DaneI’m silent. I’m trained. I’m lethal.My hand skimming down your thigh, my gaze a weapon—I know more ways to kill you than please you.But you’re not paying for my aim. You’re paying for my control. Bringing you a breath away from ecstasy, watching you beg as I hold back your release, I’ll show you exactly what you’ve been missing. Your hunger is my currency and five thousand is my price. I only … five thousand is my price. I only have one rule—no repeats, because I’m not for keeps. I’m for sale.
One slow grind and I’ll give you exactly what you paid for.
*GRIND is a sexy standalone book in the Alpha Escort Series.
The Alpha Escort Series:
THRUST
ROUGH
GRIND
more
Unputdownable series
First book I read in this series, Thrust, I thought I would never root for a mercenary/escort. I was SO wrong. Ms. Bartel’s engaging style and the drool-worthy alpha males she presents us made me fall for them and left me wanting for more, in the best sense possible. Out of the three books, Jared’s story (Rough) is still my favorite, but they’re neck-to-neck. The three of them.
Each novel is a standalone and although a reader may follow the storyline without having to read the others, it is a shame to exercise this kind of restrain. I mean, these men are addictive, so why stop at only one?
Reading the previous installments, I caught glimpses of Dane Marek, which did not prepare me for the intensity he offers up-close. Oh my! He is lethal in whatever sense you choose to interpret the word. Be advised that Grind is not for the faint of heart or if you get squeamish easily. There’s violence, steamy sex and strong language. None of it gratuitous though. I mean, one doesn’t get to be a mercenary saying please and thank you, am I right? The pace is dizzying fast and the twists and turns will leave you breathless.
Some people might object to insta-love. Personally, I’m not a big fan, if it doesn’t make sense. With Dane and Irina, there’s no other way to go. They’re both stretched to their limits. He faces death on a regular basis and gets a rush out of it. She has reached the end of the line, there’s nowhere for her to go and nobody who cares what happens to her. When you’ve got nothing to lose, why waste time? You dive in head-first. That’s what Irina and Dane do in Grind and it makes sense.
I could go on forever talking about these stories, but I don’t want to give too much away. I recommend Grind – and the whole series, in fact – for fans of fierce alpha heroes who fall hard for their women, grab on to them and never let them go.
Dane – “I wasn’t her hero. I was half her problem.”
I volunteer a review of an advance reviewer copy.
We first met Irina in Thrust, she was a client of Alex’s and when she left her husband, Alex set her up at Dane’s house because Dane was out of town. When Dane comes home early he finds her still in residence. Irina has had a very hard life, her mother is a real piece of work and her husband is a psycho who Dane vows to rescue her from. I love Dane, and his dog Hunter is great. This book has a lot more intrigue then the other two in this series and it is my fovorite of the three. I love all of the books I have read by Sybil Bartel. We get to see quite a bit of André and a couple of other cameos from the Uncompromising series as well.
You’ll want your very own alpha! Honestly, I love this book more and more every time I read it. And I have read it a lot. Dane is another one of those quiet alphas with a loud soul. Irina and Dane’s story is gritty and raw and worth every minute. You’ll want the pages to go on forever!
OMG, I LOVED this book. I really can’t get enough of this author’s stories. I’ve loved each book in this series and Grind certainly didn’t disappoint. Dane is not only hot and sexy and the perfect alpha male. He’s strong, powerful and lethal. Irina didn’t win me over in Thrust but learning her back story and what she’s endured made me come to love her and admire her. Her and Dane together was so hot and sexy. Such an emotional ride for the pair of them as he helps to heal her and she brings some life and colour to him. I couldn’t put this book down. I was glued to my kindle until the end. I enjoyed catching up with some of the characters from Sybil Bartel’s other books. Of course Grind had everything I expect from her books. Hot alpha men, steamy scenes, a lot of emotion and suspense that kept me on the edge of my seat and at times forgetting to breathe. Brilliant read.
great series
After Jared in Rough, I was really looking forward to Dane because he was so offbeat and I thought his story would be awesome. Unfortunately, none of his prior personality seemed to transfer to his story and I was a little disappointed that it wasn’t in keeping with his quirks. Frankly, Irina just really irritated me. Yes, I get the abuse and damage of her character but this is my escapism and she didn’t do it for me.
Irina Tsarko Fedorov made a deal with the devil five years ago, and now that their deal has been completed she wants out… but when you play with the devil your bound to get burnt. She agreed to be his wife for a healthy sum of money, but she never agreed to be his abused, mindless, slave. He has taken so much from her, and left her with so little to give. She knows if she doesn’t escape his clutches soon, she will completely loose what little strength she has left… but he doesn’t intend to let her leave so easily!
When Dane Marek walks into his home and sees the blonde beauty that has invaded his territory he can’t help but want to help her, even if she isn’t so accepting of his help. He is a highly skilled man, capable of taking life with his bare hands, but for the first time in a long time he has the deepest desire to piece one back together. The desperate, broken woman before him needs someone to step in and save her from the hell she is stuck in, and he wants nothing more than to be that man.
The moment you crack the cover on this sensual little read you will be pulled into a dark and dirty little world that only Ms. Bartel could create, her words will penetrate your soul, and have you completely captivated… to the point that you forget about the world around you. Grind is one of those reads that has the power to annihilate your heart, and with each word that follows slowly piece it back together again!
Dane and Irina were two wounded souls, that had given up on the possibility of a happily ever after, but once they came into one another’s lives they started to rethink their stance, not without a lot soul searching of course. They had this instant chemistry, that knocked them both out of their element, but with each new encounter they shared they began to build trust in one another, and it slowly starts to build into something more… and totally unexpected. It was a beautiful thing to watch Irina discover her new path in life, and see her find strength in herself, and become more confident with each passing day. For me it is a real literary treat to find a book that completely consumes me, invades my thoughts and leaves me emotionally exhausted, and this one accomplished that! Highly recommend you meet Dane, he’s sure to rock your world!!
Grind starts very graphic – and I don’t mean in the action or bloody department. There are no pretense, from the beginning that this book is sexually explicit, and while I don’t have – obviously – much of a problem with reading erotica novels, I was taken back, as most books usually are not that much in your face in the first few paragraphs – heck it did not wait until the second page! So my first impression was not the most pleasant one, but I stuck with it, and I am glad that I did.
While Grind is not for the faint of heart, it does have a lot of heart, and an actually pretty well-developed story line. It is emotional, the connection between the two main characters starts not in the best way – and it really took me until the middle of the second chapter before I got really warmed up to both of them. Yet, once the connection was made, it was heartwarming and endearing.
Both of the characters have a learning curve – again, something I miss in many erotica novels, who push sex above plot – but the Author managed to create a constructive, suspenseful plot despite the graphic sexual details.
Another thing that surprised me was, that I enjoyed the story despite the fact that it was written in alternating first-person past-tense narrative. I am usually not a fan of stories written in first-person – even less so, when they are written in present tense – yet the Author managed to keep the flow going, and switched rather seamlessly between the two main characters.
The book is a rather quick read, not because it is very short, but because once you warmed up to the main characters, you don’t want to stop reading. And speaking of characters, some of the side characters are rather charming, which made me hope that they get their own time in the other novels in the series.
Grind can be read as a stand-alone novel and has an HEA, which I very much appreciate. Yet, I will read the other books in the series, now that the Author got me curious.