Dirty Deeds

Gaige Owens, a computer expert, was forcibly drafted into the CIA’s Special Activities Division, thanks to his ex-boyfriend who did a number on him. If Gaige doesn’t want to go to jail for a crime he didn’t commit, he has to heed Seth Lang’s orders. Alec Drummond, of Drummond Enterprises which deals with food and alternative fuels, is under scrutiny. Drummond Enterprises uses the seed banks situated in Svalbard, Norway – the Doomsday Vault, to be precise, and it seems an anomaly has been detected in their security system. Under cover of consulting, Gaige is to determine what is going on, but Alec trusts no one, especially not a handsome fellow he is to have underfoot 24/7. DIRTY DEEDS kicks off HelenKay Dimon’s new series, a spin-off of the Tough Love series, and I was ecstatic to see my favourite character, Seth Lang, make a return appearance. The premise is very exciting, as playing with the seed banks could be used to create global food shortages and starvation. Gaige and Alec are different from the ones in the previous series, as they are not officially agents, but Alec does work with the CIA from time to time on his own terms; Alec does everything on his own terms, and he’s a control freak and pretty set in his ways. Gaige is more gregarious, but he cannot help his attraction to Alec, even though the latter is a tough nut to crack. I liked that in spite of their reservations, Alec and Gaige act on their sexual chemistry, but better yet, there was no instalove; the relationship progressed organically. It was fascinating to watch Alec and Gaige tiptoe into love while learning about each other, considering Alec’s very guarded nature. As in the previous series, most of the story takes place in Munich, Germany – where Alec resides – but better yet, some of it is in Svalbard, and I thought that was exciting and so exotic. I like the European settings, it’s a really nice change, and all the technological stuff was exciting. As always, Ms. Dimon’s dialogues are brilliant, the writing has a masculine vibe, befitting the characters, and a rather surprising twist as to the villain, and a solid story. DIRTY DEEDS is good, but could have been great, and herein lies the problem: I just cannot put my finger on what’s missing. It’s very evenly paced, and I feel it could have been the issue, as nothing really “explodes”, or a lack of passion – not in the sexual way – but overall; I just don’t know. But best of all, I learned that the Doomsday Vault is a real thing! In spite of my reservations, I will be looking forward to the next instalment, because I really love the world Ms. Dimon has created, and those Drummond brothers are intriguing. I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book.

Suspenseful, Sexy and HOT! Once again, I've read a book that just blew me away and reviewing it will take some serious thought. (It's a lot easier for me to review not-so-good books than it is really good one.) Dirty Deeds is the first book in HelenKay Dimon's new The Dirty series. I loved her Tough Love series and I didn't think it could get much better. In my last review of her work, Guarding Mr. Fine, I said that I hoped there would be more books in the series. I got my wish but not exactly as I imagined it. Dirty Deeds is a spin-off of that series (but totally stands alone) and more books are coming next year. I got to meet Ms. Dimon at the recent RWA book signing in Orlando. Oh, how I wish I had read this book before that meeting. When we spoke, I gushed about the Tough Love series but I couldn't say a thing about Dirty Deeds since I hadn't read it yet. This story is filled with non-stop action and suspense. It's also filled with super-hot sexual chemistry (and more) between the two MCs (main characters) – Gaige Owens and Alec Drummond. Gaige is being blackmailed by Seth Lang from a special-ops division of the CIA. If you read the Tough Love series you might remember Seth as the MC in the third book, Guarding Mr. Fine. There are a lot of things going on in this story – but not so many that it's difficult to keep track. There's the blackmail of Gaige, the mystery and suspense of who's causing problems for Alec's company, and the chemistry between Gaige and Alec that's off the charts. Gaige was burned very badly by his last lover. He has no intention of falling for an alpha a-hole like Alec. Alec doesn't mix business with pleasure and has never had sex with an employee. Good thing that Gaige isn't exactly an employee. I literally stayed up all night reading this book and didn't put it down until I finished it around 5:30 a.m. There are three Drummond brothers and we meet two of them in Dirty Deeds. The next book is about Finn and I can't wait to read it. A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book. ***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

This is a very enjoyable M/M romance that is full of suspense and mystery giving lots of twists and turns to the story that kept me flipping page after page. This is a spin off from Guarding Mr. Fine but can definitely be read standalone. Alec Drummond is the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company. When he discovers Gaige Owens trying to hack his systems something tells him he could learn something from this guy. It may not be all business when it comes to Alec and Gaige thought! A very well done book and one I recommend to any who likes a little steam with their suspense!