Review // Dirty Gambit by Airicka Phoenix

He was the kind of guy any girl would have been delighted to find, but Lena knew he wasn't meant for her.

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Dirty Gambit by Airicka Phoenix

Standalone
Release - October 8, 2021
Genre - Dark Romance / enemies-to-lovers
Dual POV - 1st person
Heat Level - 3.5 out of 5 / slow burnish / a few scenes
Format/Source - eARC provided by the author
Page Count - 294
Publisher - Indie

For a girl with no family, no job and a rap sheet as long as her arm, eighteen-year-old Angelina Ramos never stood a chance at happiness. So, when her blood is found at the scene of a robbery that ends with three dead, Lena does the only thing a foster kid knows how to do — she runs. But she’s not going alone.

Jaxon Westwick has never met anyone as fierce, beautiful, or haunted as Lena . . . or as crazy. No one else has ever seduced him into handcuffs just to kidnap him, hold him hostage, and drag him clear across the country.

But Lena’s on a mission to find peace and nothing is going to stop her, not the cops, not the mob boss out for her blood, and definitely not her gorgeous hostage, no matter how he tempted her. After all, how could someone like her ever belong in a world as untainted as his?

Purchase Links

Amazon CA * Amazon US
(Free to read with Kindle Unlimited)

My Two Cents

I knew right from the start that I was going to enjoy this book. It's not very often that I come across a story where the hero is at someone else's mercy. However, make no mistake... Jaxon was no pushover. The dynamic between these two was intense to say the least.

Dirty Gambit gave me drama, comedy, thrills, and tons of sex appeal! The love/hate relationship that was brewing between Jaxon and Lena was at once toxic and irresistible. He's being held hostage, she's being held hostage, and a madman is out to get them all. Through it all, Jaxon had to learn why he was in the predicament he was in, find a way to get through to Lena, figure out how he could be of help, and fight his growing affection for his captor.

This story was fresh and explosive and I had a blast reading it. I wasn't Lena's biggest fan, which I think was the point, but I loved her fire. Feminine and bold and rough around the edges... this woman gave as good as she got.

About the Author

International Bestselling Author Airicka Phoenix has written over twenty-five novels, seven of which have hit the #1 spot on Amazon & Barnes & Noble.

Her first novel, Touching Smoke opened the doors into the publishing world. Its prequel went on to win Best Novella 2014 by Young Adult & Teen Readers. Her paranormal thriller, Betraying Innocence won Best Horror Book 2013 by The Writing World, and Best Horror Novel 2014 by IABB Awards. Her Sons of Judgment series, and Crime Lord series went on to sit at #1 for two consecutive weeks, including being nominated for the 2016 Summer Indie Book Awards in Contemporary by Metamorph Publishing.

Raised a little bit country and a little bit city, she blends both into her writing. She finds inspiration through music, photography, long walks, and her family. In her downtime, she loves binge watching horror movies, reading, and lives off chocolate, coffee, and souls. She’s currently having a deep and passionate love affair with Pinterest and can’t walk out of a store without buying a new notebook.

For more information visit https://airickaphoenix.com/