The Sapphire Affair (A Jewel Novel)

The Sapphire Affair is about Steph Anderson who runs dive excursions in many places around the world including the Cayman Islands where her stepfather is now living. Jake Harlowe runs a retrieval business and has been hired by the company formerly run by Steph's stepfather. Eli Thompson is now living in the Caymans with his new fiancee. Jake is looking for funds that are missing from Eli's company and all the clues point to Eli. Steph has her own reasons for visiting Eli. Her mother spent much of her livelihood getting Eli's business off the ground and now he has left her with nothing. When Jake and Steph meet and realize that they are working on the same thing, they join forces to find the missing funds which they believe have been show more turned into diamonds. Their attraction is immediate and burns hot, but they have both been burned before and find it difficult to trust someone of the opposite sex.
This book is a very enjoyable read, and could be described as a great beach book. There is action, adventure, and extremely well written love scenes that are erotic and sexy, but not over the top. The mystery has some twists and turns, but lacks depth. Overall, however, this book is just what it is meant to be, a good summer read. show less

The Sapphire Affair is the first novel in the Jewel series. It ends with a cliffhanger, but it was the kind of cliffhanger, I prefer to read and didn't leave me dreading to see what will happen next. That earned some major points in the book. The release date of the second book and conclusion to the story helped since it's one, and away. The story had a nice flow that was easy to follow and the characters interested me. For me the book has the right portions of romance and suspense and it was very easy to enjoy it. I can't wait to have the continuation of the story in my hands. The heroine and the hero are nice people and I hope I won't see a betrayal happening in the next book. They are so good together and I hopefully nothing will show more taint that. Their relationship has its ups and downs, but I liked it and they struck me as two people who should be together. I won't say anything else about the book because my next sentence pretty much sums it up. Go and read the book. There wasn't a thing I didn't like in it and I spend a couple of very enjoyable hours with it. show less

Lauren Blakely takes shock value to a new level with The Sapphire Affair, the revealing introduction to her new Jewel series. Steph and Jake find themselves delving into a world full of dangerous secrets and sizzling passion that may end up proving fatal with one false step. An explosive attraction between people with trust issues and hidden agendas made for an exciting, confusing and sensual journey into the unknown. Ms. Blakely does suspense like she never has before. A jaw dropping, thrill.

4 “Who Do You Trust” Stars for the story and 4.5 Stars for the narration!

It’s been a while since I’ve read (or listened) to a Lauren Blakely title. Ms. Blakely is well known for her dirty talking, hot heroes and sexy and steamy romances. The Sapphire Affair marks a new turn for Ms. Blakely segueing into one of my favorite romance sub-genres: romantic suspense.

Jake Harlowe is a well known experienced “retrieval expert.” From a one of a kind Stradivarius to jewels and artwork, he’s one of the best to track down your stolen treasures. His latest job finds him in the tropical paradise of the Cayman Islands where everything starts off as usual until he realizes that the hot woman (Steph Anderson) he met at the bar the night show more before is actually somehow tied to his latest mark (a former CEO who is suspected of having defrauded his shareholders).

Steph Anderson is conducting her own personal investigation. Though she refuses to believe it, it seems her step father who raised her (and who recently divorced her mother), may have been less than truthful in his business enterprise, resulting in her mother’s current economic struggles. Though hard to believe, she owes it to her mother to investigate, but when she discovers she may not be the only one who is currently watching her step-father, she doesn’t know who to trust.

Can Jake and Steph figure out a way to be allies both in their investigation of Steph’s step-father and in their personal lives? Or are they right to have their doubts about each other? Moreover, when a large batch of priceless jewels is involved their might be a whole cast of other characters that can impact the end result. So watch out!

Sebastian York, as always, delivers a hot and sexy rendition of The Sapphire Affair. Excelling at portraying smart talking, hot heroes, Mr. York is the perfect narrator to bring Jake to life. Mr. York also renders a slightly higher pitched voice for Steph, that is easily distinguishable from Jake’s, making listening seamless without the need to rely on dialogue tags.

All in all, I think The Sapphire Affair is a decent start to a romantic suspense story. However, I was a bit surprised that the story ends in a romantic cliffhanger. Please note that to get Steph’s and Jake’s full story you will also need to listen to book 2, The Sapphire Heist. This caught me a bit off guard because while its not unusual for romantic suspense titles to have an overarching suspense arc that may carry over several books or even the entire series, typically the romance between the main hero and heroine is resolved in each book with subsequent titles highlighting the romance between other couples. So I think this fact is worth noting, so you are not caught off guard. However, having commenced Steph’s and Jake’s story in The Sapphire Affair, you will definitely be eager to listen to The Sapphire Heist next.

Source: Review copy provided in exchange for an honest review. show less

I enjoyed the story of bounty hunter, Jake Harlowe - a badass hottie!! He travels to the Cayman Island's to track down money that was taken from a fund which scammed many hardworking people. He meets a gorgeous woman, Steph. Steph ends up being the main suspect's step daughter that he is following. Steph and Jake team up as she wants truth. This story could go multiple directions and the author did a great job with surprises along the way. I would recommend this two book series!

Jake is a recovery specialist. He retrieves stolen items for his clients that won't use the police. Steph is a business owner of a tour, snorkeling, diving company that unfortunately has almost tanked due to her ex boyfriends online reviews. Steph's stepdad has or hasn't absconded with millions to the Cayman Islands. Steph wants to know if he's really guilty and is going to investigate. Jake is hired by another party to recover the stolen money. These two are on a collision course as they meet with instant lust. Realizing they are both after the same thing they team up and try to fight their attraction. Not trusting each other and trying to figure out if they are the same side or not adds tension that fuels the lust. Cliffhanger at the show more end and there is another book that continues the story. show less

Be forewarned: There’s a cliffhanger.