Lure

Agents of Paragon #1

by C.W. Ford

There’s nothing more dangerous than love….

Former CIA analyst Paul Milano is devoted to his new job as a psychologist in the Pentagon, helping soldiers rebuild their lives after the traumas of war.

When a mysterious stranger appears at his door and asks two intriguing questions, Paul finds himself lured once again into the dangerous world of espionage.

Teamed with Travis, a spy who just might be the most attractive and challenging man he’s ever met, Paul quickly realizes he’s in serious trouble. Danger surrounds him. A single mistake means catastrophe.

If he’s going to survive, he must fight the chemistry exploding between him and Travis.

Because when it comes to the spy game, distraction is deadly.

And there’s nothing deadlier than the powerful distraction of — love.

The elite operatives of Paragon: A team of dangerously attractive men, handpicked from our military and intelligence agencies, who use their brains, brawn, and beauty to protect and serve

Genres: M M Romance, Gay, Queer, Mystery, Military Fiction, Contemporary

217 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 4, 2023

Reviews

[~Nicole~]

DNF.. I don’t know what to say about this book other than the fact that it’s kind of strange and unusual . It might be me and not the book though, because I find it very weird that some top-secret covert organization’s agents are using exclusively sex and their bodies to protect and serve. So they were some sort of secret agent-whores 🤣🤣 The book is told in dual POV and the writing is pretty fresh, though not extraordinary . Also, the characters aren’t too likable , Travis in particular annoyed me with his “happy go fucky , I love sex because I’m a bombshell” attitude . 🙄
I won’t rate it because it’s not really a horrible book and some ppl might actually like it.

[Melissa Polk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't get the low-star reviews for this book. Was the premise ridiculous? Yes. But aren't most romance novels in at least one way or another? I mean, I wasn't reading this for the complexity of a crime thriller or anything. Was the book perfect? No, of course not. It was plot-lite and I didn't really care much about any of the characters. But it was entertaining. And, to me, that's the whole point. In fact, I may even read the rest of the series just for funsies.

[Qin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beyond the utterly ridiculous assumption that there exists a secret government agency using super operatives in the capacity of honeypots to combat organized crime and rogue states, this is a textbook case of a story that aimed lower than what its own strengths would have it soar to, ending up in almost desultory fashion as a crude caricature of what the first few chapters misled the reader into believing the story would be. Indeed, if the beginning in which Paul gets thrown into the glamorous world of Paragon with a very deft hand is worthy of Tal Bauer's suspenseful offerings and shines sensuously (not since L.J. Harris' Long, Tall Texan had I seen such a powerfully hot, almost cloying scene as Paul's first foray at Travis' invitation into the stripping joint Ziggy's in chapter 3), the book weakens à la L.J. Hayward around the middle, by which point things clumsily accelerate, the writing suddenly becomes clunkier and less crisp and lucid and the plotline degenerates into stale clichés meant to throw the two men together in shark-infested waters so that their unresolved sexual tension can fester and balloon, before veering right, by the the final few chapters, into the kind of hasty, cringe-worthy romance flavored by danger and conveyed by barely-there literary values, that the queens of low-brow MM smut Lynn Hagen and Stephanie Hecht would not repudiate. Unfortunately, the only love scene of the whole book appears within this clusterfuck of a climax, and is predictably botched to such an extent that one wonders whether Lure was penned by only one person and has not been partially ghost-written by a high schooler incapable of any finesse (I kid you not: "and then it was happening. Relentlessly, his huge battering ram pushed past the tight muscles of my anal ring, stretching my hole wider than it had ever stretched before. Finally, his fingers withdrew and were replaced by what I really wanted: the heat of his huge, throbbing mushroom head"; talk about a romantic moment and the literary payback for all that precedes...). The epilogue puts the final nail into the coffin of this thing of shreds and patches; in three incredibly shoddy and cheesy pages, we get closure with our two lovebirds getting married two months after their explosive shared operation and enjoying their happily ever after. This strange loss of steam halfway and the sudden reliance on hackneyed tropes, used conveniences, and horrid purple prose speak volumes about the author's trade; either, halfway through his effort (a first book), he had prematurely exhausted his bag of tricks and drew a blank or he grew bored with his story and rushed toward the finish line without a care in the world (even the lexicon changes for the worst by the middle bar). I shall not allow it to get unmentioned how crassly the sharp, sane and insightful PhD in psychology Paul, he of the CIA background, turns into an inarticulate, horny airhead by the middle bar just so that the plot may unfold - he even can pass for a skilled waiter when forced by a monstrously silly and wholly unbelievable accident to double for his team mate Hector, the one who was supposed to man the tables and to liaise with Travis -, or the equally brutal and unexplained changes Travis undergoes between the beginning (he's a pansexual operative who never experienced love combined with sexual attraction despite bedding all sorts of persons to do his covert job) and the middle (he suddenly becomes a horny teenager who endangers his mission not twice but thrice just so he can stonewall Paul). And don't ask me about the numerous plot points that make no sense (the makeup on Paul's face that comes and goes, the issue with his fake names Ramon and Hector, the fuzzy rabbit ears that suffice to cloak his face from prying eyes) and one enormous coincidence that no espionage writer worth their salt would have indulged in for the sake of cheap thrills (a secondary character recognizes Paul's face once said ears are discarded even though he only saw him very briefly while clubbing). I will not go on for any of the sequels, for if this is how this author manages the launching vehicle of the series, I shudder just pondering how the further installments will proceed now that the background has been laid down and the universe set. Let me hope against all probability that the further tomes will be more carefully thought out and will showcase rather superior craft.

[Myriam · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really should have checked my friend reviews first :) DNF's as far as the eye can see - well now I know why.
Obviously we all grabbed this for the delicious premise. We could have had it all with this one. Because the writing is actually completely fine! It's just that the writing is in 1st POV and the author has her grown men sounding like Teen Wolf fanfiction rejects. Where is the swagger? Where is the mystery?

If you reveal them to be just as normal and insecure as everyone else in the first damn chapter then where is the fun in the premise?

Waste of an amazing idea.

[Janessa Paun · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8 stars rounded up. Cute and steamy, though there was barely any plot in this book to write about. And the plot that was there seemed like too intricate for a book of this nature. I thought that the epilogue was probably the most well written and explained part of the plot that was given.

[Ana Miranda · Rating 2 out of 5]

the writing is somewhat nice but the premise...................

[Tory · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has started really strong but after that......

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.