WHISTLEBLOWER

In Cove’s spicy romance novel, love blooms between an elite corporate consultant and one of her new clients: an assassin.

Eden Abbott is a young, highly skilled consultant who facilitates the growth of tech companies by helping their employees feel happier and more comfortable. She’s proud of her work and her success, but everything changes when she finds out that the company she works for is selling information about people, which is both illegal and immoral. Eden blows the whistle on the wrongdoing and instantly becomes a pariah. She thinks her life as she knows it is over, and fears that she might be in physical danger as well. Then she receives an offer from the FBI: They want to hire her to run human relations for PALADIN, an independent group of black-ops assassins who operate outside the law to find and kill criminals (“law enforcement and government agencies have some limitations, and that’s why they call upon us”). Chandler Janey, alias “Linc,” was recruited into PALADIN at the age of 16; now, Linc is notoriously lethal in his work, even among his PALADIN friends. He doesn’t consider himself fit for any kind of relationship, much less love. But when Eden shows up to PALADIN, he can’t take his eyes off her—she’s smart, beautiful, and capable, yet innocent; she’s never seen anyone being tortured and assassinated, much less done it herself. Eden, for her part, is immediately attracted to Linc. He’s a “big, bad wolf” on the outside, but gentle and kind on the inside. The central romance is convincing and appealing, even when the plot and writing go a little bit over the top. The sex is all enthusiastic and consensual, and it’s easy to see why Eden and Linc fall for each other. Eden sometimes seems to carry a sense of trauma with her that the book doesn’t explore—she sees simple acts of kindness and reciprocity as signs of Linc’s unique specialness. Although Linc is an excellent, truly loving match for Eden, it might’ve been nice for Eden to ask for more for herself. Linc seems like he’d be happy to provide.

A suspenseful, erotic romance that’s hard to put down.