Reviews

Arranged: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella by Lexi Blake

the_sassy_bookworm's review against another edition

4.0

This is the standard 1001 Nights cover. I like it. Good representation of the hero/heroine. Good composition. Great use of graphics and typography.

So I pretty much went into this one expecting not to like it very much. If I had known before I requested the ARC that the heroine was going to be a

Spoiler

Domme

, I wouldn't have bothered with it. On top of that, I am not a big fan of an author taking an uber manwhore secondary character and trying to make him into a hero. And that is basically ALL Kash has been throughout the series. He is best known for being the "walking venereal disease" and not much else.

So you can imagine how delighted I am to say that I actually DID enjoy this one (for the most part). Oh, I STILL think Kash would have been best left as a side character, and there were WAY too many mentions of his manwhore past. Including an opening scene where he awakes in bed having spent the night with three women (gag). But Miz Blake sucked me into the story, and I found myself turning the pages and enjoying the journey these two were embarking on.



I enjoyed Day immensely. I found the type of

Spoiler

Domme

she was pleasing. She wasn't cold or harsh. I think that is why that aspect worked for me when in other books I find it a turnoff. She was also a strong and intelligent heroine. Although I did question why someone with her intelligence would EVER want to tie herself to a walking venereal disease...but whatevs.

As is the case with nearly every book Miz Blake writes I enjoyed seeing some of the other couples from the M&M universe. After so many books in this series, a lot of these characters feel like family. The mystery part was OK. I figured out who the baddie was from the minute the person was introduced, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment at all. There were also some parts that made me cry, and the sex scenes were hot. So, all in all, I went in not expecting much and came out pleasantly surprised. Two thumbs up from yours truly.

bookishlyruby's review against another edition

4.0

Review originally posted at Ruby's Books

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC of this book from InkSlinger PR in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my rating or the content of my review in any way.

It's not a secret that I love this series, and I was super excited to find out that the playboy king would get his story told.

The thing that I loved most about this book was how it touched on the delicate subject of male submissives from a cultural point of view. It's true that society believes that men should be the dominant ones, while women should be 100% submissive, at least from a sexual perspective. Seeing Kash try to reconcile his status as king and a sexual sub was really interesting. I also loved how Ian, the ultimate Dom, gave Kash a really great speech about that. Blake really knows how to deliver some really powerful words, and she managed to do just that in this book.

Day was a wonderful heroine and I would have loved to have more scenes with her outside of her relationship with Kash. I would have wanted to see her battle her way through politics and changing the lives of so many women and girls with her ideas.

Kash was an interesting character. It's really great to see he's not just the playboy I thought him to be, he was pushed by circumstances out of his control into that life, as a way to hide from his problems. I don't agree with how he did that, but I get it. I would have wanted to see a more complex scene following a certain really dramatic scene between these two, because I feel like the way it was dealt with wasn't as dramatic as what happened between them, but in the end it all works out.

I totally didn't anticipate who the bad guy of this story was. I had my eye on another character, and I'm very happy that in the end it turned out to be someone else.

All in all a great addition to the world of Masters and Mercenaries, and, as usual, I cannot wait for more!

fortheloveoffictionalworlds's review against another edition

4.0

Kash Kamdar, the King of Lao Mali; was introduced in what is probably my favorite of the Masters & Mercenaries Series – Love and Let Die; and though he was a wonderfully quirky character who was always on the background, I honestly did not expect him to have his book or even such hidden depth.

I did not go into the book, expecting much; but then again, it’s a Lexi Blake book; so I knew that I shouldn’t be worried and that I would find my way and in the process, definitely enjoy what she dishes out.

Day and Kash were friends, friends who really wanted to be more for each other, and just when they were finally getting their chance, Kash’s world comes crashing down and they lose their way.


Before this book, Kash is seen as some glorified playboy with not much brains; but that honestly couldn’t be further away from the truth – and really I am actually guilty of thinking the same. This book blew all my assumptions into smithereens – Kash was a complex characters with hidden layers that even I was left astounded.


But the one who stole the show was Day; the brilliant intelligent independent woman who took no prisoners and never let anyone walk all over her – and trust me, being an Indian, I know how easy it is to bow down to the societal pressure that infinitely present everywhere around you. And the fact that I could identify with that strength gave me all the more reasons to enjoy this unexpected pairing.

There are so many hidden depths to secondary characters; the ones we never give a second thought to – and it is the skill of the author to bring out such characters to the fore-front, and no one does it better than Lexi Blake.

And if you still haven’t started off with the Masters and Mercenaries Series; don’t worry I have got you covered – all the books, including this one are standalones, but even then you can get to understand this world of Lexi Blake right here!



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