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A Masters and Mercenaries Novella

By: Lexi Blake

Narrated by: Ryan West

From New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Lexi Blake comes a new story in her Masters and Mercenaries series…

A second chance at first love

Years before, Wade Rycroft fell in love with Geneva Harris, the smartest girl in his class. The rodeo star and the shy academic made for an odd pair but their chemistry was undeniable. They made plans to get married after high school but when Genny left him standing in the rain, he joined the Army and vowed to leave that life behind. Genny married the town’s golden boy, and Wade knew that he couldn’t go home again.

Could become the promise of a lifetime

Fifteen years later, Wade returns to his Texas hometown for his brother’s wedding and walks into a storm of scandal. Genny’s marriage has dissolved and the town has turned against her. But when someone tries to kill his old love, Wade can’t refuse to help her. In his years after the Army, he’s found his place in the world. His job at McKay-Taggart keeps him happy and busy but something is missing. When he takes the job watching over Genny, he realizes what it is.

As danger presses in, Wade must decide if he can forgive past sins or let the woman of his dreams walk into a nightmare....

©2018 DLZ Entertainment, LLC (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

Wow Ryan West is Great

Ryan West reading Lexi Blake .... A reading made in Heaven !! Highly recommend he really brings the words to life.

This story is the most fun of the novellas

This was probably my favorite of the 1001 Dark nights novellas from Lexi Blake. It was a lot of action and a whole ton of snarky Ian Taggert. I really felt like this story dealt with the subject of abuse in a respectful manner. This one made me laugh and cry at the same time. Superb tale.

loved it

this book was awesome! I really enjoy this author and look forward to reading more.

Another success in the Masters Series!

I have loved all of the books in this series, but this novella was particularly interesting. Fast moving. And I love Ryan West. He has an amazing voice.

Thoroughly enjoyable

A latecomer to this series, I’ve slowly been catching up. Between the main Masters and Mercenaries books plus all the related series, there are a LOT of books—and a lot of characters available to play supporting roles. I admit I have trouble remembering everyone’s backstory, but the good news is you can easily enjoy this as standalone if you’re a newcomer, while existing fans (with good memories, lol) will enjoy the chance to catch up with familiar characters.

Second chance stories aren’t usually my favorite trope, but as one of my auto 1-click authors, I trusted this author could pull it off, and she came through in a big way. I particularly liked the way these characters grew throughout story, as they each needed to come to terms with everything that happened in the past, as well as what was needed for them to move forward.

I did enjoy all the secondary characters (even if I sometimes had trouble placing them), especially Ian Taggert himself, who is always a favorite ah who had a relatively large role here. The story moved along at good pace, and while I suspected the general shape of the final confrontation, I still found some of the details surprising.

The narrator did a great job; he’s done other books in the series and I consistently find him easy to listen to, to the point I can get lost in the story and never actually have to think about the narration at all. So exactly what I what from a narrator, lol.

All in all another thoroughly enjoyable story with the great characters and mixture of heat, humor and suspense I’ve come to expect from this series. 5+ stars

Part of the series but some new characters from last audio book

Really enjoy this series but there apparently there have been a number of developments with the larger storyline and characters since the last audio book so unless more audios are made of the other books there is a lot of reading to fill in the gaps. This plot involves an abusive ex- husband and makes a good point of highlighting the various types of controlling relationships especially in the world of Ds. The story drags a bit in the middle by does a good job with the character development. I just wish there were not so many books in the series without audios. Had I known I would have held off listening to this one until I read the books in between. The narration is good but would be better as a duo or duet due to the number of characters but the cast of characters makes it interesting with the exception of the confusing references at the end to a “Munich betrayal” with the “lost boys”. Sounds ominous but confusing. Also not sure where the series is headed with crossing with other series. There are already lots to fill in with this one and the spinoffs by Lexi Blake and overlapping characters from Corinne Michaels without adding a number of other authors and series to the mix.

Loved this story of reunion

This is a great story of a couple who were split up for 15 years by an evil man. Young Geneva gives up her future to protect her beloved's family and save their ranch. Her dear Wade goes off to the army thinking she betrayed him. He learns the truth 15 years later when Geneva is destitute and alone with a 13 year old son.
The most important part of this story to me is the way Wade's friends rally around and support Geneva on her path to healing after such traumatizing events during Wade's absence. Also Wade's own growth and steps he takes to understand her trauma and how he can best help her and her son reclaim their rights and freedoms, while they learn how to trust again.
Awesome narration by Ryan West, wonderfully done.

Pretty standard M&M plot, only shorter!

I’ve listened to several of the M&M novellas, in a row, and they’re getting a little trite. It could be due to the fact that I rarely find any novella long enough to seem complete. Or it could be that the storylines have been too similar. Old girlfriend is in danger, old boyfriend protects her and their relationship is rekindled. There are a few variations but, that’s the basic premise. Honestly, if the novellas hadn’t been offered as part of the Romance package, I would not have bothered to listen to them. I like this series and I will get the next full length novel, that is released.
-V from Kansas