LESSONS LEARNED
Marie James
Release Date: October 13
They call me a soldier of fortune. I go where the money takes me.
Lauren Vos, an FBI agent, and I were an odd pairing, having met years ago on another job.
Against my better judgment, I let her under my skin.
She got to me in a way no other woman had before, but it still didn’t stop her from stepping over my lifeless body the first chance she got.
The day she left me for dead changed me in too many ways to count.
Now that our paths have crossed again, all I can think about is revenge.
The problem with punishing Lauren Vos is that instead of running as far from me as she can, she enjoys the way I treat her.
Her need for degradation may be the death of us both.
The Mission Mercenaries series is a Cerberus MC spin-off. Expect crossovers to happen!
Buy Link:
Free in KU
My ARC Review:
Having read all of Marie’s Blackbridge Security series and loved it, I thought I knew what I was in for with Lessons Learned – boy was I wrong! Holy Hell!!! It was a bit of a shock….. I love dark and twisted reads, but this is gritty and raw, it really pings on your nerves and was powerful enough to have me wincing at times. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fantastic read when you get into it and understand the background of the characters to see why they act the way they do, but it’s not one to go into without due warning, it’s not for the faint hearted, it has lots of triggers.
Angel is a mercenary, getting paid to do the jobs not many would take, the danger and violence are a thrill to him, he has no morals, emotions mean nothing to him, a stone cold killer, if he is to rescue a woman then that women gets rescued, he doesn’t care who he stands on to achieve his goal – he also won’t rescue anyone else apart from the person he is being paid for, so the rest of the women and children would remain behind, without even an after thought!
Lauren is an undercover FBI agent, working in the worst and most dangerous trafficking areas known, what she has gone through and endured to free some of the women does not bare thinking about. Lauren and Angel have crossed paths previously working in a cartel. Lauren is used to using her womanly charms to get what she wants, playing the victim, taking the abuse. She has played with Angel before, when he was more alive, when their paths cross this time she finds he is not the same man, he has no life within him anymore, and death awaits in his stare.
Both of these main characters have grown up in abusive situations. Angel was taken in hand with his Grandfather, who stepped up to educate him about women and how worthless they are, and has been doctrined into that belief. Lauren had an elder sister who doted on her father, yet Lauren could never do anything right in his eyes, he only had eyes for he sister. It turns out her elder sister was trying to keep Lauren safe from her father’s abuse and taking it all onto herself. Lauren blames herself for her sister’s death and does not believe she deserves anything good in her life, and so turns to pain and torture as her way of feeling good instead.
The story is utterly captivating even whilst you’re reading it and thinking you should not be enjoying this type of depravity, you cannot put it down. As the story progresses and you come to understand the mentality behind the characters and their actions you can understand why they act the way they do. There are some definite cringe worthy moments, these two people enjoying what would horrify most sane people. Expect to be pushed outside of what you are normally comfortable with. A very good read for me – this is a spin off series from Marie’s Cerebus MC series, which I have not yet read, some of the characters from there cross over into here, a series I will be adding to my TBR list after this.
Meet Marie James:
Let’s see…where to begin…
I’m inching up on the BIG 4-0. The gray hairs are doubling what seems like daily, and the wrinkles and laugh lines are more pronounced than ever.
I have an amazing husband (Married just over 15 years.)
We have two boys we’re doing our best to raise as respectful gentleman.
I have a master’s degree in criminal justice which I used to work as a juvenile probation office until deciding to write full-time in June of 2019. So that means there’s usually always some criminal/law element to my novels.
If I’m not writing; I’m reading.
My favorite genres recently are bully/reverse harem and enemies to lovers. Maybe I’m reliving my traumatic teen years through the girls who actually end up with the boys. (Not that I would change my history since it’s gotten me exactly where I need to be!)
I love coffee. I miss carbs. Music is LIFE. I try not to be too serious.
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