Feature and Giveaway: Playing Dirty by HelenKay Dimon

As an elite Alliance agent—the joint undercover operation of MI6, the British Secret Intelligence Service, and the CIA—Ford Decker lives for the adrenaline. But when he befriends sexy property manager Shay Alexander in hopes of finding her cousin, a known national security threat, Ford crosses the line, getting to know her better . . . in bed.

After being burned by her last relationship, Shay wants to take things slow. Yet she can't keep her hands off the drop-dead gorgeous hottie who's moved into her apartment building. So when Ford's identity as an undercover agent is exposed, his betrayal cuts deep. Shay never wants to see him again, but Ford can't let her go, not when her life is still in danger. He will sacrifice everything to protect her, then be prepared to walk away from the only woman he's ever loved, even if it breaks him.

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ARC Review: Mercy by HelenKay Dimon

Mercy is the first book that I have ever read by HelenKay Dimon, but I was instantly drawn in when I read the blurb. This one sounded so good, and I had to read it. I ended up liking a lot of things about this story, but there were also things that didn't work as well for me. Mercy left me with some mixed feelings, but I will look for more from HelenKay Dimon in the future.

Eight months after Becca Ford helped her team take down club owner Jarrett Holt, she finds herself on the run as one of the only remaining survivors of her team. All the rest of her team has been eliminated, and there have been attempts on her life as well. Knowing that the only safe place for her is inside Jarrett's club and behind his security, she goes to him for protection while she gets to the bottom of what is happening. Jarrett has already been burned by Becca and he knows better than to let her under his skin again. But when she shows up at his club, he can't help but let her stay. He makes her the deal of protection and a place to stay, but she will be his to use as he pleases. As Becca tries to figure things out, things between Becca and Jarrett start to return to the way they were before and soon they are both starting to rediscover the feelings they shared before things went bad. Can Becca figure things out before someone tries to end her life? Can Jarrett ever trust Becca again after everything that happened?

Becca and Jarrett's relationship was really interesting to me because of everything that had happened between them. Becca's team had put Jarrett in jail for what she thought was several things, drugs being one of them. She saw things and discovered things that made her assume a lot about the person that he was. She had started to develop real feelings for him while undercover though, and the person she thought she knew was different than that of what her team was telling her. There was also a lot that Jarrett had assumed, and it would have done both of them well to just have a conversation with each other and listen. Despite everything that had happened between them though, there was still a connection and a huge amount of chemistry. These two couldn't keep their hands off each other, and both were still clearly drawn to one another. I wanted them to just lay everything out there and listen to each other, but there were still a lot of trust issues and naturally they both thought that they knew everything. I did enjoy watching them figure things out between them though, and the more that they learned about each other again and saw the truth the better their relationship got.

My main issues with this book were not the relationship between Becca and Jarrett or even the side story of Elijah and Wade. I thought that the relationships were written well and were interesting. They kept me turning the pages, and I really enjoyed seeing the depth to each of the relationships. I had problems with the suspense portion of the story as well as the beginning of the story. I thought that the beginning seemed to just almost drop us into the middle, and it felt like we had missed a huge portion of what was going on. I kept trying to figure out if this was a sequel and I had missed the first book. I understand a lot of this story was trying to figure out what had gone down with Becca's team and the operation, but it really felt as though we had missed a huge part of the story with the way this one was written. I felt like not only did we start the story in the middle, but we also missed the development of the relationship between Becca and Jarrett. I wanted a flashback or prologue or something to go back and give us the start of it all without revealing what had gone bad. I also felt like the suspense part and the investigation into the operation was slow and drawn out. It didn't really go anywhere for the first 3/4 of the book, and by the time we got any real cooperation or a start to resolution the book was pretty much over. It seemed to really be just sort of stuck and static because the entire book takes place within the walls of Jarrett's club and the floors/living quarters above the club. I just kept waiting for things to pick up, but it didn't happen for quite some time. While I enjoy a good sex scene and plenty of them, I felt like it got a bit repetitive and I was left waiting for more development and advancement. I would still say that this is not only a book that I enjoyed, but one that I think fans of romantic suspense will enjoy. I thought that the characters and relationships were interesting and the story is worth reading even if it was a bit predictable and slow moving. I will look for more from HelenKay Dimon in the future.

**ARC Provided by Publisher**

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Feature and Giveaway: Mercy by HelenKay Dimon

After she infiltrated his business and betrayed his trust, a disavowed CIA agent must seek sanctuary in the bedroom of a man who will either help her, kill her, or bring her to her knees…

Becca Ford is on her own. Eight months after she headed up a sting operation to take down millionaire club owner Jarrett Holt, the other agents in her special ops team have been eliminated under odd circumstances, and she needs a place to hide.

Jarrett is a man who prefers darkness to light. He deals in the only truly valuable currency—information—and his supper club caters to an exclusive clientele. It was an uncharacteristic moment of weakness when he let a woman into his life. But it’s not luck that the criminal charges disappeared . . . as did the evidence.

When Becca returns to the club seeking his help, Jarrett doesn’t want to hear her story. But he does want her body, and demands that she give it to him. He’ll keep her safe—for now—but it’ll be in his bed and on his terms, until he says they’re done.

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ARC Review: Romancing the Holiday by Christi Barth, Jaci Burton and HelenKay Dimon

Romancing the Holiday is an anthology comprised of three different novellas.

We'll Be Home for Christmas - HelenKay Dimon

Months ago Lila and Spence, who she knows as Austin spent a steamy and sex filled three days together locked in a hotel room. Afterwards, both parted never expecting to see each other again. But like most romance novels, that pretty much goes out the window pretty quickly. 

Down on her luck, Lila is attempting to start her life over and plans to fix up and run her uncle's old RV/Campground in West Virginia. The first order of business when Lila arrives is to head into town and pick up the order her uncle left for her at the nursery. When Lila arrives she is introduced to Austin Thomas, one of the owners of the nursery. Also, the man with whom she supposedly had spent the three nights in the hotel with a few months ago, only this is not the same man. Yes, his name is the same but he isn't the same. As Lila is confessing everything to Austin in hopes of trying to figure out just what the hell is going on Spence walks in. 

Spence has always felt bad about deceiving Lila, but doesn't regret the time they spent together. If he were being completely honest, he regrets that their time spent together was so short as he hasn't been able to stop thinking about their time together. Feeling horrible for his deception as well as wanting to spend time with Lila, Spence offers to help her with the renovation to the campground. 

Slowly but surely these two begin to work out their issues and come to a truce to start over. Quickly the chemistry between these two is becoming more and more apparent and both are finding it hard to resit one another. 

I really enjoyed this story and loved the connection between Lila and Spence. Both are completely attracted to one another and I thought some of their scenes together were pretty hot. I really enjoyed HelenKay's writing and am looking forward to reading more from her. 

Ask Her at Christmas - Christi Barth

Caitlin has been in love with her best friend Kyle for years. When Kyle proposes to Caitlin her heart stops and she can't breath. Kyle has never even hinted that her feelings might be reciprocated and now that he's proposing it's a total shock. Just as she's about to come back around Kyle reveals that it was just a test and that he was just practicing for when he proposes to his girlfriend Monica. 

Kyle might not love Monica and they might not get along as well as he and Caitlin do, but it's what his father wants and Kyle is determined to do whatever he can to make him proud, even if that means marrying someone he doesn't love. Kyle knows that he wants to propose to Monica and he wants it to be special, so he enlists Caitlin's help in the task. 

I have mixed feelings about this story. While I'm a huge fan of friends to lovers tropes, I feel like something was missing from this one. I would have liked to have seen more romance between Kyle and Caitlin. I just didn't feel like there was enough and I just didn't really believe in their HEA. 

The Best Thing - Jaci Burton

Tori Lewis and Brody Kent have always had a combative relationship with each other until several months ago when they shared a heated kiss. Ever since then, Tori has been withdrawn and snappy. Not wanting to jeopardize her job at Kent Construction or her relationship with the Kent family, she brushed it off and has since stopped speaking to Brody. Tori has always had a secret crush on Brody but he has a reputation as a manwhore and she definitely doesn't want to risk everything she's worked for just to be his girl of the week.  

Brody doesn't know what came over him when he kissed Tori but he doesn't regret it at all. What he regrets is the way things have gone down since the kiss. He's has tried on numerous occasions to talk to Tori about what happened to explains things but Tori just won't listen. Brody knows that he has a reputation for being a manwhore but how can he explain to Tori that he wants more from her than to just one night. 

This story was by far my favorite of the anthology. I thought there was so much chemistry and heat between Tori and Brody. Not only did I enjoy Tori and Brody, but I loved everyone else I was introduced to. I loved the camaraderie and the relationships we saw with everyone else.

Overall

I found this anthology highly enjoyable and I definitely recommend it. Each story was entertaining and sweet and made me want to read more. If you are looking for a great holiday inspired read, than this anthology is the way to go.

**ARC provided by NetGalley**

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