BOLD TRICKS
by Karina Halle
Publication Date: October 15, 2013
Genre: Contemporary/Romantic Suspense/New Adult
Summary:
The Faster They Live, the Harder They Fall . . .
Raised by con artists, Ellie Watt has a lot of crazy childhood memories-but none crazier than being scarred with acid by the demented crime boss Travis Raines. Now Ellie is a full-grown woman who lives for revenge, and Travis is a full-blown drug lord who kills for pleasure. The sadistic bastard has kidnapped her good friend Gus as well as her mother, whom he's been holding as prized possessions in his heavily guarded lair. And Ellie has only one chance in hell of getting them out alive-using two dangerous men who love her to death . . .
One is Camden McQueen, a talented tattoo artist who's made a permanent mark on Ellie's heart. The other is Javier Bernal, her fiery ex-lover who's busted more than a few heads in his time. From the crime-ridden streets of Mexico City to the predatory jungles of Honduras, this unlikely trio forms an uneasy alliance in the deadliest game of all-a gun-blazing battle to the finish that will pit enemy against enemy and lover against lover. And Ellie must choose the right man to trust . . . or die.
Raised by con artists, Ellie Watt has a lot of crazy childhood memories-but none crazier than being scarred with acid by the demented crime boss Travis Raines. Now Ellie is a full-grown woman who lives for revenge, and Travis is a full-blown drug lord who kills for pleasure. The sadistic bastard has kidnapped her good friend Gus as well as her mother, whom he's been holding as prized possessions in his heavily guarded lair. And Ellie has only one chance in hell of getting them out alive-using two dangerous men who love her to death . . .
One is Camden McQueen, a talented tattoo artist who's made a permanent mark on Ellie's heart. The other is Javier Bernal, her fiery ex-lover who's busted more than a few heads in his time. From the crime-ridden streets of Mexico City to the predatory jungles of Honduras, this unlikely trio forms an uneasy alliance in the deadliest game of all-a gun-blazing battle to the finish that will pit enemy against enemy and lover against lover. And Ellie must choose the right man to trust . . . or die.
Lesley's Review:
Bold Tricks, How
bitter-sweet are you? One can get all excited that it’s here but then the
bitter kicks in when you realize that this is THE END. All good things come to
an end, right? Sometimes we feel as though the last book isn’t enough. No
worries folks, Karina did an awesome job with Bold Tricks. I didn’t feel like
anything was left hanging. Of course, it would have been nice to continue with
Ellie and Crew but I am at peace with the finale. As I have stated in the
Review for Shooting Scars, I was never fully swayed to pick Javier or Camden. I
was always left on the fence. I finally found my persuasion and jumped. I
devoured this one like a hot knife slides through butter.
In Shooting Scars, the impossible happened. Ellie, Camden
and Javier agreed to help each other. Now here we are picking up right where it
left off. Oh, imagine the two loves/lovers in your life having to work
together. Especially, when no one trusts the other or you don’t know where you
stand with either. The atmosphere is so
tense and action packed. There is not a boring moment in Bold Tricks.
“I’m on your side.
I’ll be on your side. All the way, until we get home.”
Setting out on the mission to save Violetta and eventually
get Gus back, these three fight against other cartels and each other. Ellie
finding that even when things seem to be one way they end up being another. Smoke
mirrors – seems like an appropriate term. No, no one trust Javier but they need
him to rescue Gus and Ellie’s mom.
Fighting and pouring their hearts out, we watch as Ellie and
Camden find each other again. We discover just how messed up Javier is.
(Psychology class 101) I am convinced that in his own way he loves Ellie.
“Oh Angel, you forget.
You’re the only one who gave me a soul. If I don’t have one anymore, it’s not
my fault.”
However, that does not excuse or make the things he did ok.
Oh H*ll NO. I am totally over the Javier bridge. I have settled quite nicely on
Camden Isle.
“Until the waves crash
at our feet.”
At points, you don’t know who is going to make it. Hell,
sometimes I wondered if any would survive. Ellie and Camden start kicking a$$
and taking names. They are grabbing life by the balls and going for what they
want. They fight for what they have.
“I love you….And I’ll
have you. Keep you. Own you. You belong to me, only me, from now on.”
Karina does a wonderful job of evolving her characters. She
brings light to the things that make them tick. She shows that while they may
be doing the same wrong things, the reasons behind the actions are different.
That’s what makes this story come full circle for me. I finally, like Ellie,
was able to see that Javier is a lost cause and their relationship was toxic to
everyone.He pretends that he does it for love, for family. That made me sad but
Javier does those things for power, greed and revenge. I was able to see that Camden can be a hard,
strong man, but He does it with his heart. He does it to protect those he loves
fiercely. Finally, we see Ellie realize the difference. She realizes that she
has always wanted to be on the good side, be the good person she is underneath
it all.
I give this book 4.5
stars. This book kicked a$$ and like the Kings of Leon song says “It’s a
beautiful war”.
Authors Social Networking links:
Twitter: @MetalBlonde
Buy Links:
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
Author Bio:
The daughter of a Norwegian Viking and a Finnish Moomin, Karina Halle grew up in Vancouver, Canada with trolls and eternal darkness on the brain. This soon turned into a love of all things that go bump in the night and a rather sadistic appreciation for freaking people out. Like many of the flawed characters she writes, Karina never knew where to find herself and has dabbled in acting, make-up artistry, film production, screenwriting, photography, travel writing and music journalism. She eventually found herself in the pages of the very novels she wrote (if only she had looked there to begin with).
Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently splits her time between her apartment in downtown Vancouver and her sailboat, where a book and a bottle of wine are always at hand. She’s hard at work on her next novel.
Karina holds a screenwriting degree from Vancouver Film School and a Bachelor of Journalism from TRU. Her travel writing, music reviews/interviews and photography have appeared in publications such as Consequence of Sound, Mxdwn and GoNomad Travel Guides. She currently splits her time between her apartment in downtown Vancouver and her sailboat, where a book and a bottle of wine are always at hand. She’s hard at work on her next novel.
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I love both... Cam and Javier... I can't choose right now. and I definitely cannot choose over the books I LOVE them all and I can't wait to read this last book. But fyi... TATTOOS!!! all the way!!!
ReplyDeleteTeam Camden ALL THE WAY!!! Tattooooooooooos :) :) :)
ReplyDelete