I clicked went through my list of Kindle freebies recently, and decided to make a dent in them. So I chose this book at random. It happened to be a pretty great pick.

Lauren Covington lives in a world where appearances are everything, well, atleast that's what she was taught by her family. They have to keep up appearances, that her father in a #1 dad and #1 husband. Although this is about as far from the truth as you can possibly get. He's an abusive bastard. He beats their mother daily and if either Lauren or her brother, Stephen, "step out of line" Alex (daddy dearest) beats their mom more to keep the kids malleable to his every whim.

Alex, Lauren's father, is a lawyer who is pretty shady. He gets his way no matter what, and has a habit of collecting people. He's a womanizer, and a D-Bag. Not really sure what else to say about him. Read the book, and you will understand completely why, you don't really want to think of a man like that.

Jesse Ryder was hired by Alex to investigate some things. Jesse is a P.I., who use to be a cop, but decided he didn't want to be a cop and deal with all the shady politics that go on with police. When Jesse gets an assignment from Alex that goes against his morals, he turns it down. This pisses Alex off because he is a man who gets his way no matter what. Alex threatens Lauren and Jesse's budding romance, by threatening Jesse's life. And that is only the beginning...

I liked this book because, to me, it didn't seem as though there was that much effort invested in the romance. Which is nice if your looking for something like that. Which I was, it was a change. Don't get me wrong there is romance in this book, and it is very tender and sweet.

But what I think makes this book so worth reading, is the rest of the story as a whole. Lauren standing up to her abusive father, and rallying her mother against him. The emotional pains that Lauren goes through. Alex's persecution of Jesse, trying to persuade him, and if that doesn't work destroy him. Jesse tries to build evidence against Alex, and with people on Alex's payroll, that become difficult.

The rich and the corrupted and the abused. Makes you realize that there is shit going on out there that you don't always know about because looks can be deceiving. ( )

This review I had to think about. I' m not really sure what to rate this book.

I liked the story for the most part. A bit slow in areas, very repetitive, and too much side stuff added in.
So the main character is Laura Covington. She is in her 20s, has a good job, and lives with her parents and younger brother. She appears to everyone (even her best friends) to have the perfect life and family. When she mets Jesse in a bar and falls for him, the perfect image she portrays shatters.
Jesse knows Laura's father, has worked for him, and knows the real Alex Covington. Not the image the rest of the world is shown. After 20 years of hiding the truth and watching the abuse in her house, both mental and physical: she decides it's time for a change. With Jesse's help of course. ( )

Enemies And Playmates (Darcia Helle) is a suspense novel.

Lauren Covington should have the perfect life. Her father is a high powered attorney, she lives in a beautiful home and is attending a prestigious university. But her family life is not what it appears to be. Her father is abusive, manipulative and controlling. Lauren is tired of the lies and hiding her family secrets.

Jesse Ryder enters her life. He worked for her father at one time, and knows the truth about Alex Covington. Soon Lauren's life is spiraling in new direction. She is falling is love. This love turns to be dangerous as her father come between the two. Lies, deceit, betrayals and murder abound in this page turner.Fast paced and full of twists, secrets and surprises. Another great suspense by Miss Helle ( )

This was a pretty good romance-thriller about a girl finding her man & dealing with her abusive father. The situation was fairly horrifying & logically structured. The hero & heroine were both tough, but very believable. While there is some sex, it wasn't over done nor too explicit. I should probably give the book an extra 1/2 star for that since too many authors succumb to filler sex lately.

If I have any criticism, it's that the fight scenes just didn't work all that well for me. They weren't bad, but they didn't grab me the way they have in other books. The detail & logic of the story suffered a little there. Still, they weren't bad - just not as good as the emotions & motivations.

The good guys were all very likable, while the villains had no redeeming qualities, so there was no trouble separating the two nor was there much doubt how it would all play out. Still, there were some interesting twists throughout the story.

It was a fun, quick read. I'll be interested in reading another book by this author in the future. After finding out it was her first book & was self edited, plus the lack of sex, I just can't resist giving it an extra star & will REALLY be interested in her future work. ( )

Oh how this book took me by surprise. From the cover alone one would expect a lustful wild ride, but then I read the description and found myself intrigued. From the start this story reveals a mystery thriller with a romance twist. It was nothing that I was anticipated from cover or description, but it offered such a sweet surprise. I really liked this story of the good vs. evil. It was the ultimate battle that leaves readers praying good will finds a thread of chance to prevail. My heart took one hell of a beating through this novel. I was overcome with emotion as the story uncovers more and more about Lauren's terrible and despicable father. As the story drags you deeper and deeper into its world readers will find themselves reevaluating their own characters for the boundaries of right and wrong. Darcia is one author not afraid to blatantly shock readers with the reality of her villains’ evil character. I was astounded by the levels to which she will catapult readers into the unknown showing the truly evil character in all his glory. I experienced a whole new level of hopelessness with this novel as the characters begin running out of resources. This was an impressive display of talent from this author that has me curious to check out her other titles. This is perfect for mystery lovers that are craving a dark and twisted read.

~BookWhisperer Reviewer JO~ ( )