A standalone book in the Jordan’s Game series by NYT Bestselling author, JA Huss.A new day. A new game. A new girl to (try and) please. Issy Grey is a control freak. There’s no problem she can’t solve. Issy’s also a successful self-help author, presenter, and life coach. She has every answer, every time you ask for it. That is… until her BFF butts into her life and signs her up for a sexual … her up for a sexual fantasy fulfillment game she never asked to play!
Now she can’t turn it off! She can’t quit, because Jordan Wells refuses to admit she’s even a player!
Finn Murphy’s half-hearted attempt to revamp his FBI career isn’t going as planned. And being assigned to protect Issy Gray isn’t exactly a step in the right direction. The whole thing is stupid.
She thinks she’s playing some kind of game.
She thinks the interrogation down at FBI headquarters was fake.
She thinks he’s taking her to a sex club, not a safe house.
So what’s a guy to do? He might as well just play along…
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God, there’s just something fucking magical about the words Julie strings together. Just. Fucking. Magical.
“Take it any way you want. I’m just letting you know there’s no point to pleasure without a little panic.
We know Jordan Wells is playing with people. We got that in His Turn. We got that in Total Exposure. But Jesus fuck. He’s his own brand of fucking crazy. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. He does some pretty impressive shit in this book–and he does it with his clothes on! I know, I’m just as disappointed about that as you are, but I’m learning there’s a method to his madness. A certain evil, twisted, genius kind of madness.
“The kind of sexual ride I like to take comes with a dark underbelly. I like to lose control a little. I like to walk the edge.
This isn’t Jordan’s story. I know you probably want it just as badly as I do, but I have to trust that JA Huss knows her shit and won’t disappoint when we get there. Plus, let’s be honest, these books that just give us glimpses of Jordan Wells is like the best type of foreplay. I can only imagine he’s going to blow my mind.
We stare into each other’s eyes. But we’re really seeing our souls as they consider the possibility of mixing together.
Anyway. Not Jordan’s story. This is the story of Issy Grey and Finn Murphy. And the game they are playing. Or not playing. I honestly had no fucking clue what was happening–and not because the story isn’t clear, because it is, but because I didn’t know if there was a game being played! How, in a series called Jordan’s game, can I believe the game isn’t happening?! Tell me!
“I’m trying to have my sex fantasy, which, by the way, isn’t going very well.”
“I’m not in the game!”
“Well, you were playing along.”
“Because you were practically throwing yourself at me.”
“Oh!”
“And I’m a fucking guy!”
But really, it’s just a game, right?
“Because pleasure is what you want in the beginning, but satisfaction is what you get in the end.”
What the what?!? I am not sure why I am always surprised with how much I love JA Huss’s book but this book is no exception. The Pleasure of Panic is book 2 of Jordan’s Game series and I am not sure who was the player and who was being played but I loved trying to figure it out.
Issy is a self motivation coach (and a complete pixie bada$&), In this book we get Issy who has a discussion with Jordan about letting go of all the control that she holds so close. When Jordan says no and chaos erupts around her she is unsure what is real and what is a game.
Finn is an FBI agent who is just over life, he meets Issy during an investigation and starts to realize that there might be something he has been missing, but she is not going to make it easy on him. He thinks he is keeping her safe but soon realizes she doesn’t need his protection. When the threats escalate and secrets are revealed no one is sure whose playing what game.
This book is full of twists and game changers that will leave guessing until the end. If you haven’t started Jordan’s game yet, I suggest that you get started now!
This book was quite a trip! I kind of don’t even know where to start this review. J.A. Huss is certainly a master at taking her readers on a journey where they are in a constant state of flux, not knowing what’s really happening at any given moment. And that’s exactly what happens to Issy Grey in this story. Her friend Chella talks her into meeting with Jordan Wells, the “game master” who takes a woman’s deepest fantasy and creates a game to make it come true.
Issy Grey is a kickass heroine. Running a company called Go F*ck Yourself, she empowers women to become whatever they want to be, and teaches them self defense at the same time. She is a control freak, but sometimes that becomes SO tiring and she just wants to be able to let go a little, if only for one night. She meets with Jordan Wells and tells him what her ultimate fantasy is, but he ends up turning her down.
From that point on, this whole story is a guessing game of what is really happening. Suddenly the FBI are all up in Issy’s face, but are the things they’re telling her is happening really happening? Or is this all a game? But Jordan turned her down, so who is behind the chaos that has suddenly taken over her life? Is it the agent who has been tasked to keep her safe?
Special Agent Finn Murphy has relocated to Denver from DC after an “incident” he was involved in. Now he’s just going through the motions each day. Until his boss assigns him to watch over Issy Grey. Not that she needs the protection, as he comes to realize after she takes him down in like, 2 ninja Jujitsu moves that leaves him flat on the ground, gasping for breath.
Neither Issy or Finn actually know what’s going on. Finn because he wasn’t paying attention when his boss gave him the assignment, and Issy because she believes that “someone” has orchestrated this whole situation she finds herself in.
I have to admit, I had no clue the entire time I was reading as to what the hell was really going on. I just had to keep reading to see if I could glean any clues as to who was behind everything that was going on. Both Issy and Finn have huge secrets in their pasts that they try to keep buried, but inevitably it all has to come out, if they want any chase of coming out of this alive. Add to this the instant chemistry and attraction these two have. Together, they could be a force to be reckoned with, if they can just get to a place where they trust each other.
You don’t need to have complete trust to enjoy some really good sex though, and boy do these two have some pretty steamy sexy times!! I think the not trusting factor actually played into making the sex even better, since Issy is convinced all the way through that this is all just part of “the game” even though she doesn’t know who is running it. And Finn, being a man, knows she’s convinced this is all just a game, but hey, who is he to argue with her?
I am always amazed at how Julie interweaves SO many things and connects them in surprising ways. Even though Issy and Finn have never met before, their pasts are intertwined in a way they never would have imagined. And when this connection comes to light, the suspense and action really ramped up! And little ninja jujitsu Issy was kick ass!! I was rooting for her so hard!!
By the end of the story, I still had no clue who was orchestrating everything that had happened. A couple of revelations occur that left me shocked. All I know for sure is, it didn’t matter who was behind it all, Julie IS the ultimate game maker! I don’t know how she comes up with these stories! And after reading the epilogue that sets us up for the next book, I can’t wait for that one to be released!