Wild Aces

by Marni Mann

[stacey_is_sassy]

Not the smutty, smut I was expecting.

When ARCs became available for Wild Aces I jumped at the chance to read another of Marni Mann’s smutty stories. Finding out that it was Brea’s put a great big smile on my face. Wild Aces ended up being a wee bit surprising. I had previously read the Unblocked series with Frankie and Derek, which introduced me to the lovely Brea. I opened up my review copy with a smirk on my face…but the smirk slowly disappeared. The smutty smut book I was expecting, started with a very serious beginning.

Brea works in real estate with her boss, Frankie, who is also her best friend. They are wine drinking, chocolate eating, and smut talking buddies. There aren’t too many secrets between them. Frankie knows all about Brea and Brea knows all about Frankie. Brea has faced a lot of heartache, but she is slowing coming back to herself. Frankie and Derek, Frankie's husband, are having a masquerade party. Brea has struggled to find a man who can satisfy her both in and out of bed. With her mask firmly in place, Brea attends the party and meets a man named Trapper. They don’t spend much time together just enough for a quick chat, a heated kiss and him giving her his phone number…without seeing each others face.

Trapper is a professional gambler. He finds playing cards soothing and the only time his brain is occupied enough to block his memories and bad thoughts. As a distraction from a tournament he's about to attend he accepts Derek’s invitation to a masquerade party. With his batman mask firmly in place, he is not looking to party hard, drink too much or find a hookup. Brea certainly wasn’t the distraction he was looking for, but this distraction sure is wrapped up pretty like a present. Unfortunately, it’s a little too distracting the night before a tournament and he leaves her before he’s too tempted.

What follows for Trapper and Brea, is a few days of very intense foreplay. Lips, eyes, and voices are the only things they know about each other, but that does not stop them from forming a connection. Brea can’t wait until Trapper is back and Trapper can’t wait to get his hands on Brea. When he is finally back in town they organise to meet up at a restaurant. They’re both nervous but are confident that looks will play a small part when they meet. Unfortunately, that small part ended up being MAJOR and causes an epic emotional breakdown from Brea.

Wild Aces takes us on a journey with Trapper and Brea as they face hurdles that not too many couples face. Trapper’s very ugly history has led him on a certain path. His support network up until now has been Roman, Vera, and Adriana. When Brea gets to know Trapper better, she is challenged to make the decision to back him or walk away.

I did not find this an overly smutty read. There were plenty of sexy times, it just didn't give me the same reaction I had with Unblocked. The storyline for Wild Aces is at times hard to take and ugly when seen for the horrible choices people make. To be honest, I was expecting a smutty read. While I did enjoy it, I struggled as well. I’m not a very forgiving reader and after finding out what the three closest people to Trapper kept from him, I didn’t think I had it in me to forgive them. I also think the heat factor was a bit off. It was like a see-saw with a high and a low side that struggled to stay on an even keel. Trapper was a dirty talking, action man who left me on a high…while Brea’s sexy talk was not at all sexy to me and dragged the scenes down.

I enjoyed Wild Aces and I was glad Brea had her story told. Now I’m just waiting for Derek’s assistant Will to get his HEA...and I will crack up if it involves whips and chains :-)

***Warning - There are a few scenes with violence against children.***

I received an ARC of Wild Aces via the author for an honest review

To pre-order your copy of Wild Aces from Amazon - http://amzn.to/1oqrHT5

I’m an Aussie chick who loves to read and review romance, drink coffee, be a Style Setter and stalk David Gandy. To see more of my reviews, fashion, food and pervathons -