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Men of Action #1

ENTANGLED PURSUITS

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WHEN DANGER ARRIVES, REAL MEN TAKE ACTION

Detective Andrew Logan hears that Detective Antonia Oliver is back in town. It's been four years since they were involved in a hot, heavy, and steamy affair. Andrew's life gets complicated when Toni is assigned as his new partner. Paired together, they try hard to ignore the sexual chemistry that's stronger than ever between them.

One homicide investigation turns deadly and Toni's life is in danger. Andrew goes into action, determined to protect the woman he's trying his damnedest not to fall in love with.

316 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

201 people are currently reading
190 people want to read

About the author

Brenda Jackson

899 books3,605 followers
In 1994, Brenda Jackson’s first novel, Tonight and Forever, was released. Since then she has had more than 100 novels and novellas published (the first African-American author to accomplish such a feat) and has over 3 million books in print.

A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Brenda is the first African-American author to have a book published by Harlequin Desire and the first African-American romance author to make the New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller lists within the series romance genre.

In 2012, Brenda received the Romance Writers of America’s Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award—one of the highest literary awards a romance author can receive. In 2013, she was recognized by the mayor and the city of Jacksonville as being a Trailblazer in the literary field.

In 2010, she collaborated with Five Alive Films to turn her Truly Everlasting title into a feature film. Brenda’s 2011 novel A Silken Thread is scheduled to be filmed with Debbie Allen attached as director in 2015.

Email Brenda at authorbrendajackson@gmail.com or visit her on her website at brendajackson.net.

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5 stars
448 (72%)
4 stars
115 (18%)
3 stars
41 (6%)
2 stars
10 (1%)
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7 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
Profile Image for scthoughts.
315 reviews63 followers
March 30, 2023
These were two people in lust (not love) and no one can convince me otherwise.
789 reviews4 followers
August 26, 2020
Entangled pursuits now untangled!

It is good to see how the lives of more of Shepp's sons from his time in prison for a crime he did not commit, turned out. I mentioned for a crime he did not commit because in earlier stories before Shepp's innocence was proven by his now daughter-in-law Jules, every time his name was mentioned reporters made sure to mention his being convicted of murdering his wife. So for me, turn about is fair play. Now back to Andrew Drew Logan and Antonia Toni Oliver's story. Both had their own childhood issues and both carried scars as a result. Their previous hookup became more than Toni could handle given the rules she established for she and Drew so she ended it criptically and abruptly. Fast forward five years and the two find themselves not only working together but partners to boot. When you read their story you will get to see what they do for a living, how they initially came together and why they ended. You will also learn how they came to be together again, who else besides Shepp they are connected too and finally what feat they accomplished that had them being called a hero team!!! Over all, this Men of Action book was an excellent read. I went to sleep reading it twice because I did not want to put it down until all my questions were answered. When you read your copy, I am sure you will experience this desire to read and read to the finish too. An excellent read Mrs. Jackson a truly excellent read indeed! I am now waiting on bated breath for book 2 of this new series. Thank you for an excellent novel.
215 reviews3 followers
September 4, 2020
Second chance is better!

I enjoyed reading Drew and Toni's love story. They met five years earlier and Toni broke their sex buddy relationship because she was catching feelings for him but never have him a reason for the breakup. A situation occurs in Miami and she transfers to Virginia. Drew is assigned a new partner and guess who, Toni. The suspense is solving four murder cases with one being a cold case
and arresting the suspect in her wedding day and at the altar. When Toni tells Drew what took place in Miami, he hired a PI who finds out the real reason why.
The story ends well. This is a very good read. I have read all of the books about Shep and his boys including Duane & Terrance . The author did good.
Profile Image for January.
2,893 reviews124 followers
March 23, 2023
Entangled Pursuits by Brenda Jackson
Men of Action #1
Related series: The Grangers (The Protectors is a spinoff of The Grangers; The Protectors (Men of Action is a spinoff of The Protectors); The Defenders (The Defenders is a spinoff of Men in Action)
8h 14m narrated by Jaime Lincoln Smith, 247 pages

Genre: Romantic Suspense, African-American Fiction

Featuring: Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Multiple POVs, Alexandria, Virginia; Miami, Florida; Working With Ex Trope, Police Detectives, Flashbacks, Sex-Detailed, Violence, Investigations

Rating as a movie: NC-17/X for graphic sexual content

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My thoughts: 📱18%1:31:03 Ch. 6 - Starting with book 1 didn't help at all. The epilogue gave me spoilers for 3 books from the previous series and not just couplings spoilers. It's a slow start, to be honest.
📱32% 2:38:58 Ch. 9 - It took a while to heat up, the investigation, not romance, but it's quite interesting, I wish they'd focus more on the investigation than their relationship.
📱43% 3:32:11 seven minutes into Ch. 12 - This is finally going somewhere, I can't wait to get to the bottom of these although I'm getting Beverly Hills Cop vibes.
📱82% 6:45:40 Ch. 23 - They are really drawing this out. The investigation is more exciting than the romance and it's a bit frustrating waiting for them to move forward. All of the summaries of previous storylines from other series is unnecessary and irritating.

It was a simi-slow start but definitely worth it in the end. I wasn't crazy about the romance although it was typical, the investigation outshined it for me, despite taking its time. I had to ignore the major issue of it being acceptable for police partners to be romantically involved. I already have book 3 and I'm looking forward to continuing the series. I have plans to read the related series later in the year.

Recommend to others?: Yes. Good romantic suspense is hard to find.
915 reviews
July 30, 2022
Confession: I didn’t like the style of writing so didn’t read beyond Prologue, Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.
The prologue reads sort of like an epilogue with a redeemed ex-convict called Stonewall marrying Joy who is a cop and he reminisces their romance as a backstory as he waits for her along with his best man who redeemed him which we also hear as he reminisces that part of his life too! None of this is relevant to the story we are reading at all. Except the h and H who are both detectives are attending the same wedding and h has a brief 2 minute conversation with the bride where there is more exposition for the readers about how h and H had a relationship in the distant past (4 years ago!) but she broke it off as she fell in love with him and something about her mommy issues.

Fast forward : Chapter 1 starts 8 months later where h and H meet again where H learns that h has been assigned as his full in partner by the chief of police after she shows up in the precinct!

Rewind: Chapter 2 - 6 years earlier

A good story pulls you in to the plot line but here it keeps jumping timelines and there are too many characters introduced in a prologue with their entire lifestory condensed that dragged the whole story before it got started. This completely lost focus of introducing us audience to this book’s protagonists. The exposition and jumping timelines is not a writing style that many authors can pull off successfully. I definitely didn’t get hooked in the storyline or the characters at all :(
Profile Image for JigsawGirl.
4,169 reviews
March 23, 2023
I thought this was a good read. I listened to the Audiobooks and thought the narration was good. It was nice to hear a different narrator's voice.

I appreciated that Drew and Toni's antagonistic relationship was not drawn out too long. They were at least able to work with relative comfort before they rekindled their romance. I also admired their ability to work together successfully.

I did enjoy the mystery and suspense of the search for the killer of the initial victim. I liked that the killer's identity and the motive wasn't extremely obvious.

I loved the final scenes of the cease where the killer got his/her/their just rewards. There was no major gun battle where the killer ended up unalive or suicide by cop.

The only issue I had with the book was difficulty in keeping up with all of the characters. I had read The Grangers series, and the Protectors series before, so I knew some of the characters. I don't know how I would have navigated the relationships in this book if I hadn't read those series. Even having read the other books, I kept wondering if I had missed some books or if the details were in the other series and I just forgot them.

Maybe I will grab the ebook to see if it includes some type of character chart or relationship diagram. I will be moving on to book 2 in this series.

Profile Image for Vonetta Augustine.
347 reviews
November 30, 2023
This is a true second chance romance. Drew and Toni chemistry is off the charts. When you learn to trust your heart and finally speak up (Toni telling Drew she loves him) you get a partner who's all in. Their initial relationship starts off sexual and ended because both parties harbored deep relationship hurt that was rooted from their parents.

The mystery took a little too long to be solved with too many characters but in a real homicide, you have lots of suspects with interesting connections to each other. I knew that Jessica killed Maria but the bombshell was she was adopted by the father she had killed. Selfish, spoiled, narcissistic brat with killing tendencies. What an f**k-up adoption.

Also, the father who married his mistress off to his son then fathered his own "grandchildren". What a stinky gutter mess.

This was a fun listen.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Brenda  Larnell.
442 reviews26 followers
August 28, 2020
What a great way to begin a new series! ENTANGLED PURSUITS had it all! From the Prologue to the last page, you will experience a tried and true trope, Second Chance Love, as only Prolific writer, Brenda Jackson, can deliver. Toni and Drew‘s love journey is just a portion of the carefully constructed plot. There is murder, mystery and mayhem that also help to make this a hella story. Plus, the story reunites us with the Grangers and the Protectors. I highly recommend this book. You will not be sorry. This is just Book 1 of the Men of Action series. Can’t wait for Book 2!
Profile Image for Selina Durio.
2,523 reviews12 followers
August 28, 2020
New series with ties to Grangers

Brenda Jackson has done it again! This new Men of Action Series, a direct spin off from The Grangers series, looks to be a sure fire hit. This first installment, centered on one of Sheppard Granger’s mentees Andrew, was full of action, intrigue and of course romance. Antonia and Andrew both grew up in less than ideal situations, but as the author develops the story we learn how they have both overcome to make their lives better. I’m looking forward to the next installment in this must read new series.
13 reviews1 follower
September 13, 2020
Entangled!!!

Great book from start to end. It took Andrew and Antonia over five years to see that they were meant for each other. The time and places could not dim the love they had. It took the events of Antonia job for her to leave and ended up being Andrew partner. This way they could iron out what and why they should be together. I enjoyed the way the book took me through all the suspense, the guessing as to what will happen next, and the confession of love 💘 between them. Another best seller Brenda Jackson!!!
819 reviews3 followers
October 10, 2020
It's been four years since Detective Andrew Logan has seen Detective Antonia Oliver when they had a hot and steamy affair. And right when Drew was ready to go for more Toni ended things with no explanation. Now Toni is back in town and also Drew's new partner. Drew is not happy because he never got over how Toni ended things with no explanation. But as they work together that old sexual chemistry is as strong as ever. Once they clear the air they pick up where they left off. Working together they prove that are a formidable pair.
Profile Image for Tina Jackson.
615 reviews11 followers
January 29, 2021
She did it again

I love a good second chance romance and Drew and Toni's story totally delivered. Two souls damaged by their past almost missed out on the person made just for them. Partnerd together for work led them to being partners for life. This story had mystery and intrigue stsrting with a murder on Toni's first day on the job that led them on a tricky and deceitful path. Drew and Toni also discover the reason behind a triple murder and suicide in her home state that led to her movinge. I
1,250 reviews9 followers
September 4, 2020
Excellent read

Excellent read, I loved the storyline and characters. Drew and Toni are a great match in love and work. They rekindled their love after a five year separation due to Toni’s fear of relationships. This was an intriguing murder mystery with several twist. As well as, an erotic romance. It was great catching up with the Granger’s family and friends. I look forward to the next Men Of Action installment.
8 reviews
September 16, 2020
Entangled Pursuits

This book was well written. I give 5 stars. I love the story about two people dealing issues from their past, growing love and trust each other. This book keeps keeps you guessing ,about what going to happen next.Mrs. Jackson brought awareness to mental and emotional abuse. She touch on how seeking counseling can help you come to terms with things that had happened in your life.
2 reviews
November 17, 2020
Good Mystery and Love Story

I really enjoyed this book, it was a good read and mystery to solve. I was glad to read that who I suspected as the killer was accurate. I'm also glad Toni was able to get justice for herself in the way she handled Mr. Gilmore. I now have to go back and read the books of Sheppard Granger and the men who served time with him and turned their lives around with his mentoring.
Profile Image for PurpleLadi.
566 reviews7 followers
December 30, 2020
Wow!

I love 2nd chance romances, but this one was more than just a love story. Mrs. Jackson wove drama and suspense, in the form of a who done it, into the romance. I enjoyed trying to figure out the murder along with Toni and Drew. I also liked the way Drew took care of Toni by demonstrating his love and commitment in tangible, meaningful ways. This was a great story and I can't wait to read the other men of action books.
Profile Image for Steph B.
99 reviews
March 16, 2021
Great book!!

Brenda Jackson did it again. This story had everything. Romance, mystery, and absolutely great characters. The interaction between Toni and Drew had me captivated from the start. Their story was sad ,heart warming and hot! Love that familiar characters were mentioned and updates on their lives included. Can not wait for the next book in this series. A definite recommended read.
Profile Image for Linda Epps - Dillon.
272 reviews4 followers
October 17, 2022
In my quest to catch up with Brenda Jackson's books, I discovered the Granger Series (which I thoroughly enjoyed). Besides liking the Granger family very much I enjoyed reading about the side characters that were all surrogate sons to Sheperd Granger. When I saw the Men of Action series, I knew I had to read it.

I was not disappointed with book 1 of this series. I like second chance stories and Drew and Tonia's was a wonderful read.
332 reviews2 followers
March 14, 2025
Second chance at love

I loved Andrew and Antonia's story. They were given another chance at a love that was always there for each other. It took five years, but true love is worth the wait. They worked good together as cops, and I am glad the real killer got what she deserved. Mrs. Jackson never fails to bring the best o her characters and always leaves her readers (fans) wanting more. Thank you!I
Profile Image for Stephanie Foy.
6 reviews
August 28, 2020
Absolutely Captivating

From the start the chemistry and connection between the characters were off the charts. Their personal and professional relationships was magical and even at odds with each other they were in sync! Impatiently awaiting their wedding and to see how their future unfold.
Profile Image for Twanda Hagins.
23 reviews1 follower
August 28, 2020
Brenda has done it again!

Fate! Fate brought Drew and Toni back together again and Love took over! They were even able to clear a their cases all awhile working on their own personal issues. Drew bring everything is father was not turned out to be the perfect man and protector for Toni!
23 reviews
September 1, 2020
Pursing Love

I loved the book because you got to know the characters and their backgrounds and why they were running from love. I liked the chemistry was built and they did not just fall in love it was built. I would recommend to any romance book reader. I gave it a five because the plot was excellent and the love scenes were great.
Profile Image for bjneary.
2,682 reviews157 followers
September 7, 2020
I am so glad to see this great new series from Brenda Jackson! I will certainly be looking forward to more Men of Action books!!! We find out Toni and Drew dated for almost 10 months until Toni broke it off. At a wedding 5 years later both find they can't stop thinking about the time before, Andrew angry and Toni sad. Move forward to Virginia where Drew works as a detective and finds his new partner is none other than Toni, OMG! How will this work out?!? I could not put this book down, until I found out every last juicy detail about Toni and Drew, past and present and what I liked best is that Andrew was in prison with Shepp from the Granger series and the Protectors series, and Toni is college friends with one of Shepp's other prisoners wives! There is mystery, romance, honesty, and true love! I can't wait for the next book!!!
91 reviews
September 2, 2020
Power couple

Wow, this was a very full story. Love how we got to know Tony and Drew- their ups and downs and history. Second chances are possible. Once they were able to deal with their issues it all was possible. The mystery was on point and extremely enjoyable. Nice catch up with the guys from Glenwood. Look forward to the next book.
325 reviews2 followers
September 3, 2020
The Heat Is On!

Andrew (Drew) and Antonia’s (Toni) chemistry and attraction to one another was always present when they were together. Loved how they worked so well together and their relationship with their friends. Kudos to Mrs. Brenda Jackson on another best seller and awesome book.
Profile Image for Shun Harper.
49 reviews2 followers
September 3, 2020
Crime of passion

This story had it all. Love, intrigue and the unknown. Drew and Toni made a great team when it came to solving crimes and realizing the impact that their childhoods had on who they were today. Seeing them fall in love again and igniting that spark set the pages on fire.
462 reviews
September 18, 2020
Drew and Toni

I enjoyed this story. It had murder, suspense, and romance, all topics for a Good read. Brenda Jackson is an excellent writer. I've had the pleasure of reading all of her books and have never been disappointed. Thanks Brenda for keeping me excited about your books and not being able to wait for the next one.
20 reviews
September 28, 2020
The book was excellent enjoyed reading another one of Brenda Jackson Boswell written and juicy enjoyed the characters and I will highly recommended this book to ☺my friends💓💓😍

The book was excellent enjoy reading another log Brenda Jackson books will written and juicy enjoyed the characters and I will highly recommended this book to my friends❤😍😍
207 reviews1 follower
October 22, 2020
Entangled Pursuits

This exciting book was about two Alexandria police officers in pursuit of murder offenders. Also the love story of tho officers while in the process of solving the crime of a new as well as a cold case associated. Both officer had issues to resolve personally before their happy ever after. As usual MS Jackson captures your interest for page one.
7 reviews
December 16, 2022
Fantastic Read

Brenda Jackson did it again. The twists and turns that Drew and Toni take are mesmerizing. I enjoyed the mystery and excitement of solving their murder case. Brenda is supreme in writing romance stories, and the men of action series is Golden. Looking forward to reading the 2nd book of this series. I love Drew and Toni’s stories.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews

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