Defiant Loyalties

Title: Defiant Loyalties
Author: Elizabeth Wilde
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: November 22, 2015
Genre(s): Suspense/Romance
Page Count: 198
Reviewed by: Natalie
Heat Level: 3.5 flames out of 5
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Blurb:

All Jack Preston has ever wanted is freedom: from his father’s oppressive political reign, from his mother’s dying memory, from his own guilt in the part he’s played to get George Preston to the top. When an assassination attempt is made on his father’s life, Jack is thrown into a dangerous game of lies and espionage, and as his whole world destabilizes, he finds himself turning to the most unlikely person for help.

Alex—the assassin who started it all; the man whose face haunts Jack’s dreams—becomes his only ally. As they come together to fight a bigger enemy, Jack’s attraction becomes a risk too large to take and too powerful not to. Will falling in love with a dangerous killer play right into his enemy’s hands? Or will Alex risk everything to protect the son of the man he was sent to murder? Loyalties will be tested and sacrifices made, but Jack will learn that some things are truly worth fighting for.

Defiant Loyalties contains adult content suitable for mature readers only.

I was geeked to read this book when I saw it advertised on other blogs. New publisher, new to me author, I’m all for it. The tale itself had a lot of potential. We meet Jack Preston, an artist who is at odds with his powerful dad who happens to be a politician. In the eyes of his father, Jack is basically a screw-up. No real job, no way to sustain a living, and Jack happens to be gay. None of this fits into the realm of appropriateness for Jack’s dad. Late one evening, Jack stumbles upon his father passed out drunk and just as he’s about to wake him, he crosses paths with an assassin hired to take his dad out.

Following me so far? The build up was GREAT You know what completely ruined this book for me? The point of view in which it was told. Third person, present tense. I have never come across a book written in this manner, and it absolutely ruined the experience for me. If Defiant Loyalties was written in first person, I think it would’ve gone over better for me as a reader. Jack, of course, falls hard for the assassin. Well, the hard planes of the assassin’s body. Fighting with a man trying to kill your father brings out the lust hardcore. Rawr!

The chemistry between Alex (the assassin) and Jack was lukewarm, but the sex scenes were well-written. Okay, they were hot and the highlight for me although, I didn’t feel enough of a build up for Jack and Alex’s connection to be palpable. The pacing of the book was quick and easy to follow, but again, it was a struggle for me to get through due to the POV. The ending was okay although I anticipated Jack and his father having a more explosive conclusion. Not a bad read, not a great read, for me this was okay.

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