DDS REVIEW: Masters & Mercenaries The Early Ops by Lexi Blake

Sammy’s review of Masters & Mercenaries The Early Ops (Books 1-5) by Lexi Blake
Erotic Romance published by DLZ Entertainment 14 Dec 17

I have been in such a reading rut. I turned to Audible books and luckily that has been working out for me. I have fallen down some amazing listening rabbit holes. One of them is this series. Ryan West does a fantastic job of narrating these books. If you have an  Audible Escape membership, the books cost nothing. Otherwise, she has a box set of the first five books. It’s well worth the price of admission. The books are well written and, honestly, they are dirty, filthy delicious. What all the books have in common are a group of mercenaries going places the government can’t or won’t go. All the men are doms and the ladies are submissive. Buckle up, dear readers. If you decide to fall down the rabbit hole, you won’t come up for air anytime soon.

The Dom Who Loved Me

In Sean Taggart’s and Grace Hawthorne’s book, Sean is undercover trying to locate a rogue CIA agent turned terrorist. This brings him to Grace, who is a secretary for the rogue agent’s brother. He is playing a cat-and-mouse game and soon realizes while his job is to get close to her, he is really having strong feelings for her. Grace is full of surprises. What Sean finds out is that Grace has a lot of fantasies of the BDSM Sub/Dom lifestyle. Wouldn’t you know it, Sean is a badass Dom. Lexi Blake weaves an intricate thriller, bullets flying, intrigue, and very hot sex made this listener blush several times.

The Men With The Golden Cuffs

In this installment we get to know Jake and Adam. These guys come as one. Our heroine, Serena Brooks, is an erotic romance writer with the pen name Amber Rose. She is being stalked and turns to McKay & Taggart Security Services for help. Adam and Jacob are looking for the one woman they can love together. Adam thinks Serena is it, but Jake is a little gun shy. Especially because the stalker is using her books to terrorize her. Jake is not so trusting due to complications from a previous relationship. Book 2 is just as thrilling and sexy as the first. I love the three of these characters together. I’m slightly disappointed that the two lead males, who obviously love each other, have no interactions other than double penetrating Serena. I feel like that would have made it more somehow. With that said, I still love the book and these guys with Serena bring the sarcasm to laugh-out-loud moments.

A Dom Is Forever 

This is one of my favorite books so far. Liam is on the chase for an arms dealer. He has a past he can’t remember, which leads him back to where things all started. Avery Charles works for the head of a charity organization and Liam needs to get close to her. Avery has her own issues and secrets. This couple rocked my world. Two broken people filling in all the dark spots with light and love really make this book go from great to OMG I will read or listen to it again. There are some major twists and turns to this book. It is, quite frankly, shocking and good. This is an edge-of-your-seat, bite-your-nails, turn-up-the-AC kinda book. The sex is off the charts, the chemistry between the characters will knock your socks off, and the hits are downright painful and not in a good way. After listening to the other books, you know Lexi Blake will make it worthwhile. This is a book that should be read.

On Her Master’s Secret Service

Alex and Eve McKay are divorced. Alex is partners with Ian Taggart. Alex and Eve both used to work for the FBI until one case destroyed everything. Alex was tracking down a serial killer whom Eve did a profile on. Eve begged her husband not to go after him and Alex did as he pleased. The serial killer took Eve and made her suffer for it. This, in turn, put their marriage in a very dark place. Fast forward and the two work together at Mckay & Taggart. Eve still allows Alex to be her Dom, but will not let him have an intimate relationship outside of their lifestyle and sex. Their past is back to haunt them. This really tests their fragile relationship. Alex will protect Eve at any cost. Eve is determined to move on with her life. As Alex goes undercover, Eve wiggles her way into the op and the two must confront their issues and work like hell to find their way back to one another. Also, there are big bombs about Ian Taggart. This book is an emotional, heartbreaking, thrilling, hot, and, most important, the author gave these two characters an ending that was long fought. The stakes are high and the ending is superb.

Love and Let Die 

Ian Taggart is so damn grumpy. I should say he is a very sexy, very alpha, very grumpy man. He also has secrets. We find out his secrets in Liam’s book, and, boy, is it a big one. Ian was working on the same op as Liam for the agency. Things went really wrong not only for Liam, but also for the woman Ian married. That’s right people, Ian Taggart married Charlotte Dennis. On that dreadful night he found Charlotte dead. For the past five years, Ian has never been able to forget their short amount of time together. What Ian doesn’t know is that Charlotte is alive and she has been working her way back to him for years. Ian’s nemesis is still out there causing havoc and Ian will not stop until he eliminates him. When Charlotte makes herself known to him, all things go from bad to worse. These two had some serious problems. Ian is a tough ass and he’s not pleasant. Charlotte has to work overtime to get him to understand all the betrayal and shenanigans that went down. This is a very satisfying book. I love how Ian had to learn to trust her and Charlie had to learn patience. Together they are unstoppable. This book has non-stop action, toe-curling sex, some angst, and a lot of forgiving. Ian and Charlie’s book is everything I thought it could be.

What I love about this series is the closeness this team has. The other team in England will make an appearance in Book 6. The women are smart, funny, and very sexy. You will wish they were real just so you were invited to Sanctum or a girls’ night out. They all look out for each other and they all love hard. I am currently listening to Book 6, and Damon Knight is one sexy Brit. I hope you give the series a chance. It’s well written and extremely sexy.

Grade: A

Summary:

The Dom Who Loved Me

Sean Taggart is hunting a deadly terrorist and his only lead is the lovely Grace Hawthorne. To get to the truth, he is going to have to get very close to Grace, a task he’s all too eager to undertake once he gets a look at her.

The Men with the Golden Cuffs

Adam Miles and Jacob Dean are halves of a whole. They’ve spent their entire adult lives searching for the one woman who can handle them both. When Serena Brooks comes into their lives, they’re certain she’s the one. But when a stalker strikes, will they lose her forever?

A Dom is Forever

The hunt for an international arms dealer leads Liam O’Donnell to London and into the world of Avery Charles. Avery’s never met a man like Liam and quickly falls under his spell. But when Avery’s boss leads the McKay-Taggart team to the traitorous Mr. Black, Liam must put together the pieces of the puzzle of his past or Avery might not have a future…

On Her Master’s Secret Service

Alex and Eve are trapped together in a cycle of pleasure and misery that even their divorce cannot sever. But when a threat from Eve’s past resurfaces, Alex will stop at nothing to save her life and reclaim her heart.

Love and Let Die

For five years, Charlotte Dennis has thought of nothing but returning to her husband, her Master, Ian Taggart. Working in the shadows, she has devoted herself to earning a chance to reclaim her place in Ian’s life. But forgiveness isn’t a part of Ian’s vocabulary.

No excerpt available.