Dead Draw

A Marriage of Convenience Gay Romantic Suspense (Perfect Play, Book 1)

De: Layla Reyne

Narrado por: Christian Leatherman

When a marriage of convenience is the only play left…

Special Agent Emmitt Marshall knows how to: Wear a cowboy hat. Hack anything. Win at chess. Fall in love with emotionally unavailable men. He even knows the perfect play to catch the terrorists who killed his mentor.

Special Agent Levi Bishop doesn’t know how to: Move on after his wife’s death. Help his grieving son. Pay off his mountain of debt. Fix the mess some cowboy cyber agent made of his case. The same cowboy who proposes a marriage of convenience to stop a common enemy.

Marsh is either the answer to Levi’s prayers—or a handsome nightmare in a Stetson. Levi doesn’t know. But both men do know their cases and lives are at a dead draw. There’s only one play left… I do.

Dead Draw is the first book of the Perfect Play trilogy, a swoony, edge-of-your-seat M/M romantic suspense series featuring a cocky hacker with a heart of gold, a widowed father who needs so much help, and a plan only a cowboy could cook up. Grab your hat, hold tight to the reins, and enjoy the ride!

©2022 Layla Reyne (P)2024 Layla Reyne

Great start to a new series!

Christian Leatherman does an outstanding job of brining this story to life.
Layla Reyne has knocked it out of the park with Dead Draw, the first in the Perfect Play series.
I defy anyone to not fall in love with Marsh and Levi. These two are just so irresistable.

I loved the chemistry and connection they shared. Each wary of getting to involved. Both trying to keep things just business. That is impossible when they are so perfectly suited for each other.
The action and intrigue will keep you on the edge of your seat. This story will keep you guessing as you turn page after page.

It is the perfect blend of romance, intrigue, family and so much more.
I was left counting the days until I get the next installment in this series.
I'm hooked!

Slow Burn Romance

This story had a lot of twists which kept it interesting. The romance in this book took a while to get heated so if you like slow burn books this is it. Agent Bishop and Agent Marshall had so much pain in their life it took them a while to build that true romance. I love how this turned from a marriage for a job to the real deal. The narrator was easy to follow as far as switching characters which is a must when doing multi cast voices. I could have prob used a little more emotion but wasn’t bad over all. Layla did a great job writing plots that took you for a turn every step and packed a powerful heated romance at the end. I sooo need more of Emmit and Levi now that I had just a taste of their passion. Can’t wait for Bad Bishop to get released.

"Cowboy up Agent Bishop!" - Emmitt Marshall

📖 Story comment: good pace, likeable characters, entertaining banter, interesting story.
I was intrigued with Marsh's character in Silent Knight and What We May Be and delighted to find out he was getting his own series. Dead Draw drops us straight into the action with Marsh trying to fix a mistake made on an FBI Op gone wrong by proposing a marriage of convenience (... not a fake marriage ...) to Levi, giving them a way to work together to "fix things" and solve both their cases - that's all by the end of chapter 2 and the action never stopped. 😁

Dead Draw ticks all my boxes. I'm finding as I'm getting older, I enjoy older characters and books that are more story and less se*y times with some real life struggles and a life that isn't perfect. Smart, intelligent, well written characters with great chemistry and amusing banter. The cases Marsh and Levi are working are complex and interesting and kept my attention from start to finish.

I thoroughly enjoyed Dead Draw so will forgive the "bit of a cliff-hanger" ending and look forward to the next instalment.

🎧 Narrator comment: My experiences with Christian Leatherman are limited to Silent Knight and What We May Be, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed and Dead Draw is another stellar performance. He suits the characters giving them each their own voice and personality, has good timing, inflections and intonations and brings all the life and emotion to the story for a completely immersive experience.

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📌 Where does it fall on my personal scale? solid 8 👍👍
• 1 not my thing • 2 didn't like the narration • 3 didn't keep my attention • 4 was good, but once was enough • 5 enjoyed it • 6 will listen again if i'm in the mood for the narrator [4⭐] • 7 goes on the "re-listen" list [4⭐] • 8 kept me up past bed-time [4.5⭐] • 9 recommended to family/friends [4.75⭐] • 10 own it in all formats [5⭐] • 11 keep a copy with me at all times [5⭐]
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⚠️ I received a review copy of this audiobook at my request, it has in no way influenced my review.
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Love Levi and Marsh!!!

Loved the story!  Lots of action, intrigue, complex plot and delightful romance!     Levi and Marsh are so awesome together, they are sweet, steamy and so powerful together.   

Loved the narration!!   I enjoyed how the narrator brought  Levi and Marsh to life for me!  

This is book one of the Perfect Play Series and it does end on a cliffhanger.  I am so looking forward to Bad Bishop, the second of this series.

Great Listen!

This is the first book I read from this author. It was a good story. Two opposite FBI agents Marshall who seems to be a rebel hacker and likes to sometimes do things off the book and Levi who does things by the book. Marshall offers a struggling Levi a proposal, they get married so he could help Levi and also continue his investigation and Marshall will pay him so he could payoff some debts. It was a great, enjoyable story. I listened to the audio book and the narrator did a good job telling the story and giving the characters a voice.

I could listen to Christian Leatherman any day

This is the first book I've listened to narrated by Christian Leatherman, and I have decided he is a favorite. I really enjoyed his voice, and the voicing he gave to characters.

This story is really good, drew me in. I haven't read anything else by this author, not realizing that the Marsh was a side character in other books by this author. I don't know if it would have helped to have read the other books or not. I didn't feel like I was missing anything, so it wasn't obvious if there was something I would have known.

This story does kind of end in a cliffhanger. We don't have resolution of the main suspense plot. The characters do end in a HFN.

Love Marsh and Levi 4.5⭐️

Levi and Marsh are such a swoony story along with all the edge of your seat suspense you’d expect. Dead Draw is the first book in the Perfect Play series and ends with a HFN (happy for now).

‘Ask for what you need and I’ll give it to you.’

Marsh really stole the show for me in this story. He has such a big heart and just keeps showing up even when he’s constantly underestimated. Gah! He’s seriously all the things - he’s unassuming and charming but also fiercely passionate and selfless.

The chemistry between Levi and Marsh is electric and fuels the deliciously delicate situation they’re trying to navigate. The intimate scenes, while few, are smoking hot and I’m excited for their relationship to progress in the next book.

My only complaint about this story is that the beginning feels a little like we left off in the middle of a series instead of the start of a new one. There’s a lot of action and players immediately involved and it feels like we’re missing some background that is assumed the reader should know.

Christian Leatherman did a fantastic job!

Ok.

I've waited a long time to buy/listen to this audio. I finally bought it on sale.

Overall it's a good story but it ends not so much on a dramatic cliffhanger but definitely not finished.
I had a hard time getting invested in these characters, I don't feel anything for either Marshall or Levi or the private life they are building together. I'm not sure if it's because of the story, Lack of chemistry coming through or the poor narration?

For me, this narration was not good. No warmth to the characters, which made me have a hard time connecting to them.
I bought the whole series on the sale, I hope this narrator does a better job with the rest of the series

Great FBI procedural story!!

Dead Draw, an Audiobook by Layla Reyne is the story of Levi and Marsh. When an FBI sting is foiled, there is only one chance for redemption. But, it’s a dangerous move…for many reasons….and danger is always there!!

This was a pretty good story. I’m not a huge fan of the genre, but enjoyed it nonetheless! My biggest issues was the constant use of pronouns he, his, etc. Very hard to follow when both main characters are male. The narrator helped quite a bit in this!!

This Audiobook was narrated by Christian Leatherman who did a wonderful job performing the story!!! Tough to keep two male characters as distinctive voices, but he pulled it off well!!! Good job!

I am volunteering to leave a review for an Advance Reader Copy of this Audiobook.

I Need More of Levi & Marsh

I wasn't sure how I felt about this story when I first got started but that quickly changed as I got a bit further in. I just could not put this one down. Levi and Marsh kept pulling me in more and more with each chapter. I can't wait until the next book comes out to get more of them.

I received an ARC and this is my unbiased opinion