Review: Deuces Wild by Christina C. Jones

Alicia "Ace" Miller has always had a somewhat contentious, arms-length relationship with Las Vegas Detective Cree Bradley. She likes their level of engagement exactly where it is - non-existent, never any occasion to cross paths.

Until she needs his help.

Only the most powerful of emotions - paired with fractured memories and the unshakeable feeling that something is missing - can make Alicia seek assistance from a man whose very presence puts her on edge. However, with lives at stake, her family on the line, and a chance at filling in the blanks of her past on the verge of slipping through her fingers, her choices are limited.

He's the perfect person to have by her side.

Cree Bradley takes his job seriously - protect and serve. Somewhere along the way, he's realized that for many of his peers, those lines have been blurred to the point of no return... destroying his own ability to walk the straight and narrow.

Sometimes, that means walking the wrong way to do the right thing.

This time?

It means stepping through the looking glass, out of the bright lights of the strip and into a world where you don't know who to trust, danger lurks around every corner, and long-buried secrets are alive and well.

Every twist, every turn, everyone is... a wild card, in a game where the price of losing might be death, and the only way to win... is to show each other their hands.

Before I dive in, I will say that Deuces Wild by Christina C. Jones is the 3rd book in the High Stakes series. While Deuces Wild can be read as a standalone, I HIGHLY suggest that you read the first book, Ante Up (which may be my favorite CCJ novel). You can check out my review HERE.

Now, I warned you, so read the rest at your own risk.

We met Alicia and Cree in Ante Up. Alicia aka Ace is the badass personal security for that book’s main character, King. Cree is a detective with the Las Vegas Police Department. Ace is not a fan of cops and believes she has no use for Cree. She sees him as a man of the system and incorrectly assumes she knows the code by which he lives. When her past comes knocking on her door and she’s left reeling, she reluctantly goes to Cree for help and finds herself drawn to him, in more ways than one.

I had high expectations for Deuces Wild. I was so curious to read about Ace and Cree. The first time readers meet Ace, we know she’s a take no prisoners badass. She doesn’t just look unapproachable, she embodies it. She has an unfuckwithable aura that tells us that she will back up everything she claims. As a result, a lot of people are intimidated by her and very few, aside from King and his family, know the real Alicia. I knew Cree would be the perfect complement to her and I was not disappointed.  Chile, CCJ exceeded all of my expectations. My ass REFUSED to go to sleep two nights ago until I finished this book.

In Deuces Wild, we get a mystery and suspense that grips us by the throat and shudder at one’s cruelty. We also get a chemistry that simply leaps off of the pages. Ace and Cree aren’t just compatible, though Ace wouldn’t want to acknowledge that at first, they have a chemistry that’s simply combustible. A few times I had to ask myself where was my own Cree?!

Cree’s career and moral compass collided with Ace’s life; her past she wanted to forget and the future she wanted to make sure was still intact in what is a very raw and gritty tale. We get the suspense and heart palpitating action that I absolutely love while also getting a romance that manages to be calming and vulnerable. I really appreciated the fact that despite there being so many moving parts to this novel, Ace and Cree’s relationship still managed to always to be forefront, which is a tough task to do when we start to peel back the layers of the subplot.

Let me stop before I give anything crucial away. Don’t just take my word for it, pick up the book – Deuces Wild is worth the read.

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Natalya

Natalya is an Account Manager by day and an editor and author's assistant to passionate creatives by night. When she is not adding to her enormous book collection or stationery supply, she is catching up on her favorite television shows.

Natalya is the author of All The Things I Never Said, a soul-stirring collection of short stories, prose and love letters for the soulful wanderers, the brokenhearted and the hopeless romantics.

You can follow her rantings and occasional sparks of brilliance on Twitter @NatalyaMuncuff.

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