If you liked Fifty Shades of Grey you will love Grace Marshall's tense erotic romance, The Executive Decision Trilogy. Tess Delaney is the hottest property in romantic fiction, but the reclusive Tess has a secret – she’s really the alter ego of Garrett Thorne, bad boy brother of business tycoon Ellison Thorne. When Tess is nominated for the Golden Kiss Award, Garrett recruits PR specialist, Kendra Davis, to keep his secret and be Tess for the awards despite their mutual animosity. Hatred turns to scorching passion, but when Tess is stalked by a rabid fan, an identity crisis is eclipsed by a battle for survival. It seems Tess, the woman who doesn’t exist, just might understand Kendra and Garrett’s hearts better than they do.
Grace Marshall lives in South England with her husband and the growing gang of hooligan birds who frequent their feeders. When Grace isn’t busy writing something sexy and romantic, she’s busy digging in her ever-expanding veg garden or walking across the British countryside. She finds inspiration outdoors in nature, and most of her best story ideas come to her while she’s walking or gardening.
Grace is the author of the fast paced, quirky Executive Decisions Trilogy published by Xcite Romance. An Executive Decision, Identity Crisis, The Exhibition are all available.
Grace Marshall’s alter-ego, K D Grace, writes critically acclaimed, best-selling erotic romance. Whether it’s sexy romance or romantic sex, between The Graces, there’s a story for you.
Secret identities, enemies turned to lovers and an obsessed stalker - a must read. Ms. Marshall is a new to me author. The blurb of this book immediately caught my attention. This trope while rare, is one I've come across before. This one is by far the best one I've read. A man writing romance under a female's pen name is delightful. Garrett Thorne easily keeps up the facade of a wastrel riding his successful brother's coat tails. It keeps him hidden, gives him space to observer others and writing hot desirable romance stories. Surprisingly, Garrett is a romantic looking for his own happily ever after.
Kendra Davies is Garrett's sister-in-law's best friend, Dee. Kendra is the opposite of Garrett. She thrives on lust and one night stands. She doesn't believe in the happily ever after and romance is for smucks. Still, she is enamoured with romance stories written by the talented Tess Delaney. When the opportunity arises for her to met her favourite author, Kendra does everything to make it happen. As a retired spin doctor for the rich and famous, she's ideal to help Tess with her public relations (PR) issues.
This is when it becomes interesting. Kendra loathes Garrett. Garrett wronged her best friend, Dee, and Kendra is a woman who holds mean grudge. The confrontation between Kendra and Garrett when the secret is reveal is an amazing showdown with fireworks. It's hilarious!
This story drew me in because the characters are designed so well. Kendra's frustration and fears are saddening. Learning about her past - about her family as well as her brush with a stalker is depressing. What is depressing is that these are all too real. Fortunately, Ms. Marshall doesn't take the easy way out and paint Kendra as a victim. Instead, Kendra is a demur woman who is a control freak. While she may have a temper of a shrew, she can keep cool under fire. I found Kendra's hobby to create fake identities to be fascinating. Exploring her desires as someone else who can just disappear in the thin air is a hot fantasy. I can see the appeal and confess to have tried my hand at this early on in my youth. It's like a drug. Once started, it's hard to stop creating a new persona and shedding one which is no longer needed. It's like a drug addiction. I could really understand Kendra's drive - it made her more realistic to me.
Garrett is also a lovingly created character. He's the sensitive man hiding behind a bad boy shell. Once that shell is cracked, we get to see his gooey sweet center. Mmmmm, Ms. Marshall created a dream man. He's not without flaws which makes him more appealing. It doesn't hurt he writes erotic romances.
While this story could be just an easy plot with enemies turned to lover rife with contrived miscommunications, Ms. Marshall takes a different path. There are no miscommunications. There are mistaken identities and suspense with a dash of the past coming up to bite them on the ass. It's a well written story which keeps a reader's attention from beginning to end. This romantic suspense novel is recommended to hopeless romantics who know love triumphs over all.
*I received this book as a review copy in return for an honest review
After reading book one in this hot romance series, An Executive Decision, I eagerly pounced on book two, Identity Crisis. It's based in the same world, with the same characters, but focusses on the relationship between two people that were secondary in the first book.
Garrett Thorne, the younger brother of Ellison Thorne has always felt as though he's lived in his brother's shadow. Ellison is rich, powerful and popular, and now he's engaged to Dee Henning and is a very happy man. In comparison, Garrett is single, has his own, money, but can't tell anyone how he's earning it. Garrett has an alter-ego, romance writer Tess Delaney, and only his closest friends and family know about it. However, all that is set to change when Tess is nominated for a Golden Kiss Award. The public are expecting Tess to attend, but of course she doesn't really exist. Garrett doesn't know whether to 'out' himself as Tess, or hire someone to play her. He opts for the latter, and ends up working with Kendra Davis - a woman he knows as Dee's best friend and dislikes intensely. She dislikes him just as much, but they're all but forced to work together.
Everything goes well for the awards ceremony, but soon afterwards a horrific force is unleashed which means Garrett and Kendra must work together to defeat it. As they do, can they grudgingly agree to get on? And will this develop into more?
As much as I enjoyed An Executive Decision, I enjoyed Identity Crisis even better. I can't quite put my finger on why, perhaps it's because I identified with the characters more. Whatever the reasons, I enjoyed this book very much, with its fascinating mix of love, hate, passion, violence, mystery and action. The outcome was a page-turner that I whizzed through even faster than its predecessor. Definitely recommended for hot romance fans - but make sure you read the first book beforehand. This book will still make sense if you don't, but there will be bits you miss out on.
As the second book in the Executive Decisions series we get the opportunity to revisit old characters and see a more likable side of Garrett Thorne evolve from his unpleasant demeanor in the previous installment. This book is entitled Identity Crisis and it's the perfect title as it represents both of the main character's actions in keeping a persona that keeps them safe from heartache but with a stalker on the loose there can be no more lies if they want to keep each other alive.
Garrett has always felt like a pale comparison to his older brother and it's led to animosity between the two. In the early parts of this story he appears gruff, stoic, with a serious nature. But as the story progresses you see a man with a strong sense of romance and a protective instinct that sometimes overwhelms the heroine. The reason for his strong sense of romance is that he's a romance author who goes by the pen name Tess Delaney. He says in words what he'd like to act out more often as he's been drawn to Kendra from the first time he saw her. When the truth about his pen name is threatened he must rely on Kendra's help which puts them in close proximity and allows their relationship to progress into numerous steamy encounters and if they're willing to open up their hearts and show their true selves they'll get their HEA.
Kendra is a tough nut to crack and rather abrasive at times. She too keeps her true self hidden and it's not always clear what her true personality is like. Garrett intrigues her but it's all about sex at the start in her mind. When they're put in close quarters as she again pretends to be someone she's not we slowly see new layers to her. As a stalker gets closer to her she has to learn to let Garrett help keep her safe which is the first step to their HEA.
Although I didn't always like the main characters I was invested in their evolution to become better people. These characters were fully fleshed-out and their journey to discovering the reality of themselves and their admitting it kept me reading when sometimes I wanted to scream. Another character that intrigued my was the stalker himself. He was the perfect villain and kept me turning the pages to see what he'd do next. His actions in the final pages were especially exciting before the rather abrupt ending.
Identity Crisis is a fine addition to the Executive Decisions series and I enjoyed seeing two rather abrasive characters become better through admitting their real emotions for one another. Add in an exciting villain and you have the makings of a satisfying story that fans of suspense and romance will enjoy.
Time to breathe. This book was epic. Garett Thorne, the brother of famous CEO, Ellis Thorne is an amazing man. He's been writing for years under a pen name. Garrett really wants to keep this all a secret but his agent and publisher has other ideas. He is up for an award and they want him to reveal himself. He comes up with a plan to hire someone to be the famous writer Tess Delaney. Perfect plan, right? If only all plans of deceit actually worked out. Kendra Davis, best friend of Dee, who's now engaged to Ellis Thorne, wants to work for Tess, she's good at what she does and will stop at nothing to meet the woman who writes these fantastic novels. Kendra no stranger to taking on new identities, gets an interview with Tess or is it Garett and is Garett meeting Kay or Kendra. Obviously Garett and Kendra already know each other and really dislike each other, so this made for a very interesting read. There's problems and complications from the minute Tess Delaney comes out of hiding. When she finds herself being stalked. things turn nasty. Many celebrities have their share of harmless fans messaging and following them around. When messages become more serious such as death threats, it's really time to get some extra help. Kendra acts all tough and actually is a strong woman but things from her past take over her emotions. Garett is an absolute talented hottie. I've laughed and loved the romance in this book. At one point I was even shouting at my kindle, like the characters in this book could actually hear me lol. This was brilliantly written. I'm ready for book three in this trilogy.
Kendra loves her favorite author, Tess Delaney, and hates her best friend's future brother-in-law, Garrett Thorne. Time has failed to make her heart grow fonder.
Garret has apologized for mistakes in his past, but Kendra is unwilling to let it go. Tess needs her help, so Kendra comes to the rescue and Garrett is right in the middle. Kendra will help Tess, and Garrett can just stay out of her way.
When the masquerade blurs the lines between reality and one night of insanity, Garrett becomes unforgettable. Unwittingly, Garrett puts Kendra in the line of fire. Or is it Kendra who puts Garrett in the line of fire? Both will need to work together to figure it out before another decides for them and takes Tess Delaney for himself.
I have absolutely fallen in love with Kendra and Garrett. The tensions in the book perfectly transitions from hate to sexual and finally fear. The emotional highs and lows keep the reader intrigued, and the mystery keeps them hooked. I have been unable to put the book down until the momentous revelation at the end. Just when you think you have it all figured out, Ms. Marshall changes all the rules.
After reading An Executive Decision, which I adored, I jumped straight into Identify Crisis. I couldn't wait to read Kendra & Garrett's story & Ms. Marshall didn't disappoint! While the animalistic passion wasn't as prevalent in this book as it was in the first, it was still very passionate and romantic. I will admit to being confused at times with all of the personas that Kendra & Garrett wore and discussed. It made my head spin trying to keep it all straight, especially when the characters were talking in first person for 2-3 different identities.
That said, the suspense in this novel was top notch, I loved the edge of my seat sense throughout. The stalker was truly scary and well written, though I ended up not being completely sure whether Kendra's stalker was the same person as Tess' stalker? Gahh! It's all so confusing!
Even so, this book is a brilliant addition to the Executive Decisions trilogy & I can't wait to read the third & final story featuring Stacie & Harris!
I received this book from the Goodreads firstreads giveaway and loved it! The main characters start out hating each other because of something that happened in the first book of the series. However, this did not take away from their story as the author did a great job of giving just enough background.
The book is a racier romance and contains sex scenes you won't find in a harlequin romance but it wasn't overwhelming or of the 50 shades variety. The scenes would last not longer than a page and could be easily skipped over.
I couldn't turn the pages fast enough when the stalker was closing in and the suspense built. Grace Marshall sold me on this book and now I have to go find Books One and Three.
An Executive Decision was one of my favourite erotic reads of late last year; Grace Marshall tells an original and compelling story, with plenty of red hot sex thrown in. I thought it would be hard to top. But I was wrong. I loved Identity Crisis even more. Perhaps it's because the leading man - Ellis Thorne's bad-boy brother Garrett(or so we think...) is so gorgeous? Perhaps it's because the lead is a writer and the story is set in the glamorous world of publishing and PR? Perhaps it's because Kendra is so independent, so angry with men (while also loving sex with them) and still unable to resist the draw of the man we all know she should be with? It's probably a combination of all these things. Great characters, fantastic plotting, amazing sex. Wonderful stuff.
Outstanding thriller as tangled as a nest of serpents. All is not as it seems. Characters are not always as they appear to be. A lot of deception regarding the identities of several people. The nerves and emotions involved in maintaining the chicanery is very entertaining. When Garrett and Kendra get into arguments, the internal dialogue in Garrett's head is so amusing. Besides the attraction for each other and the fear of getting in too deep, our couple faces the mystery of Kendra's past as well as the threats of a stalker. Just when the mystery seems solved, a breathtaking turn takes place and triples the suspense. A complicated tale but oh so exciting.
I was given the opportunity to read this book and I was pulled in from the beginning. The book is the second in the series An Executive Decision Trilogy. Kendra and Garrett are steaming hot in this series. As it starts off as they hate each other and grow to love one another. There are many trials they go thru and they help each other throughout. The need each other. I would recommend this trilogy to anyone to read. Grace Marshall shows passion in her writing and heart. I received this book as a review copy in return for an honest review" and my honest review is this book is great and I cannot wait until i read the last book in the series!!!
“I received this book as a review copy in return for an honest review” I just love trilogies! This was a wonderful book! Quite a few surprises thrown in to keep you on your toes. If you haven’t read An Executive Decision you should read it before Identity Crisis. This way you can learn a little about the characters before you get into this one. I am waiting on pins and needles for the next book to come out. Seriously it is a great book to read. It is a wonderful love story for someone who never thought she would ever find love because of her past. When in truth she fell hard and fast. Thank you KD and I can’t wait to see who is in the next one!
I won this book courtesy of a goodreads giveaway but try as i might i just couldnt finish it. None of the characters are likeable and for a 'romance' novel I feel this is essential. I hadn't read the first book so decided to read that and perhaps try again with this book but that was a dnf too. Not much more i can say really other than I was disappointed. I was expecting a great read from the reviews left on this website but it was not to be!
Fantastic erotic/romantic suspense story. I enjoyed this book far more then the first one, it was somewhat predictable, but the suspense and tension were great. A true love story, filled with a bad guy, hidden personalities, good friends and supportive family. Kendra/Tess and Garret/Tess are great characters, well written and hot together.
a winner, and I hope that he next book will be just as good if not better
Such a different style from the first book. Gripping and sexy and some kind of wonderful. Really enjoyed the multi-layered storyline looking at the small and big plot lines even exploring characters and their motivations/development/changing personalities and minds. It reminded me that nothing is necessarily how you first see it. Full of romance, suspense, thrills and of course sweet sweet sex. Now onwards to book 3!
A thrilling and engaging story. Book 2 centres around Garrett, the bad boy Thorne brother with a reputation and Kendra, who is tough as nails, takes no crap and self confessed Garrett hater. Circumstances throw the two together in work. Secrets are revealed, pasts come back to haunt them and nothing is as it seems. The story twists and turns and hurtles along at breakneck speed. Fantastic plot, engrossing characters and hot sex in bucket loads - I love it!! Bring on book 3.
I loved this book! What a great twist on a romantic thriller. I was sucked in from the beginning ;) I did read this book before reading the first one and it could be a stand alone. I also LOVED all the characters and therefore reading the first book in this series is an absolute MUST!!! Thank you Grace Marshall for such a wonderful book :) Can't wait for the next one!
Garrett is Ellis's younger brother but what isn't known is he is also the best selling author, Tess Delaney who needs to hire someone to pretend to be 'Tess' for an award show. Kendra is one of Dee's best friends and an extremely successful PR rep, perfect for the job! Likable characters, interesting storylines and hot steamy scenes, a definite worthwhile read!
The second part in the executive decision trilogy.
This book definitely reminded me there are always several sides of a story and many layers to a person. As always the fantastic Grace Marshall builds unbelievable characters with incredible twists and turns to keep you guessing from the first line until the last.
I won this book in the Goodreads giveaway. I bought the first book in "The Executive Decisions". I love this series. I love this writer. I cannot wait until the next one. This book was filled with suspense and lust. Good romance between Garrett and Kendra. Love the way Grace Marshall writes.
It was a free download and I had read the first book in the series. I had problems connecting with the characters of this book vs the 1st book. I think the story line was good but it wasn't connecting for me. Anyway, for a free download I can't really complain.
I enjoyed the second book in this series. This was a fat passed read that kept you on edge until the end. Garrett met his match in Kendra. I knew they would be explosive when they finally got together.
Would have gotten a 5 for sure because I loved the book. What I didn't care for was that it abruptly ended- it seems that there should have been an Epilogue.
Fantastic book fabulous story I couldn't put it down. I thought the first book was brilliant but identity crisis was even better I can't wait for book three to come out
A brilliant sequel to Executive Decision- I'm not going to say much for fear of ruining a great read- but this one had me on the edge of my seat- sexy, tense, hot and very satisfying.