I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Bishop's Queen by Katie Reus on October 22, 2019
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Format: eBook
Source: NetGalley
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Return to the Endgame trilogy where blood is thick, but passion is thicker…
He doesn’t believe in fairy-tale endings…
They used to call Evan Bishop the golden boy. He had it all and was about to close the business deal of a lifetime, then marry the woman of his dreams. But everything goes to hell when a faceless enemy wants to destroy his family’s empire and see him dead. Except the bomb meant to kill him fails. He wakes up from a coma to find his face scarred and his brother missing and wanted for murder. Now that he’s damaged, he hides away from the world—including the woman he loves. He refuses to be a burden to her, so even though it destroys him, he sets her free.
She’s about to prove him wrong…
Isla MacDonald isn’t walking away from Evan just because he’s decided to shut her out of his life. He blames himself for the bombing that got her father killed and nearly killed him—but he’s wrong. After all attempts to see him fail, with a broken heart she tries to resume her life and take over her father’s firm. Though it’s not her dream, she wants to honor his legacy and finish the deal that will save thousands of jobs. But when someone tries to kill her—twice—she needs a bodyguard. To her surprise Evan steps up and insists on protecting her, putting on a show as the caring fiancé. But he won’t let her back into his life or into his heart. To have any chance at a future together, they’ll have to resurrect the past and stay alive long enough to expose the man determined to see them both dead.
Author note: This book can be read as a stand-alone, complete with HEA.
This is the second book in the Romantic Suspense series Endgame that closely follows the first book Bishop’s Knight. Isla and Evan were engaged until a bomb went off killing her father and nearly killing Evan. He pulled away from Isla and was pretty awful to her in his time in the hospital., understandably. However, he then breaks off the engagement and won’t speak with Isla…yet they run in the same circles, so they’ll wind up running into each other eventually.
Isla is moving on with her life post-Evan. Sort of. She doesn’t really want to believe it’s over, yet she puts one foot in front of the other each day at her father’s company. Technically it’s her company now, but she doesn’t want it. Her goal is to finish the deals he had left on the table, and eventually sell the company. But for now, she’s amazing at what she does, and she’s going to continue on. Until someone tries to kill her.
Evan is angry at the world. He thinks he’s giving Isla her freedom and her life back by setting her free. But when she is in danger, he can’t seem to let her go off alone, or even with protection. He won’t feel right unless he’s with her. But as soon as he spends time with Isla again, he’s reminded of why he loves her. There’s no one else for him. So does he let her go free, or does he try to win her back? Can he live with himself if she stays with him? Can he live with himself if she doesn’t?
When Isla finally realized that Evan pushing her away was more than just his scars, his survivor’s guilt, his own demons…it was the fact that he felt the explosion was his fault. How could she marry him when he was responsible for her father’s death? Isla had never realized Evan blamed himself for the explosion and it really cleared some things up (for me as well!). However, someone is still trying to kill her, so their new fragile relationship is still being tested. Is Evan going to be able to keep Isla safe? is it personal? Or is it related to the business? I liked the set-up, I liked the suspense, I liked the characters and I liked the writing. This book and the series are really right up my alley.
This book has a second chance romance, a fake fiance, and a suspense plot! It’s amazing and never once felt over the top. It felt like an exciting Suspense with a villain I didn’t see coming until the end. I want to dive into the final book as soon as I can! Ms. Reus consistently pens intriguing and fresh characters with thrilling plots.
***ARC courtesy of the publisher via Netgalley
