Book Review: Bold Tricks (The Artists Trilogy #3) by Karina Halle

Bold Tricks

The Artist Trilogy, #3
by Karina Halle

Release Date:
December 17th, 2014

Publisher:
Forever

Source:
Publisher via NetGalley

Synopsis:

The Faster They Live, the Harder They Fall . . . 

Raised by con artists, Ellie Watt has a lot of crazy childhood memories-but none crazier than being scarred with acid by the demented crime boss Travis Raines. Now Ellie is a full-grown woman who lives for revenge, and Travis is a full-blown drug lord who kills for pleasure. The sadistic bastard has kidnapped her good friend Gus as well as her mother, whom he's been holding as prized possessions in his heavily guarded lair. And Ellie has only one chance in hell of getting them out alive-using two dangerous men who love her to death . . . 

One is Camden McQueen, a talented tattoo artist who's made a permanent mark on Ellie's heart. The other is Javier Bernal, her fiery ex-lover who's busted more than a few heads in his time. From the crime-ridden streets of Mexico City to the predatory jungles of Honduras, this unlikely trio forms an uneasy alliance in the deadliest game of all-a gun-blazing battle to the finish that will pit enemy against enemy and lover against lover. And Ellie must choose the right man to trust . . . or die.

Purchase links for Bold Tricks:

Amazon|B&N|BAM|IndieBound

The Artist Trilogy on Goodreads

Lindy & Ria's review of Sins & Needles HERE

Our review of Shooting Scars HERE

Lindy & Mikki's review of Bold Tricks HERE

Sunsets Are the Best Part of the Day

I knew it, I knew it, I flipping KNEW it!!! Wow get ready for one heck of a roller coaster full of shocking surprises and loads of adventure.

Shooting Scars left us with our mouths agape. Things did not look good for Ellie. Actual explosions and heart breaking revelations. Talk about escaping with your life.

Bold Tricks picks up right after the second book leaves off. I was so beyond curious as to what was going to happen. I hate to admit this but I grew to care for Javier. Yes he is crazy and doesn’t deserve Ellie but in his own twisted way he loved her. Gah! Okay, okay, I’m not making any sense just pretend I didn’t say anything okay? 

I wanted so much, for all of these characters to come to a happy medium!!! I’m happy to report all is, as it should be. Everyone is where they belong. Yes there were some losses and nothing came easily but Bold Tricks was the perfect conclusion to what has become one of my Fav trilogies!!

B-ound, by a promise and a debt. Ellie makes a deal with the devil to save those she holds dearest.
O-wning, Javier is so close to everything he has ever wanted the first step will be finding safety for his family. Once his kingdom is in order he hopes to have his angel by his side.
L-oss, Ellie was so confused and alone she let her past cloud the present. Knowing it might be too late for her and Camden is truly crushing.
D-ecision, Ellie can no longer keep her feelings at bay Camden has to hear the truth from her mouth. Being abandoned in the jungle becomes just what these two needed in order to bare their souls.


T-rust, knowing what must be done Ellie and Camden face their nemesis together. Vile and ruthless Ellie will make sure Travis does not get away with what he has done.
R-esourceful, Camden and Ellie team up with an unlikely ally to find what she has been searching for all along. Now that the main obstacle is out of the way and a massive restructuring is underway, flying under the radar is a little easier.
I-nnocent, the man who has always been there for Ellie will offer her much more than she could have ever asked for. Almost losing Gus was a shock Ellie never wants to experience ever again.
C-alculated, the plans are all in order Camden nearly has everything he’s ever wanted. Just as the calm sets another flurry of action ensues, throwing everyone into a massive showdown.
K-ill, there is nothing Ellie wont do to protect the men she loves. Being pushed to her limits for the last time Ellie ensures no one will ever bother her or her loved ones ever again.
S-unsets, the moments Ellie lives for are beyond any wish or dream she could have imagined. With Camden by her side happiness is all she will ever know.

Gah!!!! OMG the action was full throttle up until the very very end of the book and even then! It was just so beautiful I’m beside myself with gush. Ms Halle does a fabulous job the Artists Trilogy comes full circle. Like I mentioned before it doesn't happen easily. Get ready for some grit and the shock factor to go up up up. Though Bold Tricks is full of action, there is also a very powerful underlying message of love and hope. We started off with two lost and broken souls and by the very end we have two fulfilled hearts committed to washing away the pain of the past with love and devotion. Woo hoo way to nail this ending…It was beautiful and as a reader I could not ask for more.

My Rating

4.5 Hotel, Cartel, Sister, Gunshot, Explosion, Shrapnel, Gas Station, Jungle, Mansion, Torture, Rainy Confession, Explosions, Chopper, Break In, Father, Ben, Beach, Mother, Brother, Vest, Plane, Cuffs, Coast, Sunset, A young love that found a way to survive and overcome the shadows of the past LOVE filled stars!! Eeeeeep this was a great read!

Excerpt:

The motel room was a lot nicer than the one we stayed at before. Sort of a Best Western, middle-ground quality of place. No roaches on the floors, no geckos on the wall. Shit mattresses, I discovered as I pounded my fist on the bed, but I didn’t care. 

Camden had just put the final box on my bed,Violetta sprawled out on hers in a state of drug-induced euphoria, when I noticed Javier lingering at the doorway. 

“I’m going to be meeting Dom in about twenty minutes,” Javier said to me. “Is that enough time for you to get ready?” 

I frowned and he quickly added, “You know he’ll want you there, if this is going to get anywhere. I figured you might want to shower and look nice.” 

He rapped his fingers along the doorframe, his mouth opening as if to say something else, then he turned and walked off. 

Camden eyed me. “I’m going with you.” 

“You might be kind of drunk, Camden,” I told him, though the determination in his voice warmed me like the finest cognac. 

“I’ve never felt better,” he said, enunciating each word. His eyes, my god they were still such a clear fucking blue, even in the pallid light of the hotel room. They bore into me with such startling clarity, sending shivers down my back like trailing fingertips. He would be coming with me. 

I wished he’d be coming in me. A vision of us in this hotel room, alone, him nailing me to the bed, the headboard banging, slammed into my head. 

“Are you okay with that?” he asked.  

I suppressed the thought, the flare of heat between my legs, and smiled quickly. “Yes, of course.” 

Meanwhile Violetta’s head flopped to the side, her arm still bound to her stiffly in the sling, and started snoring lightly. I motioned to her. “Do you think it’s safe to leave her here?” 

He watched her for a few moments, blinking a few times, before saying, “I think she needs to sleep it off.” He went and sat down on my bed. “I’ll be here when you get out.” 

I grabbed my bag of clothes I had brought out of the car and brought it into the bathroom. I had a quick shower, trying to rub off all the grim – both real and imagined – with the flimsy hotel soap, then picked through my clothes. Everything that had been in my trunk was musty and wrinkled, some even dirty. I had a packet of unopened (and decidedly unsexy) Hanes underwear, a bra, another pair of jeans, a pair of gladiator sandals that I thought were dressy enough, a pair of Timberland hiking boots, a plain white tee shirt, a couple of wife-beaters, a coral-colored blouse, a plaid shirt, and a light blue tank dress that went to the ground. I wasn’t exactly known for my fashion sense and even with the cherry blossoms covering the scars on my leg, bringing me beauty that I didn’t have before, I didn’t see myself branching out anytime soon. Dressing up in my old clothes for Javier hadn’t exactly helped either. 

I slipped on the tank dress, opting to go commando for the evening, and put on the sandals. I looked at myself in the mirror. Once again, I felt like a different person was staring back at me. This me, this Ellie, was tired and hardened. I rubbed the residue mascara away from under my eyes and applied a new coat. My skin was brown from the sun now and I didn’t need much else. 

When I came out of the bathroom, Camden straightened up on the bed. I felt strangely shy in front of him, especially as his eyes trailed up and down the length of me. 

“Do I look okay?” I asked him, feeling the need to say something. “I mean, if you can see me, that is.” 

He bit his lip and stared, a multitude of emotions flashing through his eyes, too fast for me to pick up on each individual one. I thought I saw lust in there – maybe that’s what I wanted to see. 

When he still didn’t say anything, I walked over to the dresser where I had my clutch purse left over from the other night at Travis’s and rifled through it for my lip stuff. His silence at my back was a heavy weight, laden with too many uncertainties between us. It was eating at me, burning through me, rendering me with a lead heart. There were so many things I had to focus on, to worry about, fucking impossible things, and yet I needed him to tell me I looked beautiful. I needed him to tell me I was something to him. 

I heard him get off the bed and walk toward me, that heaviness, that warmth that he brought with his bones, teased at my back. He stopped, close enough to touch me, and I was about to turn around, perhaps to do something foolish, when he crouched down. 

“How is my art?” 

His hands found my leg, one of them lifting the hem of my dress, the other slowly moving over the cherry blossom tattoo. I sucked in my breath, holding completely still, trying to contain my nerves that were firing wildly as his fingers ran along the ridges of the ink. He touched me gently over every vine, leaf and petal, until I had to supress a shaky moan that that tried to escape from my lips. 

“It feels fine,” I said softly when I found my voice. 

“It looks beautiful,” he said. 

 “I had a beautiful artist,” I told him. I turned at the waist and look down at him, my blue dress glowing in his tanned hand, his other one placed firmly around my calf, his strong fingers imparting heat that sunk deep. He was looking up at me, lips parted slightly. 

I couldn’t take a second more of this. 

I turned and dropped to the ground, my knees rubbing against his. 

I grabbed his face, his rough stubble pressing into my palms, and kissed him. 

Hard. 

There was surprise for a second, a hesitation, a pulse that refused to beat on. Then Camden kissed me back, his soft lips enveloping mine, his mouth opening to give me life. He put his hand behind my head, holding it there with power and control. 

My heart was an elevator car, the cable suddenly snapped, and I was freefalling and falling and falling as his lips and tongue and hot, wet mouth took away every inch of my resolve. The more he kissed me, the deeper and longer we found each other, the thirstier I got for him. I felt like if we stopped, I would die, empty on the inside and forever longing.

About the Author

Karina Halle is a former travel writer and music journalist and the USA Today Bestselling author of Love, in English, The Artists Trilogy, and other wild and romantic reads. She lives in a 1920s farmhouse on an island off the coast of British Columbia with her husband and her rescue pup, where she drinks a lot of wine, hikes a lot of trails and devours a lot of books.

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