Thanks to the author for an ARC of this book. It’s book 5 in the Twisted Billionaire’s series, the first to focus on Blaze Robinson. Since this is only the first book about Blaze, you can bet it’s a cliffhanger, and Blair Babylon is not shy about torturing her readers with cliffhanger endings. Sometimes, it’s easier if you know what to expect going into it. Truth is, if this weren’t an ARC, I’d just immediately start the next book, but as an advanced reader, I’m gonna have to wait.
The background is that Blaze Robinson is contacted by Mary Varvara Bell, the evil heir of the man who loaned money to each of the Twisted Billionaires when they were fresh out of college. As his heir, she has inherited the debt and is calling for it to be paid in full—which would mean Blaze would lose his entire fortune—unless he provides her with an assortment of war-grade weapons. As an ex-military SEAL, he refuses to be blackmailed, especially when he knows Bell is a key member of the White Russian mafia. So, he decides to threaten Bell’s niece Sarah, a hayseed from Iowa.
Needless to say, things don’t go as planned and Blaze finds himself on the run with Sarah, both of their lives in peril. Sarah’s older brother is one of Blaze’s closest friends, although strangely, he never mentioned he has a sister. Now, however, he insists that Blaze protect Sarah from assassins that have been sent to kill her. Even though Logan is closely aligned with the White Russians, it doesn’t occur to Blaze to question his motives because he, Logan, Micah, and Twist have been friends for so long.
Sarah is a fascinating character—both of her parents died, leaving her a small farm which she struggles to maintain on her own. She works from morning to night but always struggles for money. Nevertheless, she feels responsible for everything and refuses to leave, even when her life is in danger. She’s named her brown cow HowNow, which I love. Convinced that Blaze is kidnapping her, rather than rescuing her, she decides she must brainwash him into letting her go because she’s watched enough Lifetime movies to know that’s how things work. I laughed out loud at that one. And this was even better. Blaze hands her a toiletry bag, since she didn’t have time to pack anything, and she sees the name Bvlgari. She reasons it must be a knockoff because it should be spelled Bulgari. Again, I giggled. Faced with some unexpected truths about her beliefs, Sarah is stunned and Blaze compares her face to that of a cat suddenly realizing the red dot isn’t real and having an existential crisis.
Blaze takes Sarah to his house and she insists she can handle the enchiladas that his housekeeper left in the fridge for them. She then goes on to describe them in her head using words like: chemical weapons, hot coals smothered in red napalm sauce, reheated with a welding torch, burning phosphorus from fireworks, plasma from the center of the sun, and thermonuclear torture. It went on for pages; I was hysterical.
Although I’ve been asked not to include quotes (which btw is killing me because my own words are insufficient), there were some wonderful descriptions, like when they’re driving through traffic and the other cars are described as “racing backward toward them.” Okay, so it’s a very tiny quote, but if I didn’t add quotation marks, it would be plagiarism, which is worse than using the writer’s words to extol the writing. Besides, I think the warning is because words might change in the final draft of the book. So, I hope I’ll be forgiven for sharing this bit of poetry because it would be a crime if it were deleted! “The diamond and ruby torrents of headlights rolled in opposite directions in the night ahead, streaming through the star-covered city blocks and leaping over the abysses of riverbeds.”
There’s a part of the story where Blaze learns something unexpected and finds himself mulling over the colossal implications, and the words used to describe him as a puppy facing an oversized roast is impressively clever and original. Unfortunately, I can’t share it; you’ll have to read the book.
Finally, there’s also a veiled reference to a trashy mirrored hotel in New York City covered in yellow bankruptcy tape. This is classic Blair Babylon snark, and I’m here for it. The rest of the book is surprisingly lacking in it, so I was happy to see this.
Including quotations in my book reviews has become so much a part of what I do, that I feel like I’ve had one hand chopped off and I’ve been commanded to type this review using only one side of the keyboard. It’s just not possible for me to convey the genius that is Blair Babylon and I’m upset that I have to do it this way. All I can say is that this book is well worth reading and if you’ve enjoyed her books in the past, you’ll love this one too.