The familiar pop of a gun rings out, and I'm slammed up against the wall with Ash's giant form blocking me. All I can see is his tie pin—the eagle’s beady black eyes glinting with chips of onyx.
Ash’s focus is behind us, his left wrist raised as he speaks into his sleeve. His other hand is on my waist, circling half of it. All around us people are screaming and running. Totally freaked out. Which makes sense, someone is shooting at us.
Rage bubbles up in my chest. My corset digs into my sides as my lungs desperately try to expand.
Ash looks down at me with narrowed eyes. Spots are starting to dance in my vision. This stupid dress. I can't get out of it on my own. Never again will I agree to wear something this dangerous.
His hand on my waist scoops me up, and his other arm snakes under my legs—the move is effortless, like I weigh nothing. I let out a small, sharp sound of surprise. Ash is carrying me like I'm a damsel in distress, and because of this stupid dress and my inability to say no to it, I guess I am.
Ash takes off at a run. My breath is caught in the confines of the dress. My heart is pounding. I wrap my arms around his neck and try to hold on. Try to breathe. All I can see is his tie pin. All I can smell is Ash's raw cedar wood, leather, and citrus.
He’s running down a hallway, the lights flashing in spears as we pass under fluorescent bars. I can’t get enough air. We're barreling past people—they're all a blur in my peripheral vision.
There is shouting—inarticulate words sucked behind us as Ash sprints. I'm nestled against the chest of this giant man, here to protect only me. It doesn't feel right. I'm not a helpless damsel. I'm a trained agent.
I killed a man as large and dangerous as Ash. No, not as dangerous. Because Ivan underestimated me. Ash understands me.
He spins, and my fingers dig into the back of his neck, cresting over the collar of his shirt and touching hot skin slicked with fresh sweat. My vision darkens at the edges, his tie pin the center of my universe.
Ash smashes his back against an emergency exit and the alarm blares as we break out into the dying light of the Los Angeles evening. A roaring engine then squealing brakes. Ash hefts me into one arm, and my face is pushed higher up his body, my cheek on his shoulder, my nose in the hollow of his throat. His scent is all I know as I pull it raggedly through my lips.
The sound of a car door opening and Ash leans down and hefts me into the vehicle. I land with a thud, tumbling half off the seat. Ash consumes the space next to me, the door slams shut, and the SUV barrels forward, throwing me against the seat.
I can't breathe. My fingers claw at my bodice, useless and numb. Ash’s thick arm wraps around my waist and hefts me closer. Rough fingers slip between me and the gown. He rips it, buttons popping, exploding off me as the fabric gives at his demand.
Air rushes into my lungs. I hang over Ash's arm, taking in deep breaths, my vision quickly clearing. My forearms rest on the black leather seat, my gown flopped around me. His hot breath hits my naked back as the tires hum under us.
I write because I love to read, but I have specific tastes...
If I was offered a job as a professional reader with no strings attached, I would take it. Getting paid to sit around and read while drinking tea all day—I'm there. Since that’s not possible, I became an author.
I write the books I want to read—stories that give me the immersive reading experiences I crave. When a series grabs me, and it's all I can think about, I'm SO happy. When my inner dialogue starts sounding like the protagonist of my current read, I think, Oh yeah, this is IT. This is what I love.
When I finish a book, and I NEED to immediately grab the next one in the series, that’s the intensity I crave. When I binge read an entire series, I want to feel like my own reality changed—as if the stories I read affected the real world just a little. After a great series I'm a little wiser, a little more grateful for my everyday existence, and a little more aware that my personal perspective is not everyone's.
Personally, I like to spend time in fictional worlds where justice is exacted with a vengeance, even though good and bad are not always black and white. Give me raw stories with a main character who occasionally makes me laugh, is flawed like we all are, and feels like a friend by the end of the first few chapters. They don’t have to be a friend I always LIKE, per se, but a part of me has to root for them.
For me, the sentence structure is important. Too much passive voice, and I'm out. I do not mind four-letter words at all though. Sex in books can go either way—fade to black or show me the details, but either way there has to be a reason it’s in the story. I'm also into heroic pets, plots that seem totally unhinged but all come together in the end with a BANG, and long series so I always have more to look forward to.
Those are the types of stories I love reading, so that’s how I write. If you’re into some or all of the above then I think we are going to get along fantastically.
So worth the wait!!!! It’s hard sometimes when you have an author who writes such magical stories you just can’t put any of them down and then you reread over and over again just to experience the magic all over and sometimes you wait kinda patiently for the next in a series and you stress and wonder if it’s ever coming lol but my anxiety has been laid to rest because Lone Spy is finally here and omg it’s beyond awesome. Who would have thought melding a rockstar and a spy into one kick ass female character would make for such entertaining books!!! Emily really is an amazingly talented author, she writes the best female characters, her stories always always hold my attention fully and I can never put them down, best of all they leave me craving so much more.
Lone Spy has it all, action, adventure, intrigue, drama…. You won’t be able to stop reading once you start.
Two years have past between the end of A Spy is Born and Angela’s return in Lone Spy.
Angela comes into focus as stronger and more confident in both her film career and her clandestine role of assassin - when duty calls.
But there is the rub - duty to whom or what? On the set squabbles between the studio, the producers, and the director are common. As are the script changes and retakes. No harm - no fowl. Not so in the assassin business. Plot shifts, change of ownership, or a new director can be fatal to the cast.
It is in this vortex that Emily Kimelman has crafted Lone Spy. Kimelman has the reader fill in the two year gap with their own imagination - and buckle up for the new adventures.
Her character Angela is the perfect catalyst. She has a lust for life, success, the spotlight, and most of the attractive men in her orbit. Angela is gifted with stunning features that she keeps in shape with daily training for her cinema action roles. She uses her dazzle to keep male threats a half step off their game.
Lone Spy is set in a time and place that has contemporary parallels - making the tale all the more embracing. Sharp plot twists, solid characters, and great story telling make Lone Spy a great read.
A huge cliffhanger! Emily’s first book in the Starstruck Thrillers, A Spy is Born, was a page turner and Lone Spy continues the political drama with Angela finding herself in all kinds of crazy situations. Angela has quickly become a worldwide star and an unintentional secret international spy. That said, she is still young and somewhat naïve as evidenced by her internal thoughts which are so down-to-earth and honest. She is learning the spy game and the relationship game on the fly, constantly adjusting to her new life while staying true to her values. She is on a very dangerous emotional and physical roller coaster with no end in sight. I like the character development in this book and the introduction of a few new players. Angela’s life is interesting to say the least, and I’m excited to hear about a release date for book 3!
Fast paced, fun, exciting, all describe Lone Spy. For those of us who enjoy a good spy novel with a strong female lead you will love reading this new novel by Emily Kimleman. Angela, a new star in films, is the main character who is forced into becoming a spy and now has to deal with her new, glamorous life as well as the fear that follows her as danger lurks unexpectedly around nearly every corner. I guess you could say she leads a glamfearous life. Luckily, she is well trained in self defense and has quick wits that save her life over and over. This is a non-stop action novel with lots of juicy moments. If you like intrigue, action, politics and women who can make men tremble in more ways than one, you’ll enjoy this quick, can’t-put-it-down read.
Angela is beautiful, talented, dangerous, and wanted.
Wanted by adoring fans, handsome royalty, and various countries, Angela is leading a double life as a successful actress and covert spy for her country. As she readies for an international promotional tour there are threats and physical attacks to her, ratcheting up her bodyguards defenses, creating heated moments between them. While on tour she is being pushed to make contact with high ranking representatives of another government to provide them something.
There is a lot of action, sexual tension, politics and intrigue in Lone Spy, the second in Emily Kimelman's Starstruck Thrillers series. Lone Spy kept me thoroughly absorbed and entertained.
Highly recommend reading the first and second books close together, I needed a refresher on the story. Angela, agent/actress, is caught in the middle not knowing who to trust with her life and the future. The fictional president is very similar to our current one, quite timely with the real world even with a fictional spin. Angela seems to be in a bit of a love triangle with men that respect her strength and intelligence but she may not trust them. Her life is in danger, either from the controversial movie she made or her secret agent life. I found her story to be a slow burn until about half way and it quickly proved to be an interesting and captivating storyline. I was given an early copy and wrote my review voluntarily.
Angela is a spy—and she’s in far more danger than she knows. Entangled in a high-stakes mission with far-reaching consequences, she’s walking a razor’s edge without realizing just how deadly things have become.
Enter Ash, her fiercely loyal bodyguard, who will stop at nothing to keep her safe. But as the web of international intrigue tightens, even Ash may not be enough to shield her from the growing threats closing in.
With nonstop action, gripping suspense, and a brilliant cast of characters, Emily delivers another adrenaline-fueled thriller that will keep you turning pages late into the night. Packed with mystery, danger, and twists you won’t see coming, this is a must-read for fans of high-octane spy fiction. You won’t be able to put it down.
With her thumb on the pulse of the current state of things, Kimelman brings her A game to the table. She also continues to give us her signature badass women who know how to handle themselves. I can’t even put into words how excited I am that we are back in Angela’s chaotic world of her double life in Hollywood! She checks all the boxes as far as female main characters go. She is strong, determined, fierce, confident, and intelligent. Kimelman has that magic where you are thrust into a world full of action, suspense, adventure, and heart pumping adrenaline! Lone Spy will leave you completely captivated and begging for more!
When I started this series I wasn't sure I would like it as I was so in love with Sidney Rye. I am so glad I tried it. I absolutely loved it and can't wait for Book 3. It's a little hard to say enough about this book without spoiler alerts, but let me say there are plenty of people to love and plenty to hate. I myself am in love with Ash, whether I should or shouldn't be. It's a great anytime read and when I finished this book I did NOT want it to be over and I can't wait for the 3rd one in this series. Read it, you will be so glad you did!
Angela is an impressive character! Kind of what I wanted to be when I was young and first started reading spy novels. She’s got grit, determination and a fierce sense of self preservation.
This novel, the 2nd in the series, is action packed and full of suspense! Who can be trusted? Who doesn’t have their own agenda? What will Angela do to save herself?
Great read that will keep you in it’s grip all the way til the end!
One of my absolute favorite authors has done it again! This time the 2nd in her series of a beautiful actress/spy with the bad guys coming after. She has bodyguards especially Ash who is big, muscles and tattoos who promises he can keep her safe. A gorgeous prince who also says he can keep her safe. Such problems to have. Huh? Anyway, as Ms. Kimelman usually does, leaves me salivating for the next in this series for me to ARC for her. Always sexy always exciting. Thank you! You never disappoint.
I have been reading Emily's books for about a year and love the characters she creates. But, this book....
This book hits on so many of the current events that we are facing that it leaves me breathless. Along with the heat between Angela and Ash... I was barely able to think about anything else while reading this book! Strong female main character and action packed and hot AF this book is worth reading twice!
I loved this book as much as the first book in the Series. I love the main characters and how they interact. The storyline reminded me of some of the things that are happening in our world so it was easy to relate to the book. I was pulled into the story from the start. The twists and turns kept me engrossed and I was definitely loving every minute of reading this book. Loved the surprises and look forward to another book in the series.
Okay, suspend your disbelief and just enjoy the ride. Is this the next great American novel? No, but it's definitely a fun, quick read! Emily is good at creating strong, capable female leads. I never considered the possibility that being an actor could be beneficial in spy trade, but why not? They're good at portraying and/or hiding an array of emotions. I loved the characters. I could "hear" their voices. I wasn't ready for the book to end and I look forward to Book 3!
Lone Spy is an excellent 2nd book in the Starstruck Thrillers series. Ash, Jeremy, Zade, and Synthia are all back with Angela in this follow-up thriller. No matter where Angela goes or what she does, trouble follows her and her friends. She continues to have to make decisions regarding the men in her life and when she does things can go oh so wrong! You will love Lone Spy, it is filled with the incredible writing by Emily, she is a brilliant author!!
Stayed up so late reading as the action just kept going! I enjoyed this and am excited there will be another one coming. It can be read as a standalone, but there is 1 book before this one if you want to know how the heroine got to this point. It definitely has parallels to current events and concerns, so it's not an escape but does help you feel less powerless. I received this as an ARC from Emily Kimelman's team, aka Jamie the magnificent.
A fantastic new series. I thought book one was good, book 2 is even better. You will love Angela. She is young and new to the spy game. Emily does a fabulous job of writing Angela character, a strong but innocent young woman with a strong moral compass. This is an action-packed read that is very difficult to put down. I can't wait to see what is in store next for Angela.
This second book in the Starstruck Thriller series is so right on as far as what is happening in our world today. I only hope Angela can help change things for the sake of all women, before the ones who want us silenced succeed in taking her out permanently. I can't wait for book #3!
As always there’s suspense and danger to keep you wanting to never stop reading. I kept trying to guess what could possibly happen next. Perfectly written as always.
Angela is being hunted, and Ash is one of her bodyguards. Angela also has a prince that wants to marry her and protect her. A lot of action and a cliff hanger making you want more.
I read Lone Spy as an ARC reader, and I'll be honest, I wasn't sure if I would like this series, and main character, as much as I do the Sydney Rye series and Sydney herself. But there is something about Angela and the things she is having to endure that immediately pulls you into her life. She's tough and badass, and I love that in a lead female character. The other thing that I can appreciate is that Emily Kimelman wrote this series to reflect the current political climate, perhaps even making it more dire for women than it currently is in real life. Angela is definitely not sitting by complacently while things go to hell in a handbasket. I for one am hoping for a positive outcome. And I cannot forget that there is some interesting developments between Angela and a couple of men in her life. I can barely wait for the third book in the series. I loved this book!
WOW! What a book!! Non-ending action, surprising reactions, people put in unthinkable situations. This author is writing about things that could very possibly come to pass. Frightening! I'm not sure how I feel about Angela, time will tell. But I sure didn't want this book to end so now I gotta wait for the next one.