Provoke You

Provoke You
Diana A. Hicks
(Cole Brothers #2)
Publication date: December 16th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Hotel heiress Ela LeBlanc is ready to take control of her life. Waking up handcuffed to a former marine and the news of her step-dad’s plans to sell the hotel is just the wake-up call she needs.

With only thirty days to prove he has no claim on the property, Ela has to enlist the help of her sexy as sin bodyguard.When things take a dangerous turn, and Matt becomes the only person she can trust, she can’t help but wonder… can she trust him with her heart?

Former Marine Matt Cole came to New Orleans for a fresh start, a chance to make amends. After accepting a job as the chief of security for a wealthy hotelier, he quickly realizes that life in the Big Easy is anything but.

Matt’s greatest challenge is keeping his distance from the tempting Ela LeBlanc, his boss’s gorgeous and very off limits step-daughter. Surviving Ela is just the beginning. As things unfold it becomes clear that it’s not just his heart on the line, but their lives.

PROVOKE YOU is book two in the Cole Brothers series. A new family saga binge reading experience: 5 brothers, 5 full-length novels in 5 months.

Continue reading on December 16th, January 13th, February 10th, and March 9th. Don’t miss out on this suspenseful and seductive series.

Note: This is a steamy romance with explicit sensual scenes, happily ever after, no cheating, and no cliffhanger.

Goodreads / Amazon

Author Bio:

Diana A. Hicks is an award-winning author of steamy contemporary romance with a touch of suspense. Book two in her Desert Monsoon series, LOVE OVER LOGIC, won the 2019 Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal Winner in the Romance – Suspense genre

When Diana is not writing, she enjoys kickboxing, traveling, and indulging in the simple joys of life like wine and chocolate. She lives in Atlanta and loves spending time with her two children and husband. Connect with Diana on social media to stay up to date on her latest releases.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Bookbub

Provoke You by Diana A. Hicks

 

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I’d previously read the first in this series, Unravel You, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I had at first. (That sentence sounds like it doesn’t make sense, but read the review and you’ll understand what I mean.)  I definitely liked it enough to reach out with grabby hands for the next book in the series, and I’m incredibly glad I did. Matt is 100% my favorite Cole brother.

 

The suspense factor in Provoke You is much more evenly spaced throughout this book, and since this is a new relationship we get to see this pair fall in love. Ela is in danger, and while Matt is definitely there as her protector it’s less toxic masculinity, testosterone-soaked weirdness and much more “I’m doing a job, for which I’m being paid, and then hey, feelings happened.”  Hicks addresses the ethical dilemma head on and without compromise.

 

Something else I want to address is the treatment of military veterans in this book, and I kind of want to buy a tiara and put it on Hicks’ head the next time I see her. In a lot of media and popular culture, the men and women who’ve served our country are treated as either dimwitted fools too stupid to tie their own shoes without a drill sergeant screaming at them or delicate flowers who need careful tending every second of every day. My father is a Vietnam veteran, as were most of the male figures in my life up until I left home. These portrayals, along with the deranged homicidal maniac stereotype of so many films, bore no resemblance to any of the men I knew and loved.

 

They were complicated men. Their experiences did help to shape them. They were not what we see so often in popular culture.

 

Matt and his friends are likewise complicated men who’ve served our country. Matt, specifically, is coping with the aftermath of a mission that went wrong. (No spoilers, so that’s all I’ll say about it.)  They are also good, kind, and intelligent men who work hard and live their lives. I want to personally thank Ms. Hicks for such a great portrayal of military veterans.

 

Ela is another complicated character. She’s spent her whole life being told what she’s just not capable of. She’s an alcoholic, and because she’s a known alcoholic people have certain responses to her. This is an issue about addiction people don’t like to discuss – people can go to rehab, they can get sober, whatever, but people will always judge them by that addiction. In Ela’s case, it’s exceptionally cruel.

 

The thing is, Ela never comes across as helpless. Not once. She never seems to lose hope, and while she doesn’t deny her attraction to Matt she doesn’t let it stop her at any point. Ela gets knocked down a lot, usually by the people who should support her the most, but she gets right back up every single time.

 

She’s not a saint. She makes some questionable life choices. If I wanted to read about a saint I’d go to church. Seriously, we read romance because we want to see that happily ever after for everyone, even people who’ve made mistakes. That happily ever after feels even better, trips that reward center in our brain harder, when the characters have had to fight harder for it. And Ela, she fights hard.

 

This story satisfied me in so many ways. I loved both main characters, flaws and all. I loved how they were both willing to admit to their flaws. Both characters were actual adults about their emotions and their issues, which was kind of refreshing. This being the second in a series about siblings, it was interesting to see where Matt fit in with the rest of the family. He’s definitely my favorite brother, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the others have to offer.

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