"I got way more than I bargained for in The Alpha's Gamble." Laora.
From the blurb:
Cut off from his family—and more importantly, the family fortune—Blake Castelli stakes his future on one last throw of the dice: he’ll go to Las Vegas and use his line of credit at the Morrigan casino to replenish his bank account.
But the Morrigan’s under new ownership. And while Blake doesn’t remember handsome, arrogant Declan MacKenna from their ill-fated encounter ten years ago, Declan remembers him. And he wants payback.
Declan offers Blake a humiliating, degrading deal he has no choice but to take even though it's all kinds of wrong. While Blake may be an alpha werewolf, so is Declan—and he out-alphas Blake at every turn. Blake shouldn’t enjoy what Declan does to him. He shouldn’t crave things no alpha should ever accept. Declan’s turned him into someone he doesn’t recognize: helpless, needy, and out of control.
Declan wants to keep hating Blake, but he can't. Blake wants to trust Declan, but that’s impossible. When magical and mundane attacks threaten them both, Blake has nowhere to turn. Will Declan realize his feelings run deeper than desire in time to save them both? If not, they could lose everything…even their lives.
The Alpha’s Gamble is part of the Mismatched Mates series, but it can be read as a standalone. Contains blackmail, knotting, and intrigue, plus a side dish of biting. This series does not contain mpreg.
Laora's Review:
I have been reading this book and almost gave up due to the non-con content. I was not expecting non con, might be my bad, but I did not get that from the blurb.
"Bodies react to physical stimulus. That does not mean I liked it'.' - Blake.
Blake might have been described as an entitled man who treated people not well, but two wrongs do not make it right. In a sense to not leave him with much else than to accept Declan his 'deal' to pay off his debt; real or perceived. To me, the deal felt basically like rape in more ways than one by Declan to Blake. And the verbal lashings by Declan in the first chapters seemed over the top to me. Even more degrading.
For me, the book felt 'cold', especially in the first chapters , even though this book is a 5/5 heat wise. I could not connect very well with the story.
The sideline with Walter, Declan, his right hand magical man, in the end made Declan realize that Blake is worth way more than he perceived him to be. And Blake shows just how strong he can be if he believes in himself.
"...But you can't possibly love me. Not after the way I've treated you. You don't need to lie to me to make sure I take care of you,, Blake. I will. No matter what." - Declan.
I can see that if the genre is your cup of tea, you might like it better, so I find it hard to rate since this is not my usual read. There is nothing wrong with the writing. The author has a good flow and story, which can be read as a standalone in the series.
It is a lot of A/A wolf shifter 'sexual activities' with a hea at the end. I tried to rate this book as objectively as possible and came to 4*.
I, however, will be making dang sure to double check what I get. But for all those who do well with non con, this might be right up your alley.
Rating: 4 Stars
The Alpha's Gamble is available to buy as an ebook or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.
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