Power Play

Silicon Billionaires #2

by Alexis Knightly

**IT'S HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO READ BOOK 1, INSIDE JOB, BEFORE POWER PLAY.

He's Silicon Avenue's most wanted hacker. And she's his new bride...

Tristan

It's not every day a hacker is blackmailed into an arranged marriage.

And I'm not to marry just anyone off these New York City streets—but Lauren Astor.

Yes, that Lauren Astor.

Tech heiress, hot-shot lawyer, and my new corporate ally with a smart mouth.

Except, Lauren’s more than just my arranged wife. She’s my obsession. My every temptation. A dangerous line waiting to be crossed, only to sow devastating consequences in a deadly game of fate. But until I take that step…

I’ll always have eyes on her.


Lauren

It's not every day Silicon Avenue's most promising young lawyer is forced to marry a complete nobody.

Tristan… Walker? *crickets*

But in the wake of my father’s inexplicable disappearance, our family’s crown jewel, Astor Security, is in desperate need of a CEO. And there’s only one crypto-billionaire, computer whiz capable for the job.

So, I’ll set Tristan’s inconvenient loner status aside, play his blushing bride, and nothing more.

Should be easy enough, right? Wrong.

Because not only is my new arranged husband domineering, territorial and hell-bent on owning me in every possible way…

He’s riddled with secrets.


This book contains a possessive, dirty-talking, and very morally-gray hero. Readers should expect plenty of steam, nail-biting angst, dark secrets, and a deeply nuanced plot. There is dual POV, no cheating, and a guaranteed HEA.

Genres: Romance, Dark Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Dark, Billionaire Romance, Forced Proximity, Contemporary

382 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 12, 2024

About the author

Possessive Men & Intelligent Women

Join the VIP list:
https://alexisknightly.com/newsletter/

Alexis Knightly loves writing contemporary ("lite") dark romance packed with unapologetic doses of spice and possessive, filthy-mouthed heroes who know exactly who they want: their unlikely heroine. Sassy, strong-willed women whom they’d burn the world to protect, all in pursuit of their guaranteed happily ever after.

A true lover of rain, Alexis resides in Washington State with her family, two spoiled cats, and beloved boyfriend. When she’s not writing, she can be found exploring the beautiful PNW, binging the latest medical drama, trying her absolute hardest to become a runner, or mingling with friends over a bottle (or two) of wine.

CONNECT WITH ALEXIS:


➜ ALL LINKS: alexisknightly.com/links


➜ JOIN NEWSLETTER: alexisknightly.com/newsletter


➜ WEBSITE: alexisknightly.com


➜ FACEBOOK READER GROUP: facebook.com/groups/knightlyreaders

Reviews

[Chloe young · Rating 5 out of 5]

HOLY SH*T! 🫠🫠🫠
⚠️ANNOUNCEMENT!!!! ⚠️ RUN to read this fantastic book!
I LOVED IT! Firstly…. What planet did Tristan come from?! Because he is book boyfriend of the year 2024 hands down! 🙌🏼
And Lauren is such a bad ass boss bit*h I am obsessed with her! Every page was perfection! The whole story was *chefs kiss* 😘👌🏼 I need every one of you to read and fall in love with this as much as I did 🫶🏼

@booknerdbarbie

[Nadya Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨Arc Review✨

This is the second book in Silicon Billionaires Series.
A possessive hacker and a powerful woman? Sign. Me. Up.

I love Tristan and Lauren.
Tristan has everything i love in a man, possessive, a billionaire, a dirty talker and he ride a bike? WHAT?? A literal perfect book boyfriend.
Meanwhile, Lauren has everything i want to be.
Smart, feisty, caring, and a powerful woman.
They both have a very lovable chemistry. I just love a simple, low-angst, and uncomplicated story.

And don’t get me started on the spicy scenes, because… god damn! I devoured, ate, feasted and licked all of it.
The amount of spicy in this book is just perfect. A really delicious balance.
This author’s writing style is a force to be reckoned with. So. Good.

Thank you Alexis Knightly for providing me with this ARC In exchange for an honest review

[Jasmine Jauregui · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow when I tell you I read this in a day because it was so good 🤭

First of all Tristian is officially my favorite 🥵 I love this man so much 🥵 the way he was so obsessed with Lauren omg 😍also the spice was amazing the plot had me shoook omg I couldn’t put it down I highly recommend it 🩷

5⭐️

[Lucy (Aaron’s version) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was ight

[m. · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨ARC REVIEW✨
5/5 ⭐️
4/5 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
wow wow wow!! what an amazing read!
first of all, right off the bat the book starts with spicy scene 🫣great suspense (especially toward the last 20% of the book) , amazing character development. and i love the connection between the characters from the first book in the series. i finished this book in 3 days( probably could of finished it sooner if i didn’t have work 😂).

tristan walker is an over protective, morally grey, billionaire HACKER who is blackmailed into a marriage with the woman he is OBSESSED with, lauren astor. lauren is a powerful, smart, sexy lawyer who we were introduced to in the first of the silicon billionaires series as the women who took oscar bass, her uncle, to court.

the story perfectly tells the development of their real relationship through an arranged marriage and had many twist and turns throughout it!
if you love morally grey obsessive men and strong female lead characters with a hint of suspense, please give this book a read when it comes out on march 12th!!

[Catie · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

This was my first hacker romance! Alex Knightly is such a unique writer! Both of the Silicon Billionaire books have grabbed my attention from the start!

We have Lauren Astor, a feisty, strong and intelligent lawyer whose mother orchestrates an arraigned marriage for her when her father disappears and a new CEO needs to be appointed to Astor Securities before an upcoming investigation.

Tristan Walker is a recluse and Silicon Avenue’s most wanted hacker; and has been quietly working to take down the secret society - The Oculi. However, they have different plans and insist he be the one to wed Lauren Astor and meet their demands, or else his sister’s life is at stake.

This was such a different and intriguing read with the hacker/secret society aspect, but still has the same things I love about an arranged marriage and spicy romance; a filthy-mouth, over the top obsessive MC and a badä$s FMC!

[Stacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC honest review

Lauren is a hot shot lawyer, but to help her families company she is forced into an arranged marriage with Tristan, a tattooed billionaire hacker who is possessive and full of secrets.

Hacker Arranged Marriage
Spying
Digital voyeurism
Spicy
Enemies to lovers
Biker

Can be read as a standalone but would suggest to read book 1, Inside Job.

I did enjoy this who doesn't love a strong ass fmc and a dirty talking mmc, however Inside Job is still my favourite from this series.

[Alexestelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really loved tristan! the way he treated lauren 🥹🥹 the sex scenes didn’t do it for me, i found them quite cringe, unlike the first book. I felt the plot hit at 80% and that’s where the book got really good. i’d say it’s a 3.5

[Jasmine · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 60%

I'm really bored with Power Play. I'm disappointed as I've really enjoyed Inside Job.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Review

Lauren is a strong and feisty FMC who doesn't back down when things get crazy. Tristan is a dirty talking and possessive MMC who knows what he wants. They have good banter and chemistry so you definitely believe their relationship. They have an arranged marriage to help her family's business. You'll want to keep reading with all the twists. Spice was really fun and made it hard to put down! I would give it 3/5 for spice since the story had an actual plot and not just spice. Would be helpful to read first book to know more of the different characters in this book. Overall, a really good read with the balance of spice and plot if you are looking for a little more substance!

[Scarlettz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sexy

I loved it I would have been happier with more spicy scenes especially with him watching her through the cameras LORD HAVE MERCY I have unlocked a new kink and I sing even mad I wish I had me a digital stalker who would do for me like Tristan he would blackmail any and everyone for her happiness

[Reyann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tristan’s dirty mouth and Lauren’s playful spirit kept me wanting more page after page. All the spice combined with Tristan’s secrets and the plot that unfolds surrounding these two had me on the edge of my seat the entire time!

[Kaity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy macaroni! The hot, filthy talking hacker and bad-ass queen-ing lawyer!!

[Magg · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ 2.5🌶️
I’m actually shocked that I liked this as much as I did. Again the larger plot with the secret society was super interesting and had some great plot twists. I think that this plot was done really well in this book and came to a strong conclusion at the end.
With that said, there were some questions left unanswered, like how Tristan got involved with Oculi to start out. While they briefly mention it was a mutual agreement to stay away from each others business, the author doesn’t discuss how he ends up doing work for them much.
The writing was better in this book than the first. It’s still not a work of art or anything, but the descriptions were better written and a little more verbose. Lauren’s sections could have been a little more eloquent though, since she is an attorney, so they should have reflected that at least a little in her vocabulary and the way her inner monologue worked compared to Tristan, who should have been a little more blunt in his inner monologue.
The biggest issue I’ve had with this series is the backstories of the MCs being underdeveloped, and that’s the case with both of them in this story. Lauren is a little boring and Tristan has an interesting story, but his involvement with Oculi is confusingly under-explained.
However, the plot was still enjoyable and super thrilling to read, the romance was so steamy and fun and I LOVED Tristan as a match for Lauren. And while they had some miscommunications, I’m SO glad there wasn’t a third-act breakup because those are so overused in books like this. So overall I did really like this book.
After reading the synopsis for the next book in the series, and seeing that the Oculi plot is concluded, I don’t know if I’ll be reading the next book since it doesn’t interest me too much. I do think I would recommend this book to friends (especially those who love Christian Harper from Ana Huang’s Twisted series).

[Ada Sughra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I may or may not have stayed up until 4 am to finish this book (despite having to wake up early the next day. Now there's coffee flowing in my veins👍🏻).
The book was unputdownable (is that a word?). Idk what it was about it, but I just couldn't stop reading it.
The characters were lovable. And the writing style was also great, honestly. (Though sometimes it felt like it was written by ChatGPT) There was spice. A lot. of spice. The plot... wasn't as good. I had guessed at like 10% in the book who the person running the Oculi was. (I'm not going to spoil it, dw.)

Now, despite being advertised as an enemies-to-lovers, it wasn't. I went into it thinking it was that and ended up a little disappointed, so I'm just warning u, bestie. Despite that fact, it was still a good read. It's incredibly fast-paced and got me out of a slump.

The MMC (Tristan Walker)
Possessive and jealous😋
HOT
Has a motorbike🤌🏻
Hacker
Obsessed with her
Family man
Punched her ex (and I cheered on him)
Bonus (and maybe spoiler) - paid 3 million dollars for a dinner with her, just to make sure her ex never got the chance bc he was a smug asshole.

The FMC (Lauren Astor/Walker)
Badass Lawyer
Could kill you with her heel
Confident and magnetic
Kind and Elegent
Excellent fashion sense
Has an asshole ex
Threatened a man into telling her information (and I cheered on her, too)
Although I'm still weirded out by the fact that she acted so casually to her mother, literally being a crime lordess.😭🙏🏻

So yeah. Go and read this book. It's soooo good.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️️
🔥🔥🔥

Another amazing book by Alexis! I loved Inside Job so I was so excited when she announced this title! She does such a great job with drawing you in from the very first page making you not want to put the book down until you are finished!

This book takes place a little bit after Inside Job but carries on with the story line! We meet our new characters Lauren and Trisitan. Lauren is a lawyer who is involved with a case that has to do with her family. Her mother is thinking about the possibility of having a new CEO instead of Lauren's father. This means that Lauren is to be involved in an arranged marriage.

Lauren is anxious about his setup as she finds out he is a hacker so she pictures him being an ugly nerd...but boy was she wrong! Trisitan is not only amazingly smart when it comes to technology but he is drop dead gorgeous.

The two start to navigate their relationship and also start to explore what it means now that Tristian is CEO of the company. But things aren't what they appear to be and secrets need to be revealed.

I don't want to give too much away as there are quite a few twists that will have you on the edge of your seat! I definitely did not see the ending coming..holy moly!

But overall this was a great read as it had suspense, angst, and spice! The spice in this was top tier as it was in Alexis's other book! She does a great job with making it not repetitive and juicy! I need to find me a billionaire ASAP! Can't wait to see what she writes next!

Read if you like:
💍 Arranged Marriage 💍
👾 Hacker 👾
💵 Billionaire 💵
🔥 Feisty Heroine🔥
🖤Morally Grey Hero🖤
💻Voyeurism Kink💻
🌶️Degradation Kink🌶️

[Trupti Nayak · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 📖 book covers on hacker 🧑‍💻Tristan Walker. He is the Ghost of Silicon Avenue, Apex of the down under, billionaire and a brother of Aurora Walker. He is forced to wed none other than Lauren Astor the young upcoming lawyer with specialization of data privacy and litigation She is the billionaire Nicolas and Diana Astor, and is working on the case against Oscar Bass who is her uncle for spying 🕵️‍♂️ on many people using Bass mobiles 📱.
Lauren sacrifices and marries him. She never thought that she would fall in love with him but she does. He gets her favourite car 🚗 as her wedding gift. He is so possessive about her that he even bids 3 million when Lauren's evening is put on an auction for charity. He buys her a necklace which is very costly. He gives her a minimum spend of 10 million for charity. He gets her the 10% shares from other share holders when he becomes the CEO. The love he has for her is shown in all these moments. He has a heart of gold. 😍😍
Lauren realizes this and falls in love with him so hard that she is ready to put down all his worries of the Oculi by facing them head on.
The story was on a fast pace but good and much better than the last book. Oculi is exaggerated a lot but it crumbles very quickly.
Next best character is Bryson, friend of Tristan and is the best lock 🔐 picker.

[Tamadjia · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Review

Anyone who knows me knows I love a stalker romance and masked men. This just happens to have both. Technically. Slap cyber hacking and arranged marriage in the mix, and I'm sold.

Power Play is about a family whose patriarch goes off the grid for the umpteenth time, and they need someone to take his place as CEO. Between his two children, the choice is to marry his daughter off and have the husband run the company. This husband happens to have bigger secrets than we know.

I feel like I have fallen off of the series train and can never go on to the next book if it's not a continuation with the same main characters. I loved this one. You do see some of the same people, and the story stands well on its own. Lauren and Tristan have amazing chemistry, and there are no weird pizza toppings in this one. I will definitely try to get book 3 when she writes it.

[Messy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really good story! I lived for the bad boy hacker persona that the MMC had. And I love a badass FMC!

They had the chemistry 😮‍💨

And I love that the FMC didn’t up and leave when the MMCs secrets came out. She tried to understand and even help him.

But I felt like so much of the story was missing. There was waaaay too many unresolved things in this story! Like I never understood how the MMC got involved in this secret society. That was never really explained. And how were his parents murdered and why. Why do I feel like that had a connection to the secret society. There was just waaaay too much!

And I just hate when everything isn’t revealed by the end of the book!

So this will get a 3.5/5 stars 🌟

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tristan and Laurens story!!

🖤arranged marriage
🖤secrets and twists
🖤robin hood hacker

I absolutely loved Lauren and Tristans story! Going alomg with her moms arranged marriage plan out of duty to her family, she ends up marrying hacker extraordinare Tristan. I loved the flow of their relationship and the sass they both brought to the table. Tristan is 🥵 when he brings his A game trying to get Lauren to cave to him!
Loved getting to see more of Damien and Hannah throughout the story as well!

I wish we got to see more of the fallout from the plot twist (i love the drama of a big reveal and ensuing chaos) but all in all was an amazing read!

[Rachael Gillespie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really do love this series, I think the plot setting is classic yet unique, billionaire romance with a hint of secret society mystery.

I will say up until 80% I was loving the book until I realized only 20% was left and there were still some major lose ends that needed much more than 20% to resolve. This installment is definitely not as strong as book 1 (Inside Job).

The spice was top tier however and the chemistry between our two main characters is electric so it makes up for the wonky plot pacing.

All in all, I definitely plan to continue the series and I’m looking forward to more content from Alexis!

[Alyssa Nira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tristan has many personas. A technical engineer, hacker, fighter, and now "CEO". The last one wasn't much to his choice. Being tormented by a group that one does not dare to speak of, one that is heavily secured. Think of a modern Big Brother. The company he is now forced to be CEO of is none other than Lauren Astor's family business after her father mysteriously disappears.

Forced marriage, obsessiveness, and a tatted up hunk what else could a girl want? sounds like a dream to most but not Lauren who would rather have her father back and not be forced into an arranged marriage by her mother. Overtime maybe shel'll learn to love the mysterious man or will she be caught up in lies?

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every single second of reading this book
And you could not go wrong with these sad backstories that lead to these bad@ss people.
And honestly THE TWIST WAS UNEXPECTED IN SO MANY LEVELS.
But I enjoyed it, A LOT.
Would so recommend others to read this as this was hands down so good.
And it gave DYSTOPIAN TOO
Like the Oculi?! Bro, that was creepy but it definitely was a good build up to the twist that was SO UNEXPECTED but honestly just yes
honestly just loved this book as it was easy to read and captured my attention every time

[Autumn Sulick · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was even cuter than the last!!! At first I thought all the Oculi business was a bit much, but as they got more involved and grew closer because of it and as it progressed, it became a really fun and fulfilling part of the story! Their relationship is so much deeper than Hannah & Damien for so much longer and it was clear that to them it was way deeper than just the s*x! They’re my new favorite power couple! I loved everything about this book so much. (The bonus scene at the end of the ebook was so cute too!)

[Cheyanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

10/10 will read again. I absolutely loved it! It was great seeing the characters from Inside Job again and I love how much of a girl boss Lauren is! The story played out beautifully and the ending left me speechless! I think the relationship between the Lauren and Tristan and how it was portrayed was perfect! I had a hard time putting the book down and already can’t wait to revisit both it and Inside Job.

[Tik · Rating 3 out of 5]

🌶🌶

- arrange marriage
- Secret Identity
- Secret Society

Hmmmmm Awalnya aku pikir bakal seru karena bawa-bawa hacker gitu. Momen hackernya ga terlalu banyak dan malah agak membingungkan sih dengan ceritanya hackernya. Sebenernya seru sih tapi kayak agak nanggung gitu, aku ga terlalu paham permasalahannya dan ya kurang anti klimaks juga penyelesaian konfliknya. Romancenya ya lumayan sih, aku suka dengan Lauren yang baik dan tabah banget menerima Tristan.

[Kathie McDermott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! I could not put this down. Tristan and Lauren had me held captive right from the beginning until the end. I read this in one day since I could not put it down. The characters are well developed and you have no choice but to keep reading to find out what happens next. I highly recommend this!

[Catie M | SmuttyCocktails · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars 2.5/5 spice
Wow! If you like spice then buckle in because right off the bat you’ll have deliciously written spice starting in chapter one and continuing through the whole book! This book so many twist I wasn’t prepared for and kept me glued to the pages! I love a good spicy arranged marriage and this one is fantastic!!
Lauren Astor is a successful lawyer from a well off family who is pushed into an arranged marriage to a nobody. Unbeknownst to her, her new husband, Tristan Walker, is one of the world’s most notorious hackers. You’ll be sucked into the intrigue, lies and most importantly smut as Lauren and Tristan navigate the chaos around them

[Mary Meadows · Rating 5 out of 5]

God this book was so freaking awesome!!!

The storyline, the spice(🫠🔥)and the plot twist

I really liked how the tables have been turning from the start and when Tristan DID the power play, it was glorious 💥💥💥

Loved it! Loved the character growth and the build up of pent up emotions, which wanted to claw their way out to the surface❤️

[Yara flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este es muchísimo mejor que el primero!
La química que tienen y el dirty talk! Aparte me gustó que no se separaran al final y que Lauren fuera comprensiva con la historia de él

Aunque me faltó un poco más de Aurora y de su reencuentro con su hermano

También creo que la autora aprovechó muy bien las críticas del anterior y explicó un poco más el pasado del protagonista