Prince of L.A.

F.B.I. Files #1

by Patricia Logan, Michael Dean (Narrator)

Special Agent Leo Reeves is new to the FBI’s L.A. field office. His career has been on track since the day he joined the bureau. He loves his job as a profiler and being assigned to a new team in one of the busiest offices in the nation will be the opportunity of a lifetime…if he can put the past behind him. The face Leo shows the world is strong, focused, dependable, and capable. The long list of citations in his file only serve to prove how good he is.

If he could only forget he was sired by a monster.

Former Marine Staff Sergeant, Max Prince, leads by example. Whether it means protecting men in battle, working for the US Marshal service, or being the best damn field agent the FBI has ever seen, he brings a special kind of bravery to the job. His teammates depend on his ready smiles, his funny jokes, and know him as the excellent agent he’s proven to be. They never see the man who buried his heart eight years ago.

The last thing he wants is to fall for the new guy.

When a serial killer suddenly starts targeting innocents, both men have trouble pinning down who they’re dealing with. With victimology all over the place, Leo can’t make sense of a profile, and Max simply wants to put the bastard away before he murders anyone else. The case is maddening but worse, the attraction the two men find every time they look at each other, is beginning to get in the way.

Genres: M M Romance, Crime, Mystery, Romance, LGBT, Suspense, Contemporary

10 pages, Audible Audio

First published August 24, 2022

About the author

International bestselling author Patricia Logan, resides in Los Angeles, California. The author of several #1 bestselling erotic romances in English, Italian, French, and Spanish lives in a small house with a large family. When she’s not writing her next thriller romance, she’s watching her grandchildren grow up way too soon, and raising kids who make her proud every day. One of her favorite tasks is coaxing nose kisses from cats who insist on flopping on her keyboard while she types. Married to a wonderful gentleman for 30 years, she counts herself lucky to be surrounded by people who love her and give her stories to tell every day.
Become a fan of Patricia at http://authorpatricialogan.com

Email her at patricialogan.author@yahoo.com. She loves to hear from readers more than anything and will respond to all emails.

Reviews

[~Nicole~]

I can’t rate this because I DNF at about 7%. I’m sorry but I couldn’t go on with it, it’s badly written and simplistic-I prefer books more cleverly written. Besides, the guy , the FBI agent apparently finds every colleague he meets attractive and knee-weakening handsome or hot. I kept guessing who could be the second MC because he kept getting besotted with every new agent or detective he was encountering . And let’s not talk about how, at an horrific crime scene , with a 14 years old extremely traumatized witness in front of them they kept checking each other out and giving themselves boners . 🙄 Such fine and professional specimens of detectives and agents NOT.

[NicoleR.M.M. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m seriously in doubt whether this book stood a fair chance after I read 2 excellent mystery/suspense books written by the extraordinary Nicky James. I struggled to finish this, since it could hardly hold my attention. It wasn’t the writing persé, which was okay, but it was more that I didn’t find the characters interesting. I had a hard time connecting to Leo nor Max. The dialogues, which are an important part for me to get the feeling of how real a book feels, were off. Also, a lot of character introductions that were confusing at times, and even though this was a mystery story, it felt like everyone and everything was the reason the romance felt underwhelmed.
But again, it might be me. I just couldn’t read this book without comparing and maybe my timing was just bad. Had I read it before the other books, I might have written a different review.
For now my conclusion is that I don’t find the appeal to continue reading this series. There are other mm mystery and suspense series out there I’d rather spend my precious time reading.

I kindly received an advanced copy from Gay Romance Reviews and this is my honest, unbiased opinion

[Gerbera_Reads]

DNF at 14%

I really tried to give this book a chance. But it was such a chore to read that I had to stop. The universe is the same: LA and agent Snow's team from the author's previous series Death and Destruction. The agents acted so silly checking each other's a$$ globes encased in tight denim and eye color while being on the brutal murder crime scene. They sounded ridiculous. The entire 14% it was about how they looked, how attracted they were to each other and popping boners left and right. The humor was flat. I think I will step away from this author's work for a long while. I remember enjoying her earlier series about ATF agents. Smh

[Nico]

dnf 10%

This is the first time I've ever posted about something I've stopped reading, but it was so egregiously bad in such a short time that I am compelled to say something.

"Max turned his regard to the petite, Asian pixie sitting behind Carter's bucket seat."

JAIL

" There were two women on the team, one, a short, wiry Asian called Rayburn, a decidedly non-Asian name, and an attractive blonde called Michaels."

DO NOT PASS GO DO NOT COLLECT $200

and finally,
To set the scene, my man is eye fucking someone standing over the mutilated body of a teenager:

"Leo swallowed as he got a good look at the man’s ass. The perfect tight globes were nestled snugly inside a pair of stonewashed jeans and, though, Leo hadn’t yet caught a glimpse of the front of the tall stranger, he felt his mouth go dry... The front of his hair was cut longer, and when he reached up to brush stray dark bangs away from his eyes, a pulse of something nearly unrecognizable pooled in his groin."

UNDERNEATH THE JAIL

/fin

[yaishin]

sorry the writing is getting on my nerves.

[Dee · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF@48%

I might secretly be a masochist because I kept on saying “one more page” hoping there might be an improvement somehow 😅, this was just a horrible read. What a letdown and I’m so in the mood to read

[Aimora]

Was listening to this as text to speech and was massively confused about Mac vs Max. Decided I didn't care to figure it out. Dnf at 34%

[Juli]

dnf at 11%. Awkwardly written. Hamfisted plot. Already bored. Flipped to the end to read the last few pages and am glad I stopped.

[Ana Nimity · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was, as far as I can remember, my first Patricia Logan book. I enjoyed meeting the cast of characters and didn't feel lost that many of the side characters had obvious history, and I'm sure I'll go back and read those stories. So if you're wondering if you can read Prince of LA without having read her other work, the answer is yes.
The book combines action-adventure-suspense and sexy romance set in one of my favorite places to read about and visit. The story is solid, I think, but I did feel like it dragged a bit in places. Maybe that was just me and my week, though. It has a HFN ending since it's an ongoing series, so I'm interested to see how the next book plays out.

[Janet Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prince of L.A. is the first in a new series by Patricia Logan call the F.B.I. Files. Leo is a FBI profiler that has moved to L.A. from Quantico, there he is teamed up a team lead by SAC Lincoln Snow. Max is former military, works for the US Marshall Service and a field agent for the FBI. They are teamed up on a gruesome case. There is a lot of secondary characters moving throughout the story, Made the story feel more realistic. Max and Leo have a steamy build up. Overall, this is a fantastic start to a new series. The writing and pacing is great, it sucks you into the story. I cannot wait for the next one.

[Manuela Raimo · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of a new series, good start

I love the chemistry the action, the characters, the story ...

I don't know who I like more, maybe Leo...

the case is non so simple to resolve, I like when is not easy to win
thanks GRR for this copy, I want the next soon...

[K-Me · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a hot series starter! Max and the new profiler Leo are on fire together! I could feel the chemistry and attraction jumping off the pages. Love that they tried to ignore it and work together with a growing friendship. This added some humor and fun situations. That being said this book has a lot of suspense and action and the bad guys are really bad. Found myself tensely routing for Max and Leo from all angles! Enjoyed the extra POV's from other characters as well. I am big fan of multiple POV's. I cannot wait to experience this on audible!

[Xanthe · Rating 5 out of 5]

*4.5*
A brilliant new series from Patrica Logan, with links to her much loved series, Death and Destruction.
Leo is a new profiler to the FBI team in LA but slots right in with everyone. He especially gets on well with Max, who both feel that electricity if attraction from the start. They all don't meet under the best circumstances with the crime scene beging where Leo is first introduced to everyone and it's a gruesome scene. The case itself needs some insights from Leo, some undercover work and research by their top tech guy, Noah, to help them solve it and save an unknown number of people from a date worse than death. If the undercover happens to lead to something a little more personal, well, who's to know.
The case itself is a horror with what the victims are put through. We don't read anything on page, just get the results when the team are called to a body and then look into what's happened. I love the detail that the author goes into with regards to the case itself as well as the characters and what they bring to the table. The team is one that's been brought together because of what they can offer and it's clear they all like and respect each other, as people and colleagues.
The relationship between Leo and Max is a slow burner in regards to how long it takes to build up through the book but actually quite fast, time wise with it only being a week from the start to finish if the book. The heat level gets intense between them but there's a spark from first meet and it just ignites from the moment they allow it. I enjoyed that they have fun, chat away and also work well together, not letting that come between their work relationship, or at least not so far. Both men have got a painful history in some way, which we find out about as they share with each other, I wonder if there's more to come from that in the future, at least from Leo's side.
A highly recommended crime mystery with the start of a hot and heavy romance. There's a brilliant cast of characters that are going to be a lot of fun to get to know as well as a couple on the fringes that are well known to fans of the author.
I received an ARC and am happily giving a review.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in a new series by Patricia Logan. It also features some of the characters from Death and Destruction, another Logan series, and it is nice to return to this universe again.

This series is set in the FBI. Profiler Leo has just been transferred to the LA office to join a team led by Lincoln Snow. (We know him from the earlier series.) One of the other men on the team is Max. Both men are gorgeous, gay and immediately attracted to each other. They both also have huge baggage that they try to keep buried.

The case starts with a brutal murder and as soon as the LAPD detectives called to the scene arrive they know they need to call the FBI. The one detective declares this necessary because the viciousness of the crime indicates a serial killer. Not quite sure how he got there as they don’t compare any like crimes. So this is a plot hole. Why the victim is left there is never explained and it’s pretty stupid as it is what gives the FBI a trail to follow. There are several scenes which don’t seem to make a lot of sense and things that are thrown out and never picked up. However the crime investigation is interesting and the action is exciting. The story arc moves well and the epilogue does a decent wrap up. Leftover elements from this story will form the basis of the next story in the series it appears.

The romance story arc is a fast friends to lovers with insta attraction. It moves well and emphasizes the quick friendship aspect and how their feelings develop. Given both men’s emotional backgrounds you want to root for their HEA. We’ll obviously see more in the next book.

The secondary characters are interesting and add to the story. There are some consistency problems that better editing (or beta reading) should have picked up. A couple of times it’s very confusing as the wrong character names are used. The style of the writing/formatting does it help with that as we frequently switch from Leo’s POV to Max’s and vice versa without labeling and it can get confusing and take a minute to adjust to what’s happening. The editing errors don’t help. It’s a relatively minor issue but it’s annoying when I have to backtrack to figure out what’s happening and who’s speaking.

Overall it’s an entertaining read and I’ll look forward to the next one.

**I voluntarily read an arc and this is my unbiased opinion.**

[HarriReadsRoMMance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prince of LA is book 1 of book 1 of a new series following the same couple. There are some potential triggers (kidnapping, imprisonment, human auctions to name a few) in this book so please be mindful of that before starting. None of it happens on page but it is talked about as part of their FBI investigation. While certain aspects of the case are concluded at the end of this book, the end sets up the continuation of both the romance and the investigation in book 2. There are lots of familiar faces for fans of Patricia Logan’s sexy lawmen to enjoy as Leo and Max have both joined Lincoln Snow’s new team, but if you are brand new to Patricia Logan you can still easily follow who is who within the story. I can only suggest that you go back and read her other series when you can. The subject matter is heavy, Max and Leo are still getting to learn how to trust each as partners, let alone lovers so there’s a lot to digest. This wasn’t my favourite offering from an excellent author, but Prince of LA definitely whet my appetite for the rest of the series. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Demetra Roussakis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book 1 and a new to me author. Leo is a profiler who came to California to help on a case. Max came to California working with a new team and enjoying it. When the 2 meet, sparks fly. Their new case is baffling as they try to figure out what is going wrong. This contains high heat and lots of action. I really enjoyed and looking forward to reading the next book.

I received a copy of this book for my review.

[Cynthia Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing story Patricia has done it again. Loved Leo and Max together and how they brought the bad guys down was phenomenal. So happy to see old friends.

I did receive an ARC for a review.

[Diane Dannenfeldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent start to a new series. Leo is the son of a serial killer and is a profiler w/the FBI. He is called out to help investigation a horrendous killing that Max's FBI team has been called out to investigate. The bodies are beaten & in some cases dismembered & a witness was left behind. I would have liked a little more with him just to see how he is doing because, witnessing a brutal killing leaves a detrimental mark on you. These two have an instant attraction and it doesn't take long for them to give in to what they want. The people behind the killings are really sick individuals & this will be continuing on in future books as the team hunts down all the players. You do have characters from other series, though it's not necessary to have read them before this book. I would recommend reading them all just because they are just awesome. I can't wait for more.

I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my honest opinion.

[Sabby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stereotypes, sexism, prejudice

I DNFd this book. I wanted to like it, but it is so packed with stereotypes (the one Asian woman being constantly described as tiny, petite, delicate, but is a whiz at martial arts. The one Latino character being big, bald, and covered in tattoos, etc. none of these things are necessarily but the author seems to have made every non white character a stereotype of their ethnicity).

Then there’s sexism at various points like when one main character says all women are catty, untrustworthy, and like nothing but drama.

There’s prejudice from the main characters everywhere (characters insinuating that all people in the bdsm community are predatory and strange, the main character blatantly stating how he doesn’t think men should wear makeup, the mcs regularly making fun of people into bdsm).

All this just really rubbed me the wrong way. On top of that there’s a lot of pov shifts, some of which aren’t povs of the two main characters at all. There are random, lengthy info dumps, boring exposition in random places, and overall I just couldn’t finish it. I’m bummed cause I liked the premise but the attitudes of the characters (and seemingly the author) towards certain subjects just rubbed me the wrong way.

[S.K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had a lot to draw me to it: law enforcement, profiling, alpha males and a mystery – what could go wrong?

One of my biggest issues is the constant referencing of previous characters. It’s obvious that they are from other series that the author has written, and appear to be a ploy to draw the reader to go and read their stories. But for me, it overshadowed the main characters from this story – I want an author to make me want to read their other stuff because of how good this story is, not because I have to have all of their previous books memorised so I recognise the names of the characters populating this book.

I didn’t feel any real chemistry between Leo and Max – in fact, there were times that I couldn’t remember who was who because they came across as so generic. The other team members were more interesting to me and had more individual characteristics to them.

It was made completely and utterly obvious who the ‘bad’ guys in the team were, and I couldn’t help but wonder just why they were there. There was a big deal made of how tight-knit the team was, how they had all been hand-picked. If that was the case, what was with the two guys that everyone pretty much seemed to detest?

The main plot was interesting and I feel more could have been made of that, but the resolution was mildly satisfying. I wasn’t sure about all of the background characters in Max’s life: his wife, his drag-queen friend and his ex, as they seemed like the author planned to go into things deeper but didn’t have the space for it. The whole issue with Leo’s Dad was a non-starter and felt like a red herring. If it was meant to be motivation for his life choices and how he was around people, for me it failed to connect.

The writing was solid and I’m sure people who have read her earlier works would be pleased to see old friends. Surprisingly, I do have some of her earlier stuff including characters that appear in this story, but I am struggling to make my way through them. Perhaps having seen them here, I will be able to connect better. It’s a 3/5 from me but YMMV – perhaps it was just the mood I was in?

I received an ARC from GRR.

[Didi]

PRINCE OF L.A. is the pilot to Patricia Logan’s new series “FBI Files.” It’s a romance centered on the life of profiler Leo Reeves and former Marine turned FBI agent Max Prince. Those who are familiar with her works may recognized the cameos and mentions of characters from her previous series on here. Like Logan’s books I’ve read (so far) despite the (mostly) killer-hunting task our MCs dealing with, this book is also lighthearted and packed with full-on banter, almost comedic, even. Which unfortunately followed that I’m rather on the fence with the whole circumstances.

As the first to the series, it presented the whole team members along with their expertise. Though most of the time, the vibes I got (from the convos) was a bunch of ordinary people hanging out and rabbiting away at any and all issues. On the one side, I’m okay with easy camaraderie and jovial atmosphere in a story. But often, these agents acted so gossipy - under every circumstances. They even cheerfully greeted one another upon arriving at a fresh crime scene, pretty much like seeing people at social gathering.

The story was told alternately from multiple POVs between Max, Leo and their team member which at least gave insight into the leading men’s thought and feeling. As expected, there was budding romance between Max and Leo which rapidly progressing into steamy affair. While the case-load dropped into their lap was rather grave, I felt they spent more time being foodie and treated the case (as if) as an aside. Why, they were too laid back even when about to infiltrate the viper’s nest. That those acting douchebag most likely ended up being the bad guy(s) struck me as too formulaic too. I guess I didn’t much mind the general idea of the story itself, but the delivery felt off somehow.

Copy of this book is kindly given by the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

2.75 stars

Prince of L.A. is the first book in the FBI Files series from author Patricia Logan. It’s a contemporary, quasi-procedural with a heavy focus on Leo and Max’s attraction/relationship. The story is broken down into chapters, but the narrator is not noted. Generally, I don’t mind unspecified narrators. In Prince of L.A., however, flipping between Max and Leo’s POVs can happen within a single paragraph. The most notable confusion happened when Leo and Max and Max’s dog, Bruce, were all in a scene and I couldn’t tell whose shoulder (man or dog) was being patted by whom (Max or Leo).

Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.

[Barbara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nie powinnam oceniać nie skończonej książki, ale to jest tak źle napisane, że musiałam.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the first book in this series. Thank Christ Michael Pauley is the narrator.

[Toni K · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF. This very prolific author still cannot deal with sooo many he/him in a sentence. The book is badly written, flat and stereotypical. The guys know each other for two days, have sex and decide they're each other's home. Yeah, no.

[Myriam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Went in with low expectations and had to lower them until I just gave up. I love a good LEO story but this once more hit the trifecta of bad M/M content.

- the writing is not good. I have given up trying to find competent writing in M/M books but the sentence structure was just so awkward. I was mentally rewriting every second sentence. No reading flow to be found.

- The structure of this book was all over the place. Constantly changing viewpoints and not just the two main characters but random team members? About a third in I realized this was a spin-off of another series because suddenly whole paragraphs were spent retelling things that happened in other books? Why do I care?

- I was determined to finish this anyway but the plot insisted on going nowhere. Also I got pissed.

- The author set up this whole sex club/sex party thing which is a common trope. You know the two main characters go undercover at a club and then sexy shenanigans ensue. Nope. They're both kind of iffy on it and I don't need my book hunks to kink-shame me? Also what even go through all this set-up for if nothing is going to come of it?

- At about 60% I still had no idea what the case was really going to be about, the two leads hadn't so much as kissed and I was tired of it.

[Lesetiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prince of L.A. is the first in a new series by Patricia Logan and I loved this book.
First, there's the easy-going writing style that makes it wonderful to get into the story after only a few pages. Together with the pleasant pace I was very quickly captivated and could hardly put the book down. On the other hand, it is the combination of a mystery case with romance.
I liked the FBI profiler Leo from the beginning. He moves to LA and is a new addition to Lincoln Snow's team. There he meets former soldier Max Prince and it's not long before they have an undercover assignment while investigating their first case together. After that, sparks fly between the two and they are really hot.
The case was interesting, exciting and at the end already intense, but that's what I like in crime novels. I was happy to meet some familiar names from other series. There are a lot of side characters, but I had no problem with that, just because some were already known to me.
Prince of L.A. is a fantastic and entertaining series opener and now I am eagerly anticipating volume two.

[Chetana · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25⭐️

I have read other Patricia Logan books and liked it. But it was hard to get into this book. For a majority of the book we are told, again and again, how tall the characters are (especially the MC's), How beautiful the MC's find each other and how perfect their personalities are for each other. Of course the book also idolizes the men in the military, which I am OK with, but it gets repeated quite often and it is like it makes up a majority of a particular characters identity. For a book about serial killers trafficking in victims (which was similar to a Criminal Minds arc that I once saw) this focused a lot less on the case.

I am still probably going to read the next couple of books if not the rest of the series, but I am going in with my eyes wide open and expectations almost zero.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an FBI MM action romance. The FBI case that was the mystery plot focus was gritty and gruesome but not in the sense you couldn’t look. I think the gruesome parts were quite clinical so I wasn’t flinching away from the pages. I think there wasn’t enough footwork. The undercover part was a bit short and almost pointless and the ending of the case was a bit lack lustre.
The MM romance aspect was the better element and the chemistry worked for me But I felt the relationship was rushed and some aspects underdeveloped. But this is the first in the series and it was setting the stage for more from the team.
I enjoyed the book and would read more from this author.

[LWM · Rating 4 out of 5]

The humor's always interesting and hilarious. . .

Logan has a definite preference toward writing about and.assigning certain characteristics for the main characters who are federal agents. They're all usually well over six feet tall, extremely handsome, in possession of beautifully light colored eyes (usually green or blue), and are of above average to genius level intelligence and often (not always) were former military special ops (Marine or Navy). I'm not complaining - just making an observation and commenting that it does get predictable.

Now, Leo's background was different and intriguing (the opposite of Jarrett's, whose dad was a ranking official in one of the alphabet agencies), so that made me keen to start (and buy after a few chapters) the series. I purchased this a couple years ago but never got past the first book simply because I began it right after Jarrett and Thane's adventures and.drama. Too much, too soon. I needed a break. Anyway, while the action and drama was great, there's too many repeated inner monologues about how fast Leo fell for such a great guy and how lucky they each were. Like, repeatedly, at least once every chapter or whenever he laid eyes on Max. Otherwise...

I reread the first book when I made the decision to resume talking the series on, and loved Leo and Max just as much as I did the first time. Admittedly, Patricia Logan has a different cadence to her writing from my usual favorite writers (Jaclyn Osborne, Kindle Alexander, and Sloane Kennedy's modern mystery series are a few seriesI've read in the recent past but lately I've been trying new writers (😐), too, as well as some Claire Kingsley, Nicole Snow, Megan Derr and Mary Calmes). As such, I can only take a Patricia Logan series one book at a time interspersed with the ones I'm more used to. Four stars.