review || ENEMY MINE

Enemy Mine by Megan Mitcham

Publisher: Megan Mitcham (10/1/2014)
Series: Base Branch, book 1
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Source: Xpresso Book Tours/Author
Buy from || amazon | bn || add to goodreads

Rating: ★★★★★

When friends become enemies and enemies become lovers.

Born in the blood of Sierra Leone's Civil War, enslaved, then sold to the US as an orphan, Base Branch operative Sloan Harris is emotionally dead and driven by vengeance. With no soul to give, her body becomes the bargaining chip to infiltrate a warlord's inner circle. The man called The Devil killed her family and helped destroy a region.

As son of the warlord, Baine Kendrick will happily use Sloan's body if it expedites his father's demise. Yet, he is wholly unprepared for the possessive and protective emotions she provokes. Maybe it’s the flashes of memory … two forgotten children drawing in the dirt beneath the boabab tree… But he fears there is more at stake than his life.

In the Devil's den with Baine by her side, Sloan braves certain death and discovers a spirit for living.

about Megan || Megan was born and raised among the live oaks and shrimp boats of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where her enormous family still calls home. She attended college at the University of Southern Mississippi where she received a bachelor's degree in curriculum, instruction, and special education. For several years Megan worked as a teacher in Mississippi. She married and moved to South Carolina and worked for an international non-profit organization as an instructor and co-director.

In 2009 Megan fell in love with books. Until then, books had been a source for research or the topic of tests. But one day she read Mercy by Julie Garwood. And Oh Mercy, she was hooked!

Megan lives in Southern Arkansas where she pens sizzling suspense novels.

connect with Megan || website | facebook | twitter | goodreads

{ review } .

What a way to be introduced to a series.

Sloan and Baine... two people with secrets and lives that are very much 'don't know, don't tell' who knew one another once upon a time -- and while they haven't seen each other in more years than will fit on either's hands, their minds have thought about the other a time or two.

Sloan, once upon a time, went by the name Sia. When a dangerous man came to her school when she was five, her whole world was upended. Eventually, she made it stateside, where she was adopted and became Sloan Harris. Finally, she felt like she belonged again -- until they became pregnant and again, she was alone in the world.

Baine's father is a terrible man -- one he wants nothing to do with. But after watching him kill not only his mother, but take the lives of other innocents, Baine knows better than to disobey... for lack of a better term. As heir, he's due to take over his father's reign but Baine has other ideas.

When Sloan is given an assignment, she knows the man she's needed to take out -- and it kills her. 

No, she hasn't seen her childhood friend in ages, but if it's true that he is his father's secondhandman, she will put her country and her sense of right or wrong to the forefront, and ignore her feelings.

...she doesn't expect all that comes after.

It kills Baine to hurt her, but he can't let it be known he knows this escort being brought in to his father's company. There were instances in Baine's thoughts that you knew that he knew who she was... but then other times you thought maybe he was indeed clueless. 

The first true clue that he knows who she is, is said in almost an off-handed comment that could mean a miriad of things.

"I can't stop myself from caring about you."

And then there is:

"Did it ever occur to you," he whispered, "that I need to rescue you?" 

...but when he talked to Sloan about his childhood friend, all doubts vanished -- at least for the reader.

“I used to play under a tree like that,” he said, raising his arm to a stand of three scraggy, leafless barks, “with my best friend, for hours and hours at a time. The thing was base for tag, a fort, a castle, the bad guy we slew.”

Sloan smiled even as tears fell hot on her cheeks.  

He continued. “Every time I see a tree like that I smile and wonder where in the world she is? How she’s doing? If I’ll ever see her again?”  

Baine coughed and his voice wavered. “It was nearly twenty-two years ago. That’s stupid right, to think about someone from your youth when you’ve both probably changed so much?”  

She pulled in a ragged breath. “No. Not if they made you happy. Not if the memory of them still does."

Does she figure it out? Or will it take a little bit more...?

I really enjoyed watching these two -- battle of wits doesn't even begin to talk about these two. He's a smartass with his father, but extremely careful around her. She's extremely strong, mentally and physically, but her one true weakness is Baine. She has trust issues, but they don't play too much into the story.

Baine and Sloan... oh, how I loved them. So much so that while I loved learning about Lawrence's true identity... reading his story had a bit of me wanting to read more about Baine and Sloan -- but no worries, Lawrence's story is equally good... 

...if not a little better.

And Ryan? Mmmhm, Mr. Noble, I can't wait to watch you fall, too.

{ giveaway } .

I'm giving away ONE copy of ENEMY MINE. 
Interested?

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