Unauthorized Affair

Unauthorized #1

by Lisa Ladew

This is a free romantic suspense book, the beginning of a romantic suspense series, although this book with this couple reads as a standalone. Twenty-six year old Jen Mansko finds out the hard way that she's too trusting. Her apartment ransacked, her bank account emptied, and her heart broken, Jen has had enough and high-tails it to the only place she can think of where she will be welcomed – her brother's house. Anxious for a fresh start, Jen does something completely out of character and decides to become a cop. Soon, the athletic beauty with the striking-pink locks captures the attention of Sergeant Hunter Foley. When she is vetted for an undercover assignment, Jen dares another feat and quickly wins the approval of the powers that be. Once embedded in the covert operation, yet another unlikely suitor is drawn to her. With two men on opposite sides of the law vying for her attention, Jen is forced to make a choice or risk having all she's worked so hard for ripped away from her. This is a spin-off of the Edge of the Heat Series. The characters from the Edge of the Heat will weave lightly in and out of the Unauthorized series. This is a standalone novel, however, there is a cliffhanger at the end that involves the H/h of the next book. Heat moderate. suspense or thriller moderate. Some swearing. 18+ romantic suspense, contemporary romance, police romance, strong female protagonist, thriller, romantic thriller, suspenseful romance

Genres: Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Erotica, Amazon, Suspense, Romantic Suspense

220 pages, Paperback

First published November 10, 2014

About the author

I'm working hard on One True Mate 11. I hope to finish it by the end of the year.

Reviews

[Pam]

Can we all take a second to just praise this cover, HOT DAMN!



plus it's a FREEBIE right now: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PHV4KM6

[Deborah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read 9th - 10th June 2020.

I originally gave 5* I’m amending it to 4*. It’s still a fabulous read but I’ve got skinnier with my stars as I’ve got older. It takes a lot more to get 5* out of me these days.

Fabulous read.

Jen Mansko's life completely changes one day. Something is nagging at her. Something bad is going to happen she just knows it. But she's no idea what it is. Until she arrives home and finds her fiancé in bed with another woman. As if this wasn't bad enough he clears out her apartment and bank account. Needing a complete change she gives up her apartment and her job. She goes to visit her brother where she makes a huge career change and decides she wants to be a cop.
With help from her brother Jerry and his girlfriend Sara. She trains and prepares so when it's time for the tests she sails through. So much so that she's picked up to work undercover. Jen finds herself very attracted to her boss Hunter. But since he's her boss she knows nothing can come from it. She also finds herself attracted to someone else. This one possibly more dangerous. Since she doesn't know which side of the law he stands on.
This is a fabulous read. It’s also the first book I've read by this author I literally couldn't put it down. The characters are great and not just the main couple but all the supporting ones as well. The story kept me reading and yes it had a cliffhanger. This wasn't a surprise since I'd checked beforehand. I can't wait to read the next one 'Unauthorized Deception' and if it's anywhere near as good as this one I'll go on and read her 'Edge of the Heat' series.

[Coco.V]

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[♛ Garima ♛ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally, I stay away from any novel which shows bare male chest on cover, but I was looking for cop thriller and after reading blurb I decided to give it a try.

To let you know frankly, I picked this up because-

I got deal for this one through bookbub.com as part of my daily alert and I was feeling bit rebellious-



I don’t know how choosing for this book counts as rebellious but ‘Unauthorized’ is all I can read in the title.

So I got 4 of these (I guess that is complete 'Unauthorized series') at 0.0$ from Amazon so nothing to lose. However I almost stopped reading it as soon as I realized Jen has pink hair –




I took some deep breaths at this point and kept reading it and it turned out to be a pleasant surprise, the story is fast paced and both out protagonists don’t waste much time and goes ahead with uncovering the mystery surrounding mafia lord Fiore.

I really like Jen and Hunter’s characters – little bit of reminder of Will Robie and Jessica Reel from Will Robie series by David Baldacci. Now let me tell you something, you cannot compare David B.’s writing style here as it is much more rich and subtle but I guess Lisa did good job writing fast paced short story.

Of course, I skipped last chapter and skimmed through it (for obvious reasons) and of course, the story doesn’t end here and literally jumps into next one -
Unauthorized Deception (from Ivy and Ryker POVs)



Will I read it - Sure got curious what happened to Ryker? But I am known to drop series as soon as I got little bit irritated with it so no promises :)

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!!!! What a fabulous story. Unauthorized Affair is an amazing start to Lisa Ladew’s new “Unauthorized Series”. Jen and Hunter’s story steals your heart from the very beginning. When Jen discovers heartbreaking news, she decides to change her life completely, only to end up in more danger than she ever imagined. When Hunter meets Jen, he sees her as sweet, innocent and beautiful only to quickly realize that she is strong and smart too. They make the best of their situation, until Hunter is forced to make a decision that will change their lives forever. I’ve read all of Lisa’s books and this one is right up there with all the rest- thrilling suspense, sexy hot romance, and characters that quickly make you feel part of the family. Lisa also likes to bring back other characters from her other series, keeping you updated on the lives (this does not take away from the original plot line or make you feel as though you have no idea what is going on; however, it does make you want to read those stories also "Edge of Heat"). Once I started reading, I could not put it down. Can’t wait for book 2 coming out in late November/early December (2014). You won’t be disappointed.

[Lynde Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh. This book was kind of all over the place. Very little romance, which is fine. But when the romance did happen it was between the two people who seem to have spent the least amount of "screen time" together. How they went from barely knowing each other to being in love when they've had about 2 personal conversations was unrealistic and unbelievable. And I'll suspend my belief for a lot of things because I know these are works of fiction and come from an author's imagination. I'm even mostly ok with insta-love. But this one just bounced around so much between the two guys. It wasn't terrible. The go get em attitude Jen suddenly developed was pushing the boundary, but it was made to work. But this one wasn't good enough to make me want to read anymore in the series. If you want a quick, easy to read book that is free, then try this one out. But if not, you'll be ok without it.

[Darcie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my I have no idea where to even begin!! I loved this book from the beginning. I will admit I was a bit torn for the first half of it because I was really beginning to love Coleton and Hunter was doing his part of staying distant. I loved how Hunter and Jen came together though and the best part was it was believable. Ivy and Ryker were great supporting characters but the epilogue nearly made me scream! I need the next book right now and it better give me some answers to Ivy's heartbreak. Give me more please!!!

[вιвℓισρнιℓια {кιηgѕℓєу & ѕøяєη ƒσяєνєя}]

Amazon freebie 020215 ;)

[Mandy Saial · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was excited to read this series after liking the synopsis , but sadly couldn't really get into it . I thought the characters were lacking a little and for me I needed more suspense /action .

[Debra Johnson]

Amz Purch. Aug. 15, 2023

[Sarita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This promises to be another great series for Lisa. While it was a tad slow in the beginning, you are being introduced to new characters and situations. At first, although Jen was sweet, I had a hard time deciding whether I liked her or not. She had just caught her boyfriend cheating on her and days later, she's mesmerized by someone else. Everyone told her the boyfriend was bad news and she missed every signal. But then her innocence and naïveté was kind of what endeared me to her. Coming from a family of law enforcement officers, I was skeptical of how she would work out in her new career but I liked the story and the characters. I truly loved how the secondary characters were developed as I know we will see them in the future. It is also good to see old friends from the Edge of Heat series. All in all, I loved the book and look forward to the next one.

*As an advanced reader, I received this book free in return for an honest review.

[Liana · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 star suspense, but 2.5 star romance

Only a few things keeping this from being 5 star romantic suspense. One, the love story isn't too developed. There are storyline reasons for this, but honestly, it left me rooting for and feeling bad for the other guy. There was some good chemistry there and it seemed like the heroine actually connected with him. Two, because this takes place in the Edge of Heat universe, characters from there are referenced here, but the way their stories are referenced isn't completely friendly to readers who haven't read that series.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This is a great beginning to Lisa Ladew's new series! We are introduced to Jen, a woman who went from being insecure due to being cheated on by her boyfriend, to transforming into a self-assured and confident undercover agent. What I loved about this story is that it had so much action, paired perfectly with the budding relationship between Jen and Hunter. Can't wait for more of this series!

[Lindelicious · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked Jen, I liked the fact that she didn’t give up on love just because she was badly hurt by her ex-boyfriend. There’s no love triangle was insinuated in the blurb. The romance between Hunter and Jen wasn’t well developed. I felt that Hunter and Jen weren’t interacting enough for the chemistry between them to grow to such proportions. I find the suspense was too simplistic. A crime boss who’s been so difficult to incriminate, the investigation and arrest was too basic.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished the first book in this new series, and can't wait for book two! What a great cliff hanger for Ivy and Ryker! Book one featured a little bit of everything, action, suspense and romance. Great book and looking forward to more from this author.

[C.R. Gress · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have had the privilege to read by this author. I absolutely loved the story line and the only reason it got 4 instead of 5 stars is because I kinda feel that the end was a bit rushed.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

I couldn't put this down until I finished it! Love the characters and storyline. Can't wait for #2 and what happens next.

[~~Susan~~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a challenge read 'first in the series'

Lisa Ladew was also a new to new author, looking forward to reading more from her.

[Janey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable mystery/suspense romance, great spin off from the heat series and lovely to hear about Jerry again, nicely set up for Ryker's and Ivy's story.

[Michele bookloverforever · Rating 3 out of 5]

a young woman finds herself in police work. she also finds a calling, self confidence and love.

[Chalice · Rating 3 out of 5]

The couple: Hunter and Jen

Romance trope: law enforcement
Series: Unauthorized
Length: 259 pages

Plot: Jen has just found her boyfriend cheating on her and she needs a change in direction. When she sees an ad to become a police officer, she decides to apply and it turns out that she's good enough to be chosen for an undercover job before she even makes it into the recruit class. Her handler, Hunter, is fighting his feelings for her, and in the process of arranging the undercover work, finds himself in competition with Coleton, the son of a local mob boss that has been giving them trouble for a long time.

Commentary: Can that really happen? She's basically a walk-on and hasn't even taken any of the courses necessary to be a green rookie, but she's recruited for an undercover operation? She has no training at all? I found the premise to be unrealistic (I mean, it's not dragons or elves, but still...) and that made the whole thing a little weird for me. But I did like how the couple took a little while to get together, considering their relative positions on the force.

Next book in the series: Unauthorized Deception

[Carol Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love comes quietly

What a good read and it ties in with other series. After her boyfriends utter betrayal Jenny feel lost broken unfulfilled. She runs to her brother who becomes an anchor in the stormy sea of her life.
She enters a world of danger finally shaking off her safe girl nature or is that nurture. Any way a fast paced game of cat and mouse with a monster leads her to the love of her life but heartache for a friend. And so the author leads us to a new and fascinating series. Loved it. High five.

[Hollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Jen! She got her shit together in the best way and I actually believed it. I wish she and Coleton had gotten together because I liked him more than Hunter. I know there is another book in this series, but I don’t think I’ll read it. I likes the plot in this one, but on several occasions I found myself re-reading passages because I didn’t understand them the first time around.

[K.C. Riley-Gyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unauthorised

At first, I didn’t think I was going to enjoy the story; despite the blurb attracting my attention. Despite a couple of errors, I truly enjoyed this book and the characters.

[LUAYNE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story...foul language

Jen, Ivy, Ryker are police recruits working under cover to catch a mob boss and his crew. The police chief is a mob informant. Good action. Also, the mob boss's son is drop dead gorgeous. F bombs 😟.

[Shannon Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have a 1-4 series collection and just finished 1st one. Love it and OF COURSE, Coleton does deserve his HEA, was tough seeing him be 2nd choice but was tough also because Hunter was a great pick too! Cant wait to continue to next character set

[Bogormen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hunter didn't seem very interesting, I would rather have read about Coleton(?), but maybe he's featured later in the series?

[Shaly · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Not bad for my first read by this author. I was a bit skeptical since I've read she loves to write cliffhangers, which I absolutely detest, but I also read that she does finish the story she is currently writing and leaves what I always refer to as a 'slight' cliffhanger, plus this book had a good synopsis so I became curious.

Jen definitely was naive for a 26 year old woman. The good thing was that she was aware of how naive and completely stupid she was, especially when it came to Adam. I'm glad she didn't stick around and instead kicked his ass to the curb. Though I would have preferred for her to kick him in the nuts or something but the fact that she did throw him out and moved on with her life..kudos to her for owning up to her shit.

The storyline was pretty good, though it seemed off at times like I was missing a piece to the puzzle, for me it was because I never read any of Ms. Ladew's books, so I had no idea that Jerry and Sara had their own story in the Edge of the Heat Series, so their back story was confusing as fuck to me. As was the mentioning of the FBI agents and someone named Emma? (All with prior stories in the same series, which I haven't read yet)

Also the attraction between Hunter and Jen didn't really seem hot nor genuine nought, at least not on her side. On his side it was obvious from the beginning he wanted her, but Jen was attracted to both him and Colton so no I didn't feel it was genuine enough coming from her. They didn't really click for me. Everything moved pretty quickly, not sure if that's good or bad. Good I guess because no games were played and things were pretty much straight forward. The mystery factor of who the 'mole' could have been was also an interesting twist...

As was expected, Hunter and Jen's story was told in its entirety but we are left with a slight cliffhanger and are left wondering what in the fuck happened not only with Ivy and Ryker, but also with Colton who disappeared after and was never heard from again! Is he still alive? Will he be making another appearance? What happened to him? So, this had its good parts, it had its frustrating parts but overall it wasn't a bad read at all!

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a woman called Jen who finds her soon-to-be fiance in bed with another woman. She decides to leave the area and start a new life for herself, and so she quits her job and heads off in the car to go and see her brother. Jen decides to stay there which is when she finds advert for police recruitment. Having just dealt with the policewoman that she had figured had life under her control, and wasn’t as naive as Jen herself, she decides that this would be her dream job. With the support of her brother and his new girlfriend she manages to get this job, and is then offered a further position as an undercover cop. Despite the risks she takes the job. Once she begins to work she discovers that she has two men after her. One is her boss, which she feels she is unable to do professionally, and the other is a suspected criminal. She soon finds herself involved in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
This book was a general romance, although it did have an element of police work and suspense running through it. I definitely found it in interesting read, and was continuing to flick through the pages quickly enough. Even though it is described as an erotic romance, I did not really find it as descriptive as some that I have read. However, it is definitely a romance, and a very interesting story.
Although it was a bit difficult to believe that a surfer with pink hair would suddenly be able to ace all of the exams needed to get into police recruitment, the whole idea worked very well.
The writing style used within this book is a good flowing piece work that keeps you interested throughout. I gave this book 4/5 stars, and the only reason that it did not receive five stars is that the main character’s journey was a bit difficult to believe.

[Karen Voitik · Rating 4 out of 5]

>Review – Unauthorized Affair –

>I am an independent reviewer. This is the first book in the Unauthorized Series and ends in an HEA.

>Jen is a 26 year old woman who attracts cheaters as boyfriends. After the last boyfriend she caught cheating on her, she decides to become something totally different and become a cop. She catches the eye of one of the cops, Hunter, in charge of new recruits. Jen, along with 2 other newbies, Ryker and Ivy, are recruited to work undercover to gather information on the criminal element in the city. This op is led by Hunter, who is quickly falling for Jen.

>This story was really good, up until the end. The relationship between Jen and Hunter was just an attraction that quickly turns into love? That doesn’t seem very realistic. There is a mob element, but other than a lot of warnings, nothing really comes of it. The rival for Jen, Coleton, was a very likable character who, again, falls hard and fast for Jen. I was beginning to wonder if she had on a special attraction/love perfume or something!

>I thought the premise of this story was great. A series can really be built off of these ideas. I wish Hunter was a little more alpha. As it read, Ryker was the most alpha male portrayed. I look forward to seeing if the series builds upon these characters, especially Ivy and Ryker.

> This story is appropriate for an adult audience.

> 4 stars