Release Day Blitz : Bold Tricks (The Artist 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

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.

Lindy's Thoughts:

The conclusion of The Artist Trilogy was stunning!  Bold Tricks was intense, suspenseful, and highly entertaining!  It was action-packed from beginning to end, and everything I hoped it would be.  

Bold Tricks began with Ellie determined and on a mission to save Gus, the man whom she though of as a father.  With Javier and Camden, by her side, the must work together if they are going to infiltrate the  home of Travis, a sadistic and powerful cartel leader, who will stop at nothing to see that they three of them are killed.  Along the way, Javier insists on traveling to warn his youngest sister, Violetta, that she is in danger.  Ellie loves Camden, but is conflicted after finding out that she was with Javier.  Will Ellie be able to get out of the jungle alive, and be with the man she loves?  Can Camden ever forgive her, and if so, will Javier ever let her go?

Bold Tricks was a powerful ending to an already fabulous series.  The chemistry between Ellie and Camden was more intense then ever.  Their passion for each other flourished in the jungle, and made for some very sensual and sexual love scenes.  The epilogue in the story was perfect!  I was very happy with the way Ms. Halle decided to end the trilogy.  I can't wait to read Dirty Angels, which is a spinoff series to The Artist Trilogy.  

My Rating:

I give, Bold Tricks, by Karina Halle, 4.5 Action-Packed, Never-Ending Suspense, Passionate, High Octane Filled Stars!  What a stunning conclusion!!!

My Favorite Quotes:

"There's nothing like finding that person who not only accepts you but... knows you.  Know's the person you're too afraid to look at, your true self that hides deep beneath your armor."  (eARC, Loc. 1485)

~Ellie

"My Ellie.  My beautiful girl.  I will burn for you.  I will die for you."  (eARC, Loc. 2195)

~Camden

Mikki's Review:

Oh, Yeah!!!!!!! 

The conclusion to the fantastic Artist trilogy, by Karina Halle, was AMAZING!!! 

I really loved the two previous books in this trilogy, and I could not wait to see what kind of reading escape this was going to be! The other books in this series left me on the edge of my seat a couple of times, and I was positive that this last installment was going to be intense and emotional. This third book picks up where Shooting Scars ended. Javier, Ellie and Camden are running towards danger. To save her good friend Gus, and her mother, Ellie will do whatever it takes to get to them on time and to obtain her revenge on Travis, the man who destroyed her life. What she did not expect was to embark on this heart-pumping journey with Camden and Javier by her side. Both these man have drastically changed her life. Will she be able to get her revenge without losing the people that she loves?

It's really hard to talk about this last installment without giving anything away from the previous two books or how it's going to end. What I will say is that Karina Halle did an amazing job at writing the conclusion of this fantastic trilogy! Javier, Ellie and Camden form an alliance that is hard to resist. I am not a fan of love triangles and my mind was made up at the end of Shooting Scars who I wanted Ellie to end up with. I love both Camden and Javier. They have a je-ne-sais-quoi about them that pulled me in and they never let me go! I enjoyed every single scene that they had with Ellie and I'm extremely happy about how their story ended. I have to admit that I was an emotional mess in some parts. Some of the stuff that happened was unexpected and my heart was hurting for these characters.

What I loved the most about this trilogy is that Javier, Ellie and Camden are characters that felt so REAL. They always said what they were feeling and they all grew has individuals along the way. This story was action-packed and an absolute page-turning reading journey! I want more, more, moreeeeee!

Rating:

I give Bold Tricks, by Karina Halle, 4.5 thrilling, steamy, intense, fascinating stars!

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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.

Facebook|Goodreads|Twitter|Website