Born into hell. Baptism by betrayal.
His life revolves around violence. My life is on the line. I’m trapped both physically and emotionally. A pawn in a game I didn’t know I was playing. Until I met him. Pike acts without emotion, but I know he feels something for me. I see it in his eyes when he looks at me. I feel it when he’s close. I know it’s real because I feel it too. Lust. Desire. It … feel it too.
Lust. Desire.
It complicates everything.
I know that I’m part of Pike’s plan for revenge.
He doesn’t know he’s part of mine.
Pawn is book two of The Pawn Duet. Pike is book one.
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Pike and Makayla (aka Mickey) are back in Pawn, the stunning conclusion to The Pawn Duet. Pawn is fast paced and gets right down to business with a consistent and page turning storyline. I was in nailing biting suspense mode the entire time I was reading this book. The excitement and anticipation of it all is on another level. This coupled with the hot and dirty sex definitely makes it an amazing book that you won’t want to put down.
T.M. Frazier is a master at writing these type of duets and delivering so much more than what the reader expected. She certainly doesn’t disappoint when it comes to Pawn and does a fantastic job of answering all the lingering questions from Pike (The Pawn Duet #1). And just when I assumed I knew what was coming, cue in the unexpected revelations and turn of events that shocked the heck out of me. I highly recommend reading Pawn and for an even better experience, read Pike as well.
Overall Grade:
Well, buckle up, Buttercups, because T.M. Frazier’s Pawn is a wild ride back in Logan’s Beach. Here’s the thing that intrigues me about T.M. Frazier. Time and time again, she writes these compelling anti-heroes who we should really dislike. They are borderline abusive to the heroine at some point, and yet, we know behind that dangerous, alpha-hole (sometimes, sociopathic) exterior lies a squishy heart that eventually pines for her heroines. Over and over, the merry-go-round goes, and if you’re like me, you hop quickly onto that unicorn seat and go for the ride. Seemingly, Pawn is no different. Seemingly. Instead, Pawn takes a step forward into Frazier’s world. For the first time, there is a weighted gravity to this book, especially given the world we are currently living in. Pawn gives us more of what we love about Frazier, but it also reveals her heart in a way that I think we might miss in her other Logan’s Beach stories.
I don’t want to spoil this book so forgive me if I leave out details of this story. I’m going to attempt to stay away from the plotline because I think it’s best for readers to read Pawn on their own. What I will say, what I think needs to be said, is (1) Pawn offers a perfect ending to the Pawn duet. You will be happy with Frazier’s responsibility to this story. You will get more of the same as you received in her other Logan’s Beach stories. There is still some drinking and drugging and fornicating and violencing (my word to allow for parallelism), and happy endings. It’s all there, just as you’ve come to expect from Frazier. But (2) there is a social justice theme to this book that is oftentimes missing from Frazier’s past stories. Obviously, she’s illustrated the issues with poverty, crime, abuse, and social inequities in the other books, but it’s always covered over by the romance and the craziness of her plotlines (I see you, Preppy). In Pawn, however, this story feels incredibly relevant and timely, and it makes a statement about racism and the way in which we should respond to it. Now, don’t get me wrong. Pawn isn’t preachy, not in the least. What it does it take a step forward into the debate that is currently swirling our lives. And for me, it’s an apt response, one that we can enact for ourselves. This is the one time that I feel Frazier’s heart deeply embedded in her story, which makes it almost a necessary read.
The reason I say “almost” is that Frazier’s stories aren’t for everyone. If you’re looking for a clean, morally devout hero, he is not here. If you want a perfectly intact, mentally sound heroine, she can’t be found in this story. What you will find is two characters who feel complete in each other, who have endured struggles beyond the average, and who feel compelled to protect their world. Sometimes, this is wrapped in emotionally-gutting moments or actions that might be morally ambiguous to the reader. For me, it’s that line that T.M. Frazier pushes that keeps me coming back for more. Pawn provides that perfect happily-ever-after for Pike’s story.
I’m… just not sure what to say about this one. Although I loved Pike, and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of Pawn, this book is just a mess.
The first half, although slow going, is solid. I loved seeing the relationship between Pike and Mickey, even when they weren’t physically together. However, the back half completely fell apart. It’s too confusing to follow in some spots and I still have questions that were left unanswered. Everything also just seems… thrown together? Especially the last couple chapters? Very rushed, honestly.
I love TM Frazier and she is without a doubt one of my favorite authors. She’s extremely talented and I’m still a huge fan. But this one was a total miss for me.
The conclusion to the duet. If you think this is going to be wrapped up in a neat little bow, you have another thing coming. As much as these two played each other in the first book, there is a genuineness to them in this one. That’s not to say there aren’t twists and turns because there are a lot of them. Are things as they appear, who can you trust, what secrets are still being kept and what kind of deal will be made to blow it all out of the water? These are just some of the questions that were swirling in my mind this afternoon, the answers eventually come, but I didn’t see a good majority of them coming.