The thrilling conclusion of the twisting, page-turning Perfect Gentlemen series¿Decades ago, ambitious Zack Hayes set his sights on the White House. He’s worked his whole life to become the leader of the free world-attending the right schools, marrying the perfect bride-all to aid his campaign. He didn’t realize someone behind the scenes has been pulling the strings to manipulate Zack and the … country he loves into a dangerous position-one he will risk his life to wrench free from. The one thing he can’t risk is Elizabeth Matthews. From the moment she met Zack Hayes, Elizabeth felt the connection. Serving as his campaign manager and then his press secretary, she accepted that her love for him would remain unrequited. Still, she’d thought they were friends, so when he pushed her aside, she felt the stab in her heart. And when she realizes he’s done it to protect her, nothing will stop Elizabeth from standing by his side-not even the men who would use her as a weapon against him. As shocking secrets are revealed, Zack and Elizabeth find succor and passion in each other’s arms. When the ultimate villain shows his face, Zack may have to choose between his country and the woman he loves¿.
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Zack Hayes has spent his life doing all the appropriate things in life in order to achieve his goal of becoming the President of the United States. He is prepared to risk anything to wrench free from the dangerous group that is manipulating his presidency from behind the scenes. The one thing he can’t risk is Elizabeth Matthews.
The highly anticipated conclusion to The Perfect Gentlemen series is finally here and readers can’t help but be awestruck by all the twisty turns and curve balls thrown throughout this thrilling series. All the strong, bold characters of this series are gathered for the final showdown and as secrets are discovered, betrayals are revealed and all the players involved in this long running conspiracy are uncovered, readers find themselves completely and utterly stunned by the intrigue that takes place. There is no dull moments to be found anywhere as all the thrilling suspense, intriguing questions, sweet romance, heated passions and heart pounding action keeps readers glued to the pages.
Zack and Elizabeth have some sizzling chemistry and their romance has been one uphill battle with all of the obstacles that has occurred in its path. The relationship still has its share of problems as the bad guys will not only target anyone who get their way with deadly solutions but also manage to manipulate the happenings is some very twisted maneuverings that leaves everyone questioning who to trust. This keeps emotions high and intense throughout the story and readers can’t help but get totally one hundred percent caught up in every explosive moment as they await the stunning final showdown between ‘The Perfect Gentlemen’ along with their significant others and the bad guys.
I read this one slowly. I have been anxiously awaiting Zack & Liz’s story. It was everything I hoped! The ongoing mystery of Zack’s parentage, what happened to Mad, will they or won’t they, who’s good and who’s bad…the answers are all revealed! Lots of steamy goodness, excitement, espionage, friendship, future, I loved it!! All the nummy goodness I’ve been waiting for! Oh, can we have a Freddy story now?
“Elizabeth being here—so close and yet so far away—was like dangling a match over the kindling of his self-control.”
What the WHAT?!?! I’ve been anxiously waiting for this final installment in The Perfect Gentlemen series. It grabbed my attention from the beginning, keeping me on the edge of my seat as I waited for what I was afraid of, and what I hoped for, to happen. I turned each page holding my breath, not knowing what to expect. I have become very attached to all of the perfect gentlemen, and their ladies. Though, I must confess that I wanted to slap at least one of them upside the head a time or twenty while reading this story.
Zack has always been the voice of reason among the group of friends. He’s always had his eye on the prize. Knowing that eventually his sacrifices would pay off and he’d make it to the White House. When his friends went wild having fun, he had to reign himself in to protect his future. He strategically followed the plan, mapping his career, keeping himself under control at all costs. He thought that there wasn’t anything that would make him risk the presidency… until her.
Liz felt their connection instantly. She knew he was something special. But, he wasn’t hers. She worked tirelessly as his press secretary, admiring him and loving him in secret. They’d grown close over the years. Friends that supported and confided in each other. At least that’s what she thought until he pushed her away. That soft look that used to be just for her has turned hard. Those unspoken messages that used to pass between them stopped. Her world stopped turning at the loss.
There are so many things that blew my mind while reading this incredible saga. Things became clearer and more confusing at the same time. Missing pieces were found and relationships were stretched to the breaking point. What I thought I knew, I didn’t. The direction I expected to go ended up being detoured and I was tempted to jump off the crazy train before it crashed. But, I’m so glad I hung on for the finale, it was epic! Was that clear as mud? Sorry, but it is a ride you need to experience for yourself, one bump and curve at a time.
This is not a standalone as it picks up the storyline where the previous book, Smoke and Sin, ends and takes the reader through a whirlwind. This review is going to be short so as not to give anything away. If you have not read this series, then one-click the first book and get started.
Danger encircles all those who are in contact with President Hayes as the conspiracy surrounding him is getting closer. The woman that Zack was on the verge of beginning a new life with, his press secretary Elizabeth, has been pushed to the backburner for her own protection but questions remain as to where her loyalties lie. As the rest of The Perfect Gentlemen circle the wagons to figure out the puzzle, it is all hands-on deck. This is one page turning, roller coaster of a read that gives closure to the burning questions and exposes everything. These two powerhouse authors have given readers one heck of a finale to this series! I highly recommend.
I volunteered to read an advance copy of this book and all opinions are my own.
Goodness me, I’ve been waiting on pins and needles for the final installment of the fantastic The Perfect Gentlemen series—dying to read about Zack and Elizabeth—and At the Pleasure of the President did notdisappoint.
There are so many pieces of the story, so many layers to peel. Zack and Elizabeth have been circling around each other since the presidential campaign. They’ve never acted on their feelings until now. Until they can no longer be denied and until all their lives are at risk.
But at the heart of and At the Pleasure of the President is the romance that’s finally happening between them. Their feelings for each other are immense, overwhelming. And the sexy times are smokin’ hot. But while their hearts are all in, there’s the whole conspiracy theory/potential assassination thing that keeps their heads not quite even—especially Zack’s.
I loved catching up with all the Gentlemen and seeing them rally together. To put their minds together to come up with a solution—to work things out. And to make sure Zack and Elizabeth got together in the end. And speaking of the end, the Epilogue was fantastic.
Okay, so I have been waiting for this. This is the conclusion of the Perfect Gentlemen storyline and what an ending!!! From the very first book, through all of the stories and crazy plot lines, I have been hooked. How can you NOT be into a group of playboys who’ve grown up together in private school, from different backgrounds, throw in some tough as nails women who come to love them, a few Russian spies, murder, steamy sex and the White House!!!! Almost sounds too real, huh? No! These two authors have created a Perfect Gentlemen world that is far more interesting than reality. You should start at the beginning and by the time you read this finale, you will be thanking me for recommending it. But you should definitely be dropping off the praises to Shayla and Lexi for letting us share in this Perfect world.
If you haven’t read the previous books you might want to go back and read them because At the Pleasure of the President is not a stand-alone novel. I would recommend the series with the exception of Smoke and Sin. The books in The Perfect Gentlemen series are all connected to each other and there is one main story, so I will say stuff that happened in the previous 4 books and I won’t consider them spoilers.
Book 5 begins right where we left book 4 aka when Zack found Mad waiting for him. I think most of us were waiting for him to appear and we were hoping that he was alive. I was very happy and not surprised to find out that he is alive and kicking. The prologue explains why he faked his death. The book actually explains a lot of things and I don’t think that readers will have any questions by the time they turn to the last page. The authors did a great job of answering everything. The epilogue was the kind I love and it made me hope for a spin-off. Even if the story ends with this book, I will be satisfied though.
Two things made me not enjoy the book as much as I wanted. The first was the reason I DNF Smoke and Sin. Maddox and Gus’s f**k buddiness was brought up a couple of times and the last one was around 75% of the book. I didn’t need a reminder of that, since we got to see that plenty of times in the previous book and in the prologue of this one. When you want comfort, you hug someone you don’t sleep with him. The second thing was Zack. I wanted to throw something on this head in the hopes of making him seem clearly and not act idiotically. Liz should have made him grovel a lot, but she was too forgiving. At least I liked Liz, the ladies overall and the rest of the guys with the exception of Roman. I still dislike that guy.
What I loved is that we got Maddox and Sarah’s story! I was happy to have that as a subplot. Bringing Mad to the mix made everything better and for him, I will raise my initial 3-star rating to 4.
From jaw dropping suspense, to the hottest of passion, to a conspiracy that puts readers on the edge of their seats, Shayla Black and Lexi Blake deliver an epic conclusion to the Perfect Gentlemen Series with At the Pleasure of the President.
Zachary Hayes truly has the weight of the free world on his shoulders. Being President has it advantages and its disadvantages. For having the kind of power that he does, the one thing his heart desires is standing within an arms grasp and he can’t have her. Even though Zach is the President, he’s still a man. Hard headed and stubborn, with so much intensity and being as sexy as he is makes it hard for a woman to not go crazy. Zach’s heart is huge and he believes his Intentions are best but being who he is, in the predicament that he’s in, he allows birds of a feather to influence what the sensible decisions should really be. Zach is as smooth as the scotch he likes to indulge in. He knows how to get what he what and go for it. Even if he has to go a roundabout way to get it. There were so many moments that I felt so much for Zack and then I wanted to shake the crap out of him because he couldn’t seem to get his head and his heart together. In the end he made the right choice.
Elizabeth is a southern spit fire of a woman. Beauty and grace, yet she can stomp down anyone with charm and style. A woman who has stepped up beyond her job title, put her heart to the side, then on the line. Politic she can handle, the craziness that Zach’s life has thrown at her is making Liz’s head spin. Elizabeth made her mark from the moment she hit the page in the very first book of the Perfect Gentleman Series. She takes no crap, is not afraid to speak her mind and is just fun. I love the fact that she gives all these high-powered man a run for their money. Liz is a true sister in every sense of the word.
What an amazing book! At the Pleasure of the President answers all the lingering questions I had from the previous books in the series and gives not just one but two HEAs. The story is utterly twisted and wonderfully unique. The Perfect Gentleman Series is truly some amazing and creative writing. The series was able to captivate, entertain and make you think. Each book is a piece of a giant puzzle that you don’t even realize how invested you have become until you were reading the final chapters of the last book. The biggest props I can give to both Shayla and Lexi for creating a story so intricate and evolving while giving romance readers what they want in their reads. At the Pleasure of the President is not only a great book, it’s a highly intricate piece of art.
The Perfect Gentleman Series is one of the most intricate, captivating and intense plots I’ve every had the enjoyment of getting caught up in.
This book! Whew! So many answered questions, quite a few twist, and humor that still resonates with me. You know it’s a great book when it makes you feel the sorrow, makes you feel the happy, and did I mention the heat, what?!? The authors did not disappoint with this last installment and makes me want to reread the whole series again! Totally left me a smile and a sigh of happiness.
In the first four books of The Perfect Gentlemen series, readers have watched Zack Hayes and Elizabeth Matthews continually circle each other…tamping down their feelings for one another, only allowing quick glances and stolen moments where it was clear who they wanted to be by their side, but he wasn’t hers to have, at least not in the way Elizabeth truly wanted and needed her to focus on her job as Press Secretary without desiring something more…something that might not ever be.
Mr. President…that’s the moniker Zack Hayes has worked his whole life to achieve…following the path he set out to conquer…making goals and obtaining them with determination, intelligence, and an intensity that allowed him to remain focused on what needed to be done, which in some days was a detriment to his personal life because his singularly focused objective didn’t allow him to delineate from what he thought was best, which gave those closest to him, especially one person in particular, zero say in decisions that affect them just as much, if not more, than they do him.
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
As President of the United States, Zack took the above oath, vowing to serve and protect his country, and that is what he vowed to do, even if it cost him personally, and believe me, it did, in ways that I don’t even think he realized until he was no longer able to keep the woman he loved at an arm’s length, complicating an already dangerous and perhaps even deadly situation.
At the Pleasure of the President’s story line, like the previous books in the series, is seamlessly layered, intersecting characters and plot lines in a myriad of ways, emphasizing the many players involved in the action, suspense, and drama that unfolds in the book and that both hinder and help the main characters realize what it is they need to do and say in order to keep everyone safe and keep the nation protected by all means necessary.
Perfect gentleman is an interesting descriptor for the men in this series because as extraordinary as these men are, there’s nothing seemingly perfect about them; in fact, there perfections actually speak more to their imperfections…the fact that they are, at times, perfectly annoying, perfectly frustrating, and. perfectly narrow-minded. But it’s their flawed personalities that make them perfect for the women in their lives and, to me, that’s what matters the most because when the smoke clears and the danger dissipates, these couples are still left with each other, which is where they have always wanted to be.
Shayla Black and Lexi Blake’s romantic suspenses are some of my absolute favorites because there’s nothing straight forward about who the characters are or what they’ll say and do to get things done. The twists and turns that these two authors take readers on allows us to revel in the way the scenes are written and the feelings that are captured as we witness the characters’ victories and their losses as well as the steps taken to get the job done while still holding on to who they can’t live without, no matter the sacrifice.
4.5 Poison Apples
Nobody does it better than the writing duo of Shayla Black and Lexi Blake. When my two favorite authors team up, I know I am in for an “anything goes” reading experience. This eagerly awaited final chapter of The Perfect Gentlemen did not disappoint. I wanted the world to stop so I could immerse myself in this series finale which utterly blew me away.I figured out the basics of how this story would end and but the devil is in the details. Those details gave me a lot of anxious moments as I read this book. I held my breath, sat on the edge of my seat and had my jaw drop on numerous occasions as the incredible twists and turns unfolded, revelations were made, and questions were answered. The intensity is really ramped up as the Gentlemen work together to uncover the depth and breadth of the conspiracy facing them. Questioning everything and everyone they thought they knew may ultimately shatter the Perfect Gentlemen and their ladies.
Underneath it all there are two loves stories; Zack and Liz, Sara and Mad. For Zack and Liz they finally act on their feelings for each other. Could a betrayal be the thing that keeps them apart? Zack is determined to finally have a chance at true happiness with Liz, no matter the cost. Sara and Mad are reunited but it’s not a happy time. Too much may have happened for them to truly find happiness together. Mad really has his work cut out for him as he tries to convince Sara that he only had her safety in mind when he seemingly destroyed their relationship.
Two amazing authors and the final book in one of my favorite series equals nothing getting done. I absolutely loved this book. I read it in a day. Just as soon as you thought you knew where the story was going an amazing twist was thrown at you and you had to rethink everything you knew. Zach and Liz are explosive together and their story was so worth the wait. I love the dynamic between the Perfect Gentleman and when you add in their significant other the results are amazing. I loved the little glimpse we get at the end. This was my favorite book in the series and I would highly recommend it and the entire series if you want to be kept on the edge of your seat page after page.
At The Pleasure of the President (The Perfect Gentlemen #5) by Shayla Black and Lexi Blake is the final book in this exciting and intense series. This book holds the answers that have been there since book 1 and have built up with each additional story.
In the final book, things pick up where book 4 cliffhanger left off. Maddox is alive.. we learn what happened but why did he have to “die” ? Why is he back now ? We learn the secrets that he had to keep in order to keep his friends alive as long as he has. But now there is a deeper and darker threat at hand which brings him back. The story ties into
President Zack Hayes story. Zack and Liz’s love story is so angsty and emotional. I was rooting for them from book 1. Would they or wouldn’t they?? This final installment is full of suspense, action, intrigue, intense passion, betrayal, drama, angst, twists/turns, beautiful romance and deep love.
I enjoyed reading the chemistry abounding between the couples and the connection that is between the friends… the friendship that formed between all. This was a great way to end the series and I hope that we can see these characters again down the road.
My Rating: 4.8 stars ******
Shayla and Lexi saved the BEST for last!!
First, if you haven’t read the previous “Perfect Gentleman” books, I STRONGLY recommend you do. Trust me, you will not be disappointed!!
From page one, I couldn’t put it down. The characters, emotions and suspense pulled you in from the very beginning!
Amazing job Shayla and Lexi!!
A DEFINTE MUST READ!!!
The perfect way to end this fantastic and epic series that I have fallen head over heels for.
Shayla Black and Lexi Blake sure do know how to write and conclude a series that will leave you breathless and will have your heart race faster than ever. At the Pleasure of the President was impressively written and executed brilliantly. So many words jolt through my mind, but WOW and OMG I can’t believe it’s over, come to mind to fathom this ending!
“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
This is one of my favorite series that this duo of authors writes, and this novel should be read by all!
*This book MUST be read in order or you will be completely lost within the story. You need to begin with Scandal Never Sleeps.
Bravo ladies, BRAVO!
At the Pleasure of hte President is the last book in the perfect gentleman series! This book was so good, but I was so sad to see the series end. I have been waiting for Zach’s book since the beggining and it definately did not disappoint. Zach is the presidnet of the United States and Liz is his press secretary. What happens when everything he cares about is put in jeopardy? Will he push away the woment he loves? I absolutely loved Zach and Liz, they quickly becamemy favorite couple in this series!!
What a roller coaster ride! I was so excited waiting for this book one of my all time favorite series. Plenty of intrigue, suspense and hot, steamy sexy times. With an Easter egg or two thrown in. (Anyone who reads Lexi Blake will understand the Easter eggs.) Absolutely loved it!! When these two authors write together you can’t help but love their stories.
A series conclusion that will leave you on the edge of your seat….
Keeping his eye on the prize, Zach always knew that his future was on course for a path that would lead to the White House. During those years when all of his friends were enjoying the ‘party life’, Zach remained on the straight and narrow. All of his decisions were calculated and full of determination in hopes that one day he would hold the ultimate prize. There was nothing that would make Zach stray from the path…..until Liz!
As the current Press Secretary, Elizabeth had to have a strong backbone. The chemistry between Zach and Liz was hard to ignore, and the strong willed Liz didn’t want to be kept at arm’s length any longer. There was plenty of forethought on Zach’s part for keeping Liz at bay, but now that the truth is out things are about to get interesting!!
Fans of Lexi Blake and Shayla Black are in for a treat with the final book in the Perfect Gentlemen series. With a plot that grabbed your attention from beginning to end – At The Pleasure of The President was everything that devoted fans had hoped for. If you are new to the series, now is the perfect time to discover the twists and turns that make this series one that can’t be missed!!
FINALLY, everything is revealed with At The Pleasure Of The President. All the questions that have been asked since the first book have been answered and it left me stunned and amazed! The book was thrilling and downright STEAMY and loaded with all sorts of goodness and FEELS. I felt overwhelmed in a good way and after finishing this book, I felt the very strong urge to reread all The Perfect Gentleman series again.
Lexi Blake and Shayla Black are a power team. Their combined writing makes for one sensational and unforgettable story that will please ALL the fans. It was fun and exciting, thrilling and jaw-dropping! I LOVED THE HECK OUT OF IT!
AT The Pleasure Of The President gets a SATISFYING FIVE GLORIOUS STARS!
Let me say right from the start, Shayla Black and Lexi Blake are amazing!!
In this final book of the Perfect Gentlemen series you finally get all the answers to all of your questions. This book keeps you on the edge with the amazing story of the POTUS, his friends and enemies. Love, life, espionage, treason…this book has it in spades. Who can you trust when you are the leader of the free world? What are your enemies willing to do to bring you down? How far will they be willing to go?
As the perfect gentlemen find answers more questions come into play. What is reality versus what people want you to see? President Hayes and his friends will sort through everything to find the truth. But be ready because the truth can be deceiving.