Warm-hearted Natalia Truelove will do anything for family, so when her ex-father-in-law is sent to prison, she shelves her restaurant plans and manages the family pub. But when she runs foul of a local gangster, and her niece is targeted, the gloves are off. As the police won’t help, Nats embarks on a lethal game: blackmailing the Zeta Cartel’s top hit man to do her bidding. Enrique ‘Quique’ … ‘Quique’ Ramas is having a bad time. Back in Mexico his marriage has fallen apart and his wife has made him a laughing stock by cheating on him. Now he’s in London and out of his depth with a complex commercial deal. To make things worse, Natalia Truelove, a chef and pub manager, is blackmailing him. Quique is ready to commit murder and he’s pretty sure who his first victim will be.
Dirty Dealings is an enthralling tale of deceit, murder, cartel violence and finding love in the darkest of times. It is the third Zeta Cartel novel, and can be read as a standalone.
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Loved the book it was great, the story was written well and the characters were interesting. Natalie and Enrique have both had horrible marriages will they ever trust someone again and with all that is going on will they both find love. Nat is blackmailing Enrique and now his after the person blackmailing him will he kill or want he when he sees her.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is the 3rd book I’ve read written by AJ Adams; she has done a great job at writing a good book; I can’t wait to read more of her books.
The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.
I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
This was a really good story, fast paced, steamy and dirty.
Quique represents Mexican mafia sent. He is send to London to take care of business.
Natalia a normal everyday British girl but that is questionable.
She’s done some things to protect her family, she is tough and doesn’t have any restrictions to do this again. Family first..
When they meet no wonder sparks fly.
Love it
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
It’s not *only* opposites who attract
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2021
After a confusing start with too many characters introduced so quickly, I really enjoyed the story. Natalia is not the typical heroine – ruthless, independent but protective, damaged yet loving. Enrique is the typical alpha male – until he inevitably falls for her. Who says only opposites attract? The complicated resolution of the final conflict surprised me! I thought it was going to be a book that I put aside but I am very glad I plowed through those first chapters.
I will definitely read more by this author.
Book three in the The Zeta Cartel Novels series a well written story that kept me turning pages. Natalia Truelove and Enrique ‘Quique’ Ramas are two people that should not find love together but do. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Ok, so eye catching clover cinched by an equally beguiling blurb. AJ Adams is by far the most clever mafia story writer I have ever come across.
What did I like? The book starts out with Quique in deep distress over his wife cheating again, as he shows a soft spot towards women. At first the name bothered me because how do you pronounce it but as his character develops such unique characteristics I understood he needed to be different. After he is introduced to ball busting Natalia, Quique knows he has met his match. The book offers a roller coaster of events and just cement the two. Highly engrossing! Five huge stars!
Would I recommend or buy? Yes to both! If you love mafia romance this author writes one fun story. I loved it and finished it in a day!
I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left a review.
Nat and Enrique are twisted and ruthless. Savagery at it’s finest. Nat blackmailed Enrique because of her niece and takes on the Zeta Cartel.
Could have been darker due to all the ruthlessness, savagery, violence and murder. Overall a good book.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
OMG! This story blew me away. The characters so realistic and dark and sassy. The whole book had me totally captivated! With my heart beating like a drum i couldnt stop at any page until I knew Nat was safe! I have to read more by AJ Adams!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Nat and Quique’s story was sweeter than what I’m used to from this author but it still had the usual high stakes and action.
Nat was a hard edged girl whose nickname of Frosty was well deserved. Quique was a serious player in the Zeta cartel but was rocked by a secret shame. Their romance, which as usual was caught up within a violet struggle between rival gangs, was slow burn but when it came it certainly didn’t disappoint.
I would recommend this as an enjoyable addition to the series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I laughed until I cried in some of these scenes. I loved the English slang. It was brilliant. Nats took care of her family at the cost of herself. She was tough, beautiful, and resilient. Her loyalty to herself, Quique, her family, made her the perfect fit for the Zetas.
This story has a little of everything. Laughter, tears, fear, outrage. But best of all, a smile for a perfect ending.
I read and reviewed a copy of this book.
I don’t know about you but when characters just mess me up and cause my emotions to go from one extreme to the next I fall in love. It’s not an easy feat with how much I read, but I tell you this author continues to excite me with each book. Her characters are wild crazy in this series but she not only shows the gansta take no prisoner have no conscience cartel man and makes him human. But it’s not just that, THE WOMEN!!!??? Oh my goodness I think Frosty is my favorite. She takes it all in stride and takes on the roll of matriarch when the bar and livelihood is threatened, she also takes over handling the families troubles. One incident after another she jumps right in and takes control, she’s intelligent and she’s not a wimp. I laughed and sighed with them. Enjoyed the trouble she caused and the way she handled herself in crisis and out. Quique?!?!?! A gentle soul who hides behind a fierce exterior and the manly man he needs to be to hold his position, which means he has to have respect frrom his underlings. They help each other while finding their place. IT’s a slippery slope and too much fun to read about. I can’t say I love this author enough. I am damn glad to have found her. An amazing standalone read but you want to read the series, each one just as good if not better than the last and a thrill to consume.
You know what I love about this series? It’s that the author has not only written alpha men who live their lives by a code of honour, loyalty and violence- BUT that the women are as equally strong and determined! The storylines are twisty and full of action, drama, romance and a whole lot of other things. You really should be reading this series!
It’s so good to see the Zetas on iTunes!
https://books.apple.com/nl/book/dirty-dealings/id1463288284
I’m having a lot of fun with the men of this cartel and the women that bring them to their knees.
Quique’s marriage is over and it’s a difficult thing to accept,so his boss Kyle and Arturo send him to England to cool down and take over for their man Jorge,who’s recovering from being shot.
When a woman witnesses him dealing with the one responsible,he knows he has to take care of her silence.
But Natalia is not what he expected. First impressions aren’t always correct,and that goes for both.
Because Natalia sees only a hardened criminal…..
Fiercely protective of the ones she loves,Natalia is in a tough place.
She needs to keep the family pub going to make sure they have a roof over their heads while her ex father-in law is in prison.
Not that the men of the family appreciate her efforts,but she’s the only one that can.
And she’s dealing with the trouble the kids get into,as well.
When that gets her into trouble too,she toughens up.
Once Quique and Natalia see beyond the façade,they start to like and even admire eachother.
And that’s where the real fun begins,because these two were made for eachother!
They deal with the enemy,each in their own way.
They play dumb with the police,because they are the enemy too….
And when Natalia is badly hurt while defending herself,Quique whisks her away to prevent her being sent to prison for murder.
But when the smoke clears,his life is still in Nuevo Laredo and hers is in London…..
And they both know it was just temporary,right?
……………………………………………………………
AJ is at her best with this series,absolutely love the Zeta family! Each story she tells about them is filled with action,madness and mayhem,experienced by the dark and dangerous men and the sweet women that hold their hearts. Those women overcome hardship,don’t complain about it,but fight back….these men admire that,appreciate them,love them and will do everything for them….and i mean everything. Make sure to get to know all of them and buy this whole series!
This story was a bit different then the other stories in the series, I can’t say that it was better or worse, This is however one that I am ok with not reading ever again. Ok well not ever just not so soon, It was slow going almost the whole story. The characters in this story are super great and really mesh well together, They are the only reason I kept reading this one. They made it come to life and really make it worth the read. This story was just not for me written about the same as the others but a different story all together. I was hooked like I was with the others.
Enrique “Quique” Ramas has been made a laughing stock by his wife Tina cheating on him and he has been sent by Kyle Suarez to England to get away from everything happening at home. He is in England to acquire some commercial property and make sure everything is in line for the Zetas.
Natalie Truelove killed a man 3 years ago and now she finds herself working in a pub and is a chef. She owns a certain piece of property that Quique wants.
Quique knows he should have killed Natalie when he first met her but slowly the two begin to grow closer.
Will Quique trust Natalie after what happened in his marriage and when she discovers who he is will she be willing to risk it all for him?
This was another good book in the series!
I liked Quique and thought he was quite intimidating! Yet I loved how Natalie never backed down from him and the two wanted to kill each other when they first met! I truly felt bad for him with what he went through with his wife Tina and I was truly impressed that he never killed her when he caught her.
Natalie was such a great character and I admired her fire and fight. She put up with a lot and really wanted her own life and to succeed.
The relationship between Quique and Natalie was awesome and it was full of so much fight and initial hatred. You could tell that they had chemistry but I wasn’t sure when anything would happen because of everything that had happened between Quique and Tina. I really didn’t want Natalie being caught in the middle of a divorce and portrayed as the other woman.
I was wondering what would happen with Natalie and Quique with his business dealings and things were definitely tense towards the end of the book!!
The end was great and I am so happy that Natalie chose to do what she did!
This book is enemies to lovers through and through and I LOVED IT!
Quique is an honorable man, who loved his wife…. until he found her cheating on him. Not only that but the hag blamed him for all of it and spread around vicious rumors and making Quique look like a putz to his team.
He is is different from the previous men in the series in that he knows he that he has a heart, even though he does not want it anymore. Needless to say, I freaking loved him.
Natalia has had a really horrible go as well. She is stuck in her life because she is so caring and honorable herself. She puts her family, even though it is not technically HER family, more so her ex’s family, before all others. People know that they can go to her with their troubles and they will be taken care of.
The two of them together was like this masterful dance full of straight up craziness. They are so perfect for each other and I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this book.
If you like your book boyfriends honorable, dark, and hot as heck— you would like this!!
Dare I say that with each book this series gets better and better. I love these alpha men and strong woman they encounter. This one had me up all night ignoring everyone and everything because I had to know what was going to happen and boy oh boy that ending was epic I mean EPIC!
Quique is sent to London on business from Mexico. He is glad to be going because he is having issues at home with his wife and he needs a change of scenery. The only thing he didn’t expect was to have to deal with another bossy woman who was blackmailing him. The business he is there on is not going the way he planned on so he is trying to fix the cluster f#$% of a problem.
Natalia is a kick arse alpha female and she does not take anyone’s crap not even Quique. She gives it to him good and she takes back everything he gives her back. Even though these two fight like hell and hate each other there is something sparking between them but the million dollar question is will they act on those feelings or will they keep at each others throat?
2am is not my usual bedtime but this book kept me up reading till way past my usual bedtime! What an interesting, provocative, intense but also at times humorous novel. I love the way the author creates flawed but lovable characters that fall for each other and become stronger individuals as a result of their relationship.
Sitting with a British friend yesterday I was giving her the gist of the story when she said, “Wow! Peckham is where my daughter taught when she finished her education!!! She has been back in touch with some of her students through Facebook.” Well, she immediately knew that Peckham is noted for being a rather criminal environment and was not surprised by my synopsis of the story…she might even buy it when I give her the link she can do so.
So, the story…
Quique, in charge of security for the Mexican Zeta cartel, is sent to England when an assassination attempt is made on the Zeta boss in charge of the area. His mission to find out what person or entity to punish as well as help extend the area the Zetas’ control. Natalia has a dream and has put it on hold to help out her ex-husband’s family by running the Black Horse Pub. Her life is not and never has been easy but she has not let it get her down. When the worlds of Quique and Natalia collide their lives are changed forever.
Thank you to the author for the free copy in exchange for my honest review