Blamed by Edie Harris (Blood Money #1)
Released: November 3, 2014
Romantic Suspense
Carina Press

Reviewed by Mandi

Favorite Quote: –her phone chimed with an incoming text. “You…you need to let me look at that.”

“I need my cock inside you, is what I need.”

(damn boy!)

I was hooked on this book from the first page of the prologue.. Which is kind of funny because when I got to the end of the book, I had forgotten about the prologue (first chapter goes back in time) and then my head kind of exploded and yeah… I loved this book.

Beth Faraday has been an assassin spy since a very young age, I think making her first kill at the age of sixteen. Her family owns Faraday Industries, the number one weapons manufacturer in America, selling their complex weapons to the government. Outside of this weapons business, the Faraday’s send Beth all over the world to take out bad guys. Actually, their entire family is involved – as her brother Tobias says:

“But they never gave a damn about protecting your mind.” He tapped her temple twice before dropping his hand to the table once more. “Adam sits behind his computers all day and parties with his frat-boy buddies all night. Gillian plays at being Tony Stark in her California labs. Casey performs the dangerous duties of his job without sweating thanks to the foundation the Army provided him with. And I…” Again, his jaw clenched. “I bury myself in books and boardrooms. Because I’m cold, Beth, and Faraday Industries needs someone cold if we’re going to continue to lie to the world about all we do. Me, I can lie to everyone in my life without blinking an eye. Everyone except you.”

Last year, a mission in Afghanistan went horribly wrong, as Beth missed her target and a bomb went off, killing children. Beth could not recover from the guilt, and leaves her spy career behind, creating a new identity and putting her art history degree to use as a curator in a museum. Beth has a secret though – she doesn’t just feel guilty over the kids death, but the man she calls “her spy” died that day too – or so she thought.

Raleigh Vick is a British spy who first met Beth when she was sixteen. Often assigned to kill the same bad guys, they started meeting on different missions. Vick soon fell in love with Beth (from a distance) and started stalking her to make sure he would show up around the world where she was. She soon started recognizing him and their relationship turned intense and romantic as they would have brief time to be together. With the nature of their jobs, their relationship never evolved into anything else than a sensual day or night. Vick was in Afghanistan, in the building when it collapses – Beth assumes he is dead.

But that wouldn’t be a very fun romance book now, would it? Vick lives, but needs many surgeries to survive, so his appearance changes. Which is why her neighbor across the street that Beth often thinks is following her around is Vick, and she doesn’t recognize him. That is until Beth learns a hit is placed on her, and Vick is the one that is supposed to kill her. *Cue the suspense!*

Now, don’t fret. Vick is deeply in love with Beth and doesn’t want to kill her. *whew* But it takes Beth and her extremely overprotective brothers time to come to trust Vick.

There is so much to love about this book. This book is complex and rich in suspense. There are twists and turns, really, really bad guys, violence, and an intense, extremely sexy romance that matches the suspense step for step.

Beth loves Vick and Vick loves Beth, but they are spies down to their souls and there is much angst!

“Give me your mouth,” he demanded, the tingling at the base of his spine telling him exactly how much time he didn’t have before he died in her.

Clutching at his shoulders with both hands, she kissed him as she came, a rhythmic clench around his length that milked his release from him with shocking ease. He swallowed her cries, fed her his own, and wrapped his arms tightly around her slender torso while he tried to piece his world back together.

I love you, he thought fiercely. I love you to the point of madness, and beyond.

Instead of telling her, he buried his face in her neck and bit the inside of his lip until he bled.

Oh Vick *I bite my own lip*

They have lived and breathed their spy life for as long as they can remember. They are used to being people other than themselves. While they have had brief, intense love sessions while on missions, that is all they have had. The fact that Beth wants to just walk away from that life is great and her family supports it, but there are others all over the world who are not done with her yet. The hit doesn’t come as a shock, except for the fact that Vick is suppose to carry it out. Beth feels betrayed that he is alive and didn’t reach out to tell her.

Vick’s one weakness in life is Beth, and while he is an amazing spy, his employer figures out what Beth means to him. This puts Vick in a bad position, and makes the book quite exciting as we race to the end. Oh – and let’s not forget about the romance and sex in this book. Vick wants Beth – badly, but there are hard feelings and anger, and it all finally explodes into some very hot scenes.

I loved Vick and Beth (especially Beth) and I think the author does a great job balancing the romance and suspense. If you have read Carolyn Crane’s Associates series, this has a bit of the same feel. Plus this is spy falls for spy – such a fun premise.

With that being said, Beth’s brother Tobias stole the show for me. Well, he made my lady bits tingle. He is the brother in charge, the one who wears the fancy suits with never a hair out-of-place. He is ice cold – an elegant bad ass. His part in this book made me sit up and take notice. Even better, his book is next and his heroine, (you find out who it is at the very end) makes me so giddy for his book. Oh, it’s going to be good.

If you want a very fun, very sexy, very action-packed romantic suspense, read this. The start of what I think will be a great series.

Ratinng: B+

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