Tag Archives: North Security

Review: Finale (North Security #4.5) by Skye Warren

Posted on by
Reply

Title: Finale
Author: Skye Warren
Publisher/Year:  CreateSpace Publishing 8/30/21
Length:  173 pages
Series: North Security #4.5

Overview

Francisco Castille, the exiled Duke of Linares, knows his duty. Even in modern times, the line must continue. So he’ll marry and produce an heir.

Yes, a wife will fit into his well-ordered life.

Instead he ends up with the brilliant pianist Isabella. Strong. Spirited. And highly disobedient. She rebels against every custom and every rule, threatening his careful balance.

Francisco never backs away from a challenge.

Isabella never bows down to anyone.

This scorching hot battle of wills may leave both of them broken.

My Thoughts

I know that I should know a bit more about Isabella, especially since I read the entire series that leads up to this story, but I guess there has been a bit of time since we first met Samantha Brooks and saw her interaction with the hotelier / pianist. Regardless, we have a lovely novella here that peeks into what makes Isa tick, and then what transformed her world because she’s far too selfless.

This story takes us to a point in time where her family is in need of saving, and as the fixer, the one who finds solutions, she’s put at the helm to do so. Her family owns a successful portfolio of boutique hotels that while profitable as they are, the acquisitions themselves end up putting the family further and further into debt. As the one who runs the numbers, Isabella is always trying to get her father and brother to make better choices, but of course men don’t want to hear the sense that a ‘smaller’ woman talks.

Isa gave up the life she had as a society party girl to graduate at the top of her class in Harvard and then managed to save the business. When she can’t save them with the help of banks to loan money, the one thing she can do is entertain a meeting with Francisco Castille, a man who is financially liquid enough to dig them out of a hole.

The meeting doesn’t go as planned, and part of the deal that he makes to help the hotel is for Isa to marry him. While she fights it at first, she always puts her family first and we watch what happens with this naive and inexperienced woman is owned and controlled by a man who’s quite the dominant.

The life she lives now is not one that she ever expected and we watch as she comes to terms with what she’s become. While Francisco gives her freedoms that she wanted, she’s away from her family, she’s in an environment that she’s not confident in, and she’s with a man who’s tastes are beyond her imagination.

Suffice it to say, only an author like Skye Warren could pack quite to much excitement into a novella of this length, but we get to see how this story plays out for all those that could be involved. There’s a rollercoaster of emotions and events, all ending in a way that some may have expected and others were unsure of. So…not it means I have to find something else to read….so that’s where i’m heading. Enjoy!

Review: Audition (North Security #4) by Skye Warren

Posted on by
Reply

Title: Audition
Author: Skye Warren
Publisher/Year:  CreateSpace Publishing 12/9/19
Length:  300 pages
Series: North Security #4

Overview

Blood and sweat. Bethany Lewis danced her way out of poverty. She’s a world class athlete… with a debt to pay.

Joshua North always gets what he wants. And the mercenary wants Bethany in his bed. He wants her beautiful little body bent to his will.

She doesn’t surrender to his kiss.
He doesn’t back down from a challenge.
It’s going to be a sensual fight… to the death.

My Thoughts

It’s nice to get this extension of sorts from the North Security series – although we were owed the story around Josh – the one brother that we hadn’t met yet. We know where he stands with his brothers and in the family business, but it’s nice to see how he fights for what he wants, even when it seems like it’s an impossible battle.

Bethany has her own struggles in life – and after leaving the tour that we met her on with Samantha, she’s had to fight to prove herself as an amazing artist in a place where she felt safe and was appreciated.

On one hand it’s wonderful that she has this guy around her that dates back years – that has this history of sorts, but we know that they both ended up hurting each other in the past that it’s inevitable that it’ll happen again. That often makes for the most dynamic story, the most intense chemistry and what we don’t lack here is any of that. Ms Warren, our amazing author has done it again.

We watch the roller coaster with these two, trying to understand what Bethany needs to be protected and why it has to be Josh to do it. We watch as we know that they both want to remain whole but know that in order to do it, they need each other even if they won’t admit it to themselves.

There’s passion and lust. There’s angst and fear. But underneath it all, there’s hope and there’s desire to just ‘be’. It’s an expected story of sorts, but the journey to the end is one that makes up for how we anticipate it will end. Question remains if it wraps up as you want. Only you can tell when you read it. Enjoy!

Review: Sonata (North Security #3) by Skye Warren

Posted on by
Reply

Title: Sonata
Author: Skye Warren
Publisher/Year:  Skye Warren 8/6/19
Length:  280 pages
Series: North Security #3

Overview

Who is Samantha Brooks without her violin? Fear lives in the silent spaces. Love does, too. There’s a battle being waged in her heart, and Liam North is determined to win. He’ll use every weapon in his arsenal. His body. His heart. Except the spotlight puts her in the crosshairs of dangerous men.

Samantha fights to compose her own ending, even as the final notes rise to a heartbreaking crescendo.

My Thoughts

We needed to have this final installment to see how the story not only continued but completed. There’s so much uncertainty in the relationship between Samantha and Liam, as well as in her future as a musician and on top of that, there’s chaos around her father and his motives. We left them with Samantha giving up the violin and going on the run essentially with Liam and we don’t know what that means.

Throughout this final installment we see a few things happen. We see Samantha grow up. you have to remember that she’s only 18, so she’s really not very experienced with the world even though she had quite the untraditional upbringing. When she’s faced with suitors other than Liam and she’s not sure how to read those situations or the motives behind actions, we are once again reminded of Liam’s need and the rationale behind his need to protect her.

Bethany comes back into the fold in this story and we see the bond that she creates with Samantha. It’s a good set up to see what will happen in her own story since she’s about due one. We watch how Samantha’s relationship with the man who’s now backing a new tour that she’ll headline changes the dynamic of the entire story and all the characters within.

The question continues to rise, whether she’s good enough to headline, whether she’s strong enough to risk her life and Liam’s life to go back on stage and what that means in general. She has passion on top of passion for not only music but for her relationship with Liam, and we watch all of that play out in a deep and angsty way.

So on that note, we get a resolution that does this story justice – of course with a lot of tension, fear, and lies. But regardless, it was worthy of this series finale. So, on that note – enjoy!

Review: Concerto (North Security #2) by Skye Warren

Posted on by
Reply

Title: Concerto
Author: Skye Warren
Publisher/Year:  Skye Warren 5/14/19
Length:  290 pages
Series: North Security #2

Overview

Samantha Brooks stands onstage as the curtain rises. Her dreams are coming true. She doesn’t know her nightmare is coming too.

The spotlight lands on Samantha Brooks. Years of practice build to the opening night of a global tour. She plays her heart out, but there are darker forces underneath the stage.

There are eyes watching from the wings.

Liam North fights to keep her safe with every weapon he owns. She’s his greatest pride—and his greatest weakness. The danger comes from somewhere no one expected. Betrayal threatens to destroy everything he’s build. His business. His family. His life.

When the curtain falls, only one of them will be left standing.

My Thoughts

We left the first installment with Samantha becoming an adult, free from Liam’s guardianship, and making the decision that the only way to truly figure out what she needs and who she is was to leave him. She moves out of the house and goes to the first tour stop in Tanglewood early. What she quickly learns though is that her protection will continue – Josh is there, watching her back while they try to suss out where the danger is coming from before it gets too close.

This second story takes us to the tour, where we see a new cast of characters which brings new levels of intrigue. We know that there’s a lot of fanfair around Harry March who’s the headliner of the tour and what we learn throughout this story is that there’s so much more under the surface of what drives him, what keeps him going and as a result, what haunts him. The role that he played in making this story come together is one that as a reader we should have suspected, but we focused elsewhere which left us with a bit of a surprise.

The others on the tour all have their own interesting and complicated backstories, some of which I can expect will intertwine with our existing characters. There’s a dynamic shift and odd chemistry that we see developing among a few, that it makes you want to dig in more and see what’s next.

Back to Samantha and Liam though. What we saw in the first book is that they have this bond that’s keeping them tethered together in a way that distance won’t break. They cannot be apart, and when they are, it’s damaging for them. They have this physical attraction that’s hot but they have something that’s so much more, and yet it’s enough to continue to keep them pushing each other away. That results in someone getting shot and being on the edge of death.

It’s true – Samantha’s father is still alive, and now he’s trying to get to her for reasons unknown. Everyone is at risk, and following your heart can put you directly in the line of fire. That’s the lesson that we learn in this second book, and what we find out is that there’s no such thing as trust, loyalty and being safe. So, onto the next book in this series to see how this plays out since we know there’s not meant to be a happy ending for everyone. Enjoy!

Review: Overture (North Security #1) by Skye Warren

Posted on by
Reply

Title: Overture
Author: Skye Warren
Publisher/Year:  Skye Warren 2/14/19
Length:  302 pages
Series: North Security #1

Overview

Forbidden fruit never tasted this sweet…

The world knows Samantha Brooks as the violin prodigy. She guards her secret truth—the desire she harbors for her guardian.

Liam North got custody of her six years ago. She’s all grown up now, but he still treats her like a child. No matter how much he wants her.

No matter how bad he aches for one taste.

Her sweet overtures break down the ex-soldier’s defenses, but there’s more at stake than her body. Every touch, every kiss, every night. The closer she gets, the more exposed his darkest secret. She’s one step away from finding out what happened the night she lost her family.

One step away from leaving him forever.

My Thoughts

I love anything that Skye Warren writes and this series is no different. We’re introduced to this world of music and lies – a combination of the two swirling around our leading lady Samantha. She grew up in a world where it wasn’t safe – her father was a diplomat, but we learn that he wasn’t always a clean one, taking money from people, doing the wrong deals etc and that meant that they were often living under extreme circumstances – which we learned included Samantha being left on her own, often without food or money, and at time forgotten. That’s transformed her into not only a strong woman, but added to the allure of her unparalleled talent.

Enter Liam – a man who knew Samantha’s father but was not friends with him. He was in the same orbit as her father and when he ‘passed away from a heart attack’, Liam requested guardianship over Samantha. Her own brother didn’t want to care for her, so it was lucky that Liam took that over. He’s established, owns a security firm and clearly has connections with the ability to protect which we soon learn are necessary.

There’s a lot of character growth in this first installment of the series. We’re at the precipice for Samantha where her life is about to change – the moment she turns 18. She’s no longer the ward of Liam and she’s going to go on an international tour. She’s finding out more about herself and what she wants and she learns how to go after it. In this case – part of that is Liam.

Through the trials and tribulations with two of her friends, Samantha ends up in situations where Liam doesn’t believe she’s safe or frankly is a bit jealous and that brings out a side of him that we were all hoping to see. There’s a mutual attraction here but given that she was underage, that was part of the barrier. The notion that he’s not right for her and capable of being what she needs and deserves is the other aspect of things.

The story progresses with us watching Liam battle internally with what he wants and what is right. His brothers even see through him and warn him from breaking Samantha’s heart and still that’s a battle that he can’t win. Sadly we know that there is going to be no way to come back from whatever it is that they’re going to do.

There’s an attempt on Samantha’s life, and there’s a reporter that’s probing too hard into her past. Liam uncovers that the reporter wasn’t who she said she is, and that means that there’s an uncertain future and risk around Samantha that makes everyone nervous. She doesn’t quite know where it’s coming from, but Liam is pretty sure given some inside information that he’s heard through the wires.

We close this first book with the discovery of passion and chemistry, the loss of the past and innocence and the fear for the future. Samantha has spread her wings since that’s the only way that she can survive and Liam now has to deal with a broken heart and hope that he can protect her from afar. So, what does that mean? on to the next installment to see how this plays out. Enjoy!