Customer Reviews

Lethal Affairs (Elite Operatives, Book 1)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Be prepared to spend the rest of your day reading this fast-paced thrilling novel after picking it up the first time. The book opens with a fabulous opening prologue, leaving the reader on the edge of their seat.

Thirty-three year old Domino is utterly believable and at the same time quite original, she is a terrific and wonderfully intriguing character, you want to know everything about her that the authors provide.

I really enjoyed every moment focused on twenty-nine year old Hayley Ward, every aspect about her seemed true.

The locales set the mood and tone perfectly, Istanbul, Washington DC, Malta, Colorado, Baltimore, Miami, Sumatra, NYC. The use of flashback really added to the story at the right time.

I loved the bad guy - a completely excellent villain, I found him as interesting as the two heroines. He is also fully fleshed out with a wife, twin sons and a high stakes career with ruthless ambition to go along with it.

In addition to the perfect ending there is a very sweet romance that builds slowly and subtly at just the right pace and develops at the right moment.

OK - I just finished Lethal Affairs late, late last night. This is a great whirlwind of a story that is well-researched, well-written, and sexy in all the good and bad ways we come to expect of a brilliant work of literature.
Upon finishing the last page, I got up to get some badly needed water (whew!) and glanced at my image in the bathroom mirror. As I passed, I saw that my hair had been blow straight up, just like when you get off a roller coaster.
Yes, folks, it's that kind of a ride and THAT good.
Xenia Alexiou and Kim Baldwin - Bravo.

Domino is an agent of a secret organization. Their jobs take them all around the world to assisinate all sorts of folks. Her current assignment is to grab the security tape, which was mailed to a reporter. On this tape is Domino assisnating a man in a parking garage. But this woman and her have an instant and irresistable "click" Domino finds herself falling in love and it (unlike the guns, bullets, and bad guys, scares her to death! Will she kill the reporter whom she has increasing feelings for?

I won't bother with recaping the story, since it has already been done BUT I will give my 2 cents.
As far as romantic intrigue books go, this is the one to read. I couldn't put it down. It has great, one-of-a-kind characters, is well written and fast-paced, describes settings so vividly it feels like you are there, and contains a very satisfying romance. What occured to me while I was reading is that the story was so believable it made me wonder whether this could really happen, and whether people like this really exist. Lethal Affairs is a book I will keep and re-read.

I totally enjoyed this book, it was one I did not want to put down...the fact that love saved her and that the love was offered unconditionally was a big plus...when you find someone that loves you for all that you are you are truly blessed...I hope these two continue to write about this woman and the woman that saved her soul.

Kim Baldwin and Xenia Alexiou are a great writing team. This book is first-rate quality. All I have to say is, where's the sequel?!

I'd been anticipating reading Lethal Affairs for months and can say that it was well worth the wait. Being a crime/thriller/action/intrigue/plot junkie, I was pleased to have all my favourite elements accounted for.

There were enough twists and asides to keep my mind busy and, while the genre may dictate the general outcome of the story, I wasn't thinking about it all the way through the book. I was reading/experiencing the moment on each page instead of plodding through a predictable plot. Put it this way: If this was on the telly, I wouldn't be doing any zapping between channels.

My only wish is that the book had more pages so that I could have gotten lost in it for a while longer.

The characters have history and depth, making them believable. Hayley is the kind of woman I'd like to be, confident, industrious and beautiful. I like that she isn't afraid of speaking her mind or, rather, heart. Luka remains mysterious but through the flashbacks and narrative I got a glimpse of who she is. She's certainly someone I'd like to learn more about.

Quite a number of their insights were recognizable, some of them straight off the pages of my diary, which made for a week of vivid dreams. Also, a book that touches me personally stays with me, and Lethal Affairs will be on my 'special' book list.

I closed the book thinking wistfully of my own trip to Malta... and happy for the girls, satisfied with the plot and looking forward to the next one!

This Ludlumesque (yes I'm a Bourne Identity fan) story with its sexy female version of Jason Bourne had me at the go.
Domino aka Luka is a highly trained operative with an interesting past,who works for a secret organization. She is called to action when someone threatens to expose this organization.
Hayley Ward is a struggling journalist who is being used by the wrong people. Ward needs to verify the mysterious information about a covert institute, that has been given to her by corrupt entities, before she can use it to write the story that will place her at the top. Little does she know that digging into this story will open a whole new deadly can of worms. Domino has been assigned to eliminate this ambitious reporter before she finds out the truth and exposes her organizations existence.
This book is very plot driven and difficult to put down. The characters are original and well developed and although Domino is an anti-heroin of sorts you can't help but fall for her. Hayley is heartwarming in her efforts to keep up and save herself.
I found that the romance/intrigue ratio was just right for this kind of story and I was especially glad that the book was not just a vessel to bring the two women together and therefore lacking in substance, which is unfortunately too often the case in this genre.
The scenes done in flashback (Turkey, Indonesia) and the "payback" scene are incredibly vivid.
I have read all of Baldwin's previous books and have a deep appreciation for her writing but Alexiou's voice offers something altogether new and exciting. Both the story and writing are bold and real. Sometimes too real.
The concept is not new (secret organization and special ops), but what's important to me as an espionage fan, is that it's well done and innovative.
I hope the series continues in the same trend. I'm all signed up for parts 2 and 3.

This fast paced thriller kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. Domino, the female operative finds herself falling in love with Hayley the journalist that is determined to expose the organization that Domino works for. The action is nonstopand keeps pace with the building romance between Domino and Hayley. I highly reccommend this book.

I've read all of Kim Baldwin's books and enjoyed each fast paced plot. I was concerned that a collaboration between the two authors would weaken the flow. What a nice surprise. The plot had all the energy of Kim's previous books and both Domino and Haley are strong characters. I vacillated between wanting to be them and wanting to be with them.