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kerithesmutslut's review against another edition
1.0
DNF 43% but marking read because this was a long book. We are almost half way through and I feel no 0 zilch chemistry between our characters. However they both decided to sleep with half the city (literally everyone BUT each other.) this was frustrating I don’t want to read 4 sex scenes involving other people especially multiple other women. Who wants that in a MM romance?
axy's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
divapitbull's review against another edition
3.0
L.A.Witt is apparently “hit” (Bad Behavior) or “meh” (Cover Me) for me. Blood & Bitcoin kinda fell more into the “meh” category. On the surface it should have been right up my alley: the ex. Navy Seal/disgraced FBI agent and the Mob Boss of a cyber-crime syndicate. The story was decent; although it was a little slow at times; but my main issue is that the characters didn’t really grab me.
Ex Seal Chris Emmett is a bit of a lone wolf. His heart is in the right place; and I’m all for the end justifying the means and all that. It’s just that sometimes Chris hits a home run and sometimes he spectacularly fucks up. He means well. He’s just not the sharpest crayon in the box. Like for instance before getting sent in on a black op, to infiltrate the Hive, a complex crime syndicate operating on the dark web; in order to neutralize the hit on Piker, the organization’s leader – he was cooling his heels in Federal custody. It seems while Chris was tampering with evidence to bring the bad guys to justice; he somehow managed to get himself framed for killing 2 witnesses.
Chris is a simple guy. He’s straight. Sort of. He definitely identifies as straight; but he doesn’t question his attraction to Piker all that much. He does; but he’s very willing to go with it. That much I liked about him; he has a very “it is what it is” attitude of acceptance. But for the most part, I didn’t feel his character was all that developed. I just couldn’t get excited about him.
Then there’s Piker, secret mob boss of The Hive (also with a good heart that’s in the right place) AND A.K.A. Trent Worley, the public face of WST – his father’s multibillion-dollar cyber security empire. Sort of. Piker/Trent is a fairly sharp crayon. I’m a big fan of the 2 Alpha males’ trope and Piker certainly was a force to reckoned with. He trained in Krav Maga, as well as with The Hive’s paramilitary unit – and he could certainly hold his own with Chris. It’s just that the bisexual Piker/Trent had some subtle yet decidedly feminine attributes. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It just doesn't ring my personal bell. For example, he’s short-ish; so he wears heels. Boots. But still heels. Other than that, I found his character to be a bit more developed; but still – when all was said and done, I didn’t really feel like I knew these guys.
The romance was very understated. No declarations of love or affection; but it was clear their interest in each other went beyond sexual, was turning unspokenly monogamous and ended on a (for me) satisfying HEA. Some folks might need more and consider it a HFN. Generally, this is what I prefer. I don’t like mush and copious terms of endearment and ridiculously over the top romance. However even I could have done with a bit more emotional depth coming from both Chris and Piker. Overall a solid 3 stars; decent read; nothing truly objectionable; but it didn’t light my fire either.
Ex Seal Chris Emmett is a bit of a lone wolf. His heart is in the right place; and I’m all for the end justifying the means and all that. It’s just that sometimes Chris hits a home run and sometimes he spectacularly fucks up. He means well. He’s just not the sharpest crayon in the box. Like for instance before getting sent in on a black op, to infiltrate the Hive, a complex crime syndicate operating on the dark web; in order to neutralize the hit on Piker, the organization’s leader – he was cooling his heels in Federal custody. It seems while Chris was tampering with evidence to bring the bad guys to justice; he somehow managed to get himself framed for killing 2 witnesses.
Chris is a simple guy. He’s straight. Sort of. He definitely identifies as straight; but he doesn’t question his attraction to Piker all that much. He does; but he’s very willing to go with it. That much I liked about him; he has a very “it is what it is” attitude of acceptance. But for the most part, I didn’t feel his character was all that developed. I just couldn’t get excited about him.
Then there’s Piker, secret mob boss of The Hive (also with a good heart that’s in the right place) AND A.K.A. Trent Worley, the public face of WST – his father’s multibillion-dollar cyber security empire. Sort of. Piker/Trent is a fairly sharp crayon. I’m a big fan of the 2 Alpha males’ trope and Piker certainly was a force to reckoned with. He trained in Krav Maga, as well as with The Hive’s paramilitary unit – and he could certainly hold his own with Chris. It’s just that the bisexual Piker/Trent had some subtle yet decidedly feminine attributes. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It just doesn't ring my personal bell. For example, he’s short-ish; so he wears heels. Boots. But still heels. Other than that, I found his character to be a bit more developed; but still – when all was said and done, I didn’t really feel like I knew these guys.
The romance was very understated. No declarations of love or affection; but it was clear their interest in each other went beyond sexual, was turning unspokenly monogamous and ended on a (for me) satisfying HEA. Some folks might need more and consider it a HFN. Generally, this is what I prefer. I don’t like mush and copious terms of endearment and ridiculously over the top romance. However even I could have done with a bit more emotional depth coming from both Chris and Piker. Overall a solid 3 stars; decent read; nothing truly objectionable; but it didn’t light my fire either.
friends2lovers's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
1.5
Yawn. So boring. The romance development was nonexistent until more than half-way through the book and even then the main characters have zero chemistry. Ignore the parts of the blurb that promise "high heat" and a "dark romance" — Blood and Bitcoin has neither. It's a medium-heat slow burn, and I'm honestly not sure what about this is supposed to be dark?
This is the second book I've read from L.A. Witt. The first, The Husband Gambit, was similarly slow and bland. But, so many of her audiobooks are narrated by Michael Ferriauolo who is my favorite, so I still want to keep giving her a shot in the hopes I'll eventually like something she's written. The only reason this wasn't a DNF is because I just like listening to Ferriauolo's voice.
TAGS: M/M, suspense/thriller, romance, criminal MC, law enforcement MC (former military and FBI), bodyguard, gay for you, medium-heat (2.8/5), slow burn, 3rd-person dual POV, novel (104k words), Hoopla, audiobook
This is the second book I've read from L.A. Witt. The first, The Husband Gambit, was similarly slow and bland. But, so many of her audiobooks are narrated by Michael Ferriauolo who is my favorite, so I still want to keep giving her a shot in the hopes I'll eventually like something she's written. The only reason this wasn't a DNF is because I just like listening to Ferriauolo's voice.
TAGS: M/M, suspense/thriller, romance, criminal MC, law enforcement MC (former military and FBI), bodyguard, gay for you, medium-heat (2.8/5), slow burn, 3rd-person dual POV, novel (104k words), Hoopla, audiobook
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Violence, Gun violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Trafficking
arm167's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
5.0
highly doubtful that the FBI is this involved in the bitcoin exchange rate BUT as a premise for a book? sure I'll take it
lunariver's review
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
rebecca_3's review
4.0
1. Wrong Way Home ★★★★
2. Devil Next Door ★
3. Only The Devil Knows ★★★★
4. Blood & Bitcoin ★★★1/2
I would give this a 3.5/5 rounded up. Its a corporate espionage, action, and intrigue type of story. Not very dark but still really good, and I feel like I needed a break from the dark after the previous two. Piker is technically a criminal, but a criminal with a heart of gold. This is the type of story that I have often read before, about spies and thieves and special agents. But I could have used a bit more focus on the romance and less on the mystery. There is some action shooting but not even close to the level of violence the other books had.
So, on my made up Dark Romance scale this is how dark I would rate the Criminal Delights books so far:
1. [b:Wrong Way Home|42622237|Wrong Way Home - Criminal Delights Taken|K.A. Merikan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1541283253s/42622237.jpg|66343566] 4/10
2. [b:Devil Next Door|44383345|Devil Next Door Criminal Delights - Obsession|Alex Jane|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1552334489s/44383345.jpg|66356106] 10/10
3. [b:Only The Devil Knows|44587152|Only The Devil Knows - Criminal Delights Serial Killers|Katze Snow|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1553485309s/44587152.jpg|65678685] 10/10
4. [b:Blood & Bitcoin|42633090|Blood & Bitcoin Organized Crime|L.A. Witt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1541410974s/42633090.jpg|66366168] 2/10
2. Devil Next Door ★
3. Only The Devil Knows ★★★★
4. Blood & Bitcoin ★★★1/2
I would give this a 3.5/5 rounded up. Its a corporate espionage, action, and intrigue type of story. Not very dark but still really good, and I feel like I needed a break from the dark after the previous two. Piker is technically a criminal, but a criminal with a heart of gold. This is the type of story that I have often read before, about spies and thieves and special agents. But I could have used a bit more focus on the romance and less on the mystery. There is some action shooting but not even close to the level of violence the other books had.
So, on my made up Dark Romance scale this is how dark I would rate the Criminal Delights books so far:
1. [b:Wrong Way Home|42622237|Wrong Way Home - Criminal Delights Taken|K.A. Merikan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1541283253s/42622237.jpg|66343566] 4/10
2. [b:Devil Next Door|44383345|Devil Next Door Criminal Delights - Obsession|Alex Jane|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1552334489s/44383345.jpg|66356106] 10/10
3. [b:Only The Devil Knows|44587152|Only The Devil Knows - Criminal Delights Serial Killers|Katze Snow|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1553485309s/44587152.jpg|65678685] 10/10
4. [b:Blood & Bitcoin|42633090|Blood & Bitcoin Organized Crime|L.A. Witt|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1541410974s/42633090.jpg|66366168] 2/10
kaity_b's review
3.0
2.5-3 stars
There was a couple times I was going to DNF the book, I was listening to on audio and Michael Ferraiuolo is one of my favorite narrators soo I kept listening. I also wanted to see how the mystery of who wanted to kill Piker, and while I couldn’t say I was shocked I didn’t expect that outcome...
The romance was also.... weird, Piker is bi (?) he had a relationship with his assistant who was a woman but Chris thought Piker was gay. But with that said I couldn’t feel any chemistry between Piker and Chris or Piker and Natalie... soo it was missing the main ingredient making this a romantic suspense haha
Overall it was entertaining but lacking a lot of the key ingredients to make this a great read..
There was a couple times I was going to DNF the book, I was listening to on audio and Michael Ferraiuolo is one of my favorite narrators soo I kept listening. I also wanted to see how the mystery of who wanted to kill Piker, and while I couldn’t say I was shocked I didn’t expect that outcome...
The romance was also.... weird, Piker is bi (?) he had a relationship with his assistant who was a woman but Chris thought Piker was gay. But with that said I couldn’t feel any chemistry between Piker and Chris or Piker and Natalie... soo it was missing the main ingredient making this a romantic suspense haha
Overall it was entertaining but lacking a lot of the key ingredients to make this a great read..
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