Bold Tricks by Karina Halle

Series: The Artists Trilogy #3
Genres: Romantic Suspense, Adult
Release Date: December 14th, 2014

Publisher: Forever
Source: Won in Giveaway

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The faster they live, the harder they fall...

Raised by con artists, Ellie Watt has a lot of crazy childhood memories - but none more so than being scarred with acid by crime boss Travis Raines. Now Travis has kidnapped her good friend Gus as well as her mother. And Ellie has only one chance of getting them out alive - using two dangerous men who love her to death...

One is Camden McQueen, a talented tattoo artist who's made a permanent mark on Ellie's heart. The other is Javier Bernal, her fiery ex-lover. From the streets of Mexico City to the jungles of Honduras, this unlikely trio forms an uneasy alliance in the deadliest game of all - a battle to the finish that will pit enemy against enemy and lover against lover. And Ellie must choose the right man to trust...or die.

After putting off reading this book for over a year, I decided it was time (plus it was just sitting there on my shelf, waiting to be read so I HAD to.) Bold Tricks; however, just wasn't as good as its predecessors.

I am not one for angsty novels but if there is anyone who can make me enjoy one, it’s Karina Halle. She knows how to make angsty situations come off as realistic rather than annoying and bothersome. It’s what sold this series to me in the first place.

Camden, Ellie and Javier have always been complex characters. There is no black and white when it comes to them, only the grey. And for some readers that won’t work. I didn’t think it would work for me! But Halle has a way of making it work which was why I gobbled up the first two books in this series in spite of the things that frustrated me.

This time around, Camden and Ellie still had some awesome moments but most of their moments were cheesy and cringeworthy. Like REALLY cringeworthy. Also given some of the things that happened in the previous book, you’d think Ellie would do some grovelling but she kind of just expects things to go back to normal because she lurves Camden.

Javier was the highlight of the book. And me saying this is kind of a big deal since I never liked him in the first place. He is such a complex character and even though you know not to trust him, sometimes, like Ellie, you’ll find yourselves doing exactly that. He is a sketchy character but his moves aren’t always predictable (even if they aren’t surprising.)

The plot aspect of this book was well done and Bold Tricks was just as addicting as its predecessors. I loved the hunt and I loved how those things wrapped up.

Overall, I’d say Bold Tricks was a decent conclusion to the series but I would have liked it better had Ellie and Camden not turned into cheesy goop around each other(I only like cheese in/on my food, not my books.)