ARC Review: Blue Knight

Blue Knight
Tracy Cooper-Posey
Erotic Romantic Suspense
Guns 'N Lovers/Book 3
Ellora's Cave/October 1, 2010

From the author's website ~

Held hostage by the Insurrectos for weeks and forgotten by the world, Olivia has watched Daniel bed everyone women but her, who he can’t see. Daniel lives dangerously and is forced to use her window one night to avoid the guards. Naked and faced with a long-legged woman who doesn’t want him, his curiosity is piqued.

Under the hostile, suspicious gazes of the guards, they begin a game of heated seduction where the stakes are so high no one, not even their fellow hostages, must suspect there is a connection between them. As Daniel teaches her how to defy the guards the tension between them, both sexual and personal, spirals until it threatens to shatter.

Olivia learns that Daniel is not quite who she thought he was. Now she is fighting for Daniel’s life too, for if the Insurrectos find out who he really is, then the man she has come to love will be instantly executed…

Blue Knight is the third book in the Guns 'N Lovers series and does feature characters from the first two books. Cooper-Posey does a good job filling in the character relations and politics of the series. I had no problem following the continuing political story arc from the two previous novels and did find myself intrigued by the couples from the first two books. I'm sure I'll be reading those in the future.

Olivia Davenport is a diplomat trained to deal with tense situations. The situation she currently finds herself in is the most extreme. She has been taken hostage, along with other diplomats and staff, in a hotel in the country of Vistaria. A country who's interim government is desperate to keep control since the revolution, desperate enough to take hostages. It is here that Olivia meets Daniel who she finds dangerously attractive but also sees his flaws. She calls him on his bed hopping and points out that he didn't stop by her bed until he was forced to. And she doesn't exactly welcome him there. I loved how the story opened with a naked Daniel making himself at home in Olivia's bed. Daniel is far from shy and Olivia is anything but quiet. She makes it clear to Daniel that he's not her type, no matter how good he looks naked in her bed.

The term sex-on-a-stick could easily be used to describe Daniel. He is seriously smoking hot. In addition to that he's smart and cunning. A man who's good at staying one step ahead of the enemy. He's also a serious horn dog until he literally shows up in Olivia's room wearing nothing but a grin. I found it refreshing that he didn't apologize for his sexcapades, rather than making excuses. He has his reasons for no long term relationships, aside from the fact that he likes sex. Daniel is a complex character who brings a number of secrets into his relationship with Olivia.

The political intrigue and action of the story are surprisingly well done. I say surprisingly because this is an erotic romance. I did like many of the secondary characters but at times found myself wishing for more Olivia and Daniel time. There is violence, lots of gun totting Insurrectos, and while the violence was in line with the plot, it was shocking at times. I do think a balanced was achieved with the overall plot of the Insurrectos and the danger that Olivia and Daniel find themselves in. I certainly found the political angle of Blue Knight interesting.

There is a secondary romance that took a twist I wasn't expecting. Kudos to the author for going that route. I'm curious to see what happens in the fallout of that romance. The central romance of Olivia and Daniel wasn't typical in that they were in a tense situation where nearly every move they made is monitored. They had to get creative to find time alone and when they did they made the most of it. The love scenes were passionate with both Daniel and Olivia having issues to overcome while still enjoying the physical side of their new relationship.

I found Blue Knight to be an entertaining story with spicy and tender love scenes, a well matched hero and heroine and plenty of action and suspense to keep the reader immersed in the story.

Rating: A-

Books in the series~

Red Leopard
Black Heart
Blue Knight