Protégé King (Wall Street Empire: Strictly Business, #1)

by Lisa Renee Jones

[Nadz@Totally Addicted to Reading]

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Protégé King is book one in Lisa Renee Jones trilogy, Wall Street Empire: Strictly Business. In this series Jones gives her readers a friends to enemies to lovers romance and a fake engagement trope. 

Protégé King introduces readers to Damion West and Alana Blue. From early in the story, one can see how well the title fits. Damion’s father is a ruthless corporate raider, and he’s been grooming Damion to be like him. However, Damion has no intention of being like father. He plans to topple his father from his position, but to do so, he had to enlist the help of the woman who owns his heart. He knows he should maintain his distance, something he has done for many years. However, despite the strength he displays, Alana remains his one weakness.

This book delivered lots of frustrating moments. Damion and Alana were next-door neighbors and best friends. Circumstances led to them drifting apart and losing touch with each other. Despite the years apart, their feelings for each other never faded. Now the frustrations came from these two failing to acknowledge their feelings for each other and their refusal to communicate. So you can imagine the levels of angst and sexual tension permeating the story.

The secondary characters added another dimension to the story. First, there is Alana’s parents whose choices negatively affect her dreams. A choice which also left them indebted to the West family. A situation which Damion’s father maliciously took advantage of. I can see why he and Damion does not get along.

Secrets, betrayals and revenge drove the story and with each page turn, one wonders what next will come to light. The story moved between the past and the present. This gives readers a complete picture of Damion and Alana’s relationship from childhood to adulthood.

The story went well until the cliff hanging end. The moment it up ended, leaving the reader with lots of questions. Despite the cliffhanger, Protégé King delivered an interesting and fast-paced tale of intrigue served with a helping of steamy romance. 

This review was originally posted on Totally Addicted to Reading