#1 bestselling author Lora Leigh turns up the heat in her latest novel of high-stakes passion and persuasion featuring the men of Brute Force. Ilya Dragonovich is no stranger to the dark side. As a safe-house owner for security agency Brute Force, Dragon knows that the battle line between good and evil runs through the heart of every man–and, sometimes, a beautiful woman… Emma Jane Preston … woman…
Emma Jane Preston needs help. After her marriage crumbled, she believed she could get back to a normal, happy life. But now she needs the kind of protection that comes at a cost–one that only someone like Dragon can provide. But can Emma Jane trust this handsome, undercover operator to keep her safe when she is in danger of falling into the arms of the deeply seductive, fiery Dragon. . .and never letting go?
“Leigh’s books can scorch the ink off the page.”
—RT Book Reviews
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What an absolutely amazing book that is fast-paced, action-packed, well written with well developed characters, danger, loyalty, undeniable chemistry, drama, suspense, humorous moments and even paranormal elements – everything you want in a suspenseful romance. I was sucked in from the very beginning and couldn’t put it down. I loved the attraction, sizzling chemistry and sexy romance between Emma Jane Preston and her dragon, Ilya Dragonovich who is part of Brute Force.
Ms. Leigh blew me away with “Lethal Nights” and I look forward to book four in the must-read Brute Force series. I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased review.
I enjoyed this third book in the Brute Force series, about the mysterious Dragon!
Ilya Dragonovich is a man who lives in the shadows. He runs a safe house operation for the Brute Force agency, in addition to his role as right hand man to the former Russian crime boss Ivan Resnova, his best friend. When he gets a call from an old friend to set up a new safe house, and save the woman in question’s home in the process, he’s intrigued. When the meets the owner, he’s utterly enamored of her. But she was in the midst of a divorce, and wasn’t emotionally available to start anything, so he walked away. A year later, when there’s a breach of her home, and an attempt on her life, he knows he can’t walk away again.
Emma Jane Preston has had a rough go. She has an amazing family, but she married the wrong man, and when he turned into a bully, and started down the path towards abuse, she kicked him out. But, the jerk tried to take her family home from her, and the Dragon, and Brute Force, saved it for her. She knew she was agreeing to some level of risk in turning her home into a safe house, but she didn’t expect an attempt on her specifically, when no agents have even stayed at her place yet. She let Ilya walk away a year ago, because she wasn’t ready. But seeing him again, and riding to her rescue, no less, makes her realize that she’d love to keep him this time. But, can a regular girl like her ever truly tame a Dragon?
Ilya and Emma Jane had MASSIVE chemistry, and they were both fighting it, for various reasons. Their push and pull was extreme, and I loved watching them dance around each other. Ilya knew that EJ would be a target if anyone realized how important she was to him. Unfortunately, it seems like that had already happened, and now he needs to protect her at all costs. There was quite a bit of suspense in this story, which I always love, but I liked how much the story really focused on the two main characters. Their families, both by blood, and by choice, were huge characters too, and that was awesome.
Emma Jane was such a strong woman. I loved that she was confident in herself, and her place in the world. She knew she’d always have her family’s love, and the support of her community, even with her ex trying to besmirch her character every chance he got. She knew she loved Ilya, but she never wanted to change him. Or make him stay, if he was determined to go. Even if that meant breaking her own heart. She was a great heroine.
Ilya was quite the brooding hero. He was very agonized about his role in his mysterious family, and what that might mean with regards to any hopes of happily ever after for him. But, the Dragon was finally in love, and once he realized he couldn’t live without Emma Jane, he was determined to fight for her. His dragon tattoo was almost another character in the story. There were definitely some mystical elements to it, especially given his Romanian heritage, and the family stories he’s been told. It gave the story a bit of a paranormal bent, even though it wasn’t a PNR story at all, so that was unexpected, but fun, and enjoyable for me.
I definitely liked this story. The suspense plot was exciting, and the villains were super crazy.
I really enjoyed all the side characters here, both on Ilya’s private security team, Brute Force, and Emma Jane’s boss, and her cousin’s husband, Nik, and his secretive friends. I’m hoping this isn’t the last we hear from this crew!
I’m a big fan of Lora Leigh and Lethal Nights did not disappoint. The chemistry between Emma and Ilya was magnetic and the suspense and action were cutting edge. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of her work.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin Press for providing me a copy of this book.
Loved reading the engaging and enthralling romance story. When Emma Jane Preston needs help in keeping her house in an ugly divorce, Iyla Dragonovich comes to her rescue. Then, when Emma is in danger, lya comes again into her life. Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, captivating and riveting page turner, and a must read love story.
This author has the ability when I come across her novels to call me in. In this one she uses the agency that provides security and the characters that will head this one. Dragon and Emma take you on this ride as the battle between forces goes on around them. Having caught the first two this one still stands well on its own. Romance and suspense at its finest you get swept away as it unfolds. It is fast so you keep pace so not to miss anything. This also has sprinkles of humor too that balances it all out. One that takes you away for a minute giving the best.
Love the passion between Emma Jane and Ilya. Love the suspense and danger. Love that this felt like a shifter romance even though it’s not. There’s an otherworldly element to the story; maybe the Romani/Gypsy scenarios, which added an interesting element to the story. Ilya is involved in a very dangerous world, which Emma Jane becomes embroiled in as well. Someone has sent some top assassins after Emma Jane, so Ilya comes to protect her and figure out who is out to get her. They had a moment awhile back, but it didn’t go very far because Emma Jane wanted to wait till her divorce is finalized. I didn’t like that Ilya didn’t remain true to Emma Jane during the separation, but technically they weren’t even together. I didn’t let that affect my rating; still I don’t like it. Both don’t think they are good enough for the other and a whole lot of denial is going on, but they are drawn to each other. Some really great chemistry and some hot, sweet moments. I do wish Ilya wouldn’t have thought of her as too weak to handle his lifestyle; she is a bit of a damsel, but she’s tough too and has some good sass. He is wonderfully protective of her though and you can tell how much he cares. I would’ve done 5 stars, but around the 70% mark the story slowed too much and the climax didn’t excite me as much as I wanted. There was some great build up throughout the story and the climax was fine, but I wanted a bit more. Still really enjoyed the story though. I’m really enjoying this whole series.
Wow! Lora Leigh has yet another winner in her A Brute Force Series!
I felt the connection and sting pull of Ilya and Emma Jane from the first moment! I loved every chapter I was drawn into and the best was truly saved for last. I can’t even think of a more perfect way to end this book!
Thank you for reminding me why I love reading your stories!!
I give this book 5 wine glasses and a a sip of Dragon’s Blood!!!!
Another fantastic book by this author! This story contains suspense, drama, intrigue and romance. It is a page-turner and had me captivated from the beginning. Ilya (The Dragon) works at Brute Force and has an offer for Emma Jane who is going through a divorce and is about to lose her house. Emma Jane is not scared of Ilya even though he is gigantic, dark and brooding which comes as a shock to him because he always intimidates everyone especially women. The chemistry between these two is off the charts but that sends Ilya running but after the attack he can’t stay away. He doesn’t trust anyone with her safety, but can he protect her? I can’t wait for this series to continue!!
This was my first book by this author and I’m kicking myself for having waited so long. This books great!! It was steamy, action packed and very entertaining. I was hooked from the very beginning and found it very hard to put down.
Lethal Nights is a smoking hot contemporary, bad boy romance. Lora Leigh is the queen of super sexy romances and bad boys that will make your heart pound. Ilya Dragonovich, the Dragon, is the dragon heir set to inherit leadership of his family’s large clan of Romanian gypsies. Blood thirsty and cold, Illya’s childhood has shaped him into the dangerous man he is but little Emma Jane holds his dark heart. Emma was burned badly in her divorce and knows the Dragon will only lead to heartache. When danger knocks on her doorstep, Ilya cannot keep his hands to himself any longer and the Dragon comes to claim his mate. This story will leave you with heart palpitations and fanning yourself from the heat. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from Netgalley.
This is book 3 in the Brute Force series and I would absolutely read the previous books before reading this one or you may be confused as the back story about Ilya. In this one we finally get Ilya Dragonovich and Emma Jane Preston’s story!! Ilya (Dragon) has recruited Emma Jane to be a provider of a safe house for their company. What he doesn’t realize when he does so though is that now she is in the cross hairs of his enemies. Emma Jane agreed to the contract with Brute Force in order to keep her home after her marriage ended. But she never expected to be so attracted to Dragon or to end up needing his protection the way she does. But neither truly understands how far someone will go in order to get what they desire.
I absolutely loved this one!! I have wanted Ilya’s story for so long and this in no way disappointed! I finally get the full story about his Dragon and just what happened to him that makes him the person he is now. Emma Jane is this down to earth, stand up woman who isn’t afraid to fight for what she wants and needs. And she is absolutely perfect for Ilya!!! I don’t want to say too much and give things away, but this one is definitely going on my reread list!
This is the third installment in the Brute Force series. This is a fantastic romantic suspense book. I have read the other books in this series and this story continues that story-line wonderfully. I don’t feel you need to have read the previous stories for this one to be enjoyable. The characters are well developed and the pace of the story is fast. Lora Leigh writes sexy hot scenes and this book was no exception. It is also action packed and suspenseful. This is a very enjoyable story.
It really devastates me to write this review, because this is my first read by Lora Leigh, but I just could not get invested in this book.
When I read the blurb for it I was super intrigued, and was so excited when I received a copy from Netgalley. But when I started reading, I felt confused right from the get go, like I entered a conversation in the middle and couldn’t figure out the gist of what was going on just by listening. So I felt at a disadvantage from the start, and perhaps it is a case of being confused because I didn’t read the first two books and didn’t know who any of the characters are.
Maybe it is a case of not gelling with the writing style either, I’m not sure. As I read chapters, I was confused as to whether things were really happening, or were they just things that Ilya was thinking in his head, causing me to reread parts multiple times to figure out what was actually happening.
I think the best thing for me to do is go back to the start and read the first two books before attempting to read this one again and maybe that will give me a chance to get used to Ms. Leigh’s writing style and figure out who all these characters are. Once I do that I will come back if necessary and update my review.
This really bums me out because I’ve seen so many great reviews on this book, so it is definitely a case of “it’s me, not you.” I wish Ms. Leigh nothing but success with this release!
Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
Holy cow! This book had me more than hooked. It completely absorbed me. When I put it down to finally sleep, I had dreams about it. Ilya is a bad a$$. He is the Dragon heir, an assassin, and more. Emma Jane is a sweet woman, too good for him. But that does not stop her from owning his heart. Only she does not know it … yet. Someone is out to kill her and he is determined that will not happen. Who is it and why? Is it personal against her… or him.
I love how this story unfolded and the pieces came together. There was danger, mystery, heat, and loyalty.
This book had great main characters, great plot and dangers, a touch of fantasy and then for me it fell down the rabbit hole of TOO much sex.. And it was pretty explicit sex at that. I wish the author hadn’t done so much of that. If I had known I probably wouldn’t have picked this book up.
Which is a shame because if you push the other aside, it did have a pretty good story. Yes, I know the story information did mention that Dragon was a deeply seductive man but still…
There are a good amount of interesting secondary people in the story which helped some.
There was a good ending of the book with justice being served from an unexpected source.
Now, I’m having a hard time trying to figure out how many starts to give it while doing ratings.
“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”
Lethal Nights is the first book in the series that I have read, and while I could tell there had probably been some prior interactions between the characters, I was easily able to read it as a standalone.
Emma Jane is in the process of getting divorced from a man who seems to be a complete jerk. He throws constant obstacles at her in an attempt to make her life miserable, but she is determined to keep moving forward. I really loved her strength and her attitude; she was positive, sweet and caring, but she could also be a fireball and was no one’s doormat.
Ilya spent months fighting his attraction to Emma Jane, knowing that his family history and his duty could spell a death sentence for her. When an attempt is made on her life, he knows that he has brought danger to her doorstep despite his best efforts and he goes into full on alpha mode. He tries to keep his past a secret from her but once they reach the point of no return and he knows that he has to tell her everything, all he can do is hope that she can find a way to live with it – and him.
Lethal Nights was a great suspenseful read with plenty of heat and a dose of psychotic villian/ess thrown in. I enjoyed the slightly supernatural aspect of the mystical dragon’s blood that was woven throughout the story and Ilya’s past as well. I will be checking out the rest of the books in this series!
ARC received via NetGalley
Dragon and Emma are so HOT together! And I am not talking about what happens behind closed doors kind of hot. They just click. Yes you have a lot of pull and tug when it came to these two. But it all just works. You need the obstacles to get over that hump and get the HEA. Lora Leigh will keep you on your toes and wonder what will happen next! The Brute Force series are smoking and you do not want to miss out on Lethal Nights. The hot and heavy will make you break out into a sweat! You fall for these characters over and over again!
LETHAL NIGHTS by Lora Leigh is book 3 in the Brute Force Series. This is the story of Emma Jane Presto and Ilya Dragonovich. I have read the previous books which helped me to enjoy this one but you could make it a standalone book if you wish to do so.
Ilya is known as Dragon who has had a harsh childhood that even his mother was a part of to hurt him continuously. Ilya has learned to not get close to some especially to women but when he meets Emma Jane she is someone that is hard to keep his guard of feelings up with. Emma Jane was going through a divorce from a really bad husband and Ilya offered to help. Then sometime later Emma Jane became to be in danger and he stepped forward to help. Ilya knows that he shouldn’t want Emma Jane because she is a good person that most everyone cares for where he feels evil..not a good person. But sometimes you can’t walk away from something you want so bad.
Enjoyed their story.
3.75 stars–LETHAL NIGHTS is the third instalment in Lora Leigh’s contemporary, adult BRUTE FORCE erotic, romantic suspense series focusing on the men and women who work for the security agency Brute Force. This is Russian/Romanian enforcer, Dragon heir/son Ilya Dragonovich, and PA Emma Jane Preston’s story line. LETHAL NIGHTS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary.
NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line content, there may be some scenes no suitable for more sensitive readers.
Told from several third person perspectives including Ilya and Emma Jane, LETHAL NIGHTS focuses on Ilya Dragonovich’s desperate need to keep Emma Jane Preston safe. One year earlier, the Brute Force organization and Ilya Dragonovich made EJ Preston an offer she couldn’t refuse, an offer that saved her home in the wake of her impending divorce from husband Matt Lauren. Fast forward to present day wherein Emma Jane Preston has been targeted by an unknown assailant who is determined to destroy Ilya but killing the woman he loves. What ensues is the building relationship and romance between Ilya and Emma, and the potential fall-out as Ilya’s past comes to America in an effort to reclaim what was, and what will never be.
Ilya Dragonovich’s childhood was the stuff of nightmares. As the Dragon heir and son to the Dragonovich ‘family’, Ilya found himself between worlds, world that were about to combust and collide. EJ Preston only wanted to live her life in peace but never stopped thinking about the man she met one year earlier. Several attempts on her life would bring Emma Jane’s past into focus, but it was Ilya’s past that would take aim at life and love.
The relationship between Ilya and Emma Jane is one of immediate attraction but their initial introduction found Ilya walking away from the woman with whom he would fall in love. In the middle of a divorce, Emma did not want to further complicate her life, and Ilya was a complication she could no longer avoid. The $ex scenes are erotic, intense and passionate.
We are re-introduced to former crime boss, and Ilya’s ‘brother’ Ivan Resnova; Brute Force agent John Sawyer; as well as Ivan’s Dragon team: Max, Elizaveta, Grisha and Tobias; and Emma Jane’s brother Ronan Preston, their father Calvin Preston; and Emma Jane’s former husband Matt Lauren. The requisite evil has many faces.
LETHAL NIGHTS is a gritty story of family and betrayal; power and control; arrogance, force and feisty determination. The premise is raw and dramatic; the romance is provocative; the characters are energetic, colorful and strong but Emma Jane is a little TSTL (too stupid to live)in that she places herself in the direct line of fire.
I must admit this was my first book by Lora Leigh and I truly enjoyed this somewhat untraditional gypsy heir/ thriller /romance story. Although in the beginning I was quite irritated with all the names and all the by-characters and got few times lost with who is who.
Anyway the attraction between the main characters was touchingly feelable and definitely steamy…you know that kind like fanning myself.
I loved the word building and their usage but I felt like in the end the story was cut a little bit short, therefore 3,5*.