A thrilling, suspenseful, dark, steamy romance….Emma Andrews was orphaned at a young age with no family to turn to. Tired of the broken foster-care system, and believing it was her only option, she runs to a multi-millionaire with a reputation of hiring young women. It is only then that she learns what real monsters look like… get through the toughest of days. By daydreaming a life full of love and freewill, she manages her colorless prison, but even in her wildest dreams, she would have never imagined it could become a reality. That is, until she meets Chance, a man willing to lay his life down to save hers.
But what Emma doesn’t expect is to fight her own personal demons—her heart.
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Withstanding The Enemy: A contract for life (With Emma Book 1) by T.L. Mahrt. I am so confused regarding this story. This is my first time reading this author. When I read the synopsis I was very interested in reading this story. Emma has made a decision to leave foster care. At the time she thought she was making a good decision. She heard of a man who would hire girls no questions asked. What end up happening was she end up jumping from the frying pan and into the fire. Now at 23 she finds herself going from employee to girlfriend. She is imprisoned in an opulent penthouse with a physically and an emotionally man who was once her savior. When Chance comes into her life as her bodyguard her life gets emotionally turned upside down. At some point in this story I couldn’t tell what Emma was seeing or experiencing was real or in her mind. The constant battle of her feelings for Chance and her boyfriend Rick was enough to give me whiplash. Than there were the feelings Chance has for Emma and his real purpose for being in the penthouse. There was just so much going on. I did know who was genuine or who had nefarious motives. The ending had me all over the place. All I know is the the prologue of the next book was included and it is because of it I am curious to go on with this trilogy. The fact that I didn’t know this book was a trilogy may add to my feelings of confusion with this story. I definitely would have read it with a different mindset. With that being said, I give this book 3 stars.
This review is for the audiobook version.
This story grabbed my attention almost from the beginning. I’ve never listened to our narrator before and it did take me a little time to get used to her way of talking. She is able to change the tone of her voice so that you know when a male character is speaking. Another first is reading a story by this author. Telling Emma’s story in the first person made it possible to know exactly what she was thinking and feeling. Especially when it came to one strong character, Rick. The author did a great job in showing the many sides to him.
The only thing I marked down on my rating was the performance and that’s just because I’m still learning our narrator’s style and how one consonant seemed to have an extra sound . No one talks the same as someone else. There are those with accents. There are those that talk louder or softer than others. By thinking that Ms. Nyamukandawiri is speaking softly gives me some idea of who Emma is. By the time I was finished getting an idea of her style than I had to wonder what book two would do for me.
Now that I’ve had the chance to get to know a little bit about Emma and the trials that she’s had to deal with there’s no way I can stop now. She may not think so but she is a survivor. But the suspense that is part of her world isn’t over. My only choice will be whether I be patient and see if an audio version comes out or not wait and read the book. There are questions that get raised that I need to get the answers to and at the very least I need to see how Ms. Mahrt answers them.
I was not compensated nor was I required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
This was my first T.L. Mahrt’s book. This is the first book in the With Emma Series, a Dark Rromantic Suspense. I love the cover! Emma is young and naive. Her story is breathtaking. Rick, a multi-millionaire and Emma’s fiancé, is dark, manipulative, powerful, and ruthless. Chance, Emma’s bodyguard, is intriguing, handsome and protective. The story unfolds at a slow pace. The story is told with Emma and Chance’s POV. The storyline is filled with angst, mystery, drama, suspense, and twists and turns, and ended with a cliffhanger. Nyamukandawiri did a great job with the narration. I would love to listen to the next book in the Series, Within the Shadows. I was given a free review copy of the audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Emma is in a controlling relationship. Rick is the one in control. When he hires her a guard, lines get crossed between Emma and Chase, the guard.
Opinion
This is the third book in the series. I have not read the first two. I was able to follow it without much difficulty.
I listened to the audiobook. The narrator did an exquisite job. Different voices were used for each character, enhancing the story.
The story itself was magnetic. I was consumed by how Emma reacted to the different situations. As much as I liked the story, I feel like I would have liked it better had I read the first two stories.
Many thanks to Bare Naked Words for providing me with an ARC of this audiobook.
Withstanding the Enemy is book 1 in a Trilogy. There are some twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and it ends on a hella of a cliffie! This is a dark suspenseful romance. Meaning there could be some triggers for some.
This is Emma Andrews story. She has been in and out of foster homes since her parents died. She ends up running to multi-millionaire Rick Stevens. He isn’t a good man and feels he owns her and finds out he loves Emma. Chance has been put in charge to guard Emma’s safety. Now Emma has mixed emotions as to whom she loves or doesn’t love.
The only thing that I would question is this authors taste in beer. Come on in this day time there are so many other better beers out there than Bud Light. (just saying) 😉
So as I said there is a HUGE cliffhanger at the end of this book. I have the next book on my kindle and will be starting it ASAP.
I give this book 4 stars.
For your information on the rest of the trilogies:
Within the Shadows, Book 2
Withholding the Key is Book 3 and is the conclusion to this series. I do believe they are all out now. So no more possible cliffhangers.
This book is a suspenseful romantic thriller featuring Emma, a teenager drawn to a millionaire when she escapes from foster care, Rick, her wealthy obsessive and abusive fiance after living with him for years, and Chance, her bodyguard who is an undercover agent investigating Rick. This novel is well written, has fantastic and complex characters, and is an intriguing story with twists, obsession and eroticism. It’s also an addictive read but it does end in a cliffhanger.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I really enjoyed reading this book with its dark and twisted story. I was on the edge of my seat most of the time as I read this book. I couldn’t believe that she stayed with him but I also understood that in her defense that she didn’t feel she had a different choice. A mind blowing tale of manipulation masquerading as love.
I requested a copy of this book so I could provide an honest review.
This book is gripping, captivating with an astonishing plot, complex characters with depth and growth tangled with realistic array of emotions ranging from hatred, sorrow, protection and love. This page turner draws the reader in with lots of intrigue, danger, action and suspense and succeeds in keeping you on the edge of your seat, captivated and with baited breath
The emotional and heart wrenching glimpses of the trauma that Emma went through and was still subjected to at the hands of Rick when he manipulates her, holds her captive and subjects her to domestic abuse was appalling. Emma was very young, only 16 when she ran from her foster home into the clutches of Rick Stevens and has ben held captive for the past 7 years. Due to his manipulation Emma is very naïve and innocent and spends her days willing herself to be in a different place just to escape the horrors of daily existence. When she meets the secretive Chance, who is her guard things start changing and suddenly becomes more bearable for Emma. The book ends in a huge cliffhanger and I can’t wait to read book 2.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Emma has been with Rick for seven years. He is controlling and abusive. He hires Chance as a body guard for Emma. Rick asks Emma to marry him. She’s surprised that she has begun to have feelings for him. At the same time she also is developing feelings for Chance. This book ends in a cliff hanger.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
So glad I found this author. LOVE this! T L Mahrt did not disappoint with this! I couldn’t wait to read it as soon as I got my hands on it. Definitely worth the read. I think this series will be a great one.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.