance. I was left with a bad taste in my mouth every time he appeared in the book.
The romance angle in Trust No One was a slow-burn one. It was always in the background, with Mel’s feelings being more upfront than Dev’s. It did take a back seat to Mel and Dev’s investigation for a while, but you knew it was there.
The end of Trust No One was terrific. The author did a great job of having Kingsley get what he deserved. But how he got it and the events that led to it were fantastic and action-packed. I did get a giggle at the kid with the frog in the airport. It reminded me of my youngest daughter. That would have been something she did at that age. Of course, Mel and Dev got their HEA, and the lead-up to that was emotional. The epilogue was great, and I loved seeing them so happy!!
I recommend Trust No One to anyone over 21. There are language, violence, and sexual situations.
Many thanks to Margaret Watson for allowing me to read and review Trust No One. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
If you enjoyed reading this review of Trust No One, then you will enjoy reading these books:
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.
The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next?
What I am currently reading:
Desperate Housewives meets The Couple Next Door in a chilling story of murder and intrigue set in a well-to-do DC suburb.
Sometimes the darkest acts occur in the most beautiful houses…
When Alexis and her husband Sam buy a neglected Cape Cod house in an exclusive DC suburb, they are ecstatic. Sam is on the cusp of making partner at his law firm, Alexis is pregnant with their second child, and their glamorous neighbors welcome the couple with open arms. Things are looking up, and Alexis believes she can finally leave her troubled past behind.
But the neighborhood’s picture-perfect image is shattered when their neighbor Teddy – a handsome, successful father of three – is found dead on the steep banks of the Potomac River. The community is shaken, and as the police struggle to identify and apprehend the killer, tension in the neighborhood mounts and long-buried secrets start to emerge.
In the midst of the turmoil, Alexis takes comfort in her budding friendship with Teddy’s beautiful and charismatic widow, Blair. But as the women grow closer, the neighborhood only becomes more divided. And when the unthinkable truth behind Teddy’s murder is finally uncovered, both Blair and Alexis must reexamine their friendship and decide how far they are willing to go to preserve the lives they have so carefully constructed.
What I recently finished reading:
“It is not often that a man steps through a doorway knowing that he has just made the best and worst decision of his entire life.” So declares notorious criminal, Vazeer the Lash, at the start of A Dream of Shadows. Raised in Hell’s Labyrinth, the corrupt city where crime and violence are the order of the day, Vazeer has lived on a knife’s edge his entire adult life working as a contract smuggler. Having turned himself into an educated man, Vazeer longs to retire from his nefarious career, which has always been at odds with the more cultured side of his personality.
His chance comes when he is paid a fortune to bring down The Raving Blade, one of Hell’s Labyrinth’s most infamous and sadistic power brokers. Vazeer joins a rogue’s gallery of expert Shadow Bidders, each a master of a unique set of unsavory skills, to complete one last contract. Among them are a brilliant actress who finds herself playing a key role in a criminal world where she doesn’t belong, and a calm, mysterious assassin, who draws events ever forward towards a series of increasingly dire consequences.
With life and death hanging in the balance, a dangerous romance unfolds. Secrets are revealed and violence erupts, irreversibly blurring the line between good and evil.
Perfect for fans of George RR Martin, Joe Abercrombie, and Patrick Rothfuss, A Dream of Shadows marks the start of a thrilling new literary fantasy series from Peter Eliott.
What I think I will read next:
“A stunning display of relationships, suffering under the weight of grief and broken hearts. An emotional journey that Einerson has been able to masterfully achieve through flashbacks and character interactions that are raw. A real portrayal of how love can both heal and hurt you.”
A tragedy brought them together as teens, and then fate tore them apart. After fifteen years, can the pain and secrets of the past be forgiven to rekindle a once-in-a-lifetime love?
As a teen, Milo Covell’s life was destroyed when his mother was killed and his father was imprisoned for causing her death. His first love, Olivia Dunham, was the only beacon that brought his soul back into the light, promises of forever whispered under the stars creating an unbreakable bond—until the night Milo left Olivia heartbroken and alone.
When an unexpected phone call draws Milo back to New York, he’s forced to face the ghosts of the past he left behind fifteen years ago. Finding his estranged father, Mac, losing his battle with cancer, Milo is overcome with anger and betrayal when he discovers the girl he once loved has befriended the man who destroyed his life.
As Olivia struggles with her grief at the thought of losing Mac, she must also confront the man who abandoned her in her greatest time of need, leaving her life in pieces.
Brought together by fate during this trying time, the two must face hard truths, unshared secrets, and long-forgotten feelings.
Is their teenage love strong enough to span the decades and heal old wounds, or is the pain of the past too powerful to be forgiven and forgotten?
In love they breathed. In destiny they believed. In the end, will divinity be their demise?
After Séverin’s seeming betrayal, the crew is fractured. Armed with only a handful of hints, Enrique, Laila, Hypnos and Zofia must find their way through the snarled, haunted waterways of Venice, Italy to locate Séverin.
Meanwhile, Séverin must balance the deranged whims of the Patriarch of the Fallen House and discover the location of a temple beneath a plague island where the Divine Lyre can be played and all that he desires will come to pass.
With only ten days until Laila expires, the crew will face plague pits and deadly masquerades, unearthly songs and the shining steps of a temple whose powers might offer divinity itself… but at a price they may not be willing to pay.
Returning to the dark and glamorous 19th century world of her New York Times instant bestseller, The Gilded Wolves, Roshani Chokshi dazzles us with the final riveting tale as full of mystery and danger as ever.
Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why — or even who Tobias Hawthorne is.
To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man’s touch — and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a conwoman, and he’s determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather’s last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.
Leticia I know a piece of fine art when I see one. That’s why I’m drawn to Carter. His seductive gaze and stunning physique have been rendered in exquisite detail. The stress of my new job as head curator for a leading museum has me aching for relief. When I lock eyes with Carter on the dance floor, I know he’ll get the job done. I take him back to my apartment for one wild, unforgettable night. But, come Monday morning, Carter’s still under me… working under me as my new assistant.
Carter Life hasn’t been kind to me. I’ve loved and I’ve lost. Now my daughter and my art are the most important things in my life. Until I meet Leticia at my best friend’s bachelor party. She’s a masterpiece of strength, beauty, wit, and grace. She’s also my new boss. I know that I should stay away, but my body betrays me every time I look at her. She thinks she can resist my charms. I’ll show her who’s boss. But is there enough room in her heart for me and my daughter?
This is a full length standalone romance novel with a happily ever after (HEA), no cliffhanger and no cheating.
Family. The Channon legacy entails keeping a well-guarded secret safe until the time arrives to face the psychopath bent on imprisoning psychics, studying genetic mutations for the purpose of creating an army, and dominating the world.
The psychopath is Brianna’s brother, a psychic with a following of murderous spirits and trained mercenaries.
Through the years, Nicholai Semenov has overseen a group of psychics intent on ensuring safety and peace among their kind. After discovering one of his team is a shifter, the group expands to include the entire pack.
Join the warriors in this final chapter as they take on the Order of Assassins and warrior ghosts determined to control the fate of humanity.
On screen, they’re in love. Off screen, they can’t stand each other. Two co-stars with a complex history reunite to film the final season of a beloved paranormal drama in this tension-filled will they won’t they romance from the author of How to Fake It in Hollywood.
Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy are madly in love— at least, their characters are. As the stars of the hit paranormal TV show Intangible, they spent years pining for each other on-screen… until Lilah ditched the show at the end of season five in hopes of becoming a film star. With no such luck, she’s back to film the much-hyped ninth and final season, in which their characters will get together at last.
But coming back means facing one of the biggest reasons she left: Shane. Ever since their secret behind-the-scenes fling imploded at the end of the first season, the two of them have despised each other.
Now back on set together for the first time in years, with the world’s eyes on them and their post-show careers on the line, they’ll have to grit their teeth and play nice. But under pressure to give Intangible’s fans the happy ending they’ve been waiting for, Lilah and Shane are forced to get closer than ever. And if they’re not careful, they just might get blindsided by one final twist: a real-life happy ending of their own.
Mel and Dev are no longer a couple, but they run Blackhawk Security together. When being around Dev becomes too painful, she buys him out.
Dev knows she’s going after her old CIA boss Kingsley, so Dev makes her a deal – if she accepts his help on this last job, he’ll walk away.
But Kingsley is slippery. After he murders one man and almost kills a young woman, they realize he has a well-planned escape.
Can Mel and Dev stop him? Or will Kingsly eliminate them first?
2023 Monthly Themes (Continue a series or reread an author already read this year): Claim My Baby—Finished 3-31-23
Romanceopoly 2023! (Read a book where the main character works at or owns a bar)-About Love—Finished 4-1-23
Buzzword Reading Challenge 2023 (words in the title related to emotions, from happy to sad, smile to frown, pride to rage)—P.S. I Hate You—Finished 4-3-23
2023 Sami Parker Reads Title Challenge (a book with one of these words in the title: Sunny, Bright, Cloud or Rain): Brightest Shadow—Finished 4-6-2023
Cover Scavenger Hunt 2023 (a flower): A Spirited Manor—Finished 4-7-2023
The StoryGraph’s OnBoarding Reading Challenge 2023 (read one of the first 10 books you added to your to-read pile): The Night Swim—Finished 4-8-2023
The StoryGraph Reads the World 2023 (Italy): Find Me—Finished 4-10-2023
The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge (a biography about someone you don’t know much about): Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot—Finished 4-11-2023
Beat the Backlist 2023 (take place primarily in winter or a cold region): Tainted—Finished 4-19-2023
Scavenger Hunt TBR Book Challenge (go to the acknowledgments of the last book you read for this prompt. What name did you first see? Find a book written by an author with that name): Frost Burn—Finished 4-20-2023
Scavenger Hunt (Book I found that day): Delicate Ink—Finished 4-20-2023
Popsugar Reading Challenge 2023 (a book by a first time author): The Fifth Floor—Finished 4-21-23
2023 TBR Toppler (continue a series): Ten Thousand Lies—Finished 4-22-23
2023 Reading Challenge (book that has been on my TBR for the longest time): Purple Death—Finished 4-23-23
2023 ABC Challenge (D): Descendants—Carrying over to May
2023 TBR Prompts (A BookTok Favorite): The Song of Achilles—Carrying over to May