Hostile Ground in Riptide Publishing

Feb 12, 2014 Vishous marked it as currently-paused

Shelves: netgalley, arc

*ARC via Netgalley*

omg omg i am so happy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i have been checking this title and one more on riptide pub., and i can't believe i can read an arc ♡ and there is preorder available for new sidewinder, and soon my ball & chain will arrive.... and this is just happy day for me .... and i am starting this tomorrow for sure ♡ ...more

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Feb 06, 2014 JustJen "Miss Conduct" rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mm, ebook, bgirls

4.5 star review by The Blogger Girls.

I love a good undercover story, one where the agent goes deep, for an undetermined amount of time, to the point that the lines where their two lives blur and they run the risk of truly becoming the person they are portraying, not unlike one of my favorite movies, Donnie Brasco.

Here, Mahir, being a single gay man (though not out to his colleagues) seems perfect for going undercover to bust the head of the illegal operations taking place in the club which only
4.5 star review by The Blogger Girls.

I love a good undercover story, one where the agent goes deep, for an undetermined amount of time, to the point that the lines where their two lives blur and they run the risk of truly becoming the person they are portraying, not unlike one of my favorite movies, Donnie Brasco.

Here, Mahir, being a single gay man (though not out to his colleagues) seems perfect for going undercover to bust the head of the illegal operations taking place in the club which only hires gay men. After the deaths of the three previous officers who attempted the same, Mahir takes on the persona of Saeed. His first obstacle, is passing the tests of the head of security, a dangerous, cold man known as Ridley. These guys play some pretty heavy head games and manipulations, but no question, the chemistry is there. Needless to say, after some edgy scenes, Saeed passes the tests and begins his employment.

As time goes on, Saeed learns there is much more to the investigation than previously assumed, and he is determined to get to the bottom of it. In the meantime, he and Ridley continue with their games. This is more than just some run-of-the-mill drug ring, as there are young boys involved as couriers that bring up many questions and eventually become the focus of the operation. The goal here is to make it long enough to take down the head of the crime ring, Lombardi, who is just an evil bastard.

To back up just a bit, Mahir has some other issues going on that pop up right in the beginning of his assignment, namely his young nephew showing up on his doorstep after being kicked out of his house for being gay. So, this puts even more stress on Mahir as he struggles with helping his nephew, trying to keep his two identities separate and keep his sanity about everything he is seeing and has invariably become involved in.

There is a lot going on in this story, and I was on the edge of my seat for most of it. The sex is super hot, almost always with the hint of danger spurring it on. The dialog and actions had me feeling as though I was undercover with Saeed. There are a few twists that change the story a bit, but it is fast-paced and edgy. All in all, a very exciting, well-written read. ...more

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Feb 08, 2014 Tina rated it really liked it

Hostile Ground is another successful collaboration between Aleksandr Voinov and L.A. Witt. This time it is set in a female strip club. The police are investigating a drug ring concealed behind the strip club front, but the undercover officers they send in keep getting found out and killed. They know there is more going on than meets the eye because they’ve gotten a look at the books and there is way too much money coming in to be income from just a strip club. Or even from a drug smuggling ring. Hostile Ground is another successful collaboration between Aleksandr Voinov and L.A. Witt. This time it is set in a female strip club. The police are investigating a drug ring concealed behind the strip club front, but the undercover officers they send in keep getting found out and killed. They know there is more going on than meets the eye because they’ve gotten a look at the books and there is way too much money coming in to be income from just a strip club. Or even from a drug smuggling ring.
Detective Mahir Hussain is the next undercover to go in. His goal is to be hired on to the club’s security crew and find enough evidence to convict the club owner, his head of security and anyone else involved before they discover who he is and kill him. David Ridley is the head of security. The owner has dictated that they only hire gay male security guards so that they won’t be trying to get with the strippers. Ridley makes sure his prospective recruits prove to his satisfaction(!) that they are gay.
Mahir and Ridley are combustible. They are drawn to each other and Ridley trusts Mahir. He begins giving Mahir more sensitive assignments within the organization. That’s when Mahir figures out part of the secret that those who have gone before him died to keep. He realizes that he has to figure out the rest before Ridley or any of the other security goons figure out that he is a cop.
To complicate matters, Mahir’s nephew Kinza shows up at his house announcing that he is gay and can’t continue to live with his parents. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise to Mahir, but it couldn’t have come at a worse time. Even though Mahir is spending most of his time at a crash pad in Seattle arranged by the department, he allows Kinza to stay at his home across the bay.
Other complications begin to arise. Not the least of which is the developing relationship between Ridley and Mahir. Mahir begins to suspect that Ridley is more than he appears to be. Putting aside the sex and mind games the two men are playing, Mahir happens to develop actual feelings for Ridley.
There are drugs, strippers, minors, an unfortunate incident of following where one shouldn’t go, gangsters, guns and a whole lot of danger that make up the rest of this story. The mystery and intrigue were great. There were a couple of surprise twists like those that always turn up when Voinov & Witt write together. The development of the relationship between Mahir and Ridley was a sweet thread woven among those of mystery, intrigue and danger. Love can be found in the most unusual places, and with these authors, it usually is
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Apr 11, 2014 Lady*M rated it liked it

Shelves: m-m-romance, detectives-law-enforcement, contemporary, suspense

The first part of the novel was super intense, super hot and really, really interesting. And than the story screeched to a halt half way through and never really recovered completely. Once Mahir/Saeed and Ridley knew (view spoiler), things went from exciting to TSTL territory too often for me to really start caring for the characters completely again. I don't know what bothered me more - their reckless behavior in Ridley's office or "that's the only thi ...more

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Feb 24, 2014 Letti rated it really liked it

Shelves: page-turner, must-read, holy-shit-i-love-this-book, favorite-author, arc

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is an unquestionably great read. It had everything I look for in a book such as sex, mystery/suspense, criminals and cops. The characters were engaging and likable. I was truly drawn to Mahir’s character because his inner voice was quirky, sarcastic, and downright hilarious. I found that I liked the majority of the characters except for Gene Lombardi, but I will concede that without him as the antagonist, this book would have gone nowhere, fast! Because of his criminal activities, my guys g This is an unquestionably great read. It had everything I look for in a book such as sex, mystery/suspense, criminals and cops. The characters were engaging and likable. I was truly drawn to Mahir’s character because his inner voice was quirky, sarcastic, and downright hilarious. I found that I liked the majority of the characters except for Gene Lombardi, but I will concede that without him as the antagonist, this book would have gone nowhere, fast! Because of his criminal activities, my guys got to meet and have incredible, rough, hot sex. Yes! It’s always about the. . . Oh, my God! My panties are drippin’ kinda sex. Therefore, here’s a big fat THANK YOU to Gene Lombardi… the good for nothing lunatic.

The setting of this story mainly takes place at a club in Seattle. I was intrigued by the way the club was run and how it all worked from the bouncers, to Gene and then the slowly unraveling truth of the couriers. I have no clue how true or believable those situations are. Either way, the collaboration of these authors drew me in to the point I was able to relate and believe the situations were undoubtedly true. What I loved most was the use of an ethnic character as well as interracial coupling. I will be so bold as to state that I hardly come across that in my novels and when I do, it’s a treasure and a treat. I don’t know why it doesn’t happen more often in books. My theory is that it comes down to fear and these two amazing authors didn’t hold back. Although I did cringe at times when I came across racist remarks that made me uncomfortable, I will acknowledge that when it appeared in the character’s dialogue it did indeed fit with the conversation/situation that was taking place at the time.

Mahir decided to take the undercover assignment in parts because he was angry that three of his brothers in blue were killed in the line of duty while covering that same assignment. He truly wanted to prove himself, feeling he was looked down upon by his brothers in law enforcement due to his ethnicity as well as his religious beliefs. During the process of his investigation family problems arose and Mahir became stressed using his sexual encounters with Ridley as his personal stress reliever.

description

Ridley was portrayed as a badass lunatic, who would pull the trigger without a moment’s hesitation. His main goal is protecting the girls, club and when his boss called for it, putting men to ground. Ridley’s job consisted of putting potential new hires to the test but more importantly, keeping undercover cops out.

Mahir didn’t move. “I’m not a cop.”
“So you say.” Ridley inclined his head, drawing them just a little closer. “The last three undercovers left this place in body bags.”

Yeah, the verdict’s out, Ridley’s dangerous!

The ending of this story left me feeling satisfied. The epilogue was sweet with a little humor. I would recommend this read to anyone who loves mystery/suspense, and toe-curling sex in their books.
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May 10, 2014 Alina rated it it was amazing

Wow just WOW! Ten fucking stars!!! <3

Absolutely loved this book! I loved Mahir and I absolutely adored Ridley! Their relationship started down and dirty, sex and mind games, something hot, forbidden and dangerous and that was awesome, but later on when we've learned about who Ridley truly is it was fascinating to watch it developed from pure physical thing into finding comfort in each other, trust and then love. I loved seing the cracks in Ridley's cold and dangerous facade till - like Mahir - u Wow just WOW! Ten fucking stars!!! <3

Absolutely loved this book! I loved Mahir and I absolutely adored Ridley! Their relationship started down and dirty, sex and mind games, something hot, forbidden and dangerous and that was awesome, but later on when we've learned about who Ridley truly is it was fascinating to watch it developed from pure physical thing into finding comfort in each other, trust and then love. I loved seing the cracks in Ridley's cold and dangerous facade till - like Mahir - under the whole undercover persona we've been able to see real Ridley.

And I agree with the other reviews - kudos to the authors for not descending into cheesy lines territory. That was great how the MCs could tell each other so much with such simple, but expressive and meaningful gestures - touches, hand squeezes or a couple of words. How they understood each other often without actually saying anything. It fitted their personalities and was refreshing to read.

That was one thing I didn't like, though - Kinza. Maybe I just have zero patience for teenagers, but he acted like an entitled kid and was just plain stupid most of the time. Mahir let him stay with him despite being torn between his undercover assignment and his feelings/affair with Ridley and Kinza demanded Mahir telling him all about his work, staying with him at home, not bringing his boyfriend home etc - what the fuck? IMO he needed to be a little more grateful for what Mahir did for him and following Mahir to the club - damn that was just plain idiocy. I know it turned out as a lucky break in the case, but still - I get why Mahir felt guilty, but Kinza needed to feel a lot more guilty for his stupidity, considering it almost cost Ridley his life.

The story was great - smoking hot, the suspense and wonderful slow-building (despite the hot start and volatile continuation) romance between the guys ♥♥♥ The penultimate chapters were heartwrenching - when Mahir thought Ridley was dead - and although I knew there will be a happy ending I still chewed at my nails and got a little teared up when Mahir first visited Ridley at hospital. But the ending and the epilogue were super satisfying - all I could wish for and more! Moving in together and working together as partners - awwww! Because I just hate it when an angsty and intense long story ends without seing the MCs thoroughly and properly happy together :) Would LOVE to see more of these guys!!!

Totally recommend this book to everyone! ...more

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Mar 09, 2014 Shirley Frances rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mm-read, read-2-review, glbt, reviewed, 2014

First and foremost, kudos to these two authors for always bringing forth intriguing and thought-provoking stories with complex characters. Haven't read a book from them that I haven't loved.

With an intriguing plot that had me tapping the hell out of my tablet, I found myself riveted to this story. I love the type of story I can sink my teeth into and this one did not disappoint. Hell, I was so into it that I ranted whenever I got interrupted (see my rant here).

Apprehension. Suspen

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May 09, 2014 G.B. Gordon added it · review of another edition

Hot damn. This was right up my alley. Lots of action and even more steam with a healthy dose of social relevance that never preaches and never takes away any of the suspense or fun.
You might have guessed it: We need more diverse books.
I’m really looking forward to the sequel.

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