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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
The Artists Trilogy is one of the best series I have read, it's twisted, dark, edgy and action packed. It’s riveting! I'm not sure what took me so long to read the final book, Bold Tricks, maybe I was hoping to make it last longer. Bold Tricks is equally as good as the others in the series and dare I say, quite possibly even better than the rest.
Karina Halle definitely knows how to keep me engaged and totally captivated and her writing is stellar as I knew it would be. The sizzle factor is turned up a notch which was a pleasant surprise and the action kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. So many twists and turns.
“My real nature, my real self, wanted that person to believe in me, to see the good, ignore the bad, and make me feel like I had a future.”
In this third and final installment of the Artists Trilogy it picks up right where it left off. Ellie is involved with two men who are crazy about her. Well, let me clarify…one is absolutely in love with her and the other, the one from crazyeeeeeeeeee town just thinks of her as a possession. In my opinion, there was never a love triangle because Ellie was just a lost girl who never truly admitted to herself that she was knee-deep in love with Camden, until now.
"Tell me, angel, what is it about that boy that makes you forget who you really are? Is it the tattoos, because you know I have those. Or is it those horrible glasses of his? You know, I can look like a fucking idiot if I really wanted to."
Ellie truly evolves in Bold Tricks. She’s certain of herself, knows what she wants and will do whatever it takes to right her wrongs. She manages to regain trust and when she does I wanted to jump from the couch and sing! Maybe just a happy dance instead.
“I don't want to love you, Ellie, but I do love you. I can't stop myself. I've been try to since the moment I saw you with him. You broke me, you broke my fucking heart. You broke me into so many pieces that I didn't think I could find myself again. And I'm so damn scared, I'm scared just like you.”
Can we talk about the car chases for a moment? Those were EPIC action scenes that I have ever come across because they felt so real!! Honestly, all the action scenes were heart stopping moments.
There’s not much more that I can say that hasn’t been said before AND I also don’t want to give too much away because I hate spoilers or anything that could allude to a potential spoiler. If you want a heroine that’s feisty, vulnerable and full of hutzpah…start one-clicking! ;)
Karina Halle definitely knows how to keep me engaged and totally captivated and her writing is stellar as I knew it would be. The sizzle factor is turned up a notch which was a pleasant surprise and the action kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. So many twists and turns.
“My real nature, my real self, wanted that person to believe in me, to see the good, ignore the bad, and make me feel like I had a future.”
In this third and final installment of the Artists Trilogy it picks up right where it left off. Ellie is involved with two men who are crazy about her. Well, let me clarify…one is absolutely in love with her and the other, the one from crazyeeeeeeeeee town just thinks of her as a possession. In my opinion, there was never a love triangle because Ellie was just a lost girl who never truly admitted to herself that she was knee-deep in love with Camden, until now.
"Tell me, angel, what is it about that boy that makes you forget who you really are? Is it the tattoos, because you know I have those. Or is it those horrible glasses of his? You know, I can look like a fucking idiot if I really wanted to."
Ellie truly evolves in Bold Tricks. She’s certain of herself, knows what she wants and will do whatever it takes to right her wrongs. She manages to regain trust and when she does I wanted to jump from the couch and sing! Maybe just a happy dance instead.
“I don't want to love you, Ellie, but I do love you. I can't stop myself. I've been try to since the moment I saw you with him. You broke me, you broke my fucking heart. You broke me into so many pieces that I didn't think I could find myself again. And I'm so damn scared, I'm scared just like you.”
Can we talk about the car chases for a moment? Those were EPIC action scenes that I have ever come across because they felt so real!! Honestly, all the action scenes were heart stopping moments.
There’s not much more that I can say that hasn’t been said before AND I also don’t want to give too much away because I hate spoilers or anything that could allude to a potential spoiler. If you want a heroine that’s feisty, vulnerable and full of hutzpah…start one-clicking! ;)
Would it be selfish of me to say that I want MORE Camden, Ellie, and Javier??? Because I DO!!!
Everything is on the line for Ellie Watt. How far will she go for what she wants?
Pretty far. I still feel like this book fell short of the very first one. Javier is still a mega, abusive creep and Camden is still off his rocker. On the plus side, Camden is off his rocker for Ellie who's stills feisty and puts up with nobody's BS.
The story came to a head in this final installment. Ellie is determined to find Gus before Javier kills him. Emotions are high (which I love) mixed with pulse-racing, toe-curling moments.
While I was losing interest in the characters quickly, I was hanging on for that ending. Granted, it was the expected HEA, I wanted to see how they got there. It wasn't all that unpredictable, but still enjoyable.
Full Review:
https://beentherereadthat.blog/2018/10/05/doing-some-wrong-to-get-it-right-bold-tricks-a-book-review/
Pretty far. I still feel like this book fell short of the very first one. Javier is still a mega, abusive creep and Camden is still off his rocker. On the plus side, Camden is off his rocker for Ellie who's stills feisty and puts up with nobody's BS.
The story came to a head in this final installment. Ellie is determined to find Gus before Javier kills him. Emotions are high (which I love) mixed with pulse-racing, toe-curling moments.
While I was losing interest in the characters quickly, I was hanging on for that ending. Granted, it was the expected HEA, I wanted to see how they got there. It wasn't all that unpredictable, but still enjoyable.
Full Review:
https://beentherereadthat.blog/2018/10/05/doing-some-wrong-to-get-it-right-bold-tricks-a-book-review/
LOVED! A great conclusion for two of my favorite characters! Well done, Karina! Camden is one of the best guys written!
A satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, one that made me happy and kept in theme with the rest of the series.
Another great story by Karina Halle! Loved the ending to this trilogy......damn exciting!
Review originally posted at http://fictionvixen.com/review-bold-tricks-karina-halle/
Well everyone, we’ve finally reached the conclusion to the Ellie, Camden and Javier saga. Book two, Shooting Scars, left me on the edge of my seat, completely confused about what direction the author would take and how it would all end. I had no idea who Ellie would end up with, I wasn’t even sure who I wanted her to end up with. This entire series has been one big, wild adrenalin rush from beginning to end. Ms. Halle has managed to keep me enthralled with characters, relationships and situations that were so crazy it was hard to wrap my mind around them. But each time I finished a book in this series I waited with bated breath to see what would happen next.
Bold Tricks picks up immediately with our dysfunctional trio on the run from the drug lord Travis. Everything in Ellie’s life is finally coming to a head. Who does she trust? Why was her mother working for Travis? How is she going to get Gus back? There are all these questions and smack dab in the middle is her feelings for the two men in her life, the tattooed man from her youth who she thinks will redeem her and the ruthless, drug kingpin who is her first love. In the previous installment Ellie makes choices and acts in ways that left me wondering what direction she would take when it was all said and done. In this book she finally quits wavering back and forth over who she wants and how she is going to go forward. Ellie grows up. Ellie becomes a bad-ass who finally, finally starts to make her own destiny.
In fact it seemed like everyone’s true selves finally come to the surface. Javier is revealed to be the selfish, power-hungry man willing to do what ever it takes to make it to the top of the food chain, including sacrifice those he professes to love. Camden is back to being the good guy to just wants to save Ellie and even though is still hurt and angry by her behavior in book two, he is willing to go all the way to help her. With every page that turned I was happy and sad. Happy that Ellie and Camden were becoming better versions of themselves, while sad that the Javier I kept looking for, the one that I was hoping would end up surprising everyone by letting some good shine through, kept slipping further away.
Every single question that readers have had while reading this series is answered by the conclusion. As our main characters race across Mexico and into Honduras, evading men out to kill them and trying to rescue Ellie’s mother and Gus, all the plot threads wrap up and readers get the answers they’ve been looking for. There were just as many twists and turns, the action scenes still moving along at high-speed. The love scenes are ridiculously hot. And through it all I remained waiting, just knowing Karina Halle would somehow take me somewhere I wasn’t expecting and surprise me yet again. In the end I think the biggest surprise was that there was even a happily ever after for Ellie. A true, sweet HEA that left me completely satisfied with my journey.
For those of you thinking of picking this series up I would urge you to read them in order, which I’ve included:
On Every Street (prequel to trilogy)
Sins & Needles
Shooting Scars
Bold Tricks
The Artist Trilogy will always remain on my favorites list. I’ve fallen in love with these characters and am a little sad that it’s all over and I’m saying goodbye. Final Grade- A-
Favorite Quote:
It was wrong, it was wrong, it was wrong to be doing this with him, in here, when the whole world was dying out there, but I didn’t care. I loved him and I needed him more than I ever needed anyone. I loved him and love had to be good in this life full of bad.
Well everyone, we’ve finally reached the conclusion to the Ellie, Camden and Javier saga. Book two, Shooting Scars, left me on the edge of my seat, completely confused about what direction the author would take and how it would all end. I had no idea who Ellie would end up with, I wasn’t even sure who I wanted her to end up with. This entire series has been one big, wild adrenalin rush from beginning to end. Ms. Halle has managed to keep me enthralled with characters, relationships and situations that were so crazy it was hard to wrap my mind around them. But each time I finished a book in this series I waited with bated breath to see what would happen next.
Bold Tricks picks up immediately with our dysfunctional trio on the run from the drug lord Travis. Everything in Ellie’s life is finally coming to a head. Who does she trust? Why was her mother working for Travis? How is she going to get Gus back? There are all these questions and smack dab in the middle is her feelings for the two men in her life, the tattooed man from her youth who she thinks will redeem her and the ruthless, drug kingpin who is her first love. In the previous installment Ellie makes choices and acts in ways that left me wondering what direction she would take when it was all said and done. In this book she finally quits wavering back and forth over who she wants and how she is going to go forward. Ellie grows up. Ellie becomes a bad-ass who finally, finally starts to make her own destiny.
In fact it seemed like everyone’s true selves finally come to the surface. Javier is revealed to be the selfish, power-hungry man willing to do what ever it takes to make it to the top of the food chain, including sacrifice those he professes to love. Camden is back to being the good guy to just wants to save Ellie and even though is still hurt and angry by her behavior in book two, he is willing to go all the way to help her. With every page that turned I was happy and sad. Happy that Ellie and Camden were becoming better versions of themselves, while sad that the Javier I kept looking for, the one that I was hoping would end up surprising everyone by letting some good shine through, kept slipping further away.
Every single question that readers have had while reading this series is answered by the conclusion. As our main characters race across Mexico and into Honduras, evading men out to kill them and trying to rescue Ellie’s mother and Gus, all the plot threads wrap up and readers get the answers they’ve been looking for. There were just as many twists and turns, the action scenes still moving along at high-speed. The love scenes are ridiculously hot. And through it all I remained waiting, just knowing Karina Halle would somehow take me somewhere I wasn’t expecting and surprise me yet again. In the end I think the biggest surprise was that there was even a happily ever after for Ellie. A true, sweet HEA that left me completely satisfied with my journey.
For those of you thinking of picking this series up I would urge you to read them in order, which I’ve included:
On Every Street (prequel to trilogy)
Sins & Needles
Shooting Scars
Bold Tricks
The Artist Trilogy will always remain on my favorites list. I’ve fallen in love with these characters and am a little sad that it’s all over and I’m saying goodbye. Final Grade- A-
Favorite Quote:
It was wrong, it was wrong, it was wrong to be doing this with him, in here, when the whole world was dying out there, but I didn’t care. I loved him and I needed him more than I ever needed anyone. I loved him and love had to be good in this life full of bad.
A fantastic ending to the trilogy. Just as action packed as the first two. Team Camden!