The final volume of TENSE, a novel duet by New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, Deborah Bladon.
I couldn't have known how one man would change my entire life.
When Nicholas Wolf came into my world, I knew it would never be the same again. I would never have predicted the turn it would take and how his influence could destroy everything I'd worked so hard for.
I fought back when he tried to rob me of my future, and I proved that I'm stronger than he imagined.
As we work to rebuild what we lost, a new challenge rears its ugly head in our direction.
The threat is real and when my life hangs in the balance, one moment changes everything between the man that I love and me.
Deborah Bladon had never read a romance hero she didn't like. Her love for romance novels began when she was old enough to board the bus, library card in hand to check out the newest Harlequin paperbacks. She was a Canadian by heart, and by passport, but you could often spot her in New York City sipping a latte and looking for inspiration for her next story. Manhattan was definitely her second home.
She cherished her family and believed that each day was a gift for writing, for reading, and for loving.
*THIS REVIEW IS BASED ON BOTH VOLUMES OF THE TENSE DUET.
Tense duet #1 Rating: 4 Tense duet #2 Rating: 5
Nicholas (Nick) and Sophia.......
Although I have rated each book differently with stars, I am writing a single review based on both parts. Since this review is being posted to both volumes, I will make sure to avoid any spoilers in case you haven't read both. Book one does end in a cliffhanger.
Sophia is a beautiful, independent woman. She works for a well-known top NYC designer as a personal assistant. Sophia is excellent at her job and as far as her boss is concerned, she is irreplaceable. But Sophia has her own dreams for the future which don't include her current occupation. Unfortunately her confidence is low and she is wary and more than a little hesitant to take a chance. That said, all it takes is a captivating and sexy man to give her the push of encouragement she needs. Unfortunately after she finds the courage and confidence to pursue her dreams, something unforeseen takes place to threaten what means the most to her.
Nicholas Wolf is a famous novelist. His specialty is writing detective novels. Nick is very successful as well as cocky and arrogant. There were times I got the feeling he believed himself entitled and could have anything and anyone he wanted.
Until he sets his sights on Sophia.
Nick soon finds out what rejection feels like and that he isn't going to get what he wants. Nick will have to chance his strategy if he wants a chance with Sophia. It's is not long before he realizes she is special. I was so happy Sophia made Nick work for a chance with her.
Nick and Sophia go through ups and downs. Both are keeping secrets. Both are wary of the growing feelings they are having towards each other. There were times I wanted to reach into the story and slap Nick for his arrogance and assumptions. But don't worry, he did redeem himself to me.
As well as the angst between Nick and Sophia, there are misunderstandings, threats and and a lot of regret and remorse thrown at them. In addition to the relationship challenges, there is an element of danger waiting for its chance to strike.
As a whole, I really enjoyed the Tense duet. I do admit that it was the second book that made the story better in my opinion. I don't like cliffhangers and if I can help it, I avoid them. I'll warn you there is a cliffhanger at the end of book one. That said I waited until book two in the duet was available and read them both back to back.
There is a happy ending which I loved. I'm looking forward to this author's next book.
The automatic star deduction for a two part book notwithstanding I enjoyed the main characters. Nick and Sophia work hard and are good with what they do. The secondary characters are not supported in these two books. There might be too many but they seem vague and just suspended above the story. For example all of sudden Crew becomes important to the story. I'm not sure who Den or Dex were. Nick's brothers or mother are also floating. I also got weary of sex dialog. I've read so many of this author's works so I know she's had better offerings. I'm not discouraged.
If you read the first, then you are hopefully reading this review to dive into the conclusion of Tense. This won’t be a long review because I really don’t want to spoil it. Nicholas, well the humble pie wore off and after the cliffy from book one, he had to grovel like there was no tomorrow for a sliver of HEA. Sophia rose above, and is reaching the stars and beyond. Her dreams are coming true professionally and personally are crashing like an airplane. Cadence is the faithful friend that supports Sophia on her dream to love, happiness, and life. This is the HEA you want for Nicholas and Sophia. It will make you all warm and squishy inside with all the lovely feels. If you are new to Deborah, then grab Tense One and Two and get introduced into her world. One thing about it is you won’t feel lost even though some previous couples make appearances.
Once again, never a disappointment! Another great read from Deborah Bladon! Loved both volumes of Tense. The intensity, the relationship struggle, the love, the friendship between Nicholas and Sophia and with characters from previous reads, and the HOT 🔥 sex...had a really hard time putting these books down! Thank you Deborah for another awesome read! Excited for Troublemaker!
Their story was perfectly written from the beginning to end. You fall in love with Sophia and Nick!! This part of the story really shows how their love story changes. Deborah adds has difficult obstacles and meddling friends to mix of characters! LOL!! Sometimes, she throws in some action sequence. But Deborah Bladon always knows how to deliver a great read!! She's always written well developed characters, intense love scenes, and thrilling HEAs. She never disappoints her readers!!!
I chose this rating because this was a really good book. I enjoyed the characters very much. I was glad that Nick and Sophia got back together, of course he had to beg her to talk to him. That's what she should have done. Make him beg. This book was also s o inspirational. I loved the way the story went, when she was brought into the hospital to be checked out. Overall this was a really great read. I recommend this book to all romance readers.
Deborah Bladon's writing is stellar! Tense 2 has it all and she never fails to deliver her best work.
Nicholas and Sophia have a relationship that's been put to the test. Will they come out stronger together or will life's curveballs send them spiraling down south? A fabulous read and a great ending to their story!
I loved it. Such a wonderful series. Deborah definitely knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat. I can't wait for Crew's story. I'm sure like always it will be better story than the last but I love all of her books so I'm biased. Definitely recommend this series
Seriously Amazing! Nicholas and Sophia struggling in their relationship- yet to be defined as such. So much intensity in their story, depth to their feelings, emotions, so beautiful! Joking the rest of this journey with them, Won't be disappointed❤️! Loved it!
This review will be for both volumes of Tense. I could barely put these books down. If not for bodily functions and people needing my attention, I would have read Tense straight through.
Tense is a story about Nicholas, a famous author and Sophia an aspiring designer who is the assistant of Gabriel Foster of Foster Enterprises. Their meet cute is on the subway where both are on way to a book signing. Sophia is getting a book signed for her boss' birthday and so she has no Idea that Nicholas is the author of that book. Nicholas strikes out at first when he tries to ask her to lunch and realizes he needs to work a little harder to get Sophia's attention. Eventually they do go out and everything is blissfully perfect until it's not. That's when something happens to make everything turn 180 out of no where and that's where volume one ends. What I love about Bladon's books is the cliffhangers that give readers a mini heart attack between volumes. I could feel the confusion and hurt Sophia must have felt when Nicholas was so cold to her all of a sudden. When we finally get to the bottom of what happened, I felt a little frustrated at how Sophia responds to Nicholas. I would have made him work harder. After all he did go behind her back to try to get her fired BEFORE he even confronted her about what she allegedly did to him. The conflict came and went and then we learn more about Nicholas and Sophia's pasts because they want to know more about each other. Just as things are on the mend Sophia's past comes and puts her in danger. Leaving all her loved ones on edge. Except things are resolved quickly. So quickly that I had to reread this part a few times because I thought I missed something. Peace is restored and as if Sophia and Nicholas' love for each other couldn't solidify more, surprise it does. For fans of Bladon's books, we know that every story is a must read. Over the past few years I've enjoyed many of her books and I am down to 8 books left. Its the only reason I read other books in between. Also it's to help nurse the book hangovers I get from each series. My message to Ms. Bladon is to please keep making more stories and add them to this little universe that I have been emotionally invested in since the Obsessed series. As long as she keeps writing, I will keep reading.
I really loved it but it truly should have been 1 book. The second one was shorter and I would have gladly waiting an extra couple of weeks to have had the "duet" be a single novel.
I am eagerly looking forward to Crew's story however, and I pray that will be a single novel!
Thank you for the entertainment & can't wait for more.
Sincerely~
~Shelley Straff~ P.S.- you may want to have someone double or triple check for typos or grammatical errors because there were a few and usually are and it throws me off the story when I have to re-read something several times because it's either a bad typo or a sentence has been written partially in the present tense & partially in the past tense.
I decided to catch up and fill in the missing books from all the Deborah Bladen series. I had thought I read this before but I had not reviewed it, so decided to read it again. It was great. So many characters revisited from other series, it's like a huge happy family.....well, except when it isn't. Tense finally gave a story to one of the characters I've been waiting to hear more from. Sophia. She turned out to be more diverse than I had anticipated. Part 2 did not disappoint. Great finish to a great story. I'm sure we'll be hearing more from these characters.
TENSE Part 2 was beyond my expectations, Terrific conclusion to the story! Deborah Bladon is one of my favourite authors, a MUST BUY! The drama that ended part 1 was realistically and satisfyingly resolved. Nick and Sophia's relationship grew from there, and another drama occurred. Cadence's pregnancy issues made me laugh out loud. The story was perfectly written from beginning to end. It has everything - sex, excitement, good friendships, descriptive NYC locations, and more drama. LOVED IT, and I can hardly wait for Crew's story!
Awesome, Passionate, Drama, Sexual all these things are involved in this Romania story of two inspired people who fall in love with each and then have appointments in their love for each other, they separate them call again into each other! Love story to the end. Really enjoy reading this story, one of the better stories, I have read in along time, the right amount of everything. ENJOY!!
Bad, just bad. No depth in the characters. World building is terrible. The characters move from one party to the next, very little life lived in between - certainly not enough to have me give a shit about any of them. This should have been one book, stretching it into two books showed the weakness in the authors writing. I didn't even care enough about the characters to read the last page.
A little disappointed with the 2nd part of this duet of what started out as a solid book. Some of the additional storylines and characters were confusing, lacked depth and just not necessary for what had the beginnings of a really good romance. I felt this book was a little incomplete and rushed.
If you read the first, then you are hopefully reading this review to dive into the conclusion of Tense. This won’t be a long review because I really don’t want to spoil it. Nicholas, well the humble pie wore off and after the cliffy from book one, he had to grovel like there was no tomorrow for a sliver of HEA.
I have everyone of Deborah Bladon's book. They are all excellent and this one is no exception. These books kept me wanting more from the beginning. I can't wait for Crew and Adley's story next.
Excellent and now I can't wait for Troublemaker starring Crew. I hope author starts doing complete novels instead of parts with cliffhangers. That is becoming slightly agitating. Considering I have read every book by this author. Books are shorter and pricey considering they are novellas.
Great book, not too sure by it was two books. Would have like to have it all in one book. But I bought both! Great story and back story for both characters. Love the HEA!
Say it ain't so Joe!!! I'd say she took him back too easily but I know it had been weeks. I was soooooo sad Joe was the culprit. I don't really like reflections of old relationships.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.