Upper Hand

4.25stars-dark and raw

4.25stars-- UPPER HAND is the second instalment in Amelia Wilde’s contemporary, adult, dark, erotic , romance series focusing on businessman Gabriel Hill, and twenty year old bakery owner Elise Bettencourt. UPPER HAND and POWER PLAY are a spin off from , and set in the author’s WEALTH Trilogy. UPPER HAND should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up immediately after the cliff hanger and events of book one POWER PLAY. For backstory and history, I recommend reading the WEALTH trilogy. Gabriel Hill is the older brother of Mason Hill (Wealth).

WARNING: Due to the nature of the story line premise there may be triggers for more sensitive readers.

SOME BACKGROUND: Approximately fourteen years earlier Gabriel, along with his siblings Mason, Jameson and Remy lost everything the night their parents were murdered in a house fire, and Gabriel is determined to seek revenge against the people he believes responsible for their deaths. A group of elite and questionable businessman, known as the Consortium, a group in which his father was a member, is Gabriel’s target but Gabriel needs an ‘in’ and using Elise Bettencourt, the daughter of the man in charge, is his first step in destroying them all.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Gabriel and Elise) UPPER HAND picks up immediately after the events of book one POWER PLAY in which Gabriel has successfully seduced and broken our story line heroine but Gabriel’s determination to become a member of the Consortium is but the first step on his path towards revenge. Gabriel Hill is determined to destroy the members of the Consortium starting with Elise’s father but our couple had no idea as to the extent and depravity the Consortium was willing to gain the upper hand. Wanting to protect his family and the woman he loved, Gabriel pushed everyone out of his life, a life that would need everyone in return. What ensues is the rebuilding relationship between Gabriel and Elise, and the fall-out as the Consortium makes good on a promise to take control.

The relationship between Gabriel and Elise is a second chance, of a sorts; a rebuilding relationship in which our couple become fodder for Elise’s father, and the members of the Consortium but Gabriel and Elise are not the only new pledges demanding entry, someone from Gabriel’s past has been caught up in the mayhem, and the fall-out of power. A forced $ex scene may be a trigger-you have been warned.

We are re-introduced to Elise’s sisters Catherine and Lydia, and their parents; Gabriel’s siblings Mason and his wife Charlotte (WEALTH), Jameson, and Remy; Jacob Chambers, as well as several members of The Consortium, and a young street boy named Nate.

UPPER HAND is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, dysfunctional family relationships, heart break, passion, desperation and love. The premise is dark and raw; the romance struggles in the face of rejection and outside interference; the characters are broken and desperate. UPPER HAND ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.