From USA Today bestselling author Kilby Blades, the next installment in the Gilded Love series…Jasmine isn’t supposed to be in Pahrump. She’s not supposed to be posing as an exotic dancer. And she’s sure as hell not supposed to be solo on an undercover job. She’d have paid any price to avoid the emergency call to her ex-fiancé, Avi. But she’s in so far over her head, it’s come to that.The last … head, it’s come to that.
The last place Avi saw Jasmine was at the altar six months ago, right before she walked out of his life. Well…almost. They still work on opposite ends of the same vigilante crime-fighting organization. She’s the last person he expects to hear from while half a world away on a pleasure trip to Sydney. Can he get to Nevada in time to save her from a human trafficking bust gone wrong?
“Thrilling combination of suspense, intrigue, and romance. Nice backstory on Avi and Jasmine.”
-Barbara B, Amazon Reviewer
“This book is in your face right from the first page…When she sends him a code, he will move heaven and earth to get to her.”
-Merry Jelks- Emmanuel, Amazon Reviewer
“Very strong female lead who wants to right the wrongs done to her by saving other women and girls at all cost. Loved it could not put it down.”
-JLynn, Amazon Reviewer
“Blades manages to ease feminism and equality into her novels, which is always a delight to see in a genre written and read by women.”
– IndieReader Starred Review of The Art of Worship
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This review contains spoilers * *
Vertical is a novella about Jasmine and Avi, and it is only a small part of their story, but it is enough to lure you in and leave you wanting more!
Jasmine was once the victim of human trafficking and now she’s made it her mission to save other girls from the same fate. Vertical is the story of one of her undercover ops. Posing as a high end exotic dancer in a billionaire’s den of debauchery comes with its own dangers in and of itself, add in the fact that Jasmine has hacked into their system to execute her operation and the risk is far greater.
Enter Avi, Jasmine’s ex and partner, who Jasmine reaches out to when she believes she’s been made. Avi will do anything to keep Jasmine safe, no matter what. Will they save the girls? Will they escape? Will the pedophiles be brought down? You’ll want to read this and the upcoming books featuring Jasmine and Avi, as well as their partners, to find out.
I absolutely love Kilby’s book. This was such an intense, page turning, well written book. I stayed up way past my bed time to finish this book.
I recently caught a Facebook Live recording a week old and took time to listen to this fave author of mine. When she mentioned this book, I realized I had not read it. Searched for it on my iPhone and there it was unread! I started it and I must say that this was more thriller than romance, unlike her other books. The heroine had to put out an SOS-type message “hemlock” only he would recognize to Ari, the ex-fiance she left at the altar months ago. He responds immediately all the way from Sydney back to the US, locating her, hacking into the elaborate setup by an English company in a town with legal prostitution to auction sex-trafficked girls, getting them both caught and handcuffed to chairs. I would not call ‘cliffhanger’ but the love between the two did not come to a happy ever after ending but with a promise of a future book. I won’t hold my breath but I will hope for an ARC. Blade’s writing never disappoints!
This book is in your face right from the first page. They work on opposite sides of the same crime fighting organization and the last time he saw her was at the altar where she left him. When she sends him a code, he will move heaven and earth to get to her. Will he get to her in time and better yet will this be a second chance to get things right between them. They have the chemistry now all they have to work on is communication provided they make it out! I voluntarily agreed to receive an ARC of this book for an honest review.
f you’ve been paying attention to Kilby Blades, then you’ll realize she’s been creating a universe of sorts. The first two books of this universe, Snapdragon and Chrysalis, introduce us to some of the characters of this universe. Enter the novella, Crazy Old Money, and you meet a few more, including Ari (you also meet him in the first two books), the main hero of this book, Vertical. This group of books is connecting to Blades’s Hexagon Universe, although Snapdragon and Chrysalis are loosely connected.
The first thing about Vertical that you need to realize is it’s a novella. It’s a little over 100 words, so it isn’t trying to fully develop the relationship of its H and h, Ari and Jasmine. This book is a moment in time that offers us some back story about them, but there is more to come. If you read this, be prepared for an underdeveloped relationship here.
Secondly, this is more suspense than romance. The romance portion comes in much later in the story. It is there, but it is a very small piece of this book. If you like undercover spy type stories, then you’ll like this one, even though at times, Blades gets a little trapped in the details of hacking or spy work. Keep that in mind. If you are looking for this to be romance from start to finish, it is not that. You shouldn’t be dissuaded from the book because it will set you up for their story (which seems to be coming in another book at a later date), but this book is more set-up than romance.
I have reviewed Blades’s other books. And I really love her writing style. She’s engrossing, creates characters that are interesting, and can build a story that the reader can get lost in. I think readers have to come to this book with the idea that they are reading only a portion of the bigger universe’s story.
If you keep that in mind, I think you will like this little nugget of a story. Ari and Jasmine are interesting characters albeit Jasmine will be frustrating because she will keep Ari at arm’s length given her background. I am hoping that she will allow Ari in because he’s a “good guy,” a hero to get behind.