theoccultshelf 's review for:

Watch Your Back by Tate James

4.0

dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

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This book was DIABOLICAL! I thought book one was a wild ride, but I was sorely mistaken! This took things to an entirely new level.

The spice was ramped all the way up. Nearly every other chapter delivered either a spicy scene or a sexy innuendo, and honestly? I’m not complaining. It’s not just thrown in for shock value, it was purposeful and added another dimension to the plot and reinforces Ash’s role as the beacon to these men. She’s magnetic, impossible to ignore, and never once does that falter.

What makes it even more addictive is the way each of the men are drawn to her. Their connections are so convincing that I kept second-guessing everything: Surely they all care about her… No, none of this is real… Or is it? My inner monologue was running nonstop as I tried to untangle their motives.

Tate James masterfully makes you forget that there’s a darker web of lies and crime running in the background. It fades while you’re caught up in the banter, the bonds, and the spice, only for you to be brutally reminded at the end that you might not have been paying close enough attention. And that ending? A deliciously cruel cliffhanger that left me desperate for the next book (thank goodness it’s out in just over a week!).

Full disclosure: if frequent spice isn’t your thing, this might not be the series for you. That said, the scenes are not unnecessarily long; they’re strategically placed to distract, disarm, and keep you questioning everything.