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REVIEW: Copper Script by K.J. Charles
Copper Script – K.J. Charles
Detective Sergeant Aaron Fowler of the Metropolitan Police doesn’t count himself a gullible man. When he encounters a graphologist who deduces people’s lives and personalities from their handwriting with impossible accuracy, he needs to find out how the trick is done. Even if that involves spending more time with the intriguing, flirtatious Joel Wildsmith than feels quite safe.
Joel’s not an admirer of the police, but DS Fowler has the most irresistible handwriting he’s ever seen. If the policeman’s tests let him spend time unnerving the handsome copper, why not play along?
But when Joel looks at a powerful man’s handwriting and sees a murderer, the policeman and the graphologist are plunged into deadly danger. Their enemy will protect himself at any cost–unless the sparring pair can come together to prove his guilt and save each other.
Copper Script is another cleverly titled historical romance by my all-time favorite author, K.J. Charles. Set in 1920s London, the story stars an unlikely hero, a graphologist and war veteran, Joel Wildsmith, whose genius at analyzing handwriting is so eerily on point it’s practically magic.
He cross paths with Detective Sergeant Aaron Fowler when the DS’s cousin’s cheating ass was revealed through a letter the cousin’s fiancée asked Joel to analyze. Aaron tried to come up with all sorts of possible explanations of how Joel knew about the indiscretion, and even went so far as to test Joel’s talents through a blind read of several different letters.
Not only did Joel give very accurate character profiles, he also smacked Aaron with not one, but two bombshells. First, hit hard close to home; the other was the spine-chilling revelation that there was a high-placed murderer in the Met.
Just as she gave us a bookseller who has no interest in books in The Will Darling Adventures, K.J. Charles gave us a handwriting analysis expert who couldn’t write properly.
Joel is a delightfully sassy, incredibly perceptive and quick-tempered ginger whose mouthy ways made me laugh. The man lost his left hand in the war, which unfortunately was his dominant one. It irked him to no end whenever people tried to console him with “at least it’s not your right hand.”
Aaron is the more even-tempered and controlled, also a fair-minded do-gooder who takes his duties and responsibilities to heart. He is a methodical and conscientious investigator who has to deal with office politics. He goes out of his way to help a certain jobbing graphologist, occasionally taking him to his favorite restaurants because he likes watching him eat.
Joel has no trust in the police, having been a victim of an entrapment scheme. So, while he was attracted to Aaron, it took a while for him to fully trust the detective. I loved the contrast between their personalities and how they played off each other. The chemistry was fantastic, and the banter between them was a joy to listen to!
The cousin was a real pain in the ass, and watching Aaron, patience stretched thin, yet duty-bound, a.k.a. threatened to be reported to the Fowler matriarch, dealing with the bastard was also funny. The scenes with the cousin are a classic poke by the author at entitled, overprivileged assholes.
My favorite scenes were the letter readings and the first bombshell on Aaron when Joel analyzed his handwriting. Joel, the tease that he is, really knew how to draw out the anticipation, keeping Aaron on the edge of his seat, then bam! I could vividly picture Aaron gaping like a fish at the reveal. It was hilarious!
The only reason this is not a 5-star book is that the villain and the comeuppance scene were mostly told, not shown. Maybe because the story has a low-key vibe to it, but the villain’s murderous ways were mostly implied. The climactic scene where the bad guy overtly acted was resolved with minimal fuss a.k.a. the evil man just walked away, and we only hear about his fate later.
This is a very minor issue. Overall, the plot was well-executed, and I was thoroughly entertained by Aaron and Joel’s interactions and adventures.
Copper Script is a story of seduction and crime-solving through handwriting analysis. It might lack a bombastic showdown, but the vivid personalities, engaging humor, and compelling narrative performed impeccably by audiobook narrator Cornell Collins made this a very well-written book indeed!
Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step awaySoundtrack: Handwriting Analysis
Artist: Late Night Takeaway
Album:
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COPPER SCRIPT: Kindle | Audiobook
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RELEASE BLITZ: Worth The Wait by C.F. White (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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PROMO BLITZ: All of Me by Victoria Sue
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NEW RELEASE BLITZ: Specimen by C. Quince (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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SERIES REVIEW: Extradiction & Protection (Mobsters + Billionaires Books 1 & 2) by Kelly Fox
Mobsters + Billionaires: Extradiction by Kelly Fox
Fun fact: You can take the man out of the Mafia and put him in a fancy Manhattan high-rise, but that man’s always gonna have a little bit of mobster in him. Which probably explains why I told off my arrogant billionaire CEO, Rand Wolfe, in front of the entire company.
After our little exchange goes viral, I’m left with the choice of letting my father’s men toss Wolfe’s disrespectful ass into the Hudson or helping him escape. Long story short, I’m hiding out in the billionaire’s penthouse with my father’s extradition order hanging over my head.
Only…Wolfe’s nothing like I thought he’d be. This wealthy, powerful man is actually interested in what I have to say, and his alpha-hole façade falls apart completely when we’re alone.
God, he comes alive under my hands.
With other families getting involved and my father’s threats looming in the background, am I mob enough to save the man I’m falling for?
Extradition is a Manhattan romance that features an ex-mobster with a heart of gold, a billionaire with a tiny humiliation kink, and a snarky cast of criminals, reprobates, and other corporate types.
This is the first book in the Mobsters + Billionaires series. #dangerswoon
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitSoundtrack: The Wolf
Artist: Mumford and Sons
Album: Wilder Mind
Mobsters + Billionaires: Protection – Kelly Fox
I wait for the signal at crosswalks. I pay my taxes on time. And, despite my association with a certain Mafia family, I run a clean business providing security for Manhattan’s wealthy elite.
I don’t break the law.
Dr. Madhuban Laghari—Mads—is my newest protectee and my biggest problem. He fights his security protocols at every turn and makes me question all of my carefully crafted rules. Especially the one about not falling for the world’s most adorable billionaire.
Every time we go back and forth, I fall a little harder.
More dangerous than our sexy banter is the fact that the threats against him are starting to escalate.
He doesn’t want to face the reality that he’s got a stalker tracking his every move, not to mention the Russian government trying to steal his technology. The closer we get, the more I know I’ll do anything to protect him.
If his enemies dare to put a hand on my billionaire, they’ll discover how Mafia I can get.
***
Protection is a cameo-filled, globetrotting romance that features a reluctant mobster, a billionaire with questionable taste in fashion, and a found family made entirely of morally gray do-gooders.The books in this series are stand-alones, and the HEA is always guaranteed.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitSoundtrack: Worth Fighting For
Artist: The Movement
Album: Always With Me
The combination of mobsters and billionaires had never crossed my mind, but when author Kelly Fox put them together, I realized it was an obvious and unexpectedly intriguing pairing!
Also, who doesn’t swoon for dangerous, deadly men and their ‘touch him and die’ vibe when it comes to their adored boyfriends?!
Series opener Extradiction kicked off with a mic drop walk-out scene where Joe Portelli puts the posturing billionaire Rand Wolfe in his place. I’ll keep the details to a minimum because this is one of the best parts and started a series of exciting events that led to Joe living with Rand.
Rand quickly realized Joe was an asset, and working with him would improve the company’s image and more. The two started working closely to convince Wolfe Sr and other old school board members to improve work conditions for their employees. They met a brick wall but Joe and Rand were determined to make positive changes.
Rand also realized he could let himself be vulnerable around Joe, and Joe would instinctively give Rand what he needed. They don’t have much in common, but both men have complicated relationships with their fathers, and this impacts much of the story.
While BDSM isn’t my cup of tea, and Joe’s magic dick was a bit much, the evolution of their relationship and the undeniable soul-deep connection that formed was a joy to witness! This is such a fun and delicious read, the kind I found myself so entertained that I could ignore the inconsistencies.
For example, we can totally ignore the elephant in the room, a.k.a. Joe “there’s no such thing as an ethical billionaire” Portelli is also Joe mooching off and being okay with said billionaire spoiling him with designer suits and thousand-dollar VR games.
Forced proximity did its magic, creating a spectacularly sizzling chemistry between Joe and Rand! Add to that the swoony alpha protectiveness of Joe, tapping deep into his mafia soul to save his beloved billionaire from the bad guys! Also, lots of cuddles and pasta dinners!
Coming full circle is the squee-tastic closing scene where I squee-ed so hard!!! It was the perfect happy ending for this power couple!
The series also introduces us to lots of unforgettable characters, pairings for the succeeding books, and secondary characters who made their mark. The couples from each book come together to play poker every week.
Aside from Joe, the mobsters are could-be-could-be-not-actual brothers starting with security specialist Edgerton, mob boss Luca, and unhinged psycho Hopper. The billionaire contingent and Rand’s friends are money geek Ford and tech genius Mads.
There’s also a mysterious RICO agent stalking Hopper. Adding their snark and good sense to the mix are Greyson, the butler, and Sherry, Rand’s PA.
Protection is about security specialist Anthony Edgerton assigning himself to protect tech billionaire Dr. Madhuban Leghari from a stalker. Mads is fighting hard to keep his invention away from people with malicious intent. It has gotten so bad, that there were even kidnapping attempts.
This is narrated by Declan Winters, and unfortunately, his voices for Mads and Anthony were so similar that it took me a while to realize the POV changes.
The story opens with a rather manic internal dialogue by Mads, and the rest of the chapter is chaotic because Mads’s energy is on hyperdrive. At first, he came off as a horny teenager, then just a horny adult, but he was amusing, and he was a ray of sunshine.
Mads made it well-known from the get-go he was crushing on Anthony. Tried as he might to resist, the immovable, taciturn Anthony stood no chance against the unstoppable force that is Mads.
This has the size difference and opposites attract tropes in play. Anthony is Captain America, while Mads is a scrawny 5’7, tall in Asia, chibi in the US. Anthony is also a rule-follower, a code he has because of his complicated family history. And protecting his loved ones, especially the sunshine-y Mads, is making him break his rule.
While I liked the first book more, I couldn’t help but be charmed by Mads and his loyal bodyguard, Anthony. Sure, the love declarations were cheesetastic, and there were plenty, but they were heart melting too!
The cameos certainly piqued my interest. Couples from the author’s Wrecked: Guardians series contributed their skills and crazy in the action-packed rescue scene. It was quite a treat, even though I haven’t read their series yet.
I’m also hoping the author would write a story about Olga, the spy secretly helping Mads, and Ryder, Mad’s goth tech expert. Loved how Olga kicked ass as Ukrainian spec ops while Ryder kicked ass with her keyboard.
The books are in dual first-person POVs. Expect action and some violence, plenty of humor and steam,
Extraction is narrated by Blake Lockheart who did a fabulous job! The rest of the books are narrated by Declan Winters. He’s one of my top narrators so other than the point mentioned above, his narration was very engaging.
Mobsters+Billionaires should be read in order. Ethical mobsters and billionaires might be a myth but they sure fall in love for real.
If you like my content, please consider using my Amazon affiliate links below to buy your copy of Mobsters + Billionaires. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases at no additional cost to you.
MOBSTERS + BILLIONAIRES: Kindle | Audiobook
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AUDIOBOOK & eBOOK TOUR: Didn’t See You Coming by Gabbi Grey
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BLOG TOUR: Once Upon A Goth Dog Solstice by R.L. Merrill (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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BLOG TOUR: Once Upon A Goth Dog Solstice by R.L. Merrill (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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AUDIO TOUR: Nightcrawler by Patricia Logan (Excerpt & Giveaway)
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BLOG TOUR: Nightcrawler by Patricia Logan (Excerpt & Giveaway)
