This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
About The Book
Her submission fulfilled her
When Eve St. James married Alex McKay, she had her whole life ahead of her. They were the FBI’s golden couple by day, but by night Eve gave herself over to her husband’s world of Dominance and submission filled with pleasures she came to crave.
His betrayal destroyed her
Worried for her safety, Alex left Eve behind to tackle a dangerous mission. But Alex never suspected that Eve was the real target and her security is destroyed by a madman. By the time he rescues her, his wife has been changed forever.
But when her life is in danger, he is her only hope
Unable to heal the damage, Alex and Eve are still trapped together in a cycle of pleasure and misery that even their divorce cannot sever. But when a threat from Eve’s past resurfaces, Alex will stop at nothing to save her life and reclaim her heart.
My Review
First Impressions
On Her Master’s Secret Service is the fourth installment in her “Masters and Mercenaries” series and it was such fun to get back to this series again and I definitely have been enjoying reading more BDSM lately, the more I read it in a romance, the more I tend to enjoy it, there is such a stronger sense of intimacy and trust that really works for me. Plus it’s Lexi Blake, so she definitely knows how to write her steam. This series is a plus because it’s also a romantic suspense series and I really like how they blend the BDSM culture in with the romantic suspense and having law enforcement backgrounds into the story. And this is such a big series, so I have been wanting to really read more books in the series. When this title finally became available at my local library, I immediately jumped right into it and I really enjoyed the setup of a marriage in trouble and seeing our couple work through their issues while being on an undercover mission.
Family, he’d discovered, was in the people a man collected along the way, the people who shared his life, like his precious wife.
Summary
Eve and Alex were a married couple that had everything at their feet with all the hopes for the future and getting ready to build a family, they were the FBI couple everyone admired and wanted to emulate. But when an enemy of theirs, kidnapped and raped Eve, their marriage took a nosedive as they both made drastic mistakes and didn’t face up to what was causing them to be torn apart and not face up to the distance that they created, when they should have been more united than ever. Eve and Alex are now divorced but still have a dom/subcontract in place, but its a contract both of them want to change for different reasons. When there comes a mission, Alex forbids Eve to take a part in it, as it would involve having her face the same man that kidnapped her and the man that Alex has never stopped hunting. But Eve is determined to be the one that will pose as his sub, she knows she is capable and she needs to do this. When it becomes obvious, that she wants to split their relationship, Alex knows he needs to fight for the woman he has never stopped loving. But as their scenes turn into something deeper, they find a reconnection and a second chance to rebuild their relationship.
“This is how my slave is to greet her Master. It reminds her always of her position. She is to serve me.” To love me. To give me a reason to live. To honor me with her trust.
What I Loved
This was such a fun book but intense at times too, I do love the flair of writing that this author uses in her books though. I really enjoyed Alex and Eve as a pair together and I have such a soft spot for a marriage in trouble and it was so interesting to see them work through their issues and see what they were capable of. It was also interesting to have the suspense element be thrown into the mix. You definitely see how they need to learn to communicate better and rebuild their trust and this aspect is so heavily focused on. I really was intrigued about the undercover operation that they were both under and how it was key in them relearning each other again and having to be so open with each other. The BDSM elements were done so well and balanced with the other build-up of the plot that was escalating. I really really liked seeing the group of other characters that I have enjoyed in other books and getting some new additions as well. What was a major plus to this story was the added need for trust and communication and see our pair work through their past and issues and find a new future together….
Love—real love—required courage. It required her to speak out. It required her to fight for it.
What I Struggled With
There wasn’t anything I could specifically focus on that was a major issue, these books aren’t ever a five-star read for me, they are entertaining and fun with some layers.
Overall View
I found “On Her Masters Secret Service” to be a delectable read, that focuses on the kink of the BDSM culture, the importance of trust and love, and overcoming an evil force …..together. It’s a brilliantly written romance that I found highly entertaining.
At the end of everything—there was only love. And it was worth fighting for.
Title: On Her Master’s Secret Service
Author: Lexi Blake
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Format: eBook
Source: Library
Length: 411 Pages
Book Links
Amazon| Barnes and Noble| Kobo| Goodreads| LibraryThing| StoryGraph| Literal Club
Book Evaluation
Storytelling Quality: 4.25
Story Itself: 4
Character Development: 4
Writing Style: 4
World Building 4
Feels + The Romantic Heart 4
Pacing 4
Plot 4
Cover Art 5
Ending 4
Book Ratings
Overall Rating of the Book
Steam Level
Simmering—soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warm- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
Series Order
Masters and Mercenaries
The Dom Who Loved Me-Pub 2011 #1 in the Series
The Men with the Golden Cuffs-Pub 2012 #2 in the Series
A Dom is Forever-Pub 2012 #3 in the Series
On Her Master’s Secret Service-Pub 2013 #4 in the Series
Sanctum-Pub 2013 #4.5
Love and Let Die-Pub 2013 #5 in the Series
Unconditional-Pub 2014 #5.5 in the Series
Dungeon Royale-Pub 2014 #6 in the Series
Dungeon Games-Pub 2014 #6.5 in the Series
A View to a Thrill-Pub 2014 #7 in the Series
Cherished-Pub 2014 #7.5 in the Series
You Only Love Twice-Pub 2015 #8 in the Series
Sweet Child O’Mibe-Pub 2015 #8.1 in the Series
Luscious-Pub 2015 #8.2 in the Series
Adored-Pub 2015 #8.5 in the Series
Master No-Pub 2015 #9 in the Series
Just One Taste-Pub 2015 #9.5 in the Series
From Sanctum with Love-Pub 2016 #10 in the Series
Devoted-Pub 2016 #10.5 in the Series
Dominance Never Dies-Pub 2016 #11 in the Series
Submission Is Not Enough-Pub 2016 #12 in the Series
Master Bits and Mercenary Bites: Secret Recipes of Being Topped
Perfectly Paired-Pub 2016 #12.5 in the Series
For His Eyes Only-Pub 2017 #13 in the Series
Arranged-Pub 2017 #13.5 in the Series
Love Another Day-Pub 2017 #14 in the Series
Master Bits & Mercenary Bites: Girls Night
At Your Service-Pub 2017 #14.5 in the Series
Nobody Does It Better-Pub 2018 #15 in the Series
Close Cover-Pub 2018 #16 in the Series
Protected-Pub 2018 #16.5 in the Series
About Lexi
NY Times and USA Today bestselling author Lexi Blake lives in North Texas with her husband, three kids, and the laziest rescue dog in the world. She began writing at a young age, concentrating on plays and journalism. It wasn’t until she started writing romance and urban fantasy that she found the stories of her heart. She likes to find humor in the strangest places and believes in happy endings no matter how odd the couple, threesome, or foursome may seem.
Her first novel, Their Virgin Captive: Masters of Ménage, Book 1, was a collaboration with New York Times bestselling author Shayla Black. There are five more books available in the series: Their Virgin’s Secret, Their Virgin Concubine, Their Virgin Princess, Their Virgin Hostage, and Their Virgin Secretary. The next book in the series, Their Virgin Mistress, is releasing this April.
In addition to the Masters of Ménage series, she is the author of the Masters and Mercenaries series. There are eight full-length novels and four novellas available now, with more coming in 2015.
In 2013, Lexi also began releasing her urban fantasy series, Thieves. The first five are available now, with Ripper, a spin-off to the series, coming in 2015.
Something about that blurb definitely intrigues me. I’m a sucker for second chances and throw in some suspense… yummm! Great review ?
Btw, sorry I’ve been MIA, but Covid made the rounds in my house and we are finally FREE!!
oh Natalie!! I have missed you so much! I am sorry to hear you had covid, but BREATHE THAT FRESH AIR BABE!!! I really loved this one, its such a fun series and I love the mix of BDSM with suspense.
Thanks so much! I’m definitely gonna have to give this book a shot.
oh yay!! You should! Lexi Blake does great for BDSM culture and I really like the balance that she puts in these stories. So I hope you enjoy it.