‘She thought she was securing her future.
He's turning the page on her past.
To save her legacy, she'll say 'I do.' To expose the truth, so will he.
Cora
Inheriting my late father’s publishing empire is all I’ve ever wanted, except there’s a catch—marry a husband within the year to secure my claim.
Enter Sterling Montgomery—a charming new employee offering the perfect solution: a marriage of convenience. But the more time I spend with him, the harder it is to remember this isn’t real.
Can I secure my future without losing my heart?
Sterling
Blackwell Publishing is my target. Vengeance for my mother, served ice-cold. One fake marriage proposal later, I'm in. But with every touch my plan unravels.
Cora is my temptation, my impossible choice—gorgeous with fierce mind and intoxicating vulnerability. I came to burn her world to the ground. Instead, I’m the one in flames.
But when the smoke clears, will anything be left?’
As you can probably tell from the Blurb this story is all about Cora and Sterling, and they are the third book in Lasairiona’s ‘Protocol’ series. Which if I’m honest this reader has been truly loving and this instalment was no different. Now Cora and Sterling’s story is told over the course of 40 Chapters as well as an Epilogue. The tropes that can be found in this book are secret identity, marriage of convenience, workplace romance, BDSM/Kink and opposites attract.
Now whether you like all these tropes or only a couple, I would suggest giving this book a go. I was addicted to this story and these characters from the moment I opened it up. At to be completely honest with you guys I was entering a bit of a reading slump but this book reminded me exactly why I love to read.
Let’s take a look at the characters, first up is our female lead Cora, now she is a boss b**** and knows exactly what she wants. She is a strong female character who goes after what she wants. Cora is a Dominate and I loved to see this. I know books will describe their female characters as strong leads but I feel like Lasairiona broke the mould with Cora. When I tell you she is exactly the kind of character I will always think of when people say they want a boss a** b****.
Sterling is very much the opposite from Cora, hence the opposites attract trope. Although he is the man of his family, you do not often see that side in his everyday life. He is sensitive and not afraid to own his feelings. In the BDSM world he is a switch, which means he can be either a dominant or subordinate. I will admit I haven’t read a lot of books that have that feature in their male lead. Which means this book is refreshing and makes me love this story even more.
Now the plot for the story itself will have readers routing for both sides. As I said previously Starling is the man of his family and in this book he wants to right an injustice that was done to his mum. Cora on the other hand is trying to come back from grief of her last remaining family member. As readers watch this story unfold, and secrets become uncovered they will find themselves not knowing whose side to be on but also just hoping that this pair can figure things out to find their Happy Ever After.
Now I can’t write this review without mentioning that this book does have a trigger warning page. Please I beg all readers to take note of what is written here and do not read the book if it will affect you in a negative way. The author does write with sensitivity about the mentioned subjects but please be careful.
Overall I fell in love with not only this story but also Cora and Sterling. I am always stunned and appreciative whenever Lasairiona releases a new book and somehow out does herself every time. This book is certainly no exception in my eyes. You can tell the research is there in the topics mentioned but also the well developed characters.
One thing I will always mention with this series and others that Lasairiona writes is that we also get an update on our past couples, possible future couples. All of which I love seeing and hearing about. Though do not let that stop you if you haven’t touched this series yet. Just be prepared that if this is the first book you read, it probably won’t be your last.
You can get your copy of this book HERE
Until Next Time
Emma
Xx
