Ruby Ransom (Jewels of Desire Book 2) / Erica Lucke Dean with Elise Delacroix

Reviewed by: ?wazithinkin

Genre: Erotic Romance/ Suspense

Approximate word count: 25-30,000 words

Availability    

Kindle  US: YES  UK: YES  Nook: YES  Smashwords: YES  Paper: NO

Click on a YES above to go to appropriate page in Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords store

Author:

Erica Lucke Dean:

“After walking away from her career as a business banker to pursue writing full-time, Erica moved from the hustle and bustle of the big city to a small tourist town in the North Georgia Mountains where she lives in a 90-year-old haunted farmhouse with her workaholic husband, her 180lb lap dog, and at least one ghost.”

To learn more about her, visit her website or stalk her on her Facebook page.

Elise Delacroix:

“Elise Delacroix married her high school sweetheart and moved to a remote hideaway far enough from civilization that she was forced to create her own entertainment. When playing charades got old, she came up with a plan to write erotic romance in order to keep life exciting. She may spend most of her days lounging in a pair of red flannel pajamas, but her characters wouldn’t be caught dead in anything less than satin and lace.

While Elise also writes in other genres using a pen name, it’s her collaborations with Erica Lucke Dean where she lets her naughty side come out to play. And oh, what a naughty side she has.”

Description:

“Red Callaghan climbs into bed after a wild night of clubbing… and wakes up with a gun to her head. Fortunately, she knows more about weapons than her would-be kidnapper, and she manages to disarm him then turn the tables by seducing him.

When shy chemist Will gets roped into settling his father’s gambling debt, he thinks the ruby he’s tasked to steal is a precious stone. He soon finds out it’s actually the daughter of a rival crime lord.

After striking a compromise, Red and Will collide in one explosive sexual encounter after another while executing their plan to teach both sides a lesson.”

Appraisal:

In book two of Jewels of Desire, Ruby Callaghan was as much fun as I was hoping she would be. She was gutsy, gorgeous, and genuine. She is also an MBA student at Harvard who was out at a local club for an evening of cutting loose after year-end finals, although Keegan, her bodyguard, was not willing to cut her much slack. Ruby has always had a thing for Keegan, however since he had known her since grade school he is not willing to see her as anything other than a younger sister. As a result all of Ruby’s advances are shot down and she revels in tormenting Keegan by constantly flirting with him. Ms. Dean has a way with dialogue, which reveal her character’s souls, and that sets her books apart from others for me.

When Ruby is awakened with a gun to her head, she quickly turns the table on poor Will who thinks he is there to steal a ruby gemstone, not kidnap a girl named Ruby. As she ties him to a chair with Ziplocs (Because everyone keeps Ziplocs in their bedroom since reading Fifty Shades of Grey, right?) he explains he was just trying to erase a bad debt of his father’s to help his mother out of a bad situation with the local crime boss, Big Al. So, Ruby concocts a plan…

Sparks fly as these two try to keep ahead of Ruby’s bodyguards and run around the city looking for a safe haven to carry out Ruby’s plan. Ms. Dean’s secondary characters are always well developed, although there aren’t too many in this story, you do get a good sense of who they are. I loved learning more about Ruby, she was introduced briefly in Diamond Duplicity. She is a strong, outspoken character who doesn’t take criticism from anyone. However, she has a soft core that she protects vehemently. And Will, oh my… what a swoon worthy science geek!  Yeah, he was hot! I loved the way he was able to get under and around the defenses Ruby had built to protect her heart. To say these two had chemistry is an understatement.

The ending was tense as Ruby tries to protect Will from Big Al and his crew as well as her bodyguards. I also loved the small part Max had in the end. I can’t wait to get up-close and personal with more of Ms. Dean’s characters in this series. As it continues, something is still amiss in the Callaghan organization.

FYI:

Adult language and strong sexual situations. While this could be read as a standalone this is the second book in the Jewels of Desire series and I would advise reading Diamond Duplicity first to know the whole story.

Format/Typo Issues:

I found no issues with editing or formatting.

Rating: ***** Five stars