ER doctor Grace Reilly thrives on patching up her patients, propping them back on their feet and sending them home healthier, yet emotionally she feels flat on her back after being deceived by her ex-boyfriend. She’s shelved her malfunctioning romantic radar, possibly forever. But she’s not opposed to no strings attached sex, especially when she meets the brooding and enigmatic Oren Brody. Even better? After giving her a mind-blowing orgasm with no reciprocal expectations, he vanishes as mysteriously as he appeared.
Six months ago Oren Brody and his brothers, Asher and Ebon, bought the London Phoenix newspaper to save the esteemed daily from bankruptcy. They need a big scoop or a budget shortfall could shut them down. A confidential tip about corruption and potential medical malfeasance point Oren toward St. Hilda’s Hospital – the same hospital where his mother unexpectedly died after a visit to the ER for a pounding headache. He needs answers, and Grace seems to be the key. He’d tracked her down hoping she could be a source. Seducing her was accidental, but he finds himself unable to ignore their zinging chemistry and he doesn’t really want to.
Oren needs to earn Grace’s trust, but that’s a big ask since their first meeting began with a lie and ended with sexual fireworks. Grace has already been deceived by one lover, can she forgive and forget and give Oren a chance?
Titles in the London Phoenix series include — Insider –
Title: Insider
Series: London Phoenix #1
Author: Rebecca Crowley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Published: August 22, 2019
Publisher: Tule Publishing
My Rating: 3.5 stars
INSIDER begins Rebecca Crowley’s London Phoenix series with Grace and Oren’s combustive relationship. And for me, “combustive” means more than simply the heat factor in their story, their arguments are equally as full of fire as is their sizzling attraction to each other.
I’m torn on this story for several reasons. I liked both Grace and Oren for the most part. Although, at times it seemed they argued simply because they didn’t like what the other was saying to them at that moment so to fight about it, or their feelings, was an instinctive reaction. One that made sense to them alone.
The Brody brothers are an interesting crew, and I will be waiting to figure these guys out. I understood Oren’s intense self-guilt but as an outsider knew that he couldn’t have known what was to come.
Grace is a sometimes strong woman, at other times she puzzled me. She’s been surrounded by people, often men, who have conned her, used her and hurt her on levels so deep that she’s now unwilling to trust anyone. Oren immediately does something that shows he’s just like the rest, so I understood her anger and hurt when the truth came out. To be fair, they both have issues that needed to be dealt with before there was a chance of a happy ending for this couple.
The medical mystery was an intriguing aspect of this story. And to delve into that too much would be risking spoilers. I’ll simply say that greed is an ugly thing and there is too much of it in high places these days.
I liked INSIDER, I didn’t love it. I will be picking up the next story when it’s available to see what happens with the next Brody to fall for his lady.
*I received an e-ARC of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. That does not change what I think of this story. It is my choice to leave a review giving my personal opinion about this book.*
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