Jessie Lane
Author of Secret Maneuvers
Series
Works by Jessie Lane
Roar, Growl & Kiss Boxset 2 copies
Wicked Witch 2 copies
The Divine Star (Star, #3) 2 copies
The Frozen Star (Star, #2) 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- female
- Places of residence
- Kentucky, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Kentucky, USA
Members
Reviews
Secret Maneuvers was not only my first book ever by the writing duo Melissa Pahl and Crystal Leo aka Jessie Lane, but I think this series could find itself among my favorites for romantic suspense. The story begins with a scene from Bobby and Annabelle's past. The hometown golden boy and the trailer park bad girl. It's Bobby's last night as a free man before leaving for Army boot camp. In just a few pages we get the extent of their relationship, their bond, and their future dreams. show more Everything seems perfect until one day it isn't. Fast forward fifteen years later and Bobby is now a part of an elite Ex Ops teams headed by the CIA. When their next mission involves working with the ATF, he comes face to face with the girl he never should have left behind, but the reunion is anything but warm. In fact, it's downright frosty.
As they work together to investigate black market sales of firearms being smuggled to a Mexican drug cartel, they also have to come to terms with their past. Belle has been keeping a big secret from Bobby. Will he forgive her when he discovers what it is, or will he lose her forever through the dangers of their jobs and his stubbornness?
This book never got boring. Ever. Between the mission, Bobby's attempts to get her alone for five minutes to talk, Bobby's boys giving him a hard time, and Belle's unwavering refusal to listen to a word Bobby had to say, there was never a dull moment. The first half of the book dealt mainly with the elephant in the room, and then her secret was revealed. Things go from interesting to "uh oh" in a heart beat, and suddenly the roles have switched. I could sympathize with both of them, however I definitely found myself on Bobby's side throughout the story. Around the 80% mark is when the action really goes down. It was gritty, uncomfortable and had me white-knuckling my poor Kindle.
If there was anything I had an issue with, it was everyone's treatment of Bobby after Belle was rescued. He didn't have a lot of time or freedom to completely process the changes in his life, but everyone kept yelling at him for hurting Belle's feelings. In my opinion, what Bobby did wasn't all that terrible. He was young, impulsive and scared - good intentions, crappy timing. The fact that he tried to make things right two weeks later was more than enough to redeem him. I especially disliked Teagan. Yes, she was Belle's champion and she had a good reason to be very protective of Belle, but her animosity wasn't the friendly type of "if you hurt her, I'll rip your testicles off and feed them to you" kind of needling. I truly believe she hated his guts and always would, even though Belle chose him. I much preferred Seth's approach to the whole thing. What a fantastic character for one so young. What Bobby blurted out in the hospital was just him being honest. The ending was a little cheesy, but it was perfect for our couple and brought the story full circle.
Overall, I loved this story, and can't wait for the rest of the series and the men of Ex Ops. The story flowed well, it was told from both Bobby and Belle's first person alternating POV. The chemistry between them was believable even with the underlying hostility, and the sex ... oh so HOT! I also thoroughly enjoyed the dialogue. The other men from Ex Ops made enough of an impression that I'm already invested in them and want their stories right now. I would never have guessed this book was penned by two people instead of one.
Book #2 - Riley
Book #3 - Lucas
Book #4 - Declan!!!
Favorite lines:
~*~
~*~
~*~
~*~
Warning: There is a torture and rape scene around the 80% mark. They aren't graphic, but you might want to skip that part if it's something that is a trigger for you.
My final rating 4 to 4.5
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. show less
As they work together to investigate black market sales of firearms being smuggled to a Mexican drug cartel, they also have to come to terms with their past. Belle has been keeping a big secret from Bobby. Will he forgive her when he discovers what it is, or will he lose her forever through the dangers of their jobs and his stubbornness?
This book never got boring. Ever. Between the mission, Bobby's attempts to get her alone for five minutes to talk, Bobby's boys giving him a hard time, and Belle's unwavering refusal to listen to a word Bobby had to say, there was never a dull moment. The first half of the book dealt mainly with the elephant in the room, and then her secret was revealed. Things go from interesting to "uh oh" in a heart beat, and suddenly the roles have switched. I could sympathize with both of them, however I definitely found myself on Bobby's side throughout the story. Around the 80% mark is when the action really goes down. It was gritty, uncomfortable and had me white-knuckling my poor Kindle.
If there was anything I had an issue with, it was everyone's treatment of Bobby after Belle was rescued. He didn't have a lot of time or freedom to completely process the changes in his life, but everyone kept yelling at him for hurting Belle's feelings. In my opinion, what Bobby did wasn't all that terrible. He was young, impulsive and scared - good intentions, crappy timing. The fact that he tried to make things right two weeks later was more than enough to redeem him. I especially disliked Teagan. Yes, she was Belle's champion and she had a good reason to be very protective of Belle, but her animosity wasn't the friendly type of "if you hurt her, I'll rip your testicles off and feed them to you" kind of needling. I truly believe she hated his guts and always would, even though Belle chose him. I much preferred Seth's approach to the whole thing. What a fantastic character for one so young. What Bobby blurted out in the hospital was just him being honest. The ending was a little cheesy, but it was perfect for our couple and brought the story full circle.
Overall, I loved this story, and can't wait for the rest of the series and the men of Ex Ops. The story flowed well, it was told from both Bobby and Belle's first person alternating POV. The chemistry between them was believable even with the underlying hostility, and the sex ... oh so HOT! I also thoroughly enjoyed the dialogue. The other men from Ex Ops made enough of an impression that I'm already invested in them and want their stories right now. I would never have guessed this book was penned by two people instead of one.
Book #2 - Riley
Book #3 - Lucas
Book #4 - Declan!!!
Favorite lines:
Finally! Finally, we were going to have this come-to-Jesus talk that was so overdue between us that if that talk itself had been a library book, the late fee would resemble the national debt.
~*~
"That's not the problem. The problem is that she's slicker than snot on a glass doorknob."
~*~
Throwing his hands up in the air, the man stood up and walked towards the door grumbling. "I send him to the jungle one time, where a monkey flings shit on him, and he's yet to let me live it down."
~*~
I pulled together enough sense to hope that I'd fucked the doubts right out of her, too.
~*~
Warning: There is a torture and rape scene around the 80% mark. They aren't graphic, but you might want to skip that part if it's something that is a trigger for you.
My final rating 4 to 4.5
I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. show less
What can I say? If I could star higher I would! It's fabatastic with a capital F and definitely not one to be missed if you like a brooding male and a sassy woman who digs under his skin until he's almost seeing double!
Spotted this on my FB feed which tbh is only used for books and liked the couple of quotes on the yummy picture so feeling a little index finger exercise coming on I heading to Amazon and one clicked! How glad am I that I did?!
I won't get into the plot or story because omg show more you need to experience it yourself but I love Ice and Morgan, I like the supporting characters, Coal needs a huge hug (I'm available whenever necessary). Hammer too, I'd hug him no problem at all!
I'm kicking myself that I haven't read any of these fabulous ladies other books but I will be rectifying that with immediate effect I feel sure I'll be having one-clickitis of the index shortly and maybe a divorce when my husband sees the bank balance :)
Oh word of warning.... if you start this give yourself time to finish, don't have a busy day ahead because once you start you just can't stop.... my husband yeah he had take out and I had bare minimum sleep, I only gave in when I got to the epilogue and decided to save it for the journey to work! :) Loved it oh hell yes! show less
Spotted this on my FB feed which tbh is only used for books and liked the couple of quotes on the yummy picture so feeling a little index finger exercise coming on I heading to Amazon and one clicked! How glad am I that I did?!
I won't get into the plot or story because omg show more you need to experience it yourself but I love Ice and Morgan, I like the supporting characters, Coal needs a huge hug (I'm available whenever necessary). Hammer too, I'd hug him no problem at all!
I'm kicking myself that I haven't read any of these fabulous ladies other books but I will be rectifying that with immediate effect I feel sure I'll be having one-clickitis of the index shortly and maybe a divorce when my husband sees the bank balance :)
Oh word of warning.... if you start this give yourself time to finish, don't have a busy day ahead because once you start you just can't stop.... my husband yeah he had take out and I had bare minimum sleep, I only gave in when I got to the epilogue and decided to save it for the journey to work! :) Loved it oh hell yes! show less
Review originally posted on My Urban Fantasies
For everyone thinking Big Bad Bite is an urban fantasy just because Jenna is on a SWAT team, I'm going to save you time and possible disappointment, it's not. The main focus of the story is Jenna and Adam's relationship, with the SWAT team and the extremist shifters as an amazing side story.
Jenna O'Conner has lived by one mantra all her life. Stay Hidden. Stay Alive. Her mother and uncles have kept Jenna hidden from the dangerous Other community. show more Jenna is the child of two different Other species that should not have been able to breed together. In the Others eyes, Jenna should not exist and she's been told they're more than happy to fix that little problem. In the eyes of her father's side of the family Jenna is an abomination, she's simply not good enough for her mother's side. So Jenna plays human, hiding who and what she really is, hoping that it will keep her safe.
After living such a sheltered life, Jenna's family finally trusts her to be able to keep her secret hidden on her own and allows Jenna to move to a nearby city so she can take a job with the Wilmington Police Department's SWAT team. Jenna thinks the hardest part of her new life will be that, at the age of twenty-three, she's the youngest member of the SWAT team. She was so wrong. Jeanna's world significantly changes her first day on the job. Her new partner is a demon. As if that was not bad enough, during an arrest Jenna captures the attention of the very sexy Alpha of North Carolina, Adam McPhee. To say that he finds her intriguing would be the understatement of the year. Adam knows Jenna is not a werewolf, like himself, but she's definitely something Other. He's determined to see her again and find out exactly what she is, but mostly Adam wants to claim Jenna for himself.
While the Other community consists of the usual suspects; demons, shifters, witches & vampires, their origins are very unique. I love that! It's such a small detail and is usually overlooked, but adds so much to the story. There are, of course, angels and fallen angels. However, there are two different types of demons, Hell-bound demons and earth-born demons. Hell-bound demons are evil monsters that cannot live on the earth's surface. When they escape from Hell they have twenty-four to seventy-two hours to cause outbreaks, murder and mayhem; basically ruining or destroying everything they come into contact with, before they disintegrate. Unfortunately, there are some Hell-bound demons that enjoy raping humans and/or other Others.
Earth-born demons are the result of Hell-bound demons raping humans. The child will not look like their demonic sperm donors. Everything about their physical traits will essentially be human, even a human soul, but they do get a genetic boost from the demon DNA. The earth-bound demons mental capabilities will be off the charts, so their powers come from the brain; e.g., telekinesis, telepathy, pyrokinesis, levitation, teleportation, etc. While the sperm donors are evil personified, due to their human souls, earth-born demons, like humans, have the capacity to choose good or evil.
Witches are the product of fallen angels and humans. Despite their paternal parentage, a witch is also born with a human soul. Like an earth-born demon, a witch is also given the choice between good or evil. Due to their father's DNA, witches are gifted with the ability to use magic.
Vampires are the result of Hell-bound demons raping witches. Their population is lower due to the fact that most witches are able to defend themselves against Hell-bound demon attacks. Vampires, like earth-born demons, are also telepathic, however they have the ability to do more. They can use the toxin in their fangs to cause pleasure or pain while feeding. They can also use the toxin to create other vampires, although this is very rare because it's dangerous and hard to accomplish.
Shifters are a case of genetic evolution. They started as some of the original predators on earth, as in the age of the dinosaurs. As the harsh climate continued to change, shifters DNA changed as well allowing them to adapt. When humans evolved from primates and began reproducing faster than the other mammals, the now highly intelligent shifters recognized them as a threat. Evolution pushed the shifters even further allowing them to change between their animal form and their new human form. The perfect camouflage to hide in plain sight.
As I mentioned before the primary focus of Big Bad Bite is Jenna and Adam's relationship. I really liked how the authors handled it. There was not the usual 'I'm completely in love with you even though I've only known you for three seconds' response. Adam did not fall completely in love with Jenna at first sight. However, there was the usual alpha reaction, the whole neanderthal 'I must have her, she is mine' thing, but I liked how Jenna handled herself. While she had some seriously lusty thoughts, Jenna did not want to be with Adam just because his wolf was drawn to her or because she was highly attracted to Adam. Jenna wanted something more than just a physical relationship, there had to be, at least, the possibility of love.
A word of warning, the subplot is not completely wrapped up at the end of the book. It looks as though the sub-storyline will continue into the next book with Gage and Elena's story. I hope all the main characters are carried over into Walk On The Striped Side. All the characters in Big Bad Bite have amazing personalities! I absolutely loved the sarcasm and witty banter, especially between Jenna and Kent. I could not stop laughing! It would be such a shame to lose that. It's been a long time since I have read a book packed with emotion and action, that still had me laughing my ass off throughout the entire thing. show less
For everyone thinking Big Bad Bite is an urban fantasy just because Jenna is on a SWAT team, I'm going to save you time and possible disappointment, it's not. The main focus of the story is Jenna and Adam's relationship, with the SWAT team and the extremist shifters as an amazing side story.
Jenna O'Conner has lived by one mantra all her life. Stay Hidden. Stay Alive. Her mother and uncles have kept Jenna hidden from the dangerous Other community. show more Jenna is the child of two different Other species that should not have been able to breed together. In the Others eyes, Jenna should not exist and she's been told they're more than happy to fix that little problem. In the eyes of her father's side of the family Jenna is an abomination, she's simply not good enough for her mother's side. So Jenna plays human, hiding who and what she really is, hoping that it will keep her safe.
After living such a sheltered life, Jenna's family finally trusts her to be able to keep her secret hidden on her own and allows Jenna to move to a nearby city so she can take a job with the Wilmington Police Department's SWAT team. Jenna thinks the hardest part of her new life will be that, at the age of twenty-three, she's the youngest member of the SWAT team. She was so wrong. Jeanna's world significantly changes her first day on the job. Her new partner is a demon. As if that was not bad enough, during an arrest Jenna captures the attention of the very sexy Alpha of North Carolina, Adam McPhee. To say that he finds her intriguing would be the understatement of the year. Adam knows Jenna is not a werewolf, like himself, but she's definitely something Other. He's determined to see her again and find out exactly what she is, but mostly Adam wants to claim Jenna for himself.
While the Other community consists of the usual suspects; demons, shifters, witches & vampires, their origins are very unique. I love that! It's such a small detail and is usually overlooked, but adds so much to the story. There are, of course, angels and fallen angels. However, there are two different types of demons, Hell-bound demons and earth-born demons. Hell-bound demons are evil monsters that cannot live on the earth's surface. When they escape from Hell they have twenty-four to seventy-two hours to cause outbreaks, murder and mayhem; basically ruining or destroying everything they come into contact with, before they disintegrate. Unfortunately, there are some Hell-bound demons that enjoy raping humans and/or other Others.
Earth-born demons are the result of Hell-bound demons raping humans. The child will not look like their demonic sperm donors. Everything about their physical traits will essentially be human, even a human soul, but they do get a genetic boost from the demon DNA. The earth-bound demons mental capabilities will be off the charts, so their powers come from the brain; e.g., telekinesis, telepathy, pyrokinesis, levitation, teleportation, etc. While the sperm donors are evil personified, due to their human souls, earth-born demons, like humans, have the capacity to choose good or evil.
Witches are the product of fallen angels and humans. Despite their paternal parentage, a witch is also born with a human soul. Like an earth-born demon, a witch is also given the choice between good or evil. Due to their father's DNA, witches are gifted with the ability to use magic.
Vampires are the result of Hell-bound demons raping witches. Their population is lower due to the fact that most witches are able to defend themselves against Hell-bound demon attacks. Vampires, like earth-born demons, are also telepathic, however they have the ability to do more. They can use the toxin in their fangs to cause pleasure or pain while feeding. They can also use the toxin to create other vampires, although this is very rare because it's dangerous and hard to accomplish.
Shifters are a case of genetic evolution. They started as some of the original predators on earth, as in the age of the dinosaurs. As the harsh climate continued to change, shifters DNA changed as well allowing them to adapt. When humans evolved from primates and began reproducing faster than the other mammals, the now highly intelligent shifters recognized them as a threat. Evolution pushed the shifters even further allowing them to change between their animal form and their new human form. The perfect camouflage to hide in plain sight.
As I mentioned before the primary focus of Big Bad Bite is Jenna and Adam's relationship. I really liked how the authors handled it. There was not the usual 'I'm completely in love with you even though I've only known you for three seconds' response. Adam did not fall completely in love with Jenna at first sight. However, there was the usual alpha reaction, the whole neanderthal 'I must have her, she is mine' thing, but I liked how Jenna handled herself. While she had some seriously lusty thoughts, Jenna did not want to be with Adam just because his wolf was drawn to her or because she was highly attracted to Adam. Jenna wanted something more than just a physical relationship, there had to be, at least, the possibility of love.
A word of warning, the subplot is not completely wrapped up at the end of the book. It looks as though the sub-storyline will continue into the next book with Gage and Elena's story. I hope all the main characters are carried over into Walk On The Striped Side. All the characters in Big Bad Bite have amazing personalities! I absolutely loved the sarcasm and witty banter, especially between Jenna and Kent. I could not stop laughing! It would be such a shame to lose that. It's been a long time since I have read a book packed with emotion and action, that still had me laughing my ass off throughout the entire thing. show less
I am amazed with how much story went in this book. Its not a long book but so much happened. Our couple met in high school and fell in love. Even though they both knew it was that special kind of love things went wrong. I have to give the author credit for accurately portraying a woman with depression issue who along with having that also had abandonment issues and self image issues. I’ve have a friend that suffers from depression and its not pretty and I know she has it – in the book show more her husband was clueless of what she was going through and just knew that she was longer the woman he married and instead of trying to find out what was going on he opted for more mission with his SEAL team so he wouldn’t have to be home. To make things worse she was pregnant which just added more emotions to her already overwhelming ones. When a tragic car accident takes her baby’s life and her husband is nowhere to be found on a mission she walks away from it all and files for divorce and he is left to grieve for everything – his marriage – his soul mate and his son all on his own with no answers as to what happened.
After that heartbreaking mess we jump to present day 8 years later not to long after the first book ended. The Ex Ops team wants to bring down the men responsible for the kidnapping and selling of women which resulted in the heroine of the last book getting kidnapped and the death of another woman she had been in captivity with who had been brutally tortured and raped. They find a new connection of girls being taken with strip clubs and a joint undercover operation is put into play.
Now here is where that “so much happened” comes in to play again. The author Jessie Lane and author Chelsea Camaron have decided to loosely connect their two series into a new one called Regulators MC. So we are introduced to the heads of that MC club as they own some of the strip clubs in Miami where girls have gone missing and this is where the Ex Ops team is headed undercover to try and find the new players in the sex slave ring.
Boy once they get to Miami things heat up. I think I’ve given quite a bit of the story away already so I’m gonna leave what happens in Miami to the reader to find out. All I have to say I was very satisfied with how Riley and Kara dealt with each other when they were brought back together in a surprising way and that the author didn’t sugar coat Kara’s recovery – she let it be known that Kara had to do years of therapy to get her to a comfortable place and that with the type of depression she has there may be times she has an episode that could require her to seek meds to help her through it.
This book did such a great set up for ICE – which will be the first book in the new series by Chelsea and Jessie – which I cannot wait till next month to read. A lot of things happened at the end of this book that also has me wanting the next Ex Ops book too. Love this series and glad a new one is coming that looks just as good! show less
After that heartbreaking mess we jump to present day 8 years later not to long after the first book ended. The Ex Ops team wants to bring down the men responsible for the kidnapping and selling of women which resulted in the heroine of the last book getting kidnapped and the death of another woman she had been in captivity with who had been brutally tortured and raped. They find a new connection of girls being taken with strip clubs and a joint undercover operation is put into play.
Now here is where that “so much happened” comes in to play again. The author Jessie Lane and author Chelsea Camaron have decided to loosely connect their two series into a new one called Regulators MC. So we are introduced to the heads of that MC club as they own some of the strip clubs in Miami where girls have gone missing and this is where the Ex Ops team is headed undercover to try and find the new players in the sex slave ring.
Boy once they get to Miami things heat up. I think I’ve given quite a bit of the story away already so I’m gonna leave what happens in Miami to the reader to find out. All I have to say I was very satisfied with how Riley and Kara dealt with each other when they were brought back together in a surprising way and that the author didn’t sugar coat Kara’s recovery – she let it be known that Kara had to do years of therapy to get her to a comfortable place and that with the type of depression she has there may be times she has an episode that could require her to seek meds to help her through it.
This book did such a great set up for ICE – which will be the first book in the new series by Chelsea and Jessie – which I cannot wait till next month to read. A lot of things happened at the end of this book that also has me wanting the next Ex Ops book too. Love this series and glad a new one is coming that looks just as good! show less
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 36
- Members
- 360
- Popularity
- #66,629
- Rating
- 3.5
- Reviews
- 33
- ISBNs
- 46
- Favorited
- 1