Bottles & Blades

3.75stars-dramatic and edgy

3.75stars-BOTTLES AND BLADES is the first full length instalment in Elise Faber’s contemporary, adult EAGLES HOCKEY; OAK RIDGE VINEYARD erotic,romance series. This is Oakland Eagles team owner and Oak Ridge Vineyards owner Jean-Michel Dubois, and nanny Tiffany ‘Tiff’ Hernandez’ story line. BOTTLES AND BLADES can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story line is revealed where necessary.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Jean-Michel and Tiff) BOTTLES AND BLADES follows the building romance and relationship between billionaire businessman and single father Jean-Michel Dubois, and twenty-seven year old nanny Tiff Henderson. A trip to the grocery finds Jean-Michel without his wallet or phone, only to be ‘rescued’ by our story line heroine, a young woman who is barely able to afford herself. Determined to repay Tiff’s act of kindness, Jean-Michel becomes our heroine’s guardian and protector in the face of personal struggles and private battles but Jean-Michel’s past refuses to let go, and Tiff will find herself the target of someone else’s jealousy and greed.

The world building focuses on the dysfunctional family dynamics of both the Dubois and Hernandez families. Tiff battles between head and heart as her own past is constantly used against her; and Jean-Michel’s ex is determined to destroy his life.

The relationship between Tiff and Jean-Michel is one of immediate attraction but Jean-Michel believes he is too old for our story line heroine, a young woman who has struggled most of her life but Jean-Michel is desperate to protect the woman with whom he is falling in love, a woman who strives for independence in the face of horrific adversities. The $ex scenes are intimate and impassioned without the use of over the top, sexually graphic language and text.

The secondary and supporting characters are energetic and dynamic including the return of Jean-Michel’s daughter Chrissy, his ex wife Angela, as well as business associates Marie, and Jace Henderson; Tiff’s parents Diego and Roberta Hernandez; and her boss Stefan Barie and Brittany Plantain.

BOTTLES AND BLADES is a story of betrayal and vengeance, jealousy and greed, family and friendships, relationships and love. The premise is dramatic and edgy; the romance is seductive; the characters are determined and charismatic.

I do have an issue with a number of redundancies in the story line especially as it pertains to ‘nicknames’ and ‘pet names’. Honey was used 34 times: Buttercup was used 104 times, and Baby 90 times- I was starting to believe Jean-Michel forgot our heroine’s name.