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Blue-Link #3
Dusk
As a young girl, Amanda Newton witnessed the brutal murder of her parents. As an adult she is targeted by their murderer. Beautiful. Reserved. Mysterious. Amanda Newton, the CEO of BLUE-LINK, epitomizes control with her adept handling of the global company. But that control is threatened with a series of attacks against her. Ray Gordon, a former Navy SEAL is looking to open his own security firm. One more contracting job with BLUE-LINK would complete the funding. When he is hired to protect Amanda Newton, the Ice Queen herself, he never bargained on falling for her. Amanda has something her attacker wants. He has waited over twenty years to claim it, and he will destroy anyone close to her to get it. ...but he's met his match in Ray Gordon
- GenresRomantic Suspense
237 pages, Paperback
First published June 14, 2016
26 people are currently reading
276 people want to read
About the author
Maureen A. Miller
32 books1,276 followersUSA TODAY bestselling author Maureen A. Miller worked in the software industry for fifteen years. She crawled around plant floors in a hard hat and safety glasses, hooking up computers to behemoth manufacturing machines. The job required extensive travel. The best form of escapism during those lengthy airport layovers became writing.
Maureen’s first novel, Widow's TALE, earned her a Golden Heart nomination in Romantic Suspense. After that, she became hooked on the genre. As hooked as she was, childhood fantasies still danced around in her head––little voices calling for her to write the young adult science fiction BEYOND series. To her, it was still romantic suspense…just on another planet!
Maureen is a wife. A mother of a crazy Corgi. A lover of mozzarella. And she truly believes there is a portal to outer space somewhere in her house.
Maureen’s first novel, Widow's TALE, earned her a Golden Heart nomination in Romantic Suspense. After that, she became hooked on the genre. As hooked as she was, childhood fantasies still danced around in her head––little voices calling for her to write the young adult science fiction BEYOND series. To her, it was still romantic suspense…just on another planet!
Maureen is a wife. A mother of a crazy Corgi. A lover of mozzarella. And she truly believes there is a portal to outer space somewhere in her house.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 1, 2016
Okay people! This is the very first time I have heard of Maureen Miller or her books and that makes me super sad because she is simply amazing! From the very beginning of the book I was pulled in. The writing is done very well and I never once found myself pulled out of the story wondering "what the heck is she trying to say here?" Which makes me so happy because I maybe find this to be one of the things I look for most in a story! I read to disappear into another place for a short period of time and with this book I did.
There was enough suspense to keep the reader (me duh, I just like to try and sound fancy sometimes because who knows what people will read this and wonder if I should review their books! What if it is some fabulous writer who just needs me because of my amazing reviews!? Okay okay sorry!) involved in the story but it is not overdone where you find yourself laughing at how ridiculous the book has gotten. The plot flows well and really connects together. There aren't holes that make you wonder what just happened.
The characters. Oh the characters. The lovely Ice Queen and her hot body guard are just perfect. The back and forth is really great to read and I love how well the author showed the slow progress into trusting each other for these two characters. The bad guy in our story was fabulous and I really liked the change up from your average everyday bad guy. I won't give away more because you know I hate spoilers but trust me! It was perfect!
There was enough suspense to keep the reader (me duh, I just like to try and sound fancy sometimes because who knows what people will read this and wonder if I should review their books! What if it is some fabulous writer who just needs me because of my amazing reviews!? Okay okay sorry!) involved in the story but it is not overdone where you find yourself laughing at how ridiculous the book has gotten. The plot flows well and really connects together. There aren't holes that make you wonder what just happened.
The characters. Oh the characters. The lovely Ice Queen and her hot body guard are just perfect. The back and forth is really great to read and I love how well the author showed the slow progress into trusting each other for these two characters. The bad guy in our story was fabulous and I really liked the change up from your average everyday bad guy. I won't give away more because you know I hate spoilers but trust me! It was perfect!
June 28, 2016
4.5 stars!
Amanda is a closed-off CEO who does things her own way no matter the consequences. Ray is a tough former SEAL trying to make his way outside of the Teams. When Amanda starts receiving threats and they become more serious, Ray is sent to keep her safe and boy do the sparks fly then. They make an interesting team and it becomes apparent that each wants more but is held back by their past. The way they break down each other's walls is fun to watch. My only complaint is that the threat turns out to be a little on crazy side (literally). I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and words here are entirely my own.
Amanda is a closed-off CEO who does things her own way no matter the consequences. Ray is a tough former SEAL trying to make his way outside of the Teams. When Amanda starts receiving threats and they become more serious, Ray is sent to keep her safe and boy do the sparks fly then. They make an interesting team and it becomes apparent that each wants more but is held back by their past. The way they break down each other's walls is fun to watch. My only complaint is that the threat turns out to be a little on crazy side (literally). I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and words here are entirely my own.
July 6, 2016
I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Overall, this was a pretty decent romance thriller. The plot was fairly solid and the characters where mostly complex and defined well. I could see the story actually happening in real life. While this is book three in the series, it could be read as a standalone novel and does have a HEA ending.
Overall, this was a pretty decent romance thriller. The plot was fairly solid and the characters where mostly complex and defined well. I could see the story actually happening in real life. While this is book three in the series, it could be read as a standalone novel and does have a HEA ending.
June 25, 2016
Excellent read. Lots of sexual tension, occasional humour and edge of your seat suspense. Absolutely loved this book
September 8, 2025
MY RATING GUIDE: 4 Satisfied Stars. This is a fairly new-to-me author. I am enjoying her various Suspense Thriller Romance books (some of which have a Contemporary Gothic-tone), particularly because there are less detailed intimacy scenes & more action/adventure/mystery content than many other Romance Suspense books I run across today. It’s a refreshing change. DUSK was originally published in 2016 and has held up well.
1= dnf/What was that?; 2= Nope, not for me; 3= This was okay/fairly good & might or might not read it again; 3.5= I enjoyed it & might read it again; 4= I LIKED THIS A LOT & WILL PROBABLY READ IT AGAIN; 5= I Loved this; it was great! & most likely will read again ((I SELDOM give 5 Stars).
Winter, 2009, England ~
Amanda Newton, 30, is the ‘Ice Queen’ CEO & founder of Blue-Link Co, a global investigative company headquartered in London. When Amanda begins receiving threatening emails targeting her family, Amanda’s Blue-Link divisional leaders call in security consultant Ray Gordon to provide the necessary security detail for Amanda until the problem is resolved.
Raymond Gordon is an experienced, retired SEAL commando temporarily working as a Blue-Link consultant. He has plans to own and operate a private security company staffed with his friends and contacts from his decade+ military career. Upon the successful completion of this latest contract with Blue-Link, Gordon will be able to accomplish his goal. Gordon quickly realizes that Amanda’s threat stems from her childhood and tragic events which occurred at that time. Yet Amanda is withholding critical information which restricts his ability to perform his job effectively and puts Amanda at risk.
Comments ~
1) DUSK is bk3 in Maureen Miller’s Blue Link Co series. Although all the books are connected, each book features separate main characters and diverse stories which can be read as Standalone titles. I have been reading the series in a random order and have had no problems. As I enjoyed DUSK, I will be moving on to bk2 (MIST) next.
2) I am not a fan of female characters (particularly) who take impulsive & unnecessary risks - especially when they have hired security experts to advise & protect them. The FMC in DUSK takes such risks and, of course, serious trouble ensues. (Eye roll).
3) Other than the above mentioned issue, overall I enjoyed DUSK. I was pulled into the story and identified with the main characters. The suspense kept me reading and I wanted everything to work out in the end. As I read, I wondered about the past events which seemed to have caused the present situation and appreciated that the readers weren’t left hanging without those questions answered.
4) I recommend DUSK (and M Miller’s Blue-Link series) to readers who enjoy:
> quick reading Action.Intrigue.Suspense.Romance novels between their other genres. (This isn’t really a Psychological Thriller, as the antagonist’s POV isn’t present, as such).
> Proximity Danger Trope novels
> Novels with minimal angst between the MCs (due to misunderstandings, etc).
> Plenty of action.
> Seasoned male and female characters who have persevered through life’s obstacles to get to the other side.
> Slow Burn Romances with HEAs & minimal/no ‘sexcapades.’
Note: Maureen Miller has written other standalone Contemporary Suspense Thriller Romance titles. I have read & enjoyed: Promise of Dawn, Widow’s Tale & Endless Night (the latter two somewhat Contemporary Gothic in style) as well as Jungle Agenda/bk1 & Rapid Agenda/bk2 in M Miller’s HighRisk Agenda, ‘extreme settings’ series. I have reviewed each separately.
READER CAUTIONS for DUSK ~
PROFANITY - Yes. Infrequent strong language is used.
VIOLENCE - Yes, PG-13.
SEXUAL SITUATIONS - Slow burn. In the later part of the book, innuendo moves to closed door.
1= dnf/What was that?; 2= Nope, not for me; 3= This was okay/fairly good & might or might not read it again; 3.5= I enjoyed it & might read it again; 4= I LIKED THIS A LOT & WILL PROBABLY READ IT AGAIN; 5= I Loved this; it was great! & most likely will read again ((I SELDOM give 5 Stars).
Winter, 2009, England ~
Amanda Newton, 30, is the ‘Ice Queen’ CEO & founder of Blue-Link Co, a global investigative company headquartered in London. When Amanda begins receiving threatening emails targeting her family, Amanda’s Blue-Link divisional leaders call in security consultant Ray Gordon to provide the necessary security detail for Amanda until the problem is resolved.
Raymond Gordon is an experienced, retired SEAL commando temporarily working as a Blue-Link consultant. He has plans to own and operate a private security company staffed with his friends and contacts from his decade+ military career. Upon the successful completion of this latest contract with Blue-Link, Gordon will be able to accomplish his goal. Gordon quickly realizes that Amanda’s threat stems from her childhood and tragic events which occurred at that time. Yet Amanda is withholding critical information which restricts his ability to perform his job effectively and puts Amanda at risk.
Comments ~
1) DUSK is bk3 in Maureen Miller’s Blue Link Co series. Although all the books are connected, each book features separate main characters and diverse stories which can be read as Standalone titles. I have been reading the series in a random order and have had no problems. As I enjoyed DUSK, I will be moving on to bk2 (MIST) next.
2) I am not a fan of female characters (particularly) who take impulsive & unnecessary risks - especially when they have hired security experts to advise & protect them. The FMC in DUSK takes such risks and, of course, serious trouble ensues. (Eye roll).
3) Other than the above mentioned issue, overall I enjoyed DUSK. I was pulled into the story and identified with the main characters. The suspense kept me reading and I wanted everything to work out in the end. As I read, I wondered about the past events which seemed to have caused the present situation and appreciated that the readers weren’t left hanging without those questions answered.
4) I recommend DUSK (and M Miller’s Blue-Link series) to readers who enjoy:
> quick reading Action.Intrigue.Suspense.Romance novels between their other genres. (This isn’t really a Psychological Thriller, as the antagonist’s POV isn’t present, as such).
> Proximity Danger Trope novels
> Novels with minimal angst between the MCs (due to misunderstandings, etc).
> Plenty of action.
> Seasoned male and female characters who have persevered through life’s obstacles to get to the other side.
> Slow Burn Romances with HEAs & minimal/no ‘sexcapades.’
Note: Maureen Miller has written other standalone Contemporary Suspense Thriller Romance titles. I have read & enjoyed: Promise of Dawn, Widow’s Tale & Endless Night (the latter two somewhat Contemporary Gothic in style) as well as Jungle Agenda/bk1 & Rapid Agenda/bk2 in M Miller’s HighRisk Agenda, ‘extreme settings’ series. I have reviewed each separately.
READER CAUTIONS for DUSK ~
PROFANITY - Yes. Infrequent strong language is used.
VIOLENCE - Yes, PG-13.
SEXUAL SITUATIONS - Slow burn. In the later part of the book, innuendo moves to closed door.
January 2, 2018
This was an entertaining, well-written book. Amanda is the picture of control as she runs a global company, but then she is targeted by a series of attacks. Her company hires Ray, a former Navy SEAL, to provide security. They didn't plan on their attraction to each other. I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading others by this author.
October 28, 2021
Dusk
I enjoyed this book and I've been attacked to her style of writing. She is author I enjoy reading about and with!
I enjoyed this book and I've been attacked to her style of writing. She is author I enjoy reading about and with!
July 7, 2016
'Dusk’ peels back the multiple layers of a solitary, lonely woman at the top of a corporate empire with no one to turn to when an old threat resurfaces in her life. Ray Bradbury shoulders his way into Amanda Newton's regimented non-life only when her corporation’s partners take matters into their own hands about her safety and tilts the safe world as she knows it on its axis.
For so long, I’ve only thought of Amanda as an enigmatic mystery. In Maureen A. Miller’s first two books of the series, she has always been the omniscient and omnipresent presence of Blue-Link: controlling but distant, all-knowing but unknown by her employees. I would have remained rather happy for things to stay that way but ‘Dusk’ changed my mind about her as Miller skilfully unveils a character made out of flesh and bone, vulnerable in ways I couldn’t have imagined before this book.
Miller has always been an automatic-read for me and ‘Dusk’ simply confirms this opinion. Apart from the odd parallel universe I thought I landed in when some very oblique yet blatant references were made to Disney's ‘Frozen’, this rather short story is everything I hail about romantic suspense and why I dig it so much: the setup, the pacing, the characters, the tension, the climax. It’s all done superbly (again, minus the weird Disney-ish comparison), polished with the sheen of Miller’s incredibly sophisticated writing that makes every story of hers a pleasure to read. The only minor gripes I have are the lack of interaction between the characters of her previous books in the series and even the surprising lack of steamy bedroom scenes given the slow burn between Ray and Amanda - characters who, by that point have had me greatly vested in their welfare and actions. The rather rushed ending however, left me, as always with Miller’s storytelling, wondering why there isn’t more - or at least more of a definitive closure - when there clearly should be.
*ARC by the author
(always grateful, mind)
For so long, I’ve only thought of Amanda as an enigmatic mystery. In Maureen A. Miller’s first two books of the series, she has always been the omniscient and omnipresent presence of Blue-Link: controlling but distant, all-knowing but unknown by her employees. I would have remained rather happy for things to stay that way but ‘Dusk’ changed my mind about her as Miller skilfully unveils a character made out of flesh and bone, vulnerable in ways I couldn’t have imagined before this book.
Miller has always been an automatic-read for me and ‘Dusk’ simply confirms this opinion. Apart from the odd parallel universe I thought I landed in when some very oblique yet blatant references were made to Disney's ‘Frozen’, this rather short story is everything I hail about romantic suspense and why I dig it so much: the setup, the pacing, the characters, the tension, the climax. It’s all done superbly (again, minus the weird Disney-ish comparison), polished with the sheen of Miller’s incredibly sophisticated writing that makes every story of hers a pleasure to read. The only minor gripes I have are the lack of interaction between the characters of her previous books in the series and even the surprising lack of steamy bedroom scenes given the slow burn between Ray and Amanda - characters who, by that point have had me greatly vested in their welfare and actions. The rather rushed ending however, left me, as always with Miller’s storytelling, wondering why there isn’t more - or at least more of a definitive closure - when there clearly should be.
*ARC by the author
(always grateful, mind)
July 4, 2016
*I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest and fair review*
This is my first book by this author, but won't be my last. I will definitely be adding the other Blue-Link books to my Kindle asap, though honestly I'm really hooked on Ray and Amanda and would love more of them. Still, I look forward to meeting new characters and hopefully learning a bit more about ones I've already met.
Now about this book... I really connected with Amanda immediately. Knowing the most painful secret from her past really helped me to see beyond her facade. She was strong and driven, but still a bit of the lost girl.
I liked Ray as well right from our initial introduction to him in the book. I liked the way he also had secrets and still came across as tough yet caring.
I really enjoyed these two together, though I do feel their deeper feelings for each other came too fast and without enough build up. That seems to be fairly common in a lot of books, though, and I'm sure most readers would get bored of hundreds of pages builing up to the inevitable. Lol.
Still I did like the way these two pushed and tested each other and the UST that did build between them. I also liked the fact that once they finally gave into their passion, we didn't get the sordid details. I like smut as much as anyone, but sometimes fade to black simply works better and for these characters I definitely felt it was more true to them.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and my only real complaints are that I don't really love Amanda's decision at the end (I don't want to spoil anything) and I really would have liked more... a glimpse into their future. Other than that, I would recommend this book to anyone.
This is my first book by this author, but won't be my last. I will definitely be adding the other Blue-Link books to my Kindle asap, though honestly I'm really hooked on Ray and Amanda and would love more of them. Still, I look forward to meeting new characters and hopefully learning a bit more about ones I've already met.
Now about this book... I really connected with Amanda immediately. Knowing the most painful secret from her past really helped me to see beyond her facade. She was strong and driven, but still a bit of the lost girl.
I liked Ray as well right from our initial introduction to him in the book. I liked the way he also had secrets and still came across as tough yet caring.
I really enjoyed these two together, though I do feel their deeper feelings for each other came too fast and without enough build up. That seems to be fairly common in a lot of books, though, and I'm sure most readers would get bored of hundreds of pages builing up to the inevitable. Lol.
Still I did like the way these two pushed and tested each other and the UST that did build between them. I also liked the fact that once they finally gave into their passion, we didn't get the sordid details. I like smut as much as anyone, but sometimes fade to black simply works better and for these characters I definitely felt it was more true to them.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and my only real complaints are that I don't really love Amanda's decision at the end (I don't want to spoil anything) and I really would have liked more... a glimpse into their future. Other than that, I would recommend this book to anyone.
September 10, 2016
Dusk by Maureen A. Miller is the third book in her Blue-Link series; however, each book can be read as a standalone. We finally get to find out more about Amanda Newton, the CEO of Blue-Link.
Ms. Miller never disappoints me when it comes to a fast paced plot with strong characters and action. The interactions between Amanda and Ray as their relationship develops felt natural to me. Both of them are solitary people with secrets; but they also fiercely love their families. Learning about Amanda's past was eye-opening for me. She really was a strong woman but she also grew within herself during this story.
I really loved this book and felt it was a perfect ending to the Blue-Link series. Or is it? I hope not; but I have several more of her books to escape into until her next one is published.
Ms. Miller never disappoints me when it comes to a fast paced plot with strong characters and action. The interactions between Amanda and Ray as their relationship develops felt natural to me. Both of them are solitary people with secrets; but they also fiercely love their families. Learning about Amanda's past was eye-opening for me. She really was a strong woman but she also grew within herself during this story.
I really loved this book and felt it was a perfect ending to the Blue-Link series. Or is it? I hope not; but I have several more of her books to escape into until her next one is published.
December 8, 2016
I loved reading the final story in this series. Amanda and Ray are a great couple and a great team. So happy to reacquaint with 'Mule' and her ice queen persona. This is a good story and I am happy that all turned out well. The diamonds are beautiful but they can't buy love. Give yourself a chance to get into this series by reading books 1 and 2 first.
January 26, 2017
Great read
## Terrific read. It was very enjoyable indeed. A little PG for my taste but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It wasn't anything heavy or dark, just a well written romantic mystery with a little suspense thrown in.
## Terrific read. It was very enjoyable indeed. A little PG for my taste but I enjoyed it nonetheless. It wasn't anything heavy or dark, just a well written romantic mystery with a little suspense thrown in.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews