Lethal Nights

3.75 stars--LETHAL NIGHTS is the third instalment in Lora Leigh’s contemporary, adult BRUTE FORCE erotic, romantic suspense series focusing on the men and women who work for the security agency Brute Force. This is Russian/Romanian enforcer, Dragon heir/son Ilya Dragonovich, and PA Emma Jane Preston’s story line. LETHAL NIGHTS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line content, there may be some scenes no suitable for more sensitive readers.

Told from several third person perspectives including Ilya and Emma Jane, LETHAL NIGHTS focuses on Ilya Dragonovich’s desperate need to keep Emma Jane Preston safe. One year earlier, the Brute Force organization and Ilya Dragonovich made EJ Preston an offer she couldn’t refuse, an offer that saved her home in the wake of her impending divorce from husband Matt Lauren. Fast forward to present day wherein Emma Jane Preston has been targeted by an unknown assailant who is determined to destroy Ilya but killing the woman he loves. What ensues is the building relationship and romance between Ilya and Emma, and the potential fall-out as Ilya’s past comes to America in an effort to reclaim what was, and what will never be.

Ilya Dragonovich’s childhood was the stuff of nightmares. As the Dragon heir and son to the Dragonovich ‘family’, Ilya found himself between worlds, world that were about to combust and collide. EJ Preston only wanted to live her life in peace but never stopped thinking about the man she met one year earlier. Several attempts on her life would bring Emma Jane’s past into focus, but it was Ilya’s past that would take aim at life and love.

The relationship between Ilya and Emma Jane is one of immediate attraction but their initial introduction found Ilya walking away from the woman with whom he would fall in love. In the middle of a divorce, Emma did not want to further complicate her life, and Ilya was a complication she could no longer avoid. The $ex scenes are erotic, intense and passionate.

We are re-introduced to former crime boss, and Ilya’s ‘brother’ Ivan Resnova; Brute Force agent John Sawyer; as well as Ivan’s Dragon team: Max, Elizaveta, Grisha and Tobias; and Emma Jane’s brother Ronan Preston, their father Calvin Preston; and Emma Jane’s former husband Matt Lauren. The requisite evil has many faces.

LETHAL NIGHTS is a gritty story of family and betrayal; power and control; arrogance, force and feisty determination. The premise is raw and dramatic; the romance is provocative; the characters are energetic, colorful and strong but Emma Jane is a little TSTL (too stupid to live)in that she places herself in the direct line of fire.

In order for Emma Jane to keep her family home after her divorce, she agrees to become a safe house for Brute Force. But she didn’t realize that she would meet her destiny in Ilya, the Russian Dragon.

Wow ... this book is full of steam! It’s also full of mystery with lots of twists and turns. I liked that Emma Jane wasn’t afraid of Ilya and would tell him off at the blink of an eye. I was just a little confused with some of the characters towards the end ... it’s probably because I didn’t read the first two books, but I was able to follow the story.

I received an early copy courtesy of St Martin’s Press through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review.

Wow, this book was so good I couldn’t put it down, I’m sad that it’s over. What a great web of intrigue author Lora Leigh has weaved in this newest instalment of the Brute Force series. There were so many emotions running through me while reading this book, fear for Emma Jane’s life, sadness for Ilya, anger that Ilya’s past was still haunting him & terrorizing Emma Jane, happiness when they finally succumbed to the cravings for each other & finally satisfaction when the threat to Emma Jane is finally over. The storyline was as intense as the chemistry between Ilya & Emma Jane. I was totally surprised with the way the trouble ended, definitely not how I thought it would have happened. Now I can’t wait to see who the next book will be about. Definitely recommend. I received this book from the publisher through Net Galley for an honest review.