Can you call someone an enemy if you haven’t seen them for the better part of a decade?Deacon Black is perfectly content with the status quo—work, sleep, repeat.Who cares if he’s rigid, structured, and set in his ways? It’s a job requirement that keeps his men safe and his company’s doors open.One phone call is all it takes to upend his life and land him right back into a past he has tried to … into a past he has tried to forget.
Revisiting old ghosts is the last thing he needs.
Especially when the forced trip down memory lane includes the only woman he never wanted to see again.
Annalise Grimaldi hit the jackpot with her life—from her trust fund to her best friend, she has it all.
But her world comes crashing to a halt when her best friend vanishes— leaving behind an apartment in tatters and more questions than answers.
There’s only one person she can think of that can help in a situation like this.
She hates to make the call, but there isn’t a thing she wouldn’t do to make sure her friend is found.
Even setting aside her hatred for Deacon Black.
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Absolutely loved this book. 5 star read. The characters were very unique, their backstory not one I had read before and I adored every minute of it. Just enough action to keep me guessing and a sigh worthy ending. Highly recommend.
So this new series is pretty awesome. This was an easy, fast enemies to lovers read. Loved the characters as usual except for Dani just purely because of her personality. So glad Deacon & Anna have a HEA! Can’t wait to hear more on the rest of the Blackbridge security guys & Puff Daddy! Lol
Thanks for another great book Marie!
Reading this book made me realize how talented author Marie James is. She can go from one genre to the next in a heartbeat, Deacon and Anna were perfect for one another, you can see it from the hated talked, the sneering, what is it that they say? *It’s A Thin Line Between Love And Hate?* well those have it in spade but they’re also made for each other. Thank You Author Marie James for this outstanding job on a brand new series.
A great captivating read. Old enemies reconnect when their friend/ex wife disappears. Phew, so much angst and sexual tension in all their interactions! Looking forward to the rest of the Blackbridge clan stories.
The characters are great but they also have an interesting history and the twist on enemies-to-lovers is quite unique here. There was a little too much angst over their relationship and whether or not it’s truly forbidden to go there. There were times I wanted to shake Deacon and tell him to just talk to her already because his broody thing was ridiculous. There was a lot of tension surrounding the MCs because of their mutual attraction, but there was also some suspense surrounding their circumstances and the missing friend. The mystery was great right up until the end, because the resolution was boring after so much build-up.
Despite all of that, I still enjoyed it very much and will probably check out the next book in the series because sometimes the first one is where you have to work out all the kinks.
I loved this book. All the characters are different in their rights. I naughty talking bird was different but loved his come backs. This is one of the best fell in love with your best friend stories. Would recommend this book and any more in the series.
I liked this book, but I didn’t care for the heroine through most of it. Anna and Deacon knew each other when they were teens, but haven’t seen each other in 8 years. She calls him out of the blue when her best friend goes missing. Having always loathed each other in the past their feelings slowly begin to change. There is a lot of danger and a few cameos from the Cerberus series. It was good but there were just to many misunderstandings that could have been solved by talking a little.
What a great start to a new book series! Absolutely loved Deacon and Anna, you can feel their chemistry jump off the pages. I can’t wait to see what Marie James has in store for us next. All I can say is you don’t want to miss a second of this journey!
I received an ARC of this book for an honest review.
Yet another one that I fell behind on due to the craziness of life, but I am going to do all I can to make sure I get caught up. Back to the book.
Hostile Territory is not my first Marie James book and I am so excited to see where this new series takes me! Deacon is a dark horse that I wasn’t prepared for, at all! Add in Anna and WOW! These two took me on the ride of my life and I wasn’t even mad at it. The plot didn’t hold me as well as I wanted it to, but the connection to the characters made up for it, big time!
This enemies-to-lovers romance is one for the record books. These two are fire and ice and putting them together is bound to make things happen! I cannot even put into words just how much these two captivated me.
Four stars for this fun read that kept me on the edge of my seat with anticipation as I waited to watch it all unfold before my very eyes.
Another great read by this author. I had to smile at the fact girls can be bitches in high school and you never really get to know them. They hide behind snide remarks and hurting people. This is true when Deacon finally gets to know who Annalise really is and how much he could really love her. The best part of this book was meeting the Grimaldi parents and their reaction. I had to laugh out loud and enjoy the squirming of Deacon. Thanks for a great read. And, by the way, loved the parrot.
This book has it all. Action, mystery, enemies to lovers. Well written and captivating, this book kept me entertained. Deacan and Annalise were perfect and I’m ready for more.
Full of action and a group of seriously hot Alpha’s this first installment in the new BlackBridge Security series went off with a bang.
Deacon Black is going about his new life quite happily when all of a sudden his old one comes crashing into his office in the form of his ex-wife’s best friend Annalise Grimaldi. Cue a rollercoaster of mixed emotions from these 2 great main characters who in the past only had contempt for each other.
Hot guys, high tech gadgets, guns, diamonds oh and don’t forget the Russian Mob, this page turner has something for everyone who loves a good steamy suspenseful read. Looking forward to seeing where the rest of this great new series goes
What a great start to a new series! Makes me really look forward to what will be coming next. I did have a hard time connecting to some of the characters at the beginning but as the story went on that changed. I loved the storyline and most of the characters. Marie James writes insanely hot alphas like nobody else and the men in Hostile Territory were no exception.
The first book in the Blackbridge Security series, in this installment we get Deacon Black and Annalise Grimaldi.
One of my favorite trope’s enemies to lover’s even though the enemy was your best friend ex-husband, I love a good twist.
Deacon and Annalise were magic together. Deacon is ex military, he starts his own security firm and Annalise needs his help when something happens to his ex wife and her friend, Dani. This book is filled with suspense and drama that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Throw in some hot and steamy sexy times with an alpha man and a sassy sexy heroine, you are in for the ride of your life. Can’t wait to read book 2, so don’t miss out on Deacon and Annalise.
Wow! Marie James has a true talent writing a man with a military background. I absolutely love her Cerberus MC series and know just by this book I will love all she has for us in The Blackridge Security Series. Plus a HEA for Deacon and Anna what more can you ask for?!
There is no love lost between Deacon and Anna. Dani is a witch and doesn’t deserve either of them. This is a new series that comes out of the Cerberus world (a must read!). Deacon isn’t a lovable cuddly teddy bear by any stretch of the imagination. He’s all business after his service time ends and his life falls apart. He has built himself a great new life and business. His world is turned upside down when Anna calls in a panic. They were never close and pretty much hated each other. Over the course of the book they find out that their opinions of each other may have been wrong. Can Deacon and Anna figure out how to move past their history or are they doomed?
I truly enjoyed this first book in the Blackbridge Security series. The characters were well fleshed out and the history between all of them very believable.
The character of Annalise was very sympathetic. Her feeling of always being a third wheel and second thought to everyone in her life was portrayed very empathetically. You felt her disappointment without feeling sorry for her.
Deacon was rock solid – until he wasn’t. I wanted to smack some sense into him a few times and yell at him to use his words but could completely understand why he felt he had to remain so guarded.
Dani (Deacon’s ex) is a bitch from Hell who deserves all of the unpleasantness that being “not wealthy” can bring her.
I am looking forward to the stories of the other team members of Blackbridge!
I highly recommend this book!
4 Stars
Deacon Black has moved on from his marriage that ended eight years ago. He’s left the military and started his own private security company and business is booming. What he didn’t expect was the phone call he received from his ex-wife’s best friend saying something was wrong with Dani. Being the man he is, he jumped in to help, not because he was still in love with his ex. Nope, that ship sailed long ago and was proven when his former nemesis in the shape of his ex-wife’s best friend walks into his building. The last person in the world Annalise wanted to ask for help is her bestie’s ex-husband, but he’s the first person she thought of. She hasn’t seen him since the day their divorce was finalized eight years ago. Walking into his building, she wasn’t sure what to expect, but she totally wasn’t prepared for the man that Deacon Black had grown into. These two had an instant love/hate chemistry and both gave as good as they got.
Hostile Territory is book one of James’s new Blackbridge Security series and is off to a good start. This book has all the elements I love in a book. A strong Alpha male hero, a feisty heroine to put him in his place, push and pull, the perfect amount of suspense and lots of steamy sexiness. I loved the whole crew that work for Deacon and am very interested in their stories. I loved the cameo of the Cerberus guys and I have to say that Puff Daddy definitely stole the show lol.
Angela – Alphas Do It Better Book Blog
“I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect beginning for this series! Marie James has created an explosive ex-military turned into securities series. An enemies to lovers story that was so delightful to read plus with a mind-blowing romantic suspense trope. Slow burned, yes, but eventing was utterly perfect. Hostile Territory was Deacon and Analise’s story and let me tell you it was splendid. The constant push and pull between the line of hate and love. I highly recommend you this book.”
I absolutely loved my first Marie James book. With a hero I spent equal time wanting to kiss as much as I wanted to slap and a heroine who is caught up in the craziness her best friend has left behind and being judged for the person she used to be, by the only man who can help her stay safe. An excellent start to a new series, choc full of alpha men, who’s stories I’m dying to get to know.
Deacon, hurt by his wife after filing for a divorce he didn’t want and signing their life together away with no looking back and no explanation why, and her best friend Annalise by her side, he hopes never to lay eyes on any of them again. Unfortunately 8 years later with his ex missing, Annalise is there asking for his help to find her. Deacon isn’t the young man who fell in love and married his childhood sweetheart, he’s cold and standoffish and much bigger than he was when Annalise knew him. He now has a presence that commands attention and muscles she can’t keep her eyes off of. Annalise has also changed from the spoilt rich girl Deacon used to know, she’s independent, hardworking and no longer spends her time throwing barbs at him… well not all of her time anyway. Annalise is a beautiful woman, one Deacon would cling to if she wasn’t a reminder of and a link to his painful past. Instead he spends his time keeping her at arms length, pushing her away and treating her as if she is nothing more than a nuisance. Along the way, their feelings begin to change, but with the reappearance of his ex, can their new feelings stand up to those from their entwined past.
I loved and hated Deacon, at times he was almost cruel to Annalise, and without his side of the story, showing the internal struggle he was really going through, I would have spent the majority of the book despising him from his words and actions alone. With the addition of his innermost thoughts and feelings, I understood where he was coming from and felt the turmoil he was going through,
Annalise made this book for me, though we get glimpses of who she used to be, she is definitely not the same person anymore. Her worry for her best friend sends her straight into enemy territory and even with a target on her back, she cares more about finding her friend than her own safety. She also takes Deacon’s hostility in her stride.
I highly recommend this angsty, slow burn, adrenaline fuelled romance, beautifully written, and emotionally supercharged.